A round-up of today's other world news in brief ...
Baghdad bomb kills at least 13 people
BAGHDAD – A bomb killed at least 13 people at a Baghdad market selling motorbikes and furniture yesterday, the latest in a series of attacks that have intensified ahead of the withdrawal of US combat troops from Iraqi cities.
One police source said as many as 19 people were killed after the bomb, planted on a motorcycle, exploded in the market in Bab al-Sheikh, a mixed but majority Shia area. Forty-five people were wounded, police said.
– (Reuters)
Martinique poll on more autonomy
FORT-DE-FRANCE – Inhabitants of the French Caribbean territory of Martinique will be offered the chance to vote on whether or not they want more autonomy from France, President Nicolas Sarkozy said yesterday.
“I am announcing to you clearly that I intend to consult the people of Martinique on the future of the institutions in their territory as the constitution authorises me to do,” he said during a visit to the French Caribbean region.
But he said there was no question of Martinique taking full independence or splitting away from France. – (Reuters)
Venice gets first woman gondolier
VENICE – Nine centuries of male monopoly on the canals of Venice came to an end yesterday when the first woman passed the gruelling test to become a trainee gondolier. Giorgia Boscolo (23), the daughter of a gondolier, got the lowest points for one of the 22 places available. – (Reuters)