The world in brief

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Such a request has not been officially made. Equipment and advice will be given if they ask for it, but as for forces, the Iraqis are very powerful themselves.” Gen. Mohammad Hejazi, the deputy commander of Iran’s armed forces, on his country’s willingness to support Iraq with resources, but not troops, in its battle with al-Qaida militants Article, this page Sudan’s leader: Talks only balm for South

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - The president of Sudan said during a visit to former enemy territory Monday that 20 years of war with South Sudan taught the people of his country that negotiations are the only way forward for the region.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir said he feared that after allowing South Sudan to hold a vote to break away from Sudan in 2011, a recent outbreak of violence could mean “that our huge sacrifice did not bear fruit.”

“We have come to see what we can do to stop this war, knowing all too well that armed conflict would never resolve a problem and also knowing that any problem no matter how complicated can be solved at the negotiation table,” Bashir said from South Sudan’s capital, Juba.

Talks in Ethiopia between representatives of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and former Vice President Riek Machar have gotten off to a slow start. Officials said at a news conference late Monday that the two sides have agreed on rules for the talks and that they will resume today.

South Sudan has been the site of three weeks of violence that Kiir said began as a coup attempt Dec. 15, though Machar’s side has denied the allegation.

French official OKs ban on comedian

PARIS - French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said Monday that local officials have the right to ban shows on a national tour of a comic whose performances are considered anti-Semitic.

Hours later, Bordeaux’s mayor, former Prime Minister Alain Juppe, accepted the offer, making the wine capital the first French city to cancel a show by Dieudonne M’Bala M’Bala ahead of the comic’s tour.

Dieudonne is now well-known for popularizing a hand gesture that’s been used by sports stars such as Nicolas Anelka. Valls has criticized the “quenelle” gesture as an “inverted Nazi salute.”

Valls notified regional prefects Monday that they, along with mayors, can close Dieudonne’s shows on the basis of a potential risk to public order.

The 47-year-old Dieudonne denies his act - or the “quenelle” - is anti-Semitic. However, he has been convicted more than a half-dozen times for inciting racial hatred or anti-Semitism over the years.

Rwanda pitiless about slain ex-spy chief

JOHANNESBURG - Rwanda’s foreign minister said her government has no sympathy for a slain former spy chief who had a falling out with the country’s president and who was killed in South Africa, while Rwanda’s prime minister warned Monday that betraying one’s country brings consequences.

Members of the opposition have accused Rwandan President Paul Kagame of being behind the killing of Patrick Karegeya.

Rwandan Prime Minister Pierre Habumuremyi tweeted on Monday: “Betraying citizens and their country that made you a man shall always bear consequences to you.”

In separate Twitter messages, Rwandan Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Karegeya was a “self-declared” enemy of the African nation. Referring to Karegeya’s death, she tweeted: “You expect pity ?”British barristers protest legal-aid cuts

LONDON - Hundreds of British lawyers - many dressed in traditional white curled wigs and black gowns - swapped courtrooms for picket lines Monday to protest planned cuts to legal aid.

Cases were disrupted at courts including London’s famous Old Bailey criminal court as barristers in England and Wales staged their first national walkout.

The British government, which has slashed billions of dollars from public spending in the name of deficit reduction, plans to cut lawyers’ fees to reduce the legal-aid budget by $360 million per year through 2019.

The Criminal Bar Association said the average legal-aid earnings of barristers - lawyers who argue in court - was about $59,000 after services tax and expenses. Lawyers say the cuts could see fees fall by as much as 30 percent.

Front Section, Pages 6 on 01/07/2014