London
Britain announced last week that it will restore full diplomatic ties with Libya and that a new ambassador will take up residence in Tripoli as early as next month. Official relations between the two countries were severed in 1984, when a British policewoman was killed by shots fired from the Libyan embassy during a London demonstration against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The rapprochement follows the payment of an undisclosed sum by the Libyan government to the woman's family.
Ajaccio
Less than an hour after an anonymous caller told a local journalist that bombs would detonate within 25 minutes at four French administrative buildings in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio, simultaneous explosions shook two of the structures, lightly injuring three people. The powerful daytime blasts could have killed hundreds, and signaled a new escalation in the decades-old Corsican independence movement. Although there was no claim of responsibility at week's end, police suspect those responsible were among five rival nationalist groups.
Usti nad Labem
Succumbing to pressure from the European Union and human rights activists within the Czech Republic, the government of the northern Bohemian city of Usti nad Labem dismantled a controversial wall that separated several dozen Roma, or Gypsy, families from their non-Roma neighbors. The authorities agreed to dismantle the wall in exchange for some $300,000 in government subsidies, part of which might be spent on resettling the non-Roma families living across the street from community apartments dominated by Roma. The wall's construction in mid-October provoked questions from foreign governments about how the Czechs treat their Roma minority and drew warnings from the E.U., which the country wants to join.
Ankara
In a ruling that marks the final stage of recourse within the national legal system, Turkey's appeals court upheld the June treason conviction of Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan. The panel ruled unanimously that Ocalan's trial had been conducted "in accordance with legal procedures," and Ocalan could now face execution if the sentence is carried out. Ocalan's lawyers have said they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, whose Democratic Left Party opposes the use of capital punishment, has promised to comply with that body's decision. No death sentence has been carried out in Turkey since 1984, and the country's retention of the penalty is one of the impediments to its bid to join the European Union.
Port Harcourt
Following an incident two weeks ago in which a dozen policemen were killed, the Nigerian government deployed nearly 2,000 soldiers in the Niger Delta to quell growing civil unrest and announced $50 million in development aid for the troubled oil-producing region. In a separate incident, Ijaw youths, angry that more of the country's profits from oil do not stay in the region, killed at least 10 soldiers guarding oil facilities. Human rights groups criticized the latest military operation as heavy-handed and accused soldiers of carrying out indiscriminate reprisal attacks. Military officials, who have denied journalists access to the area close to the fighting, said accusations that at least 43 people have been killed since the army moved in were exaggerated.
Kigali
The United Nations war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte asked the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to review its decision to release a leading genocide suspect. Three weeks ago, the ictr freed on a technicality Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time of the 1994 genocide. The move prompted Rwanda to suspend cooperation with the Tanzania based tribunal and to refuse Del Ponte a visa. Del Ponte, who wants to visit Rwanda to assess the tribunal's work and convince the government to continue cooperating with the tribunal, says "new and additional facts" in the case warrant examination.
Nazareth
Churches in the Holy Land closed for two days in protest at a decision by the Israeli government to allow the construction of a mosque beside the Basilica of the Annunciation, where Christians believe the Virgin Mary received word that she would bear the son of God. The Vatican criticized the Israeli decision, and in a strongly worded statement accused the "political authorities [of] fomenting division." The Israeli government in turn reacted angrily, condemning the Vatican statement and saying it was only trying to "lower tensions" between Christians and Muslims. The controversy has strained relations between Israel and the Vatican and may complicate preparations for the Papal visit planned for next March.
Amman
Four leaders of the militant Palestinian group Hamas were expelled from Jordan last week following their release from prison. The men were among 24 Hamas members released from custody, and were flown directly to Qatar, where the Emir has agreed to "host" them. Hamas has long used Jordan as its main base of operation outside the Palestinian territories. At the request of the Palestinian Authority, the government of the new King, Abdullah II, began to crack down on the group last August by closing its Amman offices. Many activists see the government's latest move as a threat to Jordanians of Palestinian origin, who make up more than half of the country's population. The exiled Hamas leaders, who are all Jordanian citizens, are contesting their expulsion in court.
Kuala Lumpur
Although Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling coalition was expected to be easily returned to power in this week's vote in Malaysia, last-minute campaigning turned unexpectedly contentious, with Mahathir accusing opposition candidates of receiving "shameful" foreign support. The foreign ministry summoned representatives of the American, Canadian, British and Australian governments, all of whom deny the accusation, and warned them not to interfere in the election campaign. Meanwhile, jailed ex-Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim accused the ruling National Front coalition of creating a "culture of fear," and urged ethnic Chinese and Indian voters to ignore government advertisements warning that voting for the opposition could result in riots and Islamic extremism.
Wellington
New Zealand's Labor Party surged to victory in Saturday's general election, ending the National Party's nine years in power and installing as Prime Minister the country's second consecutive female leader. Despite her risky pre-election pledge to raise taxes in order to increase social spending, Labor's Helen Clark led her party to a comfortable win over Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, whose campaign was hobbled by weak economic figures and the complication of a last-minute government scandal. Just days before voting began, Shipley dismissed Immigration Minister Tuariki John Delamere, a Maori, when it was revealed that he had authorized residency papers for Chinese migrants in exchange for their investment in Maori land or businesses. Labor is now expected to enter into a coalition government with the left-wing Alliance Party and the country's Greens.
Québec CityJust when separatist sentiment in the province of Québec seemed to be subsiding, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien started another stormy debate by saying the federal government would set new rules for any further referendums on Québec sovereignty. Chrétien wants to ensure that a referendum question is not ambiguous and that any government response to it would be based on a substantial majority vote, that is more than 50% plus one. Québec premier Lucien Bouchard warned that federal intervention would be grounds for the province to make a unilateral declaration of independence.
New York City
Although the declaration fell short of the formal campaign launch she said will take place early next year, U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton announced her intention to seek a Senate seat representing New York State. Saying she would campaign "as vigorously as possible," Clinton ended speculation that she was considering abandoning plans to run for the Senate. Her prospective candidacy has already dominated headlines in the U.S. for months, but faltered when Clinton recently came under fire from Jewish groups, who wield enormous power in New York politics, for failing to respond when Yasser Arafat's wife told her that Israel had used poisoned gas against Palestinians. Clinton said she will curtail her official duties as First Lady and will soon move to the house she and President Bill Clinton have purchased in a suburb of New York City, from where she will commute to Washington on weekends.
London
Britain announced last week that it will restore full diplomatic ties with Libya and that a new ambassador will take up residence in Tripoli as early as next month. Official relations between the two countries were severed in 1984, when a British policewoman was killed by shots fired from the Libyan embassy during a London demonstration against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. The rapprochement follows the payment of an undisclosed sum by the Libyan government to the woman's family.
Ajaccio
Less than an hour after an anonymous caller told a local journalist that bombs would detonate within 25 minutes at four French administrative buildings in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio, simultaneous explosions shook two of the structures, lightly injuring three people. The powerful daytime blasts could have killed hundreds, and signaled a new escalation in the decades-old Corsican independence movement. Although there was no claim of responsibility at week's end, police suspect those responsible were among five rival nationalist groups.
Usti nad Labem
Succumbing to pressure from the European Union and human rights activists within the Czech Republic, the government of the northern Bohemian city of Usti nad Labem dismantled a controversial wall that separated several dozen Roma, or Gypsy, families from their non-Roma neighbors. The authorities agreed to dismantle the wall in exchange for some $300,000 in government subsidies, part of which might be spent on resettling the non-Roma families living across the street from community apartments dominated by Roma. The wall's construction in mid-October provoked questions from foreign governments about how the Czechs treat their Roma minority and drew warnings from the E.U., which the country wants to join.
Ankara
In a ruling that marks the final stage of recourse within the national legal system, Turkey's appeals court upheld the June treason conviction of Kurdish guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan. The panel ruled unanimously that Ocalan's trial had been conducted "in accordance with legal procedures," and Ocalan could now face execution if the sentence is carried out. Ocalan's lawyers have said they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, whose Democratic Left Party opposes the use of capital punishment, has promised to comply with that body's decision. No death sentence has been carried out in Turkey since 1984, and the country's retention of the penalty is one of the impediments to its bid to join the European Union.
Port Harcourt
Following an incident two weeks ago in which a dozen policemen were killed, the Nigerian government deployed nearly 2,000 soldiers in the Niger Delta to quell growing civil unrest and announced $50 million in development aid for the troubled oil-producing region. In a separate incident, Ijaw youths, angry that more of the country's profits from oil do not stay in the region, killed at least 10 soldiers guarding oil facilities. Human rights groups criticized the latest military operation as heavy-handed and accused soldiers of carrying out indiscriminate reprisal attacks. Military officials, who have denied journalists access to the area close to the fighting, said accusations that at least 43 people have been killed since the army moved in were exaggerated.
Kigali
The United Nations war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte asked the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda to review its decision to release a leading genocide suspect. Three weeks ago, the ictr freed on a technicality Jean-Bosco Barayagwiza, who worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time of the 1994 genocide. The move prompted Rwanda to suspend cooperation with the Tanzania based tribunal and to refuse Del Ponte a visa. Del Ponte, who wants to visit Rwanda to assess the tribunal's work and convince the government to continue cooperating with the tribunal, says "new and additional facts" in the case warrant examination.
Nazareth
Churches in the Holy Land closed for two days in protest at a decision by the Israeli government to allow the construction of a mosque beside the Basilica of the Annunciation, where Christians believe the Virgin Mary received word that she would bear the son of God. The Vatican criticized the Israeli decision, and in a strongly worded statement accused the "political authorities [of] fomenting division." The Israeli government in turn reacted angrily, condemning the Vatican statement and saying it was only trying to "lower tensions" between Christians and Muslims. The controversy has strained relations between Israel and the Vatican and may complicate preparations for the Papal visit planned for next March.
Amman
Four leaders of the militant Palestinian group Hamas were expelled from Jordan last week following their release from prison. The men were among 24 Hamas members released from custody, and were flown directly to Qatar, where the Emir has agreed to "host" them. Hamas has long used Jordan as its main base of operation outside the Palestinian territories. At the request of the Palestinian Authority, the government of the new King, Abdullah II, began to crack down on the group last August by closing its Amman offices. Many activists see the government's latest move as a threat to Jordanians of Palestinian origin, who make up more than half of the country's population. The exiled Hamas leaders, who are all Jordanian citizens, are contesting their expulsion in court.
Kuala Lumpur
Although Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's ruling coalition was expected to be easily returned to power in this week's vote in Malaysia, last-minute campaigning turned unexpectedly contentious, with Mahathir accusing opposition candidates of receiving "shameful" foreign support. The foreign ministry summoned representatives of the American, Canadian, British and Australian governments, all of whom deny the accusation, and warned them not to interfere in the election campaign. Meanwhile, jailed ex-Deputy Premier Anwar Ibrahim accused the ruling National Front coalition of creating a "culture of fear," and urged ethnic Chinese and Indian voters to ignore government advertisements warning that voting for the opposition could result in riots and Islamic extremism.
Wellington
New Zealand's Labor Party surged to victory in Saturday's general election, ending the National Party's nine years in power and installing as Prime Minister the country's second consecutive female leader. Despite her risky pre-election pledge to raise taxes in order to increase social spending, Labor's Helen Clark led her party to a comfortable win over Prime Minister Jenny Shipley, whose campaign was hobbled by weak economic figures and the complication of a last-minute government scandal. Just days before voting began, Shipley dismissed Immigration Minister Tuariki John Delamere, a Maori, when it was revealed that he had authorized residency papers for Chinese migrants in exchange for their investment in Maori land or businesses. Labor is now expected to enter into a coalition government with the left-wing Alliance Party and the country's Greens.
Québec City
Just when separatist sentiment in the province of Quéebec seemed to be subsiding, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien started another stormy debate by saying the federal government would set new rules for any further referendums on Québec sovereignty. Chrétien wants to ensure that a referendum question is not ambiguous and that any government response to it would be based on a substantial majority vote, that is more than 50% plus one. Québec premier Lucien Bouchard warned that federal intervention would be grounds for the province to make a unilateral declaration of independence.
New York City
Although the declaration fell short of the formal campaign launch she said will take place early next year, U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton announced her intention to seek a Senate seat representing New York State. Saying she would campaign "as vigorously as possible," Clinton ended speculation that she was considering abandoning plans to run for the Senate. Her prospective candidacy has already dominated headlines in the U.S. for months, but faltered when Clinton recently came under fire from Jewish groups, who wield enormous power in New York politics, for failing to respond when Yasser Arafat's wife told her that Israel had used poisoned gas against Palestinians. Clinton said she will curtail her official duties as First Lady and will soon move to the house she and President Bill Clinton have purchased in a suburb of New York City, from where she will commute to Washington on weekends.