More Int'l NEWS in brief

Gas well in Gulf of Mexico catches fire after blowout

NEW ORLEANS (AP):

An out-of-control natural gas well off the Louisiana coast has caught fire, hours after a blowout that prompted the evacuation of 44 workers.

Meanwhile, officials stressed that Tuesday's blowout wouldn't be close to as damaging as the 2010 BP oil spill, in which an oil rig, the Deepwater Horizon, exploded off the Louisiana coast, killing 11 workers and eventually spewing millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

No injuries were reported as a result of Tuesday night's fire, Eileen Angelico, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), told The Associated Press.

She said it wasn't known what caused the gas to ignite. It also wasn't clear early Wednesday how and when crews would attempt to extinguish the blaze. BSEE said earlier Tuesday that a firefighting vessel with water and foam capabilities had been dispatched to the scene.

Pakistani parties name presidential candidates

ISLAMABAD (AP):

Pakistani political parties on Wednesday nominated their candidates for the upcoming presidential election, with the ruling party's candidate seen as the front-runner, officials and analysts said.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N party nominated Mamnoon Hussain, a former governor of southern Sindh province, said Tariq Azeem, a party spokesman.

"We are confident that Mamnoon Hussain will play a positive role in solving the problems facing the country," Azeem said.

The post of president in Pakistan became largely ceremonial in 2010 when parliament passed a constitutional amendment that transferred significant power to the prime minister.

The term of the current president, Asif Ali Zardari, expires in early September.

The presidential election will be held on July 30, said a senior member of the ruling party, Raja Zafarul Haq. The election was originally scheduled to be held on August 6, but the Supreme Court accepted the ruling party's request that the date be brought forward slightly to accommodate lawmakers travelling to Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage during the first week of August.