A round-up of today's otehr world news in brief ...
Thousands flee California wildfires
SANTA BARBARA – Wind- whipped flames that incinerated dozens of homes and injured 10 firefighters raged through the central California foothills at the edge of Santa Barbara for a third day yesterday, forcing thousands of residents to flee threatened neighbourhoods.
Even as a newly-reinforced crew of 1,400 firefighters battled the blaze, which was being investigated as arson, the estimated size of the conflagration had nearly tripled to roughly 1,300 acres (525 hectares), authorities said.
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has spent recent days promoting wildfire safety throughout the state, visited the site of the first major fire of the year and said dozens of homes have been destroyed. – (Reuters)
Germany moves to ban paintball
BERLIN – The German government wants to tighten gun laws and ban paintball games in response to a school shooting in which 16 people were killed in March, coalition sources said yesterday.
Experts from Chancellor Angela Merkels conservatives and her Social Democrat (SPD) coalition partners had agreed to ban paintball games, in which players shoot at each other with pellets, the sources said.
The governing parties say games like paintball trivialise violence and risk lowering the threshold for committing violent acts, the sources said. – (Reuters)
Violence during India elections
Sporadic violence marred the fourth phase of parliamentary elections in India yesterday.
Turbulent areas of Srinagar, the capital of Indian-controlled Jammu and Kashmir, had a restless start but voting picked up as calm was restored. Tear gas was fired at one group of protesters chanting slogans against the elections, while suspected rebels threw a petrol bomb at a polling booth in the state’s capital, though no damage was caused. – (Reuters)
France warned over Dalai Lama
China yesterday warned France not to grant exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama honorary citizenship of Paris when he visits next month, saying it would only anger the Chinese people.
Last year, China pulled out of an EU summit after President Nicolas Sarkozy met the Dalai Lama. – (Reuters)
Islamists hit out at papal visit
AMMAN – Jordanian Islamist leaders yesterday condemned Pope Benedicts visit to the Middle East, saying it was provocative because he has not apologised for comments implying Islam was violent and irrational.
They said the pope, who arrives in Jordan today on the first leg of a tour including Israel and the Palestinian territories, still owed them an apology for hinting Islam was violent and irrational in a 2006 speech in Regensburg. – (Reuters)