Divided Egypt votes in first post-Mubarak poll

CAIRO, Nov 28 (agencies): Post-revolution Egypt headed to the polls Monday for a chaotic election clouded by violence and a political crisis that is intended to usher in democracy in the Arab world's most populous nation. Ten months after the end of 30 years of autocratic rule by Hosni Mubarak, ousted by popular protests in one of the seminal events of the Arab Spring, up to 40 million voters are being asked to choose a new parliament. Voting initially takes place in three stages beginning on Monday in the main cities of Cairo, Alexandria and other areas, but the drawn-out and highly complex procedure will last until March and results are due at the end of that month. The backdrop is ominous after a week of protests calling for the resignation of the interim military rulers who stepped in after Mubarak's fall. Forty-two people have been killed and more than 3,000 injured. At the Omar Makram school, in the working class central Cairo neighbourhood of Shubra, men and women queued in separate lines before the opening of polling stations at 8:00 am (0600 GMT). "It was no use to vote before. Our voices were completely irrelevant," Mona Abdel Moneim, one of several women who said they were voting for the first times in their lives, told AFP as she headed in to cast her ballot. Arab League adopts sanctions on Syria The Arab League has approved sanctions against Syria, including an asset freeze and an embargo on investments. It comes after months of unrest. The United Nations estimates about 3,500 people have died as Syria has sought to put down anti-government protests. The Arab League suspended Syria earlier this month, in a move denounced by Damascus as meddling in its affairs. 15 killed in Iraq suicide bombing attack on jail A suicide car bomber Monday detonated an explosives-packed vehicle near a prison north of Baghdad, killing 15 people, among them police and prison employees including guards, officials said. The 8:00 am (0500 GMT) attack at the main entrance of the Hout prison in Taji, about 25 kilometres (15 miles) north of Baghdad, came as family members were gathering to visit inmates, they said. An interior ministry official said 11 people were killed and 20 wounded, while a defence ministry official put the toll at 11 dead and 15 wounded. Justice ministry spokesman Haidar al-Saadi said that six of the dead were police working under the ministry who were on their way to work at the prison. The bomber "blew himself up on the highway near the prison, where family members of prisoners were gathering" before visiting inmates, Baghdad security spokesman Major General Qassim Atta said. Moderate Islamist party wins Morocco's polls A moderate Islamist party won the most seats in Morocco's early parliamentary elections, final results showed Sunday, giving it the right to lead a coalition government for the first time. The victory comes less than a month after a moderate Islamist party won Tunisia's first free election and days before their predicted surge in Egyptian polls in other polls brought on by the Arab Spring uprisings. Saudi forces withdrawn from Shiite villages Saudi security forces have withdrawn from Shiite villages in Qatif in eastern Saudi Arabia following unrest last week in which four people were killed, witnesses said Monday. The move appears aimed at reducing friction with the kingdom's minority Shiites on the first day of Ashura, a 10-day commemoration of the 7th-century killing of the highly revered Imam Hussein. Yemeni opposition leader asked to form nat'l unity govt Head of Yemen's opposition National Council Mohammed Basindwa was named as new prime minister Sunday to form a national unity government in line with a power transfer deal, the official Saba news agency reported. "Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi designated Mohamed Basindwa to form a new national unity government to replace the caretaker government of Ali Mohammed Mujawar," Saba quoted a decree issued by Hadi as saying.