News in Brief

Cambodia re-elects strongman as PM
Afp, Phnom Penh

Cambodia's parliament reappointed strongman premier Hun Sen for another five-year term yesterday, extending his nearly three-decade rule as the opposition threatened to mount fresh protests over fiercely disputed elections.
The controversial move came despite recent mass public demonstrations and a boycott of parliament by Hun Sen's political rivals, who have alleged widespread fraud in the July polls.
The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) refused to take its seats for the opening session of the lower house on Monday, saying the kingdom was sliding towards "dictatorship".

Iraq violence kills 27
Afp, Baghdad

Violence in Iraq killed 27 people yesterday as the United Nations warned that an upsurge in sectarian attacks threatens to displace more civilians from their homes.
In Anbar province west of the capital, militants attacked two police stations and a local official's house killing seven police and the official's brother.
North of Baghdad, two soldiers and four militants died in clashes in the Hamreen area.  Three people were killed in the northern province of Nineveh and two in Babil province, south of Baghdad.

Delhi gang-rapists launch appeal
Afp, New Delhi

Four men condemned to death for the murder and gang-rape of an Indian student were Tuesday brought back to court as their lawyers confirmed before judges that they would appeal the sentences.
The convicts were produced before the High Court in New Delhi where a panel of two judges said they would take up the case from today, the lawyer for one of the men told AFP.

Rain chaos kills 36 in Vietnam, Cambodia
Afp, Hanoi

Heavy monsoon rains exacerbated by Typhoon Usagi have pounded parts of Vietnam and Cambodia killing at least 36 people, authorities said Tuesday, with many swept to their deaths in floods.
Despite not being directly hit by Usagi -- the world's most powerful storm this year -- parts of Southeast Asia have seen a worsening of their annual rainy season as the typhoon barrelled through the Philippines and China in recent days.

Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty in AP leak case
Afp, Washington

A former FBI agent, Donald Sachtleben, is pleading guilty to charges he leaked secrets to journalists about a failed al-Qaeda plot in a case marked by the controversial seizure of reporters' phone records, US prosecutors said Monday.
President Barack Obama's administration came under sharp criticism from lawmakers and media rights groups over its probe of the leak, after investigators confiscated phone records of reporters at the Associated Press.