A round-up of other world news in brief
Suspected teenage assassin arrested
MEXICO CITY – A 14-year-old suspected of acting as a killer for a drug cartel has been arrested by the Mexican army.
The boy said he had been working for the cartel since he was 11. The alleged young assassin, nicknamed “El Ponchis” – the Cloak, was captured at the airport near Cuernavaca with his 16-year-old sister as they tried to catch a flight to Tijuana and flee the country, an army official said.
The sister told reporters they planned to cross the border to San Diego, California, where their mother lives. The two were brought to the office of the Mexican attorney general in Cuernavaca, where the boy told reporters he had taken part in at least four decapitations. – (Reuters)
35% women ruling in Polish elections
WARSAW – At least 35 per cent of all candidates running in Polish elections must be women, according to a Bill approved by parliament yesterday that is designed to promote greater sexual equality.
Prime minister Donald Tusk, whose centre-right, pro-business Civic Platform (PO) has been in power for three years, welcomed the result, though he said he would have preferred the quota to be set at 50 per cent to allow for fully equal representation.
“There were a lot of different views even inside PO on the issue of parity. I am happy we managed to achieve at least this result,” he told reporters after the vote. – (Reuters)
15 die in bus crash on Iraqi highway
BAGHDAD – Two buses carrying mostly Iranian pilgrims collided on a highway in Iraq yesterday, killing 15 people and injuring dozens, police said.
One of the buses was travelling from the Shia holy city of Najaf towards Samarra to visit the golden domed shrine at the al-Askari mosque, while the other was headed towards Najaf from the city of Hilla, 100km (62 miles) south of Baghdad.
“A traffic accident occurred on the Hilla-Najaf highway as a result of one of the buses skidding and hitting the other,” said Maj Gen Fadhil al-Sultani, police chief of Babil province. TV footage showed one of the buses on its side. Maj Gen Sultani said 11 of the 15 killed and 22 of 45 wounded were Iranian pilgrims. – (Reuters)