Kuala Lumpur, Oct 15 (AP/UNB) — Malaysian Prime Minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim said he felt "vindicated" after taking his oath as a lawmaker Monday, marking his return to active politics three years after he was imprisoned for sodomy in a charge that critics said was politically motivated.

The swearing-in ceremony in parliament followed Anwar's landslide win in a by-election Saturday in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson in which he defeated six other candidates. The seat was vacated after a lawmaker from his party quit, paving the way for Anwar's political comeback.

Anwar, 71, joins his wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail — currently Malaysia's deputy prime minister — and his eldest daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar, in parliament. He has said that his by-election victory is a "vote of confidence" in the new government.

"I have been deprived of my right from time to time and I have to go through a by-election to come back ... I feel vindicated," Anwar told reporters Monday. He reiterated support for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's leadership to ensure a stable government and pledged to focus on parliamentary reforms.

"Our parliament has in the past been considered or dubbed as a rubber stamp ... we would like to ensure a new approach where parliament is more effective," he said.

Once a high-flying member of the former ruling coalition, Anwar was convicted of homosexual sodomy and corruption after a power struggle with Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years until 2003. He was freed in 2004 but was once again convicted for sodomy in 2015, charges that he said were concocted to destroy his political career.

Angered by a massive corruption scandal at a state investment fund involving then-Prime Minister Najib Razak, Mahathir made a political comeback and formed an alliance with Anwar, with the two setting aside their bitter feud ahead of May's general election.

Following their stunning election victory, Anwar was designated as Mahathir's successor.

Anwar was freed from prison and received a royal pardon days after the polls. Mahathir, the world's oldest leader at 93, has said he expects to step down in two years and will keep his promise to hand over power to Anwar.

"Of course I am happy he is back ... we expected him to come back. We knew he was going to win," Mahathir was quoted as saying by local media on Monday.

Nairobi, Oct 14 (AP/UNB) — A suicide bomber detonated in a restaurant in the Somali town of Baidoa and another blast struck a hotel nearby, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 30 wounded, authorities said Saturday.

Most of the casualties were caused by the bomber who walked into the restaurant with explosives strapped around his waist, Col. Ahmed Muse told The Associated Press.

Many of the wounded at Baidoa's main hospital had horrific injuries, nurse Mohamed Isaq told the AP.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the blasts via its radio arm, Andalus. It said one blast targeted a hotel owned by a former Somali minister, Mohamed Aden Fargeti, one of several candidates running for the presidency of the region in November's election.

Baidoa is a key economic center about 250 kilometers (155 miles) west of the capital, Mogadishu, and about the same distance east of the Ethiopian border. Al-Shabab, which controlled Baidoa between 2009 and 2012 before being driven out by Ethiopian-backed government forces, still holds parts of southern and central Somalia.

The blasts came a day before Somalia marks the first anniversary of the deadliest attack in its history, a truck bombing that killed more than 500 people in Mogadishu.

Attention in recent days has turned to Baidoa, the interim capital of South West state, as high-level al-Shabab defector Mukhtar Robow seeks the regional presidency in November.

On Saturday he visited some of the wounded in Baidoa's main hospital, condemning the attacks and calling on people to team up in fighting the extremist group of which he once was deputy leader.

Robow is the highest-ranking official to have ever quit al-Shabab, surrendering to the Somali government last year after the United States cancelled a $5 million reward offered for his capture.

Somalia's government earlier this month said Robow was not eligible to run for the regional presidency because he is still under U.S. sanctions that were imposed against him in 2008 when he was identified as a "specially designated global terrorist."

Robow, who has yet to respond to the government's statement, has continued his campaign and remains registered on the list of candidates.

He is among several people challenging former Somali parliament speaker and incumbent regional president Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden. Among the candidates is Somalia's former intelligence chief Hussein Osman, who has just resigned.

Nairobi, Oct 13 (AP/UNB) — A suicide bomber detonated in the middle of a restaurant in the Somali town of Baidoa and a grenade struck a hotel nearby, leaving at least 11 people dead and more than 10 wounded, authorities said Saturday.

The death toll may rise, Col. Ahmed Muse told The Associated Press. Most of the casualties were caused by the bomber who walked into the restaurant with explosives strapped around his waist, officials said.

At least 10 of the wounded were being treated at Baidoa's main hospital. Most had horrific injuries, nurse Mohamed Isaq told the AP.

Baidoa is a key economic center about 250 kilometers (155 miles) west of the capital, Mogadishu, and about the same distance east of the Ethiopian border.

The al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the blasts via its radio arm, Andalus. It said one blast targeted a hotel owned by a former Somali minister, Mohamed Aden Fargeti, one of several candidates running for the presidency of the region in November's election.

Al-Shabab, which controlled Baidoa between 2009 and 2012 before being driven out by Ethiopian-backed government forces, still holds parts of southern and central Somalia.

The blasts came a day before Somalia marks the first anniversary of the deadliest attack in its history, a truck bombing that killed more than 500 people in Mogadishu.

Attention in recent days has turned to Baidoa, the interim capital of South West state, as high-level al-Shabab defector Mukhtar Robow also seeks the regional presidency.

Robow is the highest-ranking official to have ever quit al-Shabab, surrendering to the Somali government last year after the United States cancelled a $5 million reward offered for his capture.

Somalia's government earlier this month said Robow was not eligible to run for the regional post because he is still under U.S. sanctions that were imposed against him in 2008 when he was identified as a "specially designated global terrorist."

Robow, who has yet to respond to the government's statement, has continued his campaign and remains registered on the list of candidates.

He is among several people challenging former Somali parliament speaker and incumbent regional president Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden. Among the candidates is Somalia's former intelligence chief Hussein Osman, who has just resigned.

Johannesburg, Oct 12 (AP/UNB) — Former South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is recovering at home after being treated at a Cape Town hospital for more than two weeks.

The foundation named after the anti-apartheid activist and his wife, Leah, on Friday thanked people who sent messages and prayers for the Nobel laureate's "swift return to his feet."

The foundation says Tutu, who has been treated for prostate cancer for years, is regaining strength.

Tutu turned 87 years old on Oct. 7 while he was in the hospital. He was taken there for tests on Sept. 27.

Port-Au-Prince, Oct 7 (AP/UNB) — A magnitude 5.9 earthquake destroyed homes and damaged a church and at least one hospital in Haiti, where officials reported people were injured, but had not confirmed local media reports of deaths.

The U.S. Geologic Survey said the quake that hit at 8:11 p.m. Saturday (001 GMT) was centered 12 miles (19 kilometers) northwest of Port-de-Paix on Haiti's north coast. It was 7.3 miles (11.7 kilometers) below the surface.

The country's civil protection agency issued a statement saying several people were injured and some houses destroyed in Port-de-Paix, Gros Morne, Chansolme and Turtle Island. Among the structures damaged was the Saint-Michel church in Plaisance.

Other rescue workers reported the collapse of part of a hospital and an auditorium as the quake hit on a rainy evening.

The quake was felt lightly in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as well as in the neighboring Dominican Republic.

Impoverished Haiti, where many live in tenuous circumstances, is especially vulnerable to earthquakes. A vastly larger magnitude 7.1 quake damaged much of the capital in 2010 and killed an estimated 300,000 people.