Zimbabwe : Tsvangirai hopes ‘honourable exit’ from Mugabe

Morgan Tsvangirai (photo, from thesun.co.uk), Zimbabwe’s opposition leader, said he hopes that after power-sharing talks, president Mugabe will make an “honourable exit”. In an interview with Britain’s Channel 4, he added that Mr Mugabe was in denial about violence in Zimbabwe.

Read Full Post »

Lisbon Treaty ratified in Italy

The European Union reform treaty has been unanimously ratified by Italy’s parliament.

After the Senate approved the Lisbon Treaty, the lower house did the same on Thursday, to the treaty that would reshape EU institutions and powers, as well as streamline decision-making within the 27-nation bloc.

Read Full Post »

Khartoum attackers to be ‘hanged’

For their part in an attack on Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, in May, that killed more than 200 people and wounded hundreds more, eight men have been sentenced to death.

Read Full Post »

Websites blocked for foreign journalists in China

While covering the Beijing Olympic Games, journalists will be accomodated in a high-tech facility (photo, from bbc.co.uk), where they will not have completely uncensored access to the internet, said Chinese and Olympic officials, as sites related to spiritual group Falun Gong would be blocked.

But journalists also found that they could not see some news of human rights websites.

Read Full Post »

Israeli prime minister to step down in two months

Ehud Olmert (photo, from rue89.com), Israeli prime minister will stand down two months from now, he announced, saying that his family is being hurt by a corruption case involving him.

Read Full Post »

Troops to patrol Italian cities

The Italian government has announced that, in order to help police fight crime, from next Monday, thousands of troops will be deployed in Italian cities. “Sensitive” sites, like train stations and embassis, will be guarded by about 2 000 troops, while another 1 000 will go on street patrols with police. Some troops will also guard migrant holding centres.

Read Full Post »

Boy killed by Israeli forces in West Bank

A Palestinian boy has been shot dead by Israeli troops, during a protest near the separation wall, in the occupied West Bank, said Palestinian medics and witnesses.

Salah Al Khawaja, a member of Ni’lin’s Committee Against the Wall, said that, on Tuesday, after being hit by a bullet fired by Israeli soldiers in the village of Ni’lin, Hammad Hossam Mussa died of his wounds while he was being transported to hospital in an ambulance, added medical sources.

Read Full Post »

World Trade talks failed

The failure of the marathon talks in Geneva has been confirmed by Pascal Lamy, the head of the World Trade Organisation. Their aim was to liberalise global trade, and China, India and the US have been blamed for the talks’ collapse, as they failed to agree on import rules.

Read Full Post »

AKP’s fate between Turkish court’s hands

As a culmination of a series of clashes between the party that has Islamist roots, and the secular elite, Turkey’s Constitutional Court is meeting in order to consider whether the governing AK Party should be banned for alleged anti-secular activities.

Read Full Post »

Egyptian film director dies at 82

Youssef Chahine (photo, from lepoint.fr), 82, Egyptian film director and one of Arab cinema’s most admired figures, has died in Cairo, four weeks after suffering a brain haemorrhage.

Read Full Post »