KOSOVO
U.N. court clears ex-prime minister
THE HAGUE — The U.N. war crimes tribunal cleared Kosovo’s former prime minister yesterday of persecuting Serbs in a 1998-99 separatist war, a move expected to fan tensions simmering over Kosovo’s secession.
Ramush Haradinaj, a former commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) considered a hero by Kosovo Albanians, was acquitted of torture, murder, rape and deportation after judges found prosecutors had failed to prove a deliberate campaign to kill and expel Serbian civilians from Kosovo.
Kosovo’s 90 percent Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February. The ruling was met with anger in the Kosovar Serbian stronghold of north Mitrovica. Serbian Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica condemned the acquittal.
JAPAN
U.S. sailor arrested on murder charge
TOKYO — Police arrested a U.S. sailor yesterday in the stabbing death of a taxi driver near an American naval base outside Tokyo, officials said. It’s the latest in a series of cases that have set off a furor about crimes purportedly committed by U.S. servicemen.
Olatunbosun Ugbogu, a 22-year-old Nigerian national serving in the U.S. Navy, was arrested on murder and robbery charges, police said. He confessed to the March 19 killing and police plan to send him to prosecutors tomorrow for his indictment. Police say the sailor, a crew member on the USS Cowpens, failed to pay the $190 taxi fare.
The sailor had been in U.S. custody since Navy authorities apprehended him in Tokyo on March 22 on a desertion charge. He was handed over to Japanese authorities just before the arrest under a bilateral security pact.
CUBA
TV channel planned with foreign content
HAVANA — Cuba’s state-run television broadcaster will start a 24-hour channel with mostly foreign content in a move to provide Cuban audiences with more variety.
The Cuban Institute of Radio and Television made the announcement Wednesday at a conference of the Cuban writers and artists guild, where intellectuals have criticized the poor television programming in the socialist state.
The opening up to additional foreign content on television comes at a time when Cuban President Raul Castro, who succeeded his ailing brother Fidel Castro, has begun lifting “excessive prohibitions” in the country, allowing Cubans to buy cellular phones, DVD players and computers, and stay at tourist hotels reserved for foreigners.
LEBANON
Army chief gives election ultimatum
BEIRUT — Lebanon’s army commander warned feuding political factions yesterday that he would quit this summer and bow out of presidential contention if the wrangling rivals do not elect him as head of state before then.
Gen. Michel Suleiman’s threat, in a newspaper interview, was viewed here as giving an ultimatum to the parliamentary majority and the opposition to break the deadlock that has left Lebanon without a president since President Emile Lahoud’s term ended in November. The two opposing sides have supported Gen. Suleiman, 59, as a consensus candidate.
KENYA
Rivals end deadlock over Cabinet
NAIROBI — Kenya’s political rivals yesterday said a power-sharing Cabinet would be named this weekend, ending a deadlock that had threatened the country’s chances of peace and economic recovery.
President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga announced the agreement after a two-hour meeting over the size and membership of the Cabinet, a key part of a deal to end Kenya’s bloody post-election crisis. Mr. Odinga said the Cabinet would be sworn in on April 12.
From wire dispatches and staff reports
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