A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Vaclav Havel in hospital after return of illness
PRAGUE – Former Czech president Vaclav Havel (74) was taken to hospital yesterday due to a fresh bout of his chronic respiratory illness, his office said.
Mr Havel’s health suffered during years spent in jail in the 1980s while in opposition against Czech communist rulers. He has been seriously ill several times in the past two decades.
“I can confirm he was taken to the hospital,” Mr Havel’s secretary, Sabina Tancevova, said.
The former anti-communist dissident and playwright was admitted to the Prague Central Military Hospital.
Mr Havel was elected Czechoslovak president after the 1989 Velvet Revolution ended four decades of communism. After Czechoslovakia split into two countries in 1993, he became president of the Czech Republic and led the central European state for another decade, during which it joined Nato and embarked on its path to the EU.– (Reuters)
Summonses over Kenyan violence
THE HAGUE – The International Criminal Court (ICC) said yesterday it would issue summonses for six suspects in its investigation into Kenya’s post-election violence.
In December, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo named three Kenyan government ministers and a former police chief among six suspects behind the east African country’s post-election violence in 2008.
More than 1,220 people died and 350,000 were displaced in the violence, severely denting Kenya’s reputation for stability in a turbulent region.
Suspended education minister William Ruto, finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta, industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey and former police chief Mohammed Hussein Ali were among those named by the ICC prosecutor for alleged murder, deportation and persecutions. – (Reuters)
Big cuts in police pay recommended
LONDON – A review of police pay and conditions recommended a radical overhaul of the system yesterday, scrapping a range of allowances and overtime payments which could leave some officers up to £4,000 (€4,650) worse off.
The independent study by former rail regulator Tom Winsor said skilled officers working unsocial hours should get an extra £2,000, but those not on the front line, about 40 per cent of staff, could lose out.
All bonuses for chief officers and superintendents should be suspended, the review of salaries and conditions at the 43 forces in England and Wales noted.
“People should be paid for what they do and how well they do it, and the service needs modern management tools to operate with the greatest efficiency and economy in a time of considerable national financial pressure and restraint,” he said. – (Reuters)
Minister quits over conflict of interest
VILNIUS – Lithuania’s economy minister said he was resigning after an ethics watchdog said yesterday he had breached rules on conflict of interest when he handed out EU assistance.
Dainius Kreivys, seen as a close ally of prime minister Andrius Kubilius, had said earlier he would step down if there was a negative ruling from the commission.
“I have signed a resignation request for the prime minister,” he told a news conference, adding that he intended to appeal the commission’s findings in an administrative court.
The commission said Mr Kreivys (40), had broken regulations when signing an order to grant EU assistance for renovating schools to a group of companies, including one his mother had shares in. The commission said the minister had failed to disclose all necessary information in his declaration of private interests. – (Reuters)