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World briefs: Bomb kills 35 at Iraq funeral
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BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A crowded tent full of Turkmen funeral mourners in northern Iraq was transformed into a mass killing ground Wednesday by a suicide bombing that left at least 35 people dead and 117 wounded, regional officials and tribal leaders said, calling it a genocidal attack meant to further stoke the already-inflamed sectarian tensions in the country.
Both the dead and wounded victims included a number of high-ranking regional dignitaries, military officers, professors and religious men among the Turkmen population of the Tuz Khurmato district in Salehedden province, an area in the Kurdish north also claimed by Arabs and Turkmens.
Tuz Khurmato, south of Kirkuk in an oil-rich area, was the flashpoint two months ago for a sectarian-tinged confrontation over disputed territory between forces loyal to the Iraqi government in Baghdad and the Kurdish regional government, which has its own armed forces.
Jordanians go to the polls
AMMAN, Jordan -- In contrast to historic polls held across the region, celebrations were few and far between in Jordan on Wednesday, as citizens turned out to elect what is widely expected to be a tribe-dominated loyalist parliament.
By 6 p.m. in the capital, Amman, about 50 percent of Jordan's 2.2 million eligible voters had cast their ballots.
same tribal and pro-government figures who have dominated previous, corruption-riddled parliaments.
Morocco to alter rape laws
Because of a boycott by the Muslim Brotherhood -- Jordan's largest opposition group -- and a complex electoral system favoring government loyalists, voters say they were forced to choose among the
RABAT, Morocco -- Nearly a year after Morocco was shocked by the suicide of a 16-year-old girl who was forced to marry her alleged rapist, the government has announced plans to change the penal code to outlaw the traditional practice.
Women's rights activists on Tuesday welcomed Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid's announcement, but said it was only a first step in reforming a penal code that doesn't do enough to stop violence against women in this North African kingdom.
A paragraph in Article 475 of the penal code allows those convicted of "corruption" or "kidnapping" of a minor to go free if they marry their victim, and the practice was encouraged by judges to spare family shame.
Prosecutor's death probed
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's top judge Wednesday ordered a judicial investigation into the death of a state prosecutor who had been building corruption charges against the prime minister.
The prosecutor, Kamran Faisal, was found dead Friday at his government lodgings in Islamabad, hanging from the ceiling.
Mr. Faisal had been one of several prosecutors investigating accusations that Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had taken kickbacks during his tenure as minister for water and power between 2008 and 2011.
Thai editor jailed
BANGKOK -- A Thai magazine editor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for allowing the publication of two articles that a court said defamed King Bhumibol Adulyadej, prompting criticism from the European Union and human rights groups.
The editor, Somyot Pruksakasemsuk, is the third person convicted in the past month for insulting the royal family as calls grow within Thailand to change laws used to shield the monarchy from criticism.
First Published January 24, 2013 12:00 am
