Cape Times (South Africa)
April 24, 2009 Friday
e2 Edition

Turkey and Armenia to normalise ties

Turkey and Armenia have agreed on a framework to normalise ties after
nearly a century of hostility, a move that could stabilise the
volatile, oil-rich Caucasus, but may affect European energy security
plans.

Former officers jailed for war crimes in Serbia

Serbia’s war crimes court sentenced four former policemen yesterday to
prison terms ranging from 13 to 20 years for killing 50 Kosovo
Albanians found buried with hundreds of others in a mass grave near
Belgrade.

Pakistani paramilitary forces rushing to protect government buildings
and bridges in a Taliban-infiltrated district near the capital were
yesterday met with gunfire which killed one police officer,
authorities said.

Malaysia’s government announced yesterday that it would bar the
religious conversion of children without both parents’ consent, in a
major step to ease interfaith conflicts that have strained race
relations in this Muslim-majority country.

Negotiators from the United States and Russia will take the first
steps towards a new treaty to curb nuclear arms today.

Indonesia orders Red Cross committee to shut

Indonesia’s government ordered the International Committee of the Red
Cross to shut its office in Papua province after staff members visited
suspected rebels in jail.

A Philippine appeal court overturned the 2006 rape conviction of a US
Marine and ordered his immediate release yesterday.