Mexican border governor impeached for alleged tax evasion

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s congress voted Friday to impeach the current governor of the border state of Tamaulipas on charges of tax evasion, money laundering and organized crime. The lower house voted to remove Gov. Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca’s immunity from prosecution, a process similar to impeachment. He is the latest in a string of Tamaulipas governors accused of wrongdoing or corruption. However, the move still has to go to the state legislature in Tamaulipas, a cartel-plagued state across from Texas. It is unclear if the state legislature can block or delay the impeachment, or whether that would hold up in court. Garcia Cabeza de Vaca is a leading member of the opposition National Action Party, which claimed the charge were part of a campaign by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party to win votes in the June 6 midterm elections.

Brazil privatizes Rio de Janeiro’s water, sewage utility

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rio de Janeiro state privatized its water and sewage utility on Friday, after years of broken promises to improve sewage treatment and clean up the state’s polluted Guanabara Bay. It was Brazil’s biggest-ever privatization in the sewage sector, and the first to take place after a new regulatory framework for it took effect. The utility Cedae attends to 64 municipalities in Rio state, of which 35 were included in the auction. The majority of the state-owned company’s assets were divided into four water distribution and sewer service areas. Companies presented bids for the 35-year concessions of all but one: that of the eponymous capital’s west zone and six other municipalities. Sanitation company Aegea won the concession for two of the four blocks, presenting bids worth a combined 15.4 billion reais ($2.8 billion). The company Igua took a third block with a bid of 7.3 billion reais. A state official told reporters afterward that the fourth area will be offered again in a new auction.

Suicide truck bomber hits Afghan guest house, killing 14

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A powerful suicide truck bombing struck a guest house in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least 14 people and wounding as many as 90, the Interior Ministry said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing in Pul-e-Alam, the capital of Logar province, and there was no indication as to why the guest house was targeted. In Afghanistan, guest houses are lodgings often provided for free by the government, usually for the poor, travelers and students. The attack came on the eve of the official date set for the start of the final withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan. The Taliban, who had demanded that all U.S. troops pull out of Afghanistan by May 1, have not offered any guarantees for the safety of the departing troops.

There was no indication the bombing was connected to the pullout and there are no U.S. or NATO troops in Logar.

Rasool Gul Samar, head of the Logar provincial health department, said five bodies were brought to the hospital in Pul-e-Alam. He said that among the dozens of wounded, 12 people who were in critical condition were transferred to the capital, Kabul, for treatment.

Hasib Stanikzai, head of the Logar provincial council, said the death toll could climb further. At the time of the attack, he said, a group of local policemen were staying at the guest house, waiting for transportation home. Other rooms were occupied by students from more remote districts who had come to the provincial capital for university entrance exams.

Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said the attack was under investigation and that the roof of the guesthouse had collapsed in the bombing. There were fears bodies could be trapped beneath the rubble, he said.

After 20 years, Washington is ending its “forever war” in Afghanistan. Starting on Saturday, the last remaining 2,500 to 3,500 American troops will begin leaving the country, to be fully out by Sept. 11 at the latest.

The pullout comes amid a resurgent Taliban, who control or hold sway over half of Afghanistan.