Around the World

Monday, October 6, 2008

THAILAND

Opposition Governor Of Bangkok Reelected

Apirak Kosayodhin, the leader of Thailand's opposition Democrat Party, won reelection Sunday as governor of Bangkok, defeating the ruling party candidate as well as a onetime sex tycoon, exit polls showed.

The country's two most reliable polls showed Apirak leading by a large margin over Prapas Chongsanguan of the ruling People's Power Party and Chuwit Kamolvisit, the former owner of a string of massage parlors who last week punched out a TV news anchor for asking confrontational questions.

If official results confirm the exit polls, Apirak, a former cellphone company executive, will serve another four years as governor, or mayor, of Bangkok. Those results were expected Monday.

SOMALIA

Insurgents Demand Weapons From Ship

Islamist insurgents have demanded some of the weapons aboard a hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks, but the pirates holding the ship have refused, an official in Mogadishu said Sunday.

Gunmen from the Islamist al-Shabaab group, which opposes Somalia's weak interim government, have also received a 5 percent cut of the $1.5 million paid for a Spanish ship released several months ago, a resident said.

About two weeks ago, heavily armed pirates captured the MV Faina near Hobyo in central Somalia and are demanding a $20 million ransom.

Several U.S. Navy ships are watching it to ensure that no weapons are unloaded.

Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed on and were fueling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government.

* * *

Indian Maoists Claim Murder

Maoist rebels told an Indian television news channel that they murdered a hard-line Hindu leader in August. Right-wing Hindu groups had blamed Christians for the Aug. 24 killing of Laxmanananda Saraswati in the eastern state of Orissa, which triggered violence between Hindus and Christians that left dozens dead. The Communist Party of India (Maoist) could not immediately be reached to confirm the reported comments. A leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council, the umbrella organization of Hindu nationalist groups, dismissed the assertion of responsibility.

Russia Dismantles Georgia Posts

Russian troops began dismantling positions in so-called security zones inside Georgia that they have occupied since August, a Georgian Interior Ministry official said. Russia faces a Friday deadline for pulling back its troops under the terms of a deal brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on behalf of the European Union.

French Minister in 'Ot Water

A dropped "H" landed France's English-speaking foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, in trouble after he was mistakenly quoted as saying that Israel could gobble up Iran if it wanted to. Asked by Israel's Haaretz newspaper about the possibility of Tehran gaining a nuclear weapon, Kouchner was quoted as saying, "I honestly don't believe that it will give any immunity to Iran . . . because you will eat them before." The French Foreign Ministry issued a brief statement later, saying that Kouchner had said "hit," as in a preemptive strike, rather than "eat."

Zimbabwe Sides Resume Talks

Zimbabwean negotiators resumed talks Sunday on deciding who would hold which posts in the Cabinet. An opposition official called the new discussions "a domestic remedy" before deciding whether it was necessary to call back mediators.

From News Services