Putin says big win would be boost for him
By Times Wires
Published November 14, 2007
RUSSIA
President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that a big win for the dominant pro-Kremlin party in December parliamentary elections would give him the "moral right" to maintain influence in Russia after he steps down next year. Putin's remarks on a campaign-style visit to Siberia were the clearest sign yet that he intends to retain power and keep Russia on the authoritarian, globally assertive course that he has set during eight years as president. Term limits will force him from office in May.
Weather slows cleanup of oil spill
Fierce winds Tuesday hampered crews struggling to clean up in the wake of a killer storm that sank at least 11 ships and split an oil tanker in two, spilling tons of petroleum in the waters near Port Kavkaz, a southern Russia seaport. Officials called the breakup of the tanker an environmental disaster and warned that the 560,000 gallons of spilled fuel oil, which has killed an estimated 30,000 birds, could cause long-lasting damage to marine life.
COLOMBIA
Talks with rebel chief are rejected
President Alvaro Uribe said Tuesday his armed forces will kill the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia if he emerges from the jungles to negotiate a swap of rebel-held hostages for jailed guerrillas. Uribe's comments were a clear indication that he believes attempts by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to broker a deal to free 45 rebel-held hostages, including three Americans, will fail. Last week, rebel emissary Ivan Marquez told Chavez that talks with commander Manuel Marulanda were needed to overcome obstacles to a swap.
Elsewhere
Somalia: The government shut down two private radio stations in Mogadishu on Tuesday, the latest episode in a widespread crackdown on Somali journalists. The closures came a day after the government closed one of the Somali capital's most prominent radio stations.
Iran: The government accused five Argentines of falsely implicating a group of Iranians in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, the state-run IRNA news agency said Tuesday. Argentines rejected the claim.
England: An outbreak of bird flu at a poultry farm in eastern England was confirmed Tuesday as H5N1 - the same virulent strain that has killed scores of people around the world.
Spain: Two cartoonists who in July depicted Spain's crown prince having sex with his wife were convicted Tuesday of insulting the heir to the throne and fined $4,370 each. Guillermo Torres and Manel Fontdevila, said they did not mean to offend the royal family.
Netherlands: The chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while she hid from the Nazis during World War II will be cut down Nov. 21 because it is too diseased to be saved, the city of Amsterdam said Tuesday.