KABUL — International forces accidentally killed two Afghan boys during an operation in southern Afghanistan, the US-led coalition said Saturday. Marine General Joseph Dunford, the commander of United States and allied forces in Afghanistan, offered his ‘‘personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed’’ and said the coalition takes full responsibility for the deaths.
Netanyahu still works on coalition
JERUSALEM — Israeli President Shimon Peres on Saturday granted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu another two weeks to form a governing coalition, after Netanyahu failed to build a broad coalition including ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties. Netanyahu told Peres that he has yet to build a coalition because the nationalist Jewish Home and centrist Yesh Atid parties have refused to join his coalition if it includes the ultra-Orthodox. If Netanyahu fails to reach a government in two weeks, political newcomer Yair Lapid, who heads Israel’s second largest party, could be offered the chance to form the coalition, or new elections could be held.
Muslim royal clan asked to surrender
MANILA — The Philippine president on Saturday urged members of a Muslim royal clan from the southern Philippines who occupied a village in eastern Malaysia three weeks ago to surrender, one day after a shootout left 14 people dead. About 200 clan members landed in the village of Lahad Datu in Sabah state Feb. 9 to claim the territory, citing ownership papers from the late 1800s. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III said they should leave immediately or face prosecution at home but the appeals were ignored.