| 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 populist voters reject EU 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 the 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. Damage caused by the display of the heavy hardware to the city's streets and buildings is estimated to cost some 40 million euros. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 11:06:19 +0100 US marine jailed for abusing Japanese woman A United States military court has given a marine a two-year prison term and an 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 that have caused outrage in Japan. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 10:57:05 +0100 Ten dead as Hizbollah seizes large parts of Beirut Hizbollah forces in Lebanon have taken control of large parts of Beirut, including all roads leading to the capital's international airport. After three days of battles with government troops, the Shiite group has also seized two pro-Western television station owned by the Sunni government leader, Saad al-Hariri. The Red Cross says at least 10 people have been killed and dozens injured. The capital's port has been closed due to the fighting. The violence 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 attacks on the government. The United Nations Security Council has called on the warring factions to restore calm and resume peaceful negotiations. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 09:54:10 +0100 Iraq's al-Qaeda leader not arrested United States military sources in Iraq have denied reports that Iraqi security forces have detained the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Iraqi security sources had previously reported they had detained Abu Ayyub al-Masri, an Egyptian national also known as Aby Hamza al-Muhajir. The confusion was apparently due to the fact that the detainee has the same name as the al-Qaeda leader. The arrest would have been a major blow for al-Qaeda and other Sunni insurgents in Iraq. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 08:30:53 +0100 Dutch cocaine smuggler arrested in Lima Police in Peru have arrested a Dutchman who was trying to smuggle eight kilos of cocaine on to a flight bound for Spain. The drugs had been hidden in bags with candy but were detected by an X-ray machine at Lima's airport. The 34-year-old man told police he had been promised 2,600 euros for the drugs delivery. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 08:14:54 +0100 Albert Heijn sees market share grow Albert Heijn, the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands, has announced strong first-quarter sales worth 2.7 billion euros, an increase of nearly 14 percent. Defying expectations, the chain saw its market share grow while Ahold, of which is part, saw its overall sales drop as a result of the weakening dollar in the United States. Ahold will release its first-quarter results next month. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 07:41:11 +0100 Myanmar poll to go ahead despite cyclone Myanmar's military rulers have urged voters to approve a new constitution despite international calls to delay Saturday's referendum due to the devastation caused by cyclone Nargis. The ballot will be postponed in the worst-hit areas, including the country's main city Yangon, which will go to the polls two weeks later. Myanmar says around 65,000 people are dead or missing. Some foreign organisations put the figure nearer 100,000. The United Nations estimates at least one million people are facing starvation or disease. Burma's junta has presented the military-backed constitution as a step towards multi-party elections in 2010. Western countries and the opposition have denounced the move as an attempt by the military junta to strengthen its hold on power. Six days after cyclone Nargis struck the country, the relief effort in the Irrawaddy delta, the worst affected part of the country, is still getting under way because the authorities are barring most foreign aid workers. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 06:53:53 +0100 Schiphol hit by baggage handlers strike Some 500 baggage handlers working for Menzies Aviation at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport in The Netherlands have begun a strike over pay. They are demanding a 3.5 percent wage increase. Menzies is not willing to offer more than a 1.5 percent raise. The stoppage, which coincides with the May vacation, is for an indefinite period and is likely to delay flights, especially those carried out by Easyjet, Arkefly and SLM. Legal action taken by Menzies to prevent the strike failed. The judge ruled that the industrial action would not cause significant damage or jeopardise security. |
| Fri, 09 May 2008 06:35:51 +0100 New cross-border crime bureau in Limburg The authorities in Limburg, the southernmost province of the Netherlands, are going to work more closely with Belgium and Germany to tackle cross-border crime more effectively. In a bid to improve co-operation, police, justice and state officials from all three countries will share a single office building in the Dutch city of Heerlen. They will be joined by a detective department of some 30 officers who will exclusively pursue cross-border crime. |
| Thu, 08 May 2008 21:40:35 +0100 The Hague aims to improve youth prisons The Dutch Ministry of Justice is setting aside an extra 285 million euros to improve the quality of youth prisons in the next six years. The money will be used to attract more behavioral scientists and to further educate prison staff, in order to put an end to aggressive behavior and violence in youth detention centers. Earlier, Deputy Minister of Justice Nebahat Albayrak promised to take action after the publication of several critical reports on the conditions in youth prisons. Researchers from different organizations agreed that all fourteen youth prisons in The Netherlands did not function properly and that the safety of the detainees and staff could not be guaranteed. |