WORLD BRIEFS

CAMBODIA: Vote irregularities charged

The United States added to calls by the opposition for an investigation into reports of election irregularities, a day after Prime Minister Hun Sen's party declared victory to extend his 28-year rule. "We call for a transparent and full investigation of all credible reports of irregularities," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in Washington. The Cambodian People's Party claimed victory in Sunday's election with 55 percent of seats in the 123-member parliament, a drop from 73 percent. Opposition leader Sam Rainsy called for an investigation of the voting by members of the UN and other foreign countries.

ZIMBABWE: Mugabe bids to extend rule

Robert Mugabe's 33-year rule hung in the balance as voters cast ballots Tuesday in presidential and parliamentary elections. The election will end a power-sharing agreement arranged in 2009 by the 15-nation Southern African Development Community after a disputed election the year before. The accord left Mugabe, 89, the leader since independence from the U.K. in 1980, as president and Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, as prime minister.

PAKISTAN: Next president is elected

Lawmakers elected a textiles magnate Tuesday to be the next president, only hours after Taliban militants orchestrated a mass prison break in the northwest, freeing hundreds of inmates. The attack highlighted one of the major challenges that Mamnoon Hussain will face once he takes over the largely ceremonial post of president.

IRAQ: We did it, al-Qaida says

Al-Qaida's branch in Iraq claimed responsibility Tuesday for a wave of bombings across the country, as shootings and explosions killed 12 more people. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took credit on a website used by Sunni extremists for attacks Monday that killed 58 people. The claim could not be independently verified, but its style was consistent with earlier al-Qaida statements.