A round-up of other world news in brief...
15 die, 50 hurt in Iranian mosque explosion
TEHRAN – An explosion has hit a mosque in the southeast Iranian city of Zahedan, killing 15 people and wounding 50, according to state news agency IRNA.
Shortly after the explosion, security forces discovered and defused a second bomb near the mosque, the semi- official FARS news agency reported.
FARS said the first explosion was a suicide bombing and said it had killed 10 people and wounded more than 25. – (Reuters)
Six Turkish soldiers killed by mine
ANKARA – A remote- controlled mine has killed six Turkish soldiers and wounded 11 in the mainly Kurdish southeast, officials said yesterday, as Turkish warplanes hit PKK rebels based in northern Iraq.
Local government officials blamed the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) for the mine blast which struck a military vehicle in Hakkari province near the Iraqi and Iranian borders late on Wednesday. – (Reuters)
Girl (3) finds gun and kills brother
CALIFORNIA – A boy of two has died after being accidentally shot by his three-year-old sister.
Police in Bakersfield, California, said the girl apparently found a .45 calibre semi-automatic handgun under her parents’ bed and accidentally shot her brother.
The wounded boy was taken to hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Police say the children’s mother was in another room in their apartment at the time of the shooting. Their father was at work. The investigation is continuing. – (AP)
Life terms sought in body parts trial
RUYIGI – Prosecutors in Burundi have asked for life sentences for three people on trial for allegedly murdering albinos to sell their body parts for use in witchcraft.
More than 50 albinos – who lack pigment in their skins, eyes and hair – have been murdered in Burundi and neighbouring Tanzania in recent months. – (Reuters)
World Court rejects Chad order
THE HAGUE – The World Court has declined to issue an order to prevent exiled former Chadian president Hissene Habre from leaving Senegal, denying a request from Belgium aimed at bringing him to trial.
Belgium charged Habre in 2005 with crimes against humanity and torture. – (Reuters)
Eton closes as pupil gets H1N1 virus
LONDON – Top British private school Eton says it will close for a week after a pupil tested positive for the H1N1 flu virus.
Eton College in Berkshire, England, where British princes William and Harry were students, said on its website yesterday that a 13-year-old boy had been diagnosed with the virus on Wednesday. – (Reuters)