| Fri, 09 May 2008 20:31:04 +0100 Schiphol baggage strike causes limited disruption A strike by around 120 baggage handlers at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport did not lead to the expected travel chaos on Friday. Around 25 percent of the handlers working for Menzies Aviation went on strike in support of a demand for a pay rise. The baggage handlers are set to continue their industrial action throughout the holiday weekend. Passengers on departing flights are likely to face the worst delays. The workers want a 3.5 percent increase but employers Menzies are sticking to their offer of 1.5 percent. There is no immediate prospect of new negotiations. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 20:15:17 +0100 Western Beirut under Hizbollah control In Lebanon, Hizbollah has taken control of western Beirut, which is home to most of the city's Muslim population. Pro-government militias in the area have laid down their arms. The government regards Hizbollah's takeover as a coup aimed at restoring Syrian influence in Lebanon. According to local hospitals, at least 16 people have died in the fighting in Beirut since Wednesday evening. Hundreds of people have fled their homes. The violence erupted after the pro-Western government declared Hizbollah's military communications network illegal. Hizbollah also used a nationwide strike against rising food and fuel prices to step up its pressure on the government. The United Nations Security Council has called on the warring factions to restore calm and resume peaceful negotiations. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says France is willing to organise a conference to prevent further escalation. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 19:27:12 +0100 World Food Programme continues aid to Myanmar The United Nations World Food Programme is sending two aid flights to Myanmar on Saturday to help the victims of Cyclone Nargis. On Friday, the WFP announced that it was suspending aid after its first shipment was confiscated by Myanmar's military regime but it has since reconsidered. Myanmar's regime continues to insist on controlling all distribution of food aid to the people. The UN is doing everything it can to persuade them otherwise. The United States is sending its own aid flight on Monday. It has been given permission to land but the Myanmar authorities are still denying entry to US aid workers awaiting a visa in Thailand. The United Nations has called on its members to donate 120 million euros to alleviate the worst of the suffering in Myanmar for the coming six months. An estimated 1.5 million people are in need of help. The military regime in Myanmar is going ahead with Saturday's referendum on a new constitution in most of the country. It has only postponed the vote for two weeks in the area worst hit by the cyclone. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 18:58:32 +0100 Fourth police chief shot in Mexican capital Another police chief has been shot dead in Mexico City. It is the fourth such killing in just over a week. Esteban Robles was shot from a passing truck by four gunmen and died on his way to hospital. He was head of a department that specialises in abduction cases and was therefore heavily involved in the fight against organised crime. On Thursday, federal police chief Edgar Millan was gunned down at his home. Two other senior police officers were also killed in recent attacks. Eighteen months ago, the Mexican government launched a large-scale offensive against the country's drug cartels. Thousands of police officers and soldiers are involved in the operation. The authorities argue that the series of police assassinations is a sign that the criminal gangs are becoming desperate. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 18:24:12 +0100 Central Africal Republic peace deal signed The government of the Central African Republic has signed a peace deal with the APRD rebel movement. The ceremony took place in the Gabonese capital Libreville in the presence of Gabon's President Bongo Ondimba. The political leader of the APRD, Jean-Jacques Demafouth, says agreement has been reached on an amnesty for the movement's fighters. The rebels will be housed in camps, disarmed and will eventually be incorporated into the army. The timetable for the disarmament process has yet to be agreed upon. The fate of former president Ange-Felix Patassé remains unclear. The government of the Central African Republic regards him as the driving force behind the APRD. In 2006 he was sentenced in absentia to 20 years' hard labour for his part in the rebel movement, after being ousted from power by the country's current leaders. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 17:41:32 +0100 Nine arrested in anti-Mafia sweep The Italian police arrested nine people in a large-scale anti-Mafia operation in the south of the country on Friday. Eight of the arrests were made in the province of Calabria. A ninth suspect was detained in the northern city of Udine. They include the wife and sister of Francesco Vottari, the head of a prominent Mafia family. Last year a feud between the Vottari clan and a rival family led to the killing of six Italians in the German city of Duisburg. According to the police, none of Friday's arrests are in connection with the Duisburg killings. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 17:31:27 +0100 Bombing kills 11 in Sri Lanka In Sri Lanka, 11 people have been killed in a bomb attack on a bar in the eastern city of Ampara. Ampara is one of the locations where residents are due to go to the polls on Saturday to vote in provincial elections, for the first time in 20 years. The authorities are blaming the bombing on the Tamil Tiger rebel movement. Fighting between government forces and the Tamil Tigers continued unabated on Friday. The army says it killed around 50 members of the Tamil Tigers in a ground offensive in the north of the country and sustained three casualties. The rebels say they only lost two fighters and killed thirty government soldiers. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 14:26:14 +0100 Mbeki discusses election crisis with Mugabe In Harare, South African President Thabo Mbeki met with President Robert Mugabe on Friday to discuss the political crisis in Zimbabwe following the recent presidential elections. No details of the talks were released. Mr Mbeki did not meet any representatives of Zimbabwe's opposition, who are still engaged in a bitter power struggle with Mr Mugabe's government. According to Zimbabwe's Association of Doctor's for Human Rights, an increasing number of opposition supporters are being intimidated and assaulted by members of Mr Mugabe's camp. The organisation describes the 900 incidents reported in the past two weeks as being only the tip of the iceberg. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions reports that two of its leaders have been arrested for inciting anti-government protests. One week ago, Zimbabwe's electoral committee announced that a second round of voting would have to be held in the presidential elections but no date has yet been set. The opposition Movement for Democratic Change is objecting to a second round, arguing that a fair vote is impossible in the current climate of violence. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 13:04:03 +0100 Olmert questioned on corruption charges Police in Israel have questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in connection with corruption allegations. The allegations concern funds given to Mr Olmert by a US businessman to help finance his election campaigns. Mr Olmert acknowledges that he accepted the money but denies any wrongdoing. Opposition MPs are calling for his resignation pending the inquiries, but Mr Olmert says he will only stand down if official charges are brought against him. Palestinian negotiator Eytan Caheb has expressed concern that the case could have an impact on the Middle East peace process. If early elections are called, he is worried that talks between Israel and the Palestinians will be put on hold. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 12:42:53 +0100 Bolivia's Morales facing recall vote Bolivian President Evo Morales says he is ready to face a confidence referendum. A majority of Bolivia's Congress endorsed the recall vote, which will take place within 90 days. The move comes just days after voters in the country's richest region, Santa Cruz, voted in favour of greater autonomy from the president's left-wing government. Mr Morales has invited the governors pressing for more autonomy to hold talks. The governors say they will not meet with the president until their regions also hold autonomy referendums. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 12:32:22 +0100 Dutch report highlights pro-EU sentiment A report drawn up by two Dutch government agencies has found overwhelming support for European Union membership. Only eight percent of the population rejects the EU. The report has been compiled by the Dutch statistics office and the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. The study finds that many of those who oppose the EU are dissatisfied with domestic politics. Many of them include people who during the last elections voted for populist parties, such as the far-right Party for Freedom led by Geert Wilders. The report also concludes that people easily change their minds about the EU. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 12:12:37 +0100 Australia to resume Egypt cattle exports Australia is going to resume live cattle exports to Egypt two years after halting them over cruelty concerns. Shipments were stopped after images of animals having their eyes poked out and tendons slashed by Egyptian workers were aired on Australian television in 2006. Agriculture Minister Tony Burke says conditions have since improved. Australian cattle will now be slaughtered at a new abattoir near Cairo in accordance with international standards for animal welfare. Animal rights groups have criticised the resumption of the exports, saying there are insufficient safeguards to protect the animals. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 11:37:54 +0100 Australia probes Afghan detainees abuse The Australian military has launched an inquiry into allegations that its troops mistreated four suspected insurgents in Afghanistan after a special forces soldier was killed there. The defence ministry says it is taking the claims very seriously but would not release any further details. Australia has some 1,000 troops stationed in Afghanistan, most of them in the southern province of Uruzgan. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 11:27:39 +0100 Nuclear missiles paraded across Moscow The Russian government has paraded nuclear missiles and tanks through Moscow for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The display was part of the annual Victory Day parade celebrating the country's victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Thousands of troops marched across Red Square as bombers and fighter jets flew overhead. The parade was reviewed by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who were sworn in earlier this week. The tanks and heavy weaponry caused an estimated 40 million euros of damage to the city's streets and buildings. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 11:06:19 +0100 US marine jailed for abusing Japanese woman A US military court has sentenced a marine to a two-year prison term and a dishonourable discharge for sexual misconduct with a Japanese woman. He was cleared of charges of gang rape for lack of evidence. Three other marines are still awaiting sentencing. The case in Hiroshima is the latest in a series of alleged crimes by US troops stationed in Japan that have caused an outcry among the Japanese. |