A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Turkey critical of EU delays on negotiation
ISTANBUL - The European Union's refusal to negotiate with Turkey over several areas required for membership is politically motivated and has deepened Turks' frustration, the minister in charge of accession talks said.
The EU cannot keep Turkey indefinitely "waiting at the door" of membership, state minister Egemen Bagis said in a statement to mark the fifth anniversary of the date the country began formal talks on joining the bloc.
Since then, Turkey has initiated talks on 13 of 33 policy "chapters".
Talks on 17 chapters have been blocked because of Turkey's refusal to recognise Cyprus, an EU member. - (Reuters)
Brazilian voters go to the polls
BRASILIA - Brazilian voters, largely content with their country's booming economy, went to the polls yesterday and were expected to deliver a convincing victory to the pragmatic successor of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Pre-election polls indicated that Dilma Rousseff could muster just enough votes to surpass the 50 per cent level she needs to avoid a potentially draining run-off on October 31st. - (Reuters)
Mafia a path of death, says pope
PALERMO - Pope Benedict XVI said the Mafia represented "a path of death" that Sicily's young should shun but he dismayed activists who said he was too timid and should have given the crime group a moral hammering.
Benedict, making his first visit to Sicily as pope, said an open-air mass for more than 200,000 people near the Sicilian capital's port and then later addressed a rally of young people.
"Do not succumb to the temptations of the Mafia, which is a path of death, incompatible with the gospel," he said. - (Reuters)