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World briefs: Bomber kills 4 in courtroom
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PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A suicide bomber killed four people and injured at least 33 after rushing into a crowded courtroom in this northwest Pakistan city Monday and detonating his explosives, police and witnesses said.
The attack occurred at a time when Peshawar's main courthouse, a heavily guarded compound in one of the country's most violence-ridden cities, was bustling with lawyers and litigants.
Police said there were two attackers, both wearing suicide explosives vests and armed with handguns. One of the attackers was shot and killed by police before entering the grounds. Three civilians and a police officer were killed in the attack.
Warning from Beijing
HONG KONG -- China said Monday that the U.S. decision to strengthen anti-missile defenses in response to threats from North Korea risked deepening regional tensions, underscoring Beijing's caution on taking further pressuring the North despite its third nuclear test.
Earlier this month, China backed a U.N. Security Council resolution imposing banking, trade and travel sanctions on North Korea after it held a third nuclear test, on Feb. 12.
China's warning was in response to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's announcement Friday the Pentagon would spend $1 billion on more ballistic missile interceptors to counter the growing reach of North Korea's weapons.
New British press code
LONDON -- After months of wrangling and dispute, and centuries of rambunctious freedom, lawmakers agreed to ground rules Monday for a new press code, the most significant step toward stricter curbs on this country's scoop-driven newspapers since the phone hacking scandal convulsed Rupert Murdoch's media empire and much of British public life.
The agreement creates a system under which erring newspapers will face big fines and come up against a tougher press regulator with new powers to investigate abuses and order prominent corrections in publications that breach standards.
Deadly blast in Somalia
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Ten people died and more than 15 were wounded in a suicide bombing close to the presidential palace in Somalia's capital, officials said.
The attack targeted a vehicle carrying Somali intelligence chief Khalif Ahmed Ilig and other officials. But most of the dead were in a commuter minibus that took the brunt of the blast when it passed between the bomber's car and a government vehicle just as the bomb exploded, officials said. Mr. Ilig survived, receiving minor injuries.
Menendez sex case
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic -- Three Dominican women were paid to lie about having sex for money with Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and a close friend, police said Monday.
Police said they had found the women were paid hundreds of dollars by a local lawyer to make the false claims in videotaped interviews. The women said their statements, taped in a shopping mall in La Romana, were read from a script provided by a lawyer.
The announcement comes two weeks after Dominican authorities released an affidavit from one of the escorts saying she had been paid to appear on a video and claim that she had sex for money with Mr. Menendez.
Also in the world ...
Zimbabwean police defied a high-court ruling ordering the release of renowned human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa and continued to hold her on charges of obstructing justice, a rights group said Monday. ... Myanmar's Parliament plans to review the 2008 military-drafted constitution, a move that may allow former political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi, 67, to become president after elections in two years.
First Published March 19, 2013 12:00 am
