A round-up of other world news in brief
De Villepin action against Sarkozy
PARIS – Lawyers for former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin, on trial over a smear scandal, filed legal action yesterday against French president Nicolas Sarkozy for describing Mr de Villepin as “guilty” in an interview.
Mr de Villepin is charged with trying to undermine Mr Sarkozy’s campaign to win the presidency in 2007 by implicating him in a corruption scandal using a forged set of documents from Luxembourg-based financial institution Clearstream. He denies any wrongdoing.
Last week in an interview broadcast on two evening news bulletins, Mr Sarkozy said examining magistrates had “decided that the guilty should be brought before a criminal court”. – (Reuters)
Japan's defeated LDP picks leader
TOKYO – Japan’s defeated Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) yesterday picked a former finance minister as its new leader, handing him the challenge of rebuilding a battered party that had ruled for most of the past 54 years.
Despite the LDP’s historic election loss last month to the Democratic Party of Japan, many voters say in polls they want the long-dominant LDP to be a healthy rival to the new ruling party.
But the fact that the new LDP chief, Sadakazu Tanigaki (64), has been in parliament for 26 years and defeated two younger rivals with the backing of the LDP old guard could make it hard to convince the public the party is ready for change. – (Reuters)
Shots fired in protests in Guinea capital
CONAKRY – Guinea’s security forces fired live ammunition into the air yesterday as hundreds of opposition supporters gathered in the country’s capital, witnesses said.
There were no immediate reports of casualties but there was a heavy security presence on the streets of the world’s biggest bauxite exporter, mired in a political crisis between its military rulers and opposition parties.
“There are lots of police and gendarmes. They are at different crossroads and one group [of gendarmes] fired into the air to try and block the road,” said one witness.
Witnesses estimated that there were 1,500 opposition supporters in the streets. Particularly heavy shooting was was heard in Miniere, a western neighbourhood of Conakry. – (Reuters)
Two men removed from flight to NY
LA – Authorities removed two men from a United Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport for suspicious behaviour yesterday, but later called the incident a false alarm.
The men, said to be from a Middle Eastern country, were taken off the flight, bound for New York’s John F Kennedy airport with a destination of Cairo, after crew members said they were behaving suspiciously. An FBI spokeswoman said concerns were raised when one of them got up to use the restroom before take-off, ignoring orders to stay in his seat. – (Reuters)
Islamist suspects arrested in Munich
MUNICH – German police have taken two suspected Islamists into custody after al-Qaeda videos last week threatened Germany with attacks after Sunday’s election.
Police in Munich said they would hold the suspects until the end of the Oktoberfest beer festival next Sunday. A spokeswoman said they were being held “as a preventative measure”. Security has been tight in Germany after the videos threatened it with a “rude awakening” if voters backed a government that supports keeping troops in Afghanistan. – (Reuters)