The world in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Suddenly trees, houses and all things in the village were sucked into the sea and nothing was left.”

Fisherman Joni Sageru,

who survived an earthquake and the resulting tsunami that swept away his village off western Indonesia Article 1A

Israel: Iran arms in Nigeria for Gaza

LAGOS, Nigeria - Israeli officials said Thursday that the military-grade armaments seized at a shipping terminal in Nigeria came from Iran and were bound for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

The military officials would not provide evidence to support their claims, citing “security concerns.” However, the information initially appeared to conflict with claims by Nigerian customs officials that the weapons, which included 107mm artillery rockets, were to be brought into the oil-rich West African nation.

The Israeli officials spoke Thursday on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak with journalists.

Iran supports Islamic militant groups in Lebanon and Gaza that are in a state of war with Israel.

Ismail Radwan, a Hamas leader in Gaza, denied the weapons were headed to Gaza.

Agents with Nigeria’s secretive State Security Service discovered the weapons Tuesday hidden inside 13 shipping containers dropped off at Lagos’ busy Apapa Port.

Iraq prisoner-abuse probe demanded

BAGHDAD - The Iraqi prime minister’s political opponents demanded Thursday that the parliament hold a special session to investigate claims that prisoners have been tortured by his government.

Lawmakers from the Sunni-backed Iraqiya group have seized on the abuse allegations that surfaced last week in a cache of secret U.S. military documents released by online whistle-blower WikiLeaks as evidence that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is unfit to govern. Al-Maliki attacked the WikiLeaks release as an attempt to undermine him as he seeks to clinch a second term.

The parliament has been stalled while Iraqiya and al-Maliki’s Shiite-led coalition battle for the right to form a new government after inconclusive March 7 elections.

Iraqiya spokesman Haidar al-Mullah said the inquiry would focus in part on al-Maliki’s oversight of Iraqi security forces.

Iraq’s highest court has ordered lawmakers back to work.

Acting parliament Speaker Fouad Massoum, a Kurd, said he will decide whether to call lawmakers back to Baghdad after a Sunday meeting of representatives from Iraq’s major political alliances.

Hezbollah urges U.N. tribunal boycott

BEIRUT - The leader of Hezbollah called Thursday on all Lebanese to boycott the U.N. tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of a former prime minister, saying all information gathered by the team was being sent to Israel.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah spoke Thursday, a day after a crowd of women attacked two U.N. investigators and a Lebanese interpreter as they gathered evidence at a private gynecology clinic in Beirut. The women scuffled with investigators and stole several items from them.

Nasrallah did not address the violence at the clinic or whether Hezbollah had asked the crowd to gather, but he confirmed that the wives and relatives of Hezbollah commanders and officials were among the clinic’s patients.

The tribunal has not yet indicted any suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but speculation that the court could name members of Hezbollah has raised fears of violence between the heavily armed Shiite guerrilla force and Hariri’s mainly Sunni allies.

Thousands mourn Argentina’s Kirchner

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - Latin American leaders and a crowd of thousands paid homage to former President Nestor Kirchner on Thursday as his body lay in state at Argentina’s presidential palace.

The 60-year-old former leader’s death from a heart attack leaves his widow, President Cristina Fernandez, alone to carry on their political dynasty and continue the combative, populist approach that made them a successful husband-and-wife team.

The presidents of Chile, Uruguay, Bolivia and Ecuador offered condolences and stood beside Fernandez, as did legendary Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona.

Kirchner won popularity and power by pledging to turn Argentina into a more egalitarian society and was credited with guiding the nation out of a deep economic crisis.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 10/29/2010

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