Schwarzenegger's OK of execution assailed in Austria

Vienna, Austria

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should be stripped of citizenship in his native Austria for approving the execution of a convicted killer in California, a leading Austrian politician said yesterday.

The demand, by a top official from the environmentalist Green Party, had little chance for success, but it underscores how Schwarzenegger has lost popularity in his homeland over his support for the death penalty. Most Austrians — and many other Europeans — abhor capital punishment as cruel and inhumane.

Peter Pilz said Schwarzenegger is no longer worthy of citizenship because he allowed double-murderer Donald Beardslee's execution to go ahead last week. It was the first execution in California in three years.

"Schwarzenegger is possibly the most prominent Austrian abroad, and he shapes the picture of Austria," Pilz said. "I don't want that picture shaped by someone who commits state murder. That does not correspond to the political culture of this country."

Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Agreement allows rebuilding of air force

Ivory Coast has been authorized to repair its fleet of crippled military aircraft in a conciliatory gesture by U.N. and French forces after the army pledged not to use its planes to resume hostilities.

The French force in the West African country severely damaged Ivory Coast's small fleet of warplanes and helicopter gunships after Ivorian jets killed nine French peacekeepers Nov. 6.

The crippling of the Ivorian air force by the French triggered days of anti-French riots in Abidjan, forcing more than 8,000 mainly French nationals to flee.

In November, the Ivorian army said the French had destroyed on the ground the two Russian-built Sukhoi 25 fighters involved in the raid on the French base and four combat helicopters. Two other Sukhoi 25 and an Mi-24 helicopter were described by the army as damaged.

Male, Maldives

Twenty arrested during criticized election

Police arrested 20 opposition party supporters yesterday during the Maldives' parliamentary election, a vote critics denounced as rigged, accusing the government of linking aid for tsunami survivors to favorable votes.

The archipelago nation held the elections three weeks late, a postponement caused by the Dec. 26 tsunami, which killed at least 82 people in the Maldives and crushed homes and businesses in this archipelago of about 280,000.

In the absence of a multiparty system, nearly 150 individual candidates contested the vote for parliament's 42 seats in the island chain, where the president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has ruled with an iron first since 1978.

Government spokesman Mohamed Shareef said the detainees tried to take a video camera into a polling booth in violation of election rules.

Mohamed Latheef, the Democratic Party leader exiled in Sri Lanka, said they were arrested when they recorded officials trying to close a polling booth while more than 100 voters still awaited their turn.

Rumbek, Sudan

Darfur fighting slows, but attacks continue

Fighting between government and rebels troops in Darfur has decreased in the past month, but Arab militias still attack, rape and abduct villagers in the troubled region, the chief U.N. envoy to Sudan said yesterday.

"The violence is still perpetrated by pro-government militias and other armed groups that are very difficult to control," Jan Pronk said. "But between the government and the rebel movements, there is more adherence to the cease-fire than a month ago — and that is a step forward."

Sudan's government and the two main rebel groups in Darfur signed cease-fire agreements in April and November, meant to enable aid workers to care for those affected by the violence. But they have frequently violated them.