A short look at what is happening in the world.
Kennedy still determined to lead Lib Dems
LONDON - Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy yesterday sought to halt speculation over his position with a speech in which he declared his determination to lead the party into the next general election.
At the end of a week-long annual conference in Blackpool, which has witnessed rumblings of discontent about Mr Kennedy's leadership style, he used his keynote address to spell out his personal vision of liberalism.
He reassured activists concerned that he plans to shift the party to the right, saying: "I did not enter public life with the ambition of leading yet another conservative party in British politics." - (PA)
16 months for lord for starting fire
LONDON - A British lord was sentenced to 16 months in jail yesterday for deliberately starting a blaze in a hotel and endangering lives after a boozy awards dinner in the Scottish capital, Edinburgh.
Lord Watson who represented the Labour Party in the House of Lords, also represented the party in the Scottish Parliament. He pleaded guilty to setting light to a curtain in the hotel following a Scottish Politician of the Year awards ceremony last November.
Mike Watson (56) has since resigned his seat in the Scottish parliament and his post as director of Scottish football club Dundee United. After he left court in handcuffs, the Scottish Labour Party said it had expelled him. - (Reuters)
Airport security inadequate in EU
BRUSSELS - European air security measures introduced after the terrorist attacks on the US in 2001 need tightening, a report has warned.
The European Commission's first study into the effectiveness of the EU's post-September 11th response says the rules have "considerably enhanced" security levels at European airports. However it says: "There is still room for improving the protection of European citizens further, without compromising the operators' legitimate interests . . . at European airports." - (PA)
Palm oil threatens orang-utan habitat
LONDON - Demand for palm oil is threatening the survival of the orang-utan, the conservation group Friends of the Earth will warn today. The ape lives in Malaysian and Indonesian forests that are being rapidly cleared to make way for oil-palm plantations.
A study has found that almost 90 per cent of the orang-utan's habitat in these areas has been destroyed. Palm oil is used in a wide variety of products, including lipstick, soap, bread and crisps. - (Financial Times service)
Africa bears brunt of climate change
NAIROBI - Africa contributes least to global climate change, but is bearing the brunt of the phenomenon that is expected to exacerbate food shortages in the long term, scientists have warned.
Global warming has been blamed for increased cycles of drought across Africa, where millions this year face hunger and starvation.
Yet the world's poorest continent has the lowest levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, scientists said yesterday at a conference in Nairobi. - (Reuters)
Kidnapped soccer coach is rescued
MEXICO CITY - Police freed the kidnapped coach of top Mexican soccer club Cruz Azul from a two- month hostage ordeal on Wednesday with an armed rescue operation in a rough district of Mexico City.
Ruben Omar Romano (47) was escorted by police from the house where he had been held hostage. He told reporters his kidnappers had allowed him very little contact with his family. - (Reuters)