A round-up of today's world news in brief
Annan takes peace maker's role in Kenya
AFRICA - The former UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, was yesterday enlisted to help broker a peace deal in Kenya following the collapse of a British-backed attempt at mediation and a row over the World Bank's role in negotiations.
John Kufuor, Ghana's president and the current African Union head, flew home from Nairobi after failing to bring President Mwai Kibaki and the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, together.
Before leaving Kenya yesterday Mr Kufuor told reporters that both parties had agreed to work together with Mr Annan and a panel of eminent Africans to end the political crisis and stop violence that has already cost 500 lives. - (Guardian service)
Renewed Cyprus peace effort urged
BELGIUM- The United Nations and the European Union must urgently throw their weight behind a resumption of stalled Cyprus peace talks after Greek Cypriot elections next month, a respected think tank said.
In its report Cyprus: reversing the drift to partition, the International Crisis Group said tackling the issue was in the interests of both Greek and Turkish Cypriots, would boost EU effectiveness and improve Turkey-EU ties. - (Reuters)
Arsonist's 1933 beheading 'illegal'
GERMANY - The death sentence passed on Dutchman Marinus van der Lubbe for torching Berlin's Reichstag in 1933 was illegal, Germany's federal prosecutor said.
Van der Lubbe, a communist activist, was found guilty of treason and arson by the Reichsgericht, Germany's highest court at the time, in December 1933 and guillotined the following month in Leipzig. The burning of the Reichstag, the location of the German parliament, was a key event in the rise to power of the Nazis, who used it to stoke fears about the threat of communism. - (Reuters)
Chinese director in drugs arrest
CHINA- Award-winning Chinese film director Zhang Yuan has been arrested after being found taking drugs at his Beijing home, official media said yesterday.
When police burst into his apartment Zhang was found taking a variety of drugs with four friends, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a Beijing Television report. - (Reuters)
Russia stubs out cigarette adverts
RUSSIA - Russians, among the world's heaviest smokers, face a ban on all cigarette advertising as part of government plans to improve national health and halt a population slide.
Russia, Europe's biggest cigarette market and the third largest globally, is a significant generator of profits for tobacco companies which have struggled to break into China, the world's biggest consumer of tobacco.- (Reuters)
Polish husband's brothel shock
POLAND- A Polish man got the shock of his life when he visited a brothel and spotted his wife among the establishment's employees.
Polish tabloid Super Express said the woman had been making some extra money while telling her husband she worked at a store in a nearby town. The couple, married for 14 years, are now divorcing, the newspaper reported.- (Reuters)
Hundreds flee as volcano spews ash
ECUADOR - Ecuador's "Throat of Fire" volcano spewed clouds of ash yesterday, forcing more than 700 villagers to leave their homes.
Tungurahua, which means "throat of fire" in native Quichua language, is a volcano 130km south of the capital Quito. - (Reuters)