Good morning/evening, here is my
World Roundup for
November 14, 2003
Legend:
fr = French language
it = Italian language
ro = Romanian/Moldovan language
es = Spanish language
de = German language
pt = Portuguese language
is = Icelandic language
su = Suomi language (Finnish)
nl = Dutch language
Everything else in English language
Note: That which you can see on your evening news will not be covered here.
Akhmed Zakayev
A British Judge has refused to extradite Mr. Zakayev, a "deputy leader" of Chechnya.
In a damning indictment of the Russian criminal justice system, the judge ruled it would be "unjust and oppressive" to return him to Moscow. "With some reluctance, I have to come to the inevitable conclusion that if the [Russian] authorities are prepared to resort to torturing witnesses, there is a substantial risk that Mr Zakayev would himself be subject to torture," he said.
Further analysis here(es).
The Russian Foreign Ministry replied:
The British court's decision not to extradite Ahmed Zakayev to Russia will cause serious damage to Russian-British partnership, sources of the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The sources said on Thursday, "Such verdict can arise concern in the context of a positive development of Russian-British relations." "It's obvious that the British court pursues the policy of double standards," the sources added. They explained that British authorities called for eradicating terrorism in all its manifestations, but they harboured terrorists on their territory. Such position "runs counter the fundamentals of international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and other crimes, including an obligation to ensure the inevitability of responsibility for crimes committed by criminal groups," the sources said.
Some good news from the Dominican Republic as the strike ends(es). 7 people dead, some 60 injured and about 200 people arrested. Vice-President Milagros Ortiz Bosch stated that the government owed the people an apology: "It was a protest that revealed a real situation, for which I would like to give my repeated apologies to the Dominican people.". More analysis here(fr).
In extremely bizarre news, President Bush President Bush said yesterday that he would meet the families of British soldiers who have been killed in Iraq during next week's state visit. This is especially odd because he has not visited the families of American soldiers killed in Iraq.
Meanwhile, more fiery words from Bush's government as Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton sticks a finger in Iran's eye by stating that A report by U.N. investigators that they have found no evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program "is simply impossible to believe,". Iran responds by warning of "unpredictable consequences" if the IAEA finds it in breach of a global pact against atomic weapons.
Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee is in Russia and stated that that the were no contradictions in Indo-Russian relations and the political and economic might of one country was not viewed as a threat by the other country. Meanwhile, India and China are conducting their first ever joint military exercise. Just in case you forgot, India and China are the world's two most populous countries.
More news from the Republic of Georgia. Prime Minister Shevardnadze says he is ready to have a dialogue with opposition parties. At least that's what he told Russian ambassador Vladimir Chkhikvishvili. Don't say that name too fast! Shevardnadze's new partner, Aslan Abashidze, president of Georgia's autonomous territory of Adjaria is currently in Moscow to meet with Russian Leaders. Abashidze strongly criticised the National Movement for its latest actions, which, he warned, "are catastrophically dangerous for Georgia and capable of causing the country to fall apart."
News from Africa:
Secretary-General Kofi Annan for Western Sahara, Alvaro de Soto, is in Rabat for talks with Moroccan officials as part of his first visit to the region.
A plan for lasting peace between Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (Frente POLISARIO) formulated by the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara, James Baker, is being considered by all parties involved. They include Morocco, the Polisario Front, Algeria and Mauritania. Mr. de Soto is expected to meet subsequently with the leadership of the Polisario Front in Rabouni, with Algerian officials in Algiers and with Mauritanian officials in Nouakchott, the spokesman added.
A disaster looms as famine is set to strike The Central African Republic.
The Central African people, the majority of whom are farmers, had to eat their seed supplies before fleeing an armed rebellion from October 2002 until March 15, 2003
Starvation too in Tanzania, which just received a "whopping" 5.3 million dollars from the US. This is one third of the amount needed to keep 2 million of its citizens alive.
A new militia appears in Zimbabwe called the Zimbabwe Freedom Movement, which is now vowing to assasinate President Mugabe.
Two years since the US invasion of Afghanistan and Spiegel has a good article on the hunt for the still missing one-eyed Mullah Omar(de). Attacks against US forces, while not always deadly, still continue apace.
And finally, the one truly cheerful thing to come from Afghanistan in a while:
Miss Afghanistan
Peace
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