NATION/WORLD BRIEFING

Father charged with killing son for being gay

Los Angeles — A Los Angeles man charged with fatally shooting his 29-yearold son for being gay had repeatedly threatened to kill him over his sexual orientation, prosecutors say.

Amir Issa, 29, was found shot to death just outside the family home on Tuesday. While the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged father Shehada Issa, 69, on Friday with murder as a hate crime in the son’s death, investigators on Saturday still were trying to determine responsibility for a second killing at the home discovered by police at the same time, that of Amir’s mother, police spokesman Officer Mike Lopez said.

The mother, 68-year-old Rabihah Issa, had been stabbed repeatedly, coroner’s Lt. David Smith said.

Shehada Issa told police he shot his son Amir in selfdefense after he discovered his wife’s body in their house.

Prosecutors gave a different motive for the son’s killing, however. “The murder was committed because of the victim’s sexual orientation and because of the defendant’s perception of that status and the victims’ association with a person and a group of that status,” prosecutors said in a statement.

12 Azerbaijani soldiers killed in fighting

Baku, Azerbaijan — Heavy fighting erupted Saturday between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan said 12 of its soldiers were killed and claimed to have inflicted heavy casualties on the Armenian forces.

The fighting was one of the worst outbreaks since the 1994 end of full-scale war over the region. Since 1994, mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh — officially part of Azerbaijan —has been under the control of local ethnic Armenian forces and the Armenian military.

Armenian forces also occupy several areas outside Nagorno-Karabakh proper. The sides are separated by a demilitarized buffer zone, but small clashes have broken out frequently.

Fire damages mall under construction

Dubai, United Arab Emirates — A fire broke out Saturday at an $825 million mall under construction near a stadium where Qatar plans to host some of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, authorities said. There were no reported injuries, though the mall said some 14,000 laborers and staff had been evacuated.

Qatar’s Interior Ministry said on Twitter that firefighters battled a blaze at a mall under construction near the Al-Rayan Sports Club on the western outskirts of Doha, the country’s capital. That’s where developers are building the Mall of Qatar, a massive shopping center under construction since 2012 that was scheduled to open later this year.

From Journal Sentinel wire reports