WESTERN EUROPE

COURT ALLOWS MILOSEVIC TO DEFEND HIMSELF

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Appeals judges at the U.N. war crimes tribunal ruled yesterday that Slobodan Milosevic should regain the right to act as his own defense lawyer, but said he must accept a standby lawyer in case he becomes ill. The written ruling by the five-judge panel essentially reverses a decision by trial judges to impose a court-appointed lawyer on the former Yugoslav president, saying that “when he is physically capable of doing so, Milosevic will take the lead in his case.” But the ruling said an appointed lawyer must remain on standby if Mr. Milosevic’s “health problems resurface with sufficient gravity.” Mr. Milosevic is charged with more than 60 counts of atrocities, including genocide, allegedly committed during the breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s. He defended himself during the trial’s first 2 1 /2 years. But persistent health problems – he was often ill with the flu or suffered symptoms of high blood pressure – frequently brought the trial to a halt. In September, the trial judges, citing Mr. Milosevic’s deteriorating health, appointed British lawyer Steven Kay to defend him -a move Mr. Milosevic protested. Independent doctors said he was at risk of a heart attack if he continued.

– Associated Press

SOUTHERN AFRICA

BOTSWANA PRESIDENT’S PARTY WINS ELECTION

GABORONE, Botswana – President Mogae was reassured of a new term as his ruling Botswana Democratic Party swamped the opposition, keeping its 38-year lock on power in one of Africa’s most stable democracies, election officials said yesterday. With just four seats yet to be decided, the governing party had won at least 41 seats to just 12 for opposition parties in the Saturday vote, the Independent Election Commission said. In Botswana, the president is elected by the National Assembly, and the sweeping victory by the governing party means Mr. Mogae will easily win a second term. Officials said Mr. Mogae would be inaugurated today. Election commission officials have not yet released vote totals or percentages. They said the Botswana National Front took 11 seats and the Botswana Congress Party one seat. The Democratic Party has not lost an election since independence from Britain in 1966.

– Associated Press

PERSIAN GULF

FOUR PLEAD INNOCENT TO TERROR CHARGES

MANAMA, Bahrain – Four Bahrainis pleaded innocent yesterday to plotting attacks on targets in the Gulf island kingdom and to having contacts with foreign terrorist groups, then wept with joy when judges freed them from jail until their next court appearance. The four were among six suspects arrested June 22 and released a day later, then re-arrested July 14 after investigators searched their computers and allegedly found documents on making and using bombs and poisons. Two of the men were not charged and were freed in September. The remaining four, all members of Bahrain’s ultra-conservative Salafi Muslim community, were released yesterday without bail and a court hearing was set for December 6. They face charges that could bring prison terms of up to 15 years, defense lawyers said. After entering their pleas, defense lawyers requested the men be released from jail as the trial proceeds. The four-judge panel met privately for a few minutes and, on returning, the chief judge said without explanation: “You are free to go.” After a moment of stunned silence, tears of joy dampened their bearded faces and the men hugged and kissed each other. Relatives in the courtroom also cried.

– Associated Press

WEST AFRICA

U.N.: DEATH TOLL IN LIBERIA’S VIOLENCE AT 16

MONROVIA, Liberia – A surprise burst of mob violence in Liberia’s capital last week killed 16 people, the U.N. envoy in the country said yesterday while U.N. forces gathered religious and ethnic leaders for urgent talks to calm the tensions. U.N. envoy to Liberia Jacques Klein said 208 people were injured in violence that broke out Thursday. Forty-seven of those were in critical condition. Most of those killed were shot, hacked with machetes, or burned alive, Mr. Klein said. Mobs burned churches and mosques, before U.N. troops restored order by early Saturday. Combatants included Muslims of the Mandingo ethnic group and Christians of other tribes. Many of the Mandingo Muslims were ex-combatants in a 3-year civil war that ended in August 2003. The bloodletting was the worst in the capital since around the time that warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor fled into exile in Nigeria in August, opening the way for peace deals and a U.N. force. Rebels and government leaders have joined in an interim power-sharing government. Mr. Klein said authorities had made more than 250 arrests since violence erupted, by some accounts over a property dispute. U.N. troops stood guard yesterday as ethnic and religious community leaders consulted in a school auditorium. Elders agreed to set up a 10-person committee to urge youths to refrain from violence.

– Associated Press

NORTH AFRICA

EGYPT DISCOUNTS QAEDA LINK TO SINAI BOMBINGS

CAIRO, Egypt – Egypt’s interior minister said yesterday that Osama bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terror network played no role in last month’s deadly Sinai Peninsula car bombings and that those who carried out the attacks were motivated by anger over the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict. Three car bombs exploded almost simultaneously October 7 outside the Taba Hilton hotel, just yards from Egypt’s border with Israel, and two tourist camps at the coastal village of Ras Shitan, 35 miles farther south. The blasts killed 34 people, including Israelis, Egyptians, Italians, and Russians. The size, targets, and coordination of the attacks have caused many, particularly the Israelis, to speculate that foreign terrorists, possibly Al Qaeda, were responsible. But the interior minister, Habib el-Adly, instead blamed the worsening violence in the Palestinian territories and the Arab-Israeli conflict. “Investigations did not point out to any link between the executing group and any organization whether inside or outside or to cells belonging to Al Qaeda,” Mr. el-Adly told reporters.

– Associated Press