Tunisian president elected in landslide to fifth term - Summary

Tunis/Paris (Earth Times - dpa) - Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was elected to a fifth term with almost 90 per cent of the vote, the Tunisian Interior Ministry announced Monday. With all the votes counted from Sunday's election, the 73-year-old Ben Ali was credited with 89.62 per cent of the vote, the first time he has received less than 90 per cent in an election.

In 2004, Ben Ali had garnered 94.48 per cent, after receiving more than 99 per cent in the previous poll.

Two candidates viewed as friendly to the regime, Popular Unity Party (PUP) head Mohamed Bouchiha and Ahmed Inoubli of the Unionist Democratic Union (UDU), drew 5.01 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively.

Ahmed Brahim, the only candidate considered to represent a real opposition to the president, came in last with only 1.57 per cent of the vote.

Ben Ali has ruled Tunisia for 22 years, and there was never any doubt about the outcome of the vote, especially after the major opposition Progressive Democratic Party announced a poll boycott, charging that the election process was being manipulated.

The party had been blocked from competing in 17 districts after authorities ruled its applications ineligible.

In addition, another key opposition figure withdrew his candidacy just weeks before the election in protest against the conditions surrounding the election.

Unless Ben Ali amends the Constitution, as he has done once before, this will be his final term, as no one over the age of 75 is allowed to run for the office of president.

Ben Ali's Constitutional Democratic Rally Party (RDC) also did well in parliamentary elections, receiving more than 80 per cent of the votes in many electoral districts, according to the Tunisia Online News.

The RDC ended up winning 161 of the 214 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, with the remaining 53 seats to be allotted proportionally among the remaining parties.

During the campaign, Ben Ali had promised to fight unemployment and raise per-capita income by 40 per cent.

Tunisia is considered the most stable country in the Arab world. It has economic growth of about 3 per cent and, in contrast to neighboring Algeria, has not been troubled much by Islamist extremists.

Critics, however, complain of repression and human rights abuses, particularly in regard to the political opposition.

Spanish king's faithful adviser Fernandez Campo dies at age 91

Madrid - Spanish political leaders on Monday paid tribute to Sabino Fernandez Campo, a close collaborator of King Juan Carlos who died overnight at the age of 91 years. The former general secretary of the royal palace, who helped the king thwart a coup attempt in 1981, died of complications caused by stomach problems at a Madrid clinic.

Fernandez Campo served the Spanish royal family for two decades, helping to consolidate the monarchy in democratic conditions after the death of 1939-75 dictator Francisco Franco.

A former army general, Fernandez Campo served as a government official under Franco and in the years following his death.

In 1977, the law graduate became general secretary of the royal palace at a time when many Spaniards still felt distrust towards the monarchy.

Franco had picked Juan Carlos as his successor as head of state, and many Spaniards saw the king as the dictator's puppet until he gained widespread popularity by foiling a coup attempt in 1981.

Fernandez Campo played a key role in advising Juan Carlos, who gave a television address in uniform, condemning the coup and ordering the insurgent soldiers and paramilitary Civil Guard officers to go back to their barracks.

Fernandez Campo also helped to plan the education of Crown Prince Felipe, who was born in 1968 and is due to succeed his 71-year-old father.

In 1990, Fernandez Campo became palace protocol chief, a post he held until 1993, when the king made him his private adviser.

In 1992, the king gave Fernandez Campo the title of Count of Latores as an expression of his gratitude.

"Our monarchy is more modern than the English one and has adapted to the current times," Fernandez Campo once said.

Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's Socialist Party described Fernandez Campo as a "great servant of the state" while opposition conservative spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria stressed his "intelligence" and "discretion."

A funerary chapel was being opened in Madrid for the royal adviser, who was due to be buried in his native Oviedo in the north on Tuesday.

Spanish carrier Iberia cancels 200 flights due to strike

Madrid - Spain's biggest airline Iberia on Monday canceled 200 of its planned 1,000 flights because of a strike by cabin crew seeking salary hikes. The work stoppage affected especially Madrid airport, Iberia sources said.

Flights were canceled to or from Lisbon, Paris, London, Brussels, Frankfurt as well as national destinations.

Another 200 flights were expected to be canceled on Tuesday. Two other work stoppages are planned for November 10 and 11.

European agency says Kosovo television 'media arm' of ruler

Geneva- The European Broadcasting Union on Monday slammed Hashim Thaci, the prime minister of Kosovo, accusing him of turning the public service broadcaster into a "media arm of the ruling party."In a letter to Thaci, Jean Reveillon, head of the EBU, said that since the territory declared itself an independent state in 2008, the broadcaster RTK has been forced under "a relentless process of political and economic interference."

"Pressure from your government transformed RTK from being a balanced supplier of news into a media arm of the ruling party and of yourself as prime minister. Critical or alternative voices have been suppressed," Reveillon wrote, noting European financial aid which helped form the channel a decade ago.

"What we are now seeing is pressure from the Kosovo government to turn RTK into an uncritical state broadcaster," the letter said.

The situation has worsened in the last five months, the EBU said, citing European Union reports, and one by the organization Reporters without Borders which found "freedom of media in Kosovo considerably deteriorated" and the territory fell from 58th place last year to 75th this year in the rankings chart.

Saying that the moves to exert control over RTK "will be beneficial neither to the citizens of Kosovo nor to your ambitions for more international recognition of your country," Reveillon urged the premier to enact "urgent measures" to restore autonomy to the broadcaster.

International reaction to Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence has been mixed. Only a minority of United Nations member states, mostly Western countries, have recognized Kosovo as independent.

Italy's largest opposition party picks new chief

Rome- Voting results released Monday clinched a win for former minister Pier Luigi Bersani as head of Italy's opposition Democratic Party. The vote count showed that, with 73 per cent of the votes counted, Bersani had won 53.3 per cent. The next closest vote-getter was incumbent leader Dario Franceschini, with 34.4 per cent.

Nearly 3 million voters cast ballots, nearly as many as in a 2007 vote that installed Walter Veltroni as the PD's first leader. The high turnout was unexpected after party strife following losses in 2008 parliamentary elections.

Bersani, 58, a former federal economic development minister is expected to try to pull Italy to the left, but is also seen as having the economic credentials to serve as a threat to the conservative government of incumbent Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, whose rule has been plagued by scandals recently.

The party will face its first electoral challenge at regional elections set for March.

Jewish treasures go on display in one of Europe's oldest synagogues

Erfurt, Germany - The old synagogue in the eastern German city of Erfurt, founded around the year 1100, was officially opened as a museum housing Jewish treasure and artefacts on Monday. The Jewish house of worship, constructed near the town hall in the city centre from 1094, fell into disuse after a pogrom in the year 1349 claimed the lives of around 900 Jews.

The building went through a series of uses as a warehouse, a dance hall, a pub and a bowling alley, before a multi-million euro facelift returned it to its Jewish roots.

The museum now displays items that include precious gold and silver items, and a rare large Hebrew parchment Bible.

Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said the exhibition played an important role in understanding historical events.

"I hope that Erfurt's rich Jewish inheritance contributes to a better understanding between Jews and non-Jews, but also helps the Jewish community grow together," Knobloch said, referring in part to immigrants from the former Soviet Union who now form the majority of Germany's Jewish community.

"Mazel tov," meaning "good luck," is inscribed on a gold wedding ring, which forms the highlight of a collection of gold- and silverware buried under a doorstep by a Jewish merchant during the pogrom in 1349.

Knobloch used the occasion to speak of the fate of 6 million Jews killed in Nazi Germany, adding that lessons of the distant past hadn't been learned by 1933.

"Mazel tov" presumably hadn't helped the bearer of the wedding ring, Knobloch mused.

After the ravages of Nazi Germany and subsequent years of East German rule, all that remained was a vague suspicion that there had once been a synagogue in the centre of Erfurt.

Initial investigations in the late 1980s identified the building, which had retained a few original features such as an ornate rosette window. The site was bought and restored with funding from the state of Thuringia, the federal government and the EU.

The museum's curator, Ines Beese, said she hoped the collection would highlight Erfurt's role as a centre of Jewish life in the Middle Ages.

"The historical monument is our number one exhibit. With this, Erfurt can really score points when it comes to historical and political culture," Beese said.

Other features recalling the city's Jewish past include a historic graveyard and traditional Jewish baths, or mikwah, recently uncovered by the Kraemer bridge in the old city centre.

Erfurt is hoping its Jewish memorial sites will qualify the city as a World Heritage Site.

Egyptian woman killed out of 'pure hatred,'court hears - Summary

Dresden, Germany - A court heard details Monday of the murder of a pregnant Egyptian woman by a man said to be motivated by "pure hatred of non-Europeans and Muslims."Alex W, 28, a German of Russian origin, is accused of stabbing to death Marwa al-Shirbani at an appeal hearing against a fine he had been ordered to pay for verbally abusing her in 2008.

The July 1 killing, in the same building in Dresden where the trial is being held, provoked angry reactions in Egypt and a death threat against the defendant.

Alex W was brought into the courtroom shackled by his hands and feet, and shrouded by a hood, a face mask and sunglasses. He refused to communicate with the court, as he sat with his back to the room.

Senior prosecutor Frank Heinrich told the court that Alex W attacked al-Shirbini, 31, and her husband, "in order to kill them," and had stabbed the couple "with great vehemence."

The courtroom setting made it even harder for the couple to escape the unexpected attack, the prosecutor added.

"(Alex W) knowingly exploited the circumstances to extinguish the lives of the couple out of pure hatred towards non-Europeans and Muslims, whom he doesn't grant the right to live," Heinrich said.

The unemployed 28-year-old has been charged with murder, attempted murder and causing aggravated bodily harm. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.

Al-Shirbini's husband, Elwi Ali Okaz, described events clearly, addressing the court in Arabic on the first afternoon of the trial. The 32-year-old was badly injured in the frenzied attack.

The couple had been about to leave the courtroom with their 3- year-old son when Alex W attacked them, Okaz said. At first his wife was hit and pushed, he said, adding that he was also hit when he tried to protect her.

Okaz said he only noticed the knife after the defendant had stabbed his wife several times. "When he attacked me, I saw that he was holding something sharp," the widower said.

At that moment, Okaz said, people stormed the room and shots were fired. Shortly after, he lost consciousness.

It turned out that a policeman had accidentally shot Okaz in the leg, having mistaken him for the assailant.

The couple's son, who witnessed the ordeal, had been present in the courtroom since he had been too ill to attend nursery that day. The boy was now living with relatives in Egypt, the father said.

"He misses his mother very much, he is suffering," Okaz said of his son.

Al-Shirbini and her husband had lived in Dresden for several years. Okaz had been writing a doctorate in molecular cell biology and genetics at the Max Planck Institute. His wife worked at a pharmacy.

"I surely don't have a good feeling about staying in Dresden, after all that has happened," Okaz said.

The hearing in July came after Alex W appealed a 330-euro (480- dollar) fine he was ordered to pay for verbally abusing al-Shirbini at a children's playground in August 2008.

He had called al-Shirbini a "terrorist" after she asked him to stop sitting on a child's swing so her son could use it, witnesses told police. Al-Shirbini was wearing a headscarf at the time.

Al-Shirbini's widower told the court that his wife had not initiated the proceedings against Alex W. She had called the police after the playground incident, it is likely that this triggered the investigation.

Egypt's ambassador to Germany, Ramzy Ezzeldin, said he expected a fair trial as he arrived to witness proceedings at the Dresden court.

"I have great trust in German justice," the diplomat said just before the case got underway.

Maria Boehmer, a top aide to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, called for a calm and considerate approach to the trial, adding that it was being closely followed by people around the world.

"This makes it all the more important to trust and respect the independence of German justice," said Boehmer, who is Germany's commissioner for minority affairs.

The Central Council of Muslims had called earlier for a clear political signal.

"Germany's reputation has suffered badly. Politics is ignoring Islamophobia and the consequences of such occurrences," said the Council's president, Ayyub Axel Koehler.

The trial, expected to last 11 days, is to continue Tuesday with a statement by the judge who was present at the July 1 hearing.