Briefs extra, March 14, 2013
NUUK - Greenlanders voted to oust the government, handing power to an opposition that has called for higher taxes and more oversight over mining firms and oil explorers seeking to tap the Arctic island's natural resources. The opposition Social Democrat Siumut party will now seek to form a coalition after winning 14 of the 31 seats in the Nuuk home rule parliament. The ruling socialist Inuit Ataqatigiit party got 34.4 per cent, down from 43.7 per cent, as 74 per cent of the island's 40,588 registered voters cast their ballot. Bloomberg
TUNIS - A cigarette vendor who set himself alight in a street of the capital Tunis has died from the severe burns he suffered, his act of desperation adding urgency to politicians' efforts to end Tunisia's political and economic woes. The self-immolation in 2010 of another Tunisian vendor frustrated with corruption and unemployment sparked demonstrations that led to the ousting of Tunisia's authoritarian president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. AFP
AUSTIN - George P. Bush filed paperwork to run for Texas land commissioner next year, hoping to continue his family's two-president political dynasty in one of America's most conservative states. Bush, son of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, filed the official paperwork to run for the office, which is a popular stepping stone to higher posts. Bush is the nephew of George W. Bush and grandson of George H.W. Bush. AP
NANTES, France - A Frenchman who ripped a Muslim woman's veil off her face as she strolled in a fairground was given a five-month suspended prison sentence and ordered to compensate his victim. The 30-year-old man, who admitted charges of aggravated assault, had justified the September 2012 attack at the time as an attempt to uphold a controversial law banning women from wearing niqabs in public. AFP
