The world in brief

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

— QUOTE OF THE DAY “The flare lit was for outdoor use only, and

the people who lit

them know that.” State police Inspector Marcelo Arigony, who is investigating a deadly nightclub blaze in Brazil Article, this page

Israel boycotts U.N. rights review

GENEVA - Israel on Tuesday became the first country to boycott a U.N.

review of its human-rights practices, shunning efforts by the United States and others to encourage its participation in a process in which all countries have hitherto taken part.

Israel did not appear at a session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on Tuesday when it was due to present a report as part of a Universal Periodic Review process under which all 193 member states submit every four years to a scrutiny of their human-rights record.

Israel’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva informally notified the Human Rights Council it did not intend to take part, triggering intense behind-the-scenes efforts to persuade Israel to reconsider and to determine the council’s response to the unprecedented situation that would arise if it did not.

Israel’s decision reflects its long-standing frustration with the council’s perceived anti-Israeli bias, diplomats said. Over half the resolutions passed by the council since it started work in 2006 have targeted Israel, which is also the only country to show up as a standing item on the council’s agenda.

Pakistani guarding vaccinators slain

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - Gunmen riding on a motorcycle shot and killed a police officer protecting polio workers during a U.N.-backed vaccination campaign in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, the police said.

The attack took place as dozens of polio workers - including several women - were going door to door to vaccinate children in Gullu Dheri village of Swabi district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said senior police officer Izhar Shah. None of the polio workers the police officer was protecting was hurt in the attack, he said.

“The polio workers were terrified and immediately went back to their homes after the attack,” Shah said.

“The anti-polio drive in that village has been suspended.”

Pakistan is one of the few remaining places where polio is still rampant.

In a separate incident in the northwest, a man using an ax wounded a polio worker.

Plane crashes in Kazakh fog; 21 die

MOSCOW - A passenger plane crashed in heavy fog outside of Kazakhstan’s largest city Tuesday, killing 21 people, Kazakh emergency officials said. The crash was the second aviation disaster in the country in a month.

The jet that crashed Tuesday was a Canadianbuilt Bombardier Challenger CRJ200 operated by SCAT, a private Kazakh airline. It was on its way to Almaty from Kokshetau, 775 miles away, and crashed near the Almaty airport as the pilot tried to land in a heavy fog. Emergency officials said there were no survivors.

Yuri Ilyin, the deputy head of the Almaty emergency department, said there were no signs that the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction.

“There was no fire,” Kazakh state news media quoted him as saying. “The plane was only destroyed on impact when it hit the ground.”

Ilyin said rescue workers recovered the plane’s flight recorder. President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan said in a statement that aid would be distributed to the families of the victims.

Front Section, Pages 7 on 01/30/2013