A round-up of other world stories in brief...
Netanyahu invites Labor to join coalition
JERUSALEM – Israeli prime minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu invited the centre-left Labor Party to join his coalition yesterday in an apparent bid to soften an emerging hardline cabinet.
Labor Party chairman Ehud Barak said in a statement that the party should “seriously consider” the offer. But Labor’s secretary general, Eitan Cabel, said most members would probably oppose joining a coalition that included far-right parties who have opposed US-sponsored talks with Palestinians for a two-state solution. – (Reuters)
Turkey to publish Koran in Kurdish
ANKARA – Islam’s holy book, the Koran, is to be translated into Kurdish as part of Turkey’s efforts to boost the rights of Kurds and meet EU political standards, the state-run religious authority said yesterday.
Turkey has some 12 million to 14 million Kurds out of a population of 70 million, but public use of the Kurdish language is still banned in certain areas, including political speeches and official correspondence.
Under reforms aimed at gaining EU membership, Ankara has been expanding the rights of the Kurdish minority. – (Reuters)
BMW boardroom pay cut by 40%
MUNICH – BMW is slashing boardroom pay by 40 per cent, executive pay by one-third and employee wages and salaries by 10 per cent in an effort to preserve cash and retain its independence in the savage car-market downturn.
“I am convinced that our employees understand the difficulty of the current situation and are willing to accept this hardship,” said BMW chief executive Norbert Reithofer. – (Guardian service)
Kuwait dissolves parliament
KUWAIT – Kuwait’s ruler dissolved the Gulf Arab state’s parliament yesterday, calling for elections within two months to end a long- running political crisis, a move that could speed up approval of a $5 billion (€3.7 billion) stimulus package.
The second dissolution of parliament in a year could allow the government to pass an economic rescue plan by decree before the elections, but a row with the assembly might flare up again as Islamists are expected to dominate again. – (Reuters)
Gates names new Nato commander
WASHINGTON – US defence secretary Robert Gates yesterday chose navy admiral James Stavridis to be Nato’s top commander as the alliance prepares to step up its efforts in the Afghan war.
Dr Gates also recommended that admiral Robert Willard, head of the US Pacific fleet, run the headquarters for US military operations for Asia and the Pacific. – (Reuters)
German man kills wife and child
BERLIN – A man in northern Germany shot and killed his wife and one of his children before turning the gun on himself.
“He shot his wife dead and he shot several children – unfortunately one of them died. He himself is also dead,” a German police spokesman said yesterday.
It appeared the man shot himself, he added.
The incident comes a week after a German teenager killed 12 students and teachers at his former school and three other people before shooting himself. – (Reuters)