WORLD BRIEFS

IRAN: 100 political prisoners freed

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the release of 100 political prisoners Saturday, including some involved in the huge protests against the disputed June 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The decision appeared timed to coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, now in its final days. The pardoned prisoners were not named. There was no indication it included two Americans sentenced last week to 8 years' jail for spying after they crossed the border from Iraq where they said they had been hiking.

NIGERIA: Battle against feared sect

President Goodluck Jonathan vowed Saturday that Nigeria will bring terrorism "under control" and confront the radical Muslim sect that claimed responsibility for a car bombing at the country's UN headquarters in Abuja, killing 19 people. Jonathan stepped through shattered glass at the damaged building as UN employees salvaged printers, computers and all they could carry to keep the mission running. The UN promised that humanitarian aid would continue to flow through the world body to Africa's most populous nation, even though the Boko Haram sect views it as a target.

SINGAPORE: New prime minister elected

Former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan won the island's presidential election in a recount with a margin of victory of about 0.3 percent. Tan defeated Tan Cheng Bock, a former lawmaker, in the recount after his margin of victory in a four-way race was less than 2 percent. Tony Tan, who served in the cabinet of all three Singapore prime ministers, takes office Sept. 1.

BRAZIL: Popular trolley derailed

A trolley that runs through a scenic Rio de Janeiro neighborhood was derailed Saturday, killing five and injuring more than 30 others. The trolley, depicted in the film "Black Orpheus," is a tourist attraction in Rio, which will host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016.