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German Parliament to name first woman as chancellor today

By wire services
Published November 22, 2005

BERLIN - At long last, two months after one of the strangest elections in Germany's modern history, Parliament seems certain to elect Angela Merkel, the leader of the conservative Christian Democratic Party, as chancellor today, the first woman and first former East German to hold the position.

Merkel will immediately take power, name a Cabinet and actually start governing, after weeks of intense negotiations over a program to pursue a "grand coalition" with her chief rivals, the departing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats.

Panel recommends Japan change succession law

TOKYO - A government panel discussing imperial succession decided Monday to propose allowing female members of the royal family to ascend to Japan's throne.

Panelists agreed the law should be changed to give the first-born child the right to ascend regardless of gender, said committee head Hiroyuki Furukawa.

The advisory panel has been meeting since January to study the succession issue and make recommendations as a shortage of male heirs threatens to trigger a crisis unless the Imperial House Law is changed. Under the 1947 law, only males who have emperors on their father's side can inherit the crown.

Final recommendations are to be sent Thursday to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, who plans to send Parliament a bill next year.

In Monday's meeting, the panel also agreed to propose that sisters, daughters and granddaughters of an emperor be allowed to maintain their royal status when they marry commoners, Furukawa said. That recommendation came less than a week after Princess Sayako gave up her privileges to wed Tokyo bureaucrat Yoshiki Kuroda.

Spain begins huge trial on supporting terrorism

MADRID - Fifty-six people went on trial Monday on charges of raising money and engaging in other activities for the armed Basque separatist group ETA through a network of ostensibly legitimate social and political organizations.

The trial is the largest in terms of the number of defendants to go before the National Court, the Spanish tribunal that deals with affairs of state and terrorism cases. Spain, the European Union and the United States classify ETA as a terrorist organization.

The proceedings are to last up to five months.

Kenyans cast votes on proposed constitution

NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenya's proposed new constitution appeared to be losing ground in early returns today in a referendum officials said went relatively smoothly, despite minor clashes in Nairobi's largest slum and allegations of vote buying.

The draft constitution was rejected in 39 of the 68 districts whose provisional results were announced by the Electoral Commission of Kenya. There are 210 voting districts.

Pre-election violence killed seven people, leading election officials to deploy riot police to various parts of the country for the vote, including Nairobi's Kibera slum.

In a country where a third of the citizens cannot read, voters marked a banana for a yes vote and an orange for a no vote.

Both supporters and opponents of the proposed charter agree that Kenya needs a new constitution to curb decades of abuse of power by its leaders. But they have disagreed on its contents.

Critics argue it fails to curb presidential powers. Some are opposed to a provision that gives women the right to inherit land.

Supporters say the charter introduces land reforms, including banning foreigners from owning land and reducing the term for which foreigners can lease land - from 999 years to 99 years.

Banned group in Egypt fares well in elections

CAIRO - The banned Muslim Brotherhood locked up about one-quarter of the parliamentary seats open in two rounds of balloting, according to results released Monday - an unexpectedly strong sign of Egypt's increasing turn toward conservative Islam and dissatisfaction with the U.S.-allied regime.

The final outcome - after a third round next week - will almost certainly do nothing to reverse the ruling National Democratic Party's nearly quarter-century grip on power.

Despite widespread violence in Sunday's second round, the United States expressed confidence President Hosni Mubarak's government wants free and fair balloting without the intimidation and attacks.

Egyptian forces kill three Sinai bombing suspects

EL-ARISH, Egypt - Security forces Monday killed a key suspect and two other militants accused in deadly bombings of tourist resorts in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, the Interior Ministry said.

The three men were killed in a shootout when security forces raided their hideout in the Halal mountain range, the ministry said.

It identified one as Salem Khadr el-Shenoub, an architect of the July 23 attacks in Sharm el-Sheik that killed at least 64 people and the Oct. 7, 2004, bombings of a hotel in Taba and a nearby beach camp that killed more than 30.

The other two were identified as Shenoub's cousin and his brother-in-law, the statement said.

U.N. torture investigator begins China inspection

BEIJING - A top U.N. investigator on torture began a tour of China on Monday, the culmination of a decadelong effort by the world body to visit the country's detention centers to investigate allegations of human rights abuses.

Manfred Nowak, the U.N. Human Rights Commission's special investigator on torture, is to visit Tibet and the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang in the northwest, both places where the communist government is trying to crush separatist sentiment.

His office said he will meet with government officials and get a firsthand look at Chinese detention centers. He said earlier that China had not imposed any conditions on his trip.

The trip runs through Dec. 2. He is to submit his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

[Last modified November 22, 2005, 12:23:56]