BAGHDAD

At least 30 killed as bomb attacks strike 10 cities

Bombs ripped through 10 Iraqi cities Thursday, killing at least 30 people and shattering a month of relative calm. Minority lawmakers decried the violence as a tragic but inevitable result of the Shiite-led government’s attempts to dominate Iraqi politics.

Despite simmering sectarian tensions, a lull in deadly attacks since mid-March led many to hope Iraq had turned a corner and away from widespread violence. That proved overly optimistic as at least 14 bombs and mortar shells exploded across 10 cities over three hours in the morning. At least 117 people were wounded, police said.

“What crime have we committed? How long will such violence continue?” wailed a woman, who would identify herself only by her nickname of Um Ali, after watching a car explode outside an apartment building in western Baghdad. “This is security in Iraq,” a man nearby muttered sarcastically as he inspected damage to his car.

Six of the bombings struck at security forces and government officials – frequent targets for insurgents. In Baghdad alone, 12 people were killed, mostly in Shiite neighborhoods.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina

Analysts say expropriations making investors wary

Argentina’s takeover of its top energy company from Spain’s Repsol might solve the country’s short-term energy needs, and it thrills Argentines who blame privatizations for their economy’s collapse a decade ago. But analysts say it sends a terrible signal to anyone wanting to invest in Argentina.

President Cristina Fernandez made Spain furious by decreeing that her government will recover YPF by expropriating Repsol’s majority stake in the company.

Fernandez, who already nationalized Argentina’s flagship airline and private pension funds, said her aim is nothing less than to recover her country’s sovereignty. She accused Repsol of provoking an energy crisis by exporting too much of Argentina’s oil.

— From news service reports