World Scene
March 5, 2008
NORTHERN IRELAND
Paisley to quit as first minister
DUBLIN — Ian Paisley, the Protestant evangelist who leads Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration, says he is quitting as the leader of his Democratic Unionist Party.
The 81-year-old says he made the decision to leave after mounting pressure from within his party in recent weeks.
Mr. Paisley will step down in May as Northern Ireland's first minister, but he will remain a member of the British Parliament and a Northern Ireland Assembly member.
IRAQ
Chopper crash kills eight
BAGHDAD — An Iraqi military helicopter crashed in northern Iraq, killing a U.S. soldier who was on board and seven others, the U.S. military said yesterday.
The M-17 helicopter was reported missing Monday, the military said in a statement. The Iraqi Defense Ministry said the Russian-made aircraft got caught in bad weather and was found yesterday south of Beiji, about 90 miles south of Mosul.
All eight persons on board the helicopter died in the crash, the U.S. military said. One was a U.S. soldier, military spokesman Lt. Michael Street said.
KOSOVO
Donors to meet for new nation
The United States will attend an international donors conference in June to provide development and economic aid to the new nation of Kosovo, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said yesterday at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
The Bush administration, which strongly backed Kosovo's break from Serbia last month, estimates the new country will need about $2 billion over the next three years to boost its economy and establish state institutions, Mr. Fried told reporters after the hearing. About two dozen countries have now recognized Kosovo, despite fierce diplomatic pressure from Serbia.
European Union countries are expected to provide half of the aid total, with the United States, the World Bank and other international financial institutions providing the rest.
PAKISTAN
Suicide bombers hit naval college
LAHORE — Two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a naval college yesterday, killing four persons and wounding 14 in the eastern city of Lahore, officials said.
Television footage showed black smoke billowing from inside the college compound and several injured people with bloodstained clothes walking out. Two wrecked cars and a half-dozen damaged buses were visible behind the mangled metal gates.
BRITAIN
Arabic TV channel planned by BBC
LONDON — The British Broadcasting Corp. will launch an Arabic-language television news channel next week in a bid to challenge Al Jazeera and other popular Middle East TV news outlets.
The move into television news for viewers in North Africa, the Middle East and the Persian Gulf is part of a major restructuring for the British broadcaster, which closed some radio stations in Eastern Europe to divert resources to the Arabic-speaking world.
The channel will begin telecasts Tuesday with 12 hours per day of programming and will move to 24 hours of broadcasting within months. It will be provided free to viewers with access to satellite or cable news systems.
KENYA
Rival leaders meet after riots
NAIROBI — Kenya's political leaders held their first meeting yesterday since agreeing to share power last week, talking for two hours about how to move the country past postelection violence that has killed more than 1,000 people.
President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga both claim to have won Dec. 27 presidential elections. Their dispute unleashed weeks of bloodshed, exposing divisions over land and economic inequality.
It was the first meeting between Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga since they struck a political deal last week to share power, with Mr. Odinga serving as prime minister.
Yesterday, dozens of people in a western Kenya village fled their homes a day after 13 persons were burned alive or hacked to death.
THAILAND
Monks investigated for flirting on Web
BANGKOK — The Thai government said yesterday it was investigating claims that supposedly celibate Buddhist monks have been using a U.S.-based social networking Web site to flirt with women.
The controversy arose after a self-styled watchdog group — the Network of Civilians to Protect the Nation, the Religion and the King — said monks were using the social networking site Hi5 to flirt with women.
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