Today's other stories in brief
US soldier admits Iraq rape, murders
WASHINGTON - An American soldier yesterday pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and the killing of three members of her family in a village near Baghdad in March.
Specialist James Barker also agreed to testify against three other soldiers accused of the crimes in return for a guarantee that he would not face the death penalty, say his lawyers. - (Guardian service)
One dead, injuries in attack on Israel
TEL AVIV - A woman was killed and two other people severely injured, including the bodyguard of the Israeli defence minister, as more than a dozen rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza yesterday.
The rockets were aimed at the towns of Sderot and Ashkelon and prompted calls for Israel to invade the Gaza Strip again to prevent more such attacks. - (Guardian service)
Vote curtails Islamic rape laws
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's lower house of parliament voted yesterday to put the crime of rape under the civil penal code, curtailing the scope of Islamic laws that rights groups have long criticised as unfair to women. - (Reuters)
Iran accuses Israel of bombing threat
UNITED NATIONS - Iran, whose president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has vowed to wipe Israel off the map, complained to the United Nations yesterday that the Jewish state was repeatedly threatening to bomb it.
The threats were "matters of extreme gravity" and the UN Security Council should demand that Israel "cease and desist immediately from the threat of the use of force against members of the United Nations", Iranian UN ambassador Javad Zarif said. - (Reuters)
Record $15m for Bacon painting
NEW YORK - A Francis Bacon masterpiece sold for $15 million dollars (€11.7 million) at Sotheby's last night to an anonymous buyer, setting a new auction world record for a work by the British artist. - (PA)