World news
Venezuela’s chief to face recall vote
Caracas, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez will face a recall referendum, the elections council said Tuesday, setting the date of Aug. 15 for the vote.
Venezuela’s opposition had compiled 2.54 million votes to demand the recall, surpassing the 2.43 million needed as set by the constitution, elections council president Francisco Carrasquero said.
It was the first formal announcement by the council that Chavez would face a recall since the officials projected a likely vote based on preliminary signature totals last week.
Chavez has since accepted that he would face a recall and launched a campaign in which he predicts he will beat his opponents in “a decisive battle.”
To recall Chavez, Venezuela’s opposition needs more than the 3.7 million votes he won during his re-election to a six-year term in 2000.
Judge rejects request to extradite Menem
Santiago, Chile For the second time in two weeks, Chile’s high court has rejected a request Tuesday to extradite former Argentine President Carlos Menem to his home country to face questioning in an alleged corruption case.
Chilean Judge Jaime Rodriguez blocked the request, ruling that Menem had not been formally charged in Argentina as required by Chilean law in extradition cases.
Argentine Judge Jorge Urso based his request on the fact that Menem had failed several times to appear for questioning in a case involving his alleged misuse of funds allocated for the construction of prisons during his 1989-99 rule.
Menem is also under investigation for failing to report a Swiss bank account to tax officials in Argentina.
Menem has been living in Chile for about 18 months with his Chilean wife, former Miss Universe Cecilia Bolocco, and their 5-month old son, Maximo.
Thief apparently thinks twice after cash theft
London A thief took more than $180,000 from an automatic teller machine, then apparently returned most of the cash a week later.
Police said Tuesday that the money was taken from the machine inside Barclays Bank in Barkingside High Street, east London, overnight on May 21-22.
On May 28, staff discovered a large garbage bag filled with bank notes inside the bank, said a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police.
He would not confirm the amount stolen but news reports said $207,000 was stolen and some $187,000 was returned.
Talks on North Korea’s arms to begin June 23
Seoul, South Korea The next round of six-nation talks on the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear weapons development is likely to occur in Beijing on June 23-26, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon said Wednesday.
Ban’s comments confirmed South Korean and Japanese news reports last week that the talks would start June 23. Ban previously said he expected the negotiations to resume by the end of the month.