World digest: Sept. 27, 2014
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Version 0 of 1. The world’s largest bloc of Islamic countries has been lobbying the Palestinians to join the International Criminal Court so it can prosecute Israeli political and military leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity, the bloc’s leader said Saturday. Iyad Madani said the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation strongly supports Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to ask the U.N. Security Council to impose a deadline for an Israeli withdrawal from Palestinian lands. In the wide-ranging interview, the OIC secretary-general described the Islamic State extremist group, which has captured wide swaths of Syria and Iraq, as “criminal” and its actions as “madness.” He derided extremist groups such as the Islamic State and Boko Haram in Nigeria that claim to represent true Islam. “These people cannot be voices of Islam. They don’t understand Islam, and just claiming the caliphate is simply a way of creating false legitimacy of their purpose. We think that ISIS should be called CSIS — the Criminal State in Iraq,” he said, using an alternative acronym for the Islamic State. — Associated Press An Egyptian court on Saturday postponed until November its ruling in the retrial of former President Hosni Mubarak, charged with complicity in the killings of protesters during the 2011 revolt that led to his ouster. Judge Mahmoud Kamel el-Rashid said the court is working to complete its “justifications” in the case, indicating that it had already reached a verdict. El-Rashid said he wants to “assure citizens and defendants” that the court had thoroughly studied the case. Mubarak, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the same charges in 2012 before a judge ordered a retrial, was the first Arab ruler to be brought to court by his own people. — Associated Press An Indian court on Saturday sentenced the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state to four years in jail in a corruption case that has lasted for nearly two decades. Jayaram Jayalalitha, one of the most popular politicians in south India, was convicted of having assets disproportionate to her income, according to television reports. She was also fined 1 billion rupees ($16.3 million). Television reports showed supporters of Jayalalitha, chief of the AIADMK party, clashing with police in Bangalore and the state capital Chennai. TV reports said she was in a hospital suffering from ill health. — Reuters Catalonia leader calls for independence referendum: The president of Spain’s powerful northeastern region of Catalonia on Saturday formally called an independence referendum, one of the most serious challenges to the Spanish state in recent years. Catalan leader Artur Mas signed the decree to call the referendum in a solemn ceremony in the regional government headquarters in Barcelona, flanked by most of the region’s political leaders who support the vote. World Yoga Day proposed: India’s prime minister is proposing an addition to the lengthy list of annual U.N. observances: World Yoga Day. In his speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extolled the therapeutic powers of yoga and said it could help tackle global problems. Modi told delegates Saturday that yoga could “bring a change in our lifestyle and create awareness in us, and it can help in fighting against climate change.” No essence of Che: Cuba has aborted plans to develop fragrances in honor of the late revolutionary hero Ernesto “Che” Guevara and former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, calling the project disrespectful of two “sacred” revolutionary symbols. The executive committee of the Council of Ministers says those responsible for promoting the fragrances will be disciplined for their “grave mistake.” — From news services |