A round-up of other world news in brief...
Karzai extends lead in Afghan election
KABUL– Afghan president Hamid Karzai leads his main challenger Abdullah Abdullah in partial election returns by 48.6 per cent to 31.7 per cent, with nearly three-quarters of polling stations tallied, according to figures released yesterday. Election commission member Daoud Najafi said it had annulled results from 447 of about 28,000 polling stations after investigating fraud.
The country has been in a state of political limbo since the August 20th election, with results held up by a flood of complaints from Mr Abdullah accusing the authorities of widespread fraud.
The results show Mr Karzai falling just short of the outright majority needed to avoid a second round.
However, many of the still uncounted ballots are from the south, where returns so far have shown Mr Karzai with a strong lead. – (Reuters)
Third night of unrest in Gabon
LIBREVILLE – Security forces clashed with gangs of protesters in Gabon’s oil hub Port Gentil overnight in a third day of unrest since a disputed election brought the son of the late leader Omar Bongo to power.
However, the level of violence was lower than in previous nights since the victory of Ali Ben Bongo in last Sunday’s poll triggered widespread looting and attacks on the interests of ex-colonial power France.
Ben Bongo has appealed for an end to the unrest and his ruling Gabonese Democratic Party has dropped hints that it would be prepared to work in government with rivals.
Opponents have not reacted publicly to the overtures, but ex-prime minister and rival presidential candidate Casimir Oye Mba yesterday called for political dialogue to “find a rapid and beneficial solution” to ease the unrest. – (Reuters)
Thousands protest against Chavez
CARACAS – Tens of thousands marched through Venezuela’s capital yesterday to protest at what they called growing authoritarianism by president Hugo Chavez. A few thousand of the president’s backers held a counter-rally to express support for the government’s policies.
Anti-Chavez protesters, many of them wearing white, filled the streets of Caracas, condemning recent arrests of opposition members for alleged violence during protests and a new education law that critics fear could lead to indoctrination in schools. – (PA)
Catholic support for Berlusconi slips
ROME – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s support among practising Catholics has slipped since the scandals about his private life erupted, although he still has the support of half of them, according to a poll.
Among the 40 per cent of Italians who attend church at least two or three times a month, the conservative premier’s approval rating has fallen to 50 per cent from 55 per cent in April, before the scandals hit the media, said the survey published yesterday. – (PA)
Kurdish broadcast restrictions eased
ISTANBUL – Turkey plans to further ease restrictions on Kurdish-language radio and television to allow private broadcasting, part of efforts to expand minority rights and meet EU standards, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The move is part of prime minister Tayyip Erdogan’s so-called “Kurdish opening”, an initiative to address Kurdish grievances and resolve a 25-year armed conflict with separatist guerrillas, Milliyet reported.
Draft legislation is being prepared to allow non-state broadcasters to open 24-hour national channels in “traditional languages,” primarily Kurdish, Milliyet said. – (Reuters)