Irish premier announces resignation
LONDON -- Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who made history as his country's first gay and first biracial leader, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down for reasons that he said were both personal and political.
Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. He'll be replaced as prime minister in April after a party leadership contest.
"My reasons for stepping down now are personal and political, but mainly political," Varadkar said, without elaborating. He said he plans to remain in parliament as a backbench lawmaker and has "definite" future plans.
Varadkar, 45, has had two spells as taoiseach, or prime minister -- between 2017 and 2020, and again since December 2022 as part of a job-share with Micheál Martin, head of coalition partner Fianna Fáil.
He was the country's youngest-ever leader when first elected, as well as Ireland's first openly gay prime minister. Varadkar, whose mother is Irish and father is Indian, was also Ireland's first biracial taoiseach.
He played a leading role in campaigns to legalize same-sex marriage, approved in a 2015 referendum, and to repeal a ban on abortion, which passed in a vote in 2018.
"I'm proud that we have made the country a more equal and more modern place," Varadkar said in a resignation statement in Dublin.
Varadkar was first elected to parliament in 2007, and once said he'd quit politics by the age of 50.
Pakistan forces kill 8 insurgents in attack
QUETTA, Pakistan -- Pakistani security forces Wednesday killed at least eight insurgents as they repulsed an attack by a separatist group on a sprawling government building outside the Chinese-funded Gwadar port in the volatile southwest, officials said.
Three security forces were also killed in the ensuing shootout. All the Chinese nationals working at the port in Baluchistan province were safe, the officials said.
Local police official Mohammad Mohsin said the attack began when a suicide bomber triggered his explosives-laden vehicle near a complex of the Gwadar Port Authority. That was followed by gunmen with hand grenades who attacked security forces.
"Our security forces quickly and swiftly returned fire and killed all eight of the terrorists," he said.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in separate statements praised security forces for foiling the attack, which was claimed by the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army. The BLA wants independence from the central government in Islamabad.
Haitian gangs attack once-quiet suburbs
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Armed gangs launched new attacks in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince early Wednesday, with heavy gunfire echoing across once-peaceful communities near the Haitian capital.
Associated Press journalists reported seeing at least five bodies in and around the suburbs, and gangs blocked the entrances to some areas.
People in the communities under fire called radio stations pleading for help from Haiti's national police force, which remains understaffed and outmatched by the gangs. Among the communities targeted in the pre-dawn hours were Pétion-Ville, Meyotte, Diègue and Métivier.
By Wednesday afternoon, another victim had been reported: a police officer killed in broad daylight in a Port-au-Prince neighborhood known as Delmas 72, according to the SYNAPOHA police union.
As the attacks continued, the U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that it had completed its first evacuation of American citizens from Port-au-Prince. More than 15 Americans were airlifted to neighboring Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic.
More than 30 U.S. citizens will be able to leave Port-au-Prince daily aboard the U.S. government-organized helicopter flights, the agency said.
8 killed when S. Korean tanker capsizes
TOKYO -- A South Korean chemical tanker capsized off an island in southwestern Japan on Wednesday, authorities said, killing eight people on board. One crew member survived, and the fate of two others was unknown.
Officials said the tanker was carrying 980 tons of acrylic acid, a corrosive organic compound that is used in adhesives, paints and polishes. No leak has been detected, and officials are studying what environmental protection measures may be needed in case there is a leak.
The Japan Coast Guard said it received a distress call from the chemical tanker Keoyoung Sun, saying that it was tilting while seeking refuge from the weather near Japan's Mutsure Island, about 620 miles from Tokyo in southwestern Japan.
The ship was completely capsized by the time rescuers arrived at the scene. Footage on Japan's NHK television showed the ship lying upside down, a rough sea washing over its red underside.
The ship was carrying 11 crew, of whom nine have been found, authorities said. The one crew member confirmed alive is from Indonesia, and the coast guard was still searching for two more.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, front, arrives for a statement in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (Nick Bradshaw/PA via AP)
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, center, leaves after speaking in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (Nick Bradshaw/PA via AP)
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar speaks duringt a statement in Dublin, Ireland, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (Nick Bradshaw/PA via AP)
FILE - Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar gets out of his car as he goes to meet Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Feb. 5, 2024. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, presents President Joe Biden with a bowl of Shamrocks during a St. Patrick's Day reception in the East Room of the White House, Sunday, March 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
FILE - Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar speaks at the EPP Congress in Bucharest, Romania, Thursday, March 7, 2024. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru, File)
FILE - From right, Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton former US president Bill Clinton, Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak with his wife Akshata Murty pose for photographers at the entrance to the Queen's University Belfast in Belfast, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
FILE - Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, presents President Joe Biden with a bowl of Shamrocks during a St. Patrick's Day reception in the East Room of the White House, Sunday, March 17, 2024. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough, File)
FILE - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, left, talks with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, right, during the annual pride parade in Montreal, Sunday, Aug. 20, 2017. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar says he will step down as leader of the country as soon as a successor is chosen. Varadkar announced Wednesday he is quitting immediately as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland's coalition government. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP, File)