In the World

BRASILIA, Brazil - Dilma Rousseff was sworn in as Brazil's first female president Saturday, capping a rapid political trajectory for the career technocrat and former Marxist rebel who was imprisoned and tortured during the nation's military dictatorship.

Rousseff, 63, takes the helm of Latin America's largest nation, which has risen on the world stage under outgoing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

"I am going to consolidate the transformative work done by President Lula," Rousseff said during a 40-minute inaugural address. "He changed the way the government is run, and led the people to trust in themselves."

Silva leaves office as the nation's most popular president with an approval rating that hit 87 percent in his last week in office. Rousseff was his hand-chosen successor - and served as his chief of staff. - AP

PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A series of missile strikes killed at least 19 suspected insurgents Saturday in Pakistan's tribal borderlands, signaling that the new year would bring no respite in a relentless campaign of U.S. attacks employing unmanned aerial drones to target militant figures.

The strikes in the North Waziristan tribal agency were apparently aimed at the Haqqani network, an offshoot of the Taliban movement and one of the deadliest foes of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The group's fighters operate mainly in the eastern part of Afghanistan but seek shelter in Pakistan.

The multiple missile hits in the same area over a period of several hours, which targeted two vehicles and a compound, suggested that intelligence might have indicated the presence of a high-level commander. The compound belonged to a man affiliated with a commander named Gul Bhadur, who is a senior associate of Siraj Haqqani, the network's chieftain.

- Los Angeles Times

BUCHAREST, Romania - Romania has changed its labor laws to officially recognize witchcraft as a profession, prompting one self-described witch to threaten retaliation.

The move, which went into effect Saturday, is part of a drive to crack down on tax evasion. In addition to witches, astrologists, embalmers, valets, and driving instructors are now considered by labor law to be working real jobs, making it harder for them to avoid income tax.

A witch named Bratara told the website of a top TV station that she plans to cast a spell using black pepper and yeast to create discord in the government. - AP

Rioting inmates caused heavy damage to a low-security British prison Saturday, smashing windows and setting fires that engulfed buildings and spewed clouds of black smoke. Fires burned into the afternoon at Ford open prison near Arundel, south of London, after disturbances that broke out around midnight as inmates rebelled against attempts to force them to take breath tests on New Year's Eve.