President signs peace accord
Ivory Coast’s president signed a peace accord with the country’s main rebel leader Sunday calling for a new government to hold elections by the year’s end and for the dismantling of a vast buffer zone separating the two sides.
Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and rebel leader Guillaume Soro agreed to form a new unity government within five weeks and create a new joint military command that would include rebel and army officials. They also agreed to by year’s end disarm and begin a crucial program to issue identification papers to those who lack them, a controversial issue that has prevented potential voters from registering, twice derailing presidential elections.
TALLINN, Estonia
Prime minister’s party wins vote
The party of Estonia’s prime minister, who pledged to preserve the market-friendly policies credited with the Baltic nation’s impressive growth, narrowly won parliamentary elections Sunday, official preliminary results showed.
Prime Minister Andrus Ansip’s center-right Reform Party had 27.8 percent of the votes, ahead of the left-leaning Center Party led by political veteran Edgar Savisaar, which had 26.1 percent, the Electoral Committee said, with nearly all districts counted.
An EU and NATO member since 2004, Estonia is known for its Internet technology. But the country grapples with some of the EU’s worst health problems, including high rates of alcoholism, HIV infection and traffic-related deaths.
PORT VILA, Vanuatu
Nation in state of emergency
The government of the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu declared a state of emergency today after ethnic clashes at a squatter settlement, reportedly over claims of witchcraft, left two men dead and eight others hospitalized, officials said.
Armed police arrested more than 100 people after the violence broke on Saturday at the Blacksands settlement that houses thousands of people outside the capital, Port Vila, and were maintaining a heavy presence there to prevent further violence, police spokesman Willie Ben said.
KUWAIT CITY
Cabinet resigns amid accusations
Kuwait’s Cabinet has resigned in a widely expected move that pre-empts a vote of no-confidence in the health minister, who is a member of the ruling family, officials said Sunday.
Health Minister Sheik Ahmed Abdullah Al Ahmed Al Sabah defended himself in parliament against accusations of mismanagement and incompetence, but lawmakers were unconvinced and decided he should face a confidence vote today.
The resignation cancels the vote. Had he lost, Sheik Ahmed would have had to step down, an embarrassment to the ruling family, which traditionally holds key Cabinet posts.