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'Whew!' - Nice going
In Ireland's second referendum on European Union enlargement the "Yes" has won. Definitive official results showed almost 63% of voters supporting the Nice Treaty vital to let 10 new member states join the EU in 2004. The 'nos' made up some 37%. Taoiseach Bertie Ahern felt last year's apathetic rejection of Nice had been set right. He spoke of a lot of hard work from a lot of people - an excellent turnout with an emphatic result. Deputy Prime Minister Mary Harney said she believed the results were representive of the country. "I think Irish people wanted to be generous. They did not want to be the people that said no to the enlargement of the EU in 2004." EU partners and candidate countries have hailed the outcome, relieved, as it will allow the bloc to stick to its timetable. Ireland, with 3.9 million people, was the only EU member required by its own constitution to hold a referendum on Nice. A second rejection would have delayed or spoiled the EU's expansion plans. This leaves EU leaders free to take decisions at their summit just days away, over concluding negotiations with the candidates. Real IRA announces break-up
An Irish newspaper has revealed the Real IRA responsible for the 1998 Omagh bombing is breaking up due to corruption in its leadership. Imprisoned bosses of the most dangerous Irish Republican Army splinter group allegedly confirmed the news in Dublin's Sunday Independent. 29 people died and more than 200 were injured in the Omagh car bomb attack, the single worst act of violence in three decades of troubles in Northern Ireland. It came just four months after the landmark Good Friday Agreement and marked a serious setback in the province's peace process. On Monday, Britain stripped Northern Ireland's administration of its powers after an internal crisis over IRA disarmament. Real IRA announces break-up
Iraq has begun releasing political prisoners under an unprecedented amnesty issued by president Saddam Hussein to mark his 100% win in last week's referendum. It is the first time the president has pardoned political prisoners in his 23-year rule. The move to free all political prisoners and most other inmates was seen as part of Saddam's campaign to rally Iraqis behind his leadership at a time when he faces the prospect of U.S. military action to topple him. The reprieve also covers most criminal prisoners. It takes effect immediately except in the case of those sentenced or detained because of murder. Montenegrins go to the polls to elect a new parliament
The vote is expected to shape relations with Serbia, with whom Montenegro forms the Yugoslav federation. It is expected to be a close race between an independence-minded coalition led by President Milo Djukanovic and a bloc favoring closer ties with Serbia. Both groups say they want reform and integration with the rest of Europe, and back a European-brokered deal signed by Djukanovic in March to revamp the federation into a looser union, leaving most powers in the hands of the republics. But analysts say the agreement could be interpreted differently according to who wins, with a Djukanovic-led government likely to seek more independence. Opposition leader Predrag Bulatovic argues Montenegro is too small to cope alone, stressing close historic ties with Serbia. Virginia shooting linked to sniper ?
Police have not been able to confirm yet whether an incident in Virginia last night was linked to the recent sniper shootings in the Washington area. The 37-year old victim was shot outside a restaurant in the city of Ashland 150 kilometers south of the capital. He is in a critical condition. The attack bears troubling similarities with eleven other shootings since 2ndOctober, each characterized by a single shot to the head. All of the targets appear to have been selected at random. Nine of them have died. The area was virtually shut down as police stopped and searched any suspect vehicles, concentrating on white vans as described by several witnesses at previous shooting sites. Police are also running ballistic tests on a truck, which contained a bullet casing seized at a Virginia rental agency on Friday. Australians mourn Bali victims
Thousands of people have gathered in churches, parks and beaches throughout Australia to mourn the victims of the attacks. More than a hundred Australians are thought to have died in the tragedy, mostly young surfers or sportspeople celebrating the end of the winter season on the Indonesian island considered by many as Australia's playground. Prime Minister John Howard: "Let us resolve to find those who committed this foul dead and bring them to justice, but let us also embrace not only each other but all the peoples of the world in peace." Only around fifty bodies have been formally identified so far. Veterans mark the key World War Two battle, el-Alamein
It was the battle that helped turn the tide against the Nazi war machine, and sixty years on ; veterans have been marking the anniversary of el-Alamein. Many returned to the site in Egypt, where some 45,000 soldiers fell in 1942. An international service will take place today, yesterday veterans gathered at the enormous cemeteries some 150 kilometers north of Cairo for a Commonwealth service. The battle began on October 23rd 1942, when 200,000 allied troops under the command of Britain's General Montgomery fought against a German force almost half the size. El-Alamein showed that the Nazi's could be beaten, and it was the beginning of the end. The British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously wrote, "Before Alamein we never had a victory. After Alamein we never had a defeat". |
