The world in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We all ... want to help Greece, but we won’t be put under pressure.”

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said international creditors won’t be rushed when it comes to approving the country’s next bailout-loan disbursement Article, this page

European leaders remember war dead

PARIS - Politicians and royalty observed a moment of silence at tombs across Europe on Sunday to commemorate the end of fighting in World War I and remember the millions of soldiers who died in that conflict.

Under Paris’ iconic Arc de Triomphe, President Francois Hollande remembered the Armistice by placing a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. King Albert II echoed that gesture in the Belgian capital. Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, meanwhile, took flowers to the Cenotaph in central London.

In the British capital, Big Ben rang out to mark the 11th hour, when the truce took effect, and then dignitaries there and around the continent observed a moment of silence.

While Nov. 11 marks the end of fighting in World War I, Britain and, for the first time France, remembered all of their war dead on Sunday.

As a nod to the new ritual, the children of two soldiers who died in Afghanistan helped Hollande lay wreaths at several spots in Paris, including a plaque that pays homage to students who defied a German order not to commemorate Armistice Day in 1940, when northern France was under occupation.

Irish vote expands children’s rights

DUBLIN - Official returns show that voters have approved an amendment to insert stronger rights for children into Ireland’s Constitution, with a narrower-than-expected 57.4 percent “yes” vote.

Only a third of registered voters participated in Saturday’s referendum, reflecting a low-key campaign. All political parties and children’s charities supported the “yes” side.

Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Sunday that the amendment will allow his government to pass laws making it easier for Irish children to be adopted, for courts to remove children from abusive homes and for children to testify in court.

Analysts say the unexpectedly high “no” vote reflects low turnout among “yes” voters, anti-government feeling and a surprise Supreme Court ruling.

Ireland’s highest court found that the government’s information booklet on the children’s-rights amendment was biased and violated referendum law.

Presidential runoff seen for Slovenia

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia - No candidate won an outright majority in Slovenia’s presidential election, and a runoff will be held next month between the incumbent and a former prime minister, an exit poll predicted on Sunday.

A poll conducted by the Mediana agency and broadcast on state TV projected former Prime Minister Borut Pahor will finish first with 41.9 percent of the vote, followed by President Danilo Turk, with 37.2 percent, and a center-right candidate Milan Zver at 20.9 percent. Such a runoff would be held on Dec. 2.

Pahor’s projected lead was viewed as a surprise, since Turk was expected to be the front-runner in Sunday’s election.

But a runoff had been widely expected in the race for the presidential office - a largely ceremonial post in Slovenia, but one that commands political authority.

Upon the release of the exit polls, Pahor said the “confidence of the people is much higher than I had expected.”

A disappointed Turk said he looks forward to a runoff.

The election comes as Slovenia - a small, economically struggling country of 2 million - faces political divisions and risks needing an international economic bailout.

Chosen for a five-year term, the president heads the army and proposes the national bank chief. The latter is an especially sensitive task considering the severe financial crisis caused here by state-owned banks’ rampant lending.

Venice’s tide is 6th highest since 1872

VENICE, Italy - Heavy rains and seas whipped up by strong winds have flooded Venice and brought the lagoon city’s high-tide mark to its sixth-highest level since records began being kept 150 years ago.

Italian news reports said the same weather system that put 70 percent of central Venice under water Sunday was wreaking havoc elsewhere in north and central Italy, with about 200 people evacuated from their homes in hard-hit Tuscany.

Flooding is common in Venice this time of year, and Sunday’s high-tide mark of 59 inches marked the sixth-highest level since 1872, according to the ANSA news agency.

Movable barriers that would rise from the seabed to protect Venice from high tides have been in the works for years, but will not be operational before 2014.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 11/12/2012

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