Today's other stories in brief
Army and police say they will not allow Mugabe to fall in Zimbabwe
HARARE - Zimbabwe's police and army chiefs have said they will not allow Robert Mugabe to be defeated in this month's presidential election by opposition candidates whom they deride as "puppets" and "sell-outs" to Britain.
The warning comes amid mounting evidence that Mr Mugabe intends to try to repeat the rigging used to steal the 2002 election, through intimidating rural voters, padding voters' rolls and hindering opposition supporters from voting on March 29th.
The police commissioner, Augustine Chihuri, said he would not recognise a victory by Morgan Tsvangirai, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, or by Mr Mugabe's former finance minister Simba Makoni, who appears to pose the greater threat to the president after breaking from the ruling Zanu-PF.
Mr Chihuri said the opposition candidates would serve Britain by reversing the redistribution of white-owned farms. - (Guardian service)
Low turnout for elections in Iran
TEHRAN - Iranians went to the polls yesterday to elect a new parliament, but just as many stayed away out of scepticism that their vote would make any difference.
Turnout appeared particularly low in Tehran, where queues at polling stations were a rare sight. Political observers said it would be surprising if the turnout was much above the historic low of 51 per cent at the last elections in 2004. The ruling religious conservatives, running under the banner of Principlists, have guaranteed their grip on power by barring many of the opposition reformist candidates from standing. - (Guardian service)
Concern over Ugandan war crimes deal
BRUSSELS - Amnesty International voiced concern yesterday that a Ugandan peace deal sought to avoid the country's obligation to hand over rebel leaders to an international court.
The Ugandan government and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels signed an agreement last month on how to deal with war crimes committed during one of Africa's longest-running and brutal civil wars.
In a report, Amnesty International voiced concern that the February deal and an earlier agreement "seek to avoid Uganda's legal obligation to arrest and surrender the LRA leaders to the International Criminal Court". - (Reuters)
US claims top al-Qaeda man arrested
WASHINGTON - A suspected high-level al-Qaeda member who helped Osama bin Laden elude US forces in Afghanistan has been captured and sent to Guantánamo, the Pentagon said yesterday.
The detainee, Muhammad Rahim, helped prepare the Tora Bora caves as a hide-out for bin Laden in 2001, and helped him escape during the US-led invasion, officials said. - (Reuters)