JORDAN COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR TOURIST MURDER

Jordan's Court of Cassation upheld the death sentence by hanging of a Jordanian blacksmith for killing a British tourist, a judicial source said. Nabil Ahmad Jaaoura, 38, shot dead Christopher Stokes and wounded six others in Amman in September 2006. He was charged with "carrying out a terrorist act that led to the death of an individual," and in December was condemned to death by a military tribunal. Officials have said that the father of five acted alone and wanted to avenge two brothers killed in an Israeli attack during the 1982 invasion of Lebanon. Under Jordanian law the sentence must also be approved by King Abdullah II.