World briefs 3/27/06

War tribunal urges Nigeria to arrest warlord

ABUJA, Nigeria -- The international war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone urged Nigeria Sunday to arrest exiled Liberian warlord Charles Taylor immediately amid fears the former president might flee to avoid trial for crimes against humanity. Nigeria reluctantly said Saturday it was ready to hand over Taylor, sending a warning to other warmongers on the continent. Desmond De Silva, the prosecutor of Sierra Leone's war tribunal, said he had sent a message asking Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to arrest Taylor. The former Liberian leader has been in exile in the southern Nigerian city of Calabar since being forced from power under a 2003 accord that ended a rebel assault on Liberia's capital.

Arab countries pledge to reopen embassies in Iraq

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Arab countries promised Sunday to consider reopening diplomatic missions in Iraq, after criticism by Iraq's foreign minister that they are not doing enough to support his country's fragile efforts toward stable government or peace. Despite the pledge, bitterness between Iraq and other Arab states was clear ahead of an Arab League summit that begins Tuesday in the Sudanese capital. The promise, in the form of a draft statement, offered no clear timeframe for Arab countries to open full embassies in Baghdad. Arab diplomatic missions in Iraq have only had lower-level staffers, with no fully accredited ambassadors since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion -- which the Iraqi government has seen as a sign of lack of support. Numerous other countries -- including the United States -- have ambassadors in the country.

French unions vow major strike Tuesday

PARIS -- French students and unions insisted Sunday they will go ahead with a one-day national strike and more street protests unless the government withdraws a youth labor law that has sparked violent demonstrations and shut down universities. The strike Tuesday is expected to leave some air travelers stranded, disrupt train traffic and slow subway travel in Paris and the provinces. Union leaders said they would meet Wednesday to decide on the next step, and one threatened to extend the strike. The National Student Coordination, a loose grouping of university students, urged a big turnout for the strike and demanded the conservative government's resignation. The disputed new law lets companies dismiss workers under 26 without cause during their first two years on the job.

Exit polls: Pro-Russia party wins in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- A pro-Russia party won the largest chunk of votes in Ukraine's parliamentary elections Sunday, nationwide exit polls indicated, dealing a stinging rebuke to President Viktor Yushchenko's West-leaning administration. Polling stations shut after 15 hours, but voters who had waited in long lines and managed to get inside before the official closing time were allowed to cast ballots. Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Moscow opposition leader who lost to Yushchenko in the 2004 presidential election forced by the Orange Revolution street protests, declared his party the winner on Sunday. The polls gave Yanukovych's party anywhere from 27.5 percent to 33 percent, followed by Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc with about 23 percent, and Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc with between 14 and 16 percent.

German 'grand coalition' strengthens hold

BERLIN -- Chancellor Angela Merkel's left-right government strengthened its grip on German politics Sunday, with partial results showing the two parties in the ruling coalition likely to win three state elections. In the first electoral test since taking office in November, Merkel's Christian Democrats were winning in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony-Anhalt states, while the Social Democrats led in in Rhineland-Palatinate. The figures, based on exit polls and partial returns, suggested the main opposition party, the pro-business Free Democrats, could be pushed out of one or two of the three state governments. That would strengthen Merkel's majority in the upper house of parliament.

-- From wire reports