The world in brief

— QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I want to serve. I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child, to be educated.”

Malala Yousufzai, 15, who said in a video release that she would continue fighting for other Pakistani girls’ education even after she was shot in the head by Taliban militants for her efforts Article, this page

Cambodians bid longtime king farewell

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - Cambodians bade goodbye Monday with tears, chants and fireworks to former King Norodom Sihanouk, their revered “King-Father” who led them through half a century of political tumult that took them into the abyss of genocidal Khmer Rouge rule and back out again.

Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians thronged the capital for the elaborate royal cremation of the leader whose charm often overshadowed missteps that to most of his countrymen have faded away in a fog of nostalgia for a simpler time.

The elaborate funeral rites - mingling Hindu, Buddhist and animist traditions - were last seen 53 years ago with the death of his father, King Norodom Suramarit.

After sunset, Sihanouk’s son King Norodom Sihamoni and widow, Queen Mother Norodom Monineath, both weeping, ignited the funeral pyre inside a temple-like, 15-story-high crematorium. Howitzers fired salvos and fireworks lit up the sky when they exited about half-an hour later.

After the cremation, Sihamoni handed out gifts to some 400 prisoners he had earlier pardoned as part of the mourning for his father, who he said was “in heaven, near the Lord Buddha, forever.”

China hosts Burmese-rebel peace talks

BANGKOK - China hosted peace talks between Burma’s government and ethnic Kachin rebels Monday, as outside pressure grew on both sides to end the intense fighting of recent weeks.

The one-day meeting ended without a firm commitment to stop the clashes, which have left at least several hundred soldiers dead and displaced tens of thousands of civilians in northernmost Burma, near the Chinese border.

A statement released after the talks by the Kachin rebels was noncommittal but appeared to show a willingness for further negotiations.

“We discussed opening lines of communication, reducing military tensions, and inviting observers and organizations that can participate as witnesses at another meeting,” the statement said.

Previous negotiations with Kachin rebels foundered, and a cease-fire announced last month by Burma’s government never went into effect.

S. Korea: N. Korea nuke test imminent

UNITED NATIONS - South Korea’s U.N. ambassador Kim Sook said Monday that a North Korean nuclear test “seems to be imminent” and that in the event of a nuclear test, he expects the U.N. Security Council to respond with “firm and strong measures.”

North Korea announced last month that it would conduct a nuclear test to protest Security Council sanctions toughened after a satellite launch in December that the U.S.

and others say was a disguised test of banned missile technology.

South Korea joined the Security Council in January and holds the rotating presidency this month. Kim said he was speaking as South Korea’s ambassador, not as the council president.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his South Korean counterpart have agreed to make sure North Korea is punished if it carries out its threat to conduct a nuclear test, State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said Monday.

Mexico blast blamed on basement buildup

MEXICO CITY - A buildup of gas in the basement of the headquarters of the national oil company caused a blast that killed 37 people and wounded dozens last week, Mexico’s attorney general said Monday.

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said an investigation by Mexican, Spanish, U.S. and British experts found no evidence of explosives in the blast that collapsed several lower floors of the Petroleos Mexicanos administrative building Thursday afternoon.

He said they believed that an electrical fault had caused a spark that detonated the leaking gas. There was scant evidence of burn marks typical in a bomb blast, he said.

Murillo said officials had yet to discover the source of the gas, which is believed to have been methane gas that leaked from a number of ducts and tunnels that passed under or are connected to the building, built up from the sewer system.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 02/05/2013

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