Welcome to The world this week: Politics
A summary of the world's main events from The Economist.
Also available at http://www.economist.com

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India, Pakistan and Kashmir: the stand-off on the roof of the world *
Silvio Berlusconi still gives Italy a bad name * Germany's election *
Libya and America * Argentina's banks * China's middle class *
Company health plans * Fingerprint evidence * Internet shares *

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PRISONERS' DILEMMA

The United States came under fire from human-rights organisations for
classifying the AL-QAEDA prisoners it is detaining in Cuba as "unlawful
combatants" rather than prisoners-of-war, thereby denying them rights
under the Geneva Conventions.

- - - - - See article: The rights of terrorists
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjK0AQ

The Justice Department said that John Walker, a young American who
joined the TALIBAN, will be brought back to the United States to face
charges in federal criminal court of aiding terrorism, including
conspiracy to kill American citizens.

- - - - - See article: America's views on the Afghan prisoners
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjL0AR

A PRETZEL got the better of President George Bush when he choked on it
while watching a football game. Mr Bush fainted and collapsed but later
resumed a tour of the country with no apparent ill effects apart from a
large bruise on his cheek.

ZONE OF UNCERTAINTY

COLOMBIA'S peace process limped on. Hours before President Andres
Pastrana planned to order the army to retake a guerrilla-controlled
"peace zone", the FARC rebels agreed to restart talks, despite
government surveillance of the zone. But to renew the life of the zone,
Mr Pastrana wants the FARC to agree to immediate negotiations for a
ceasefire.

- - - - - See article: Colombia's wobbling peace process
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjM0AS

In ARGENTINA, several branches of foreign banks were wrecked during
further protests against controls on bank withdrawals. After a
devaluation which ended a decade in which the peso was fixed at par
with the dollar, it sank quickly to around 1.85.

- - - - - See article: More protests in Argentina
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjN0AT

In a sweeping government shuffle, Jean Chretien, CANADA'S long-serving
prime minister, named John Manley, formerly the country's foreign
minister, as his deputy and seeming heir apparent. Mr Chretien said he
would stay in his job?at least until next Christmas.

- - - - - See article: Canada's government shake-up
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjO0AU

VIOLENCE AS USUAL

Tit-for-tat violence intensified in the ISRAELI-OCCUPIED TERRITORIES. A
Palestinian militia group, linked to Fatah, killed two Israeli settlers
after one of its own leaders was assassinated, presumably by Israel.
Widespread protest erupted after the Palestinian Authority arrested
Ahmad Saadat, wanted by Israel in connection with the murder of its
tourism minister.

- - - - - See article: State-building, in reverse
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjP0AV

An IRANIAN DEPUTY, imprisoned for speaking his mind in parliament, was
pardoned by the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after
the speaker threatened to paralyse parliament's business.

- - - - - See article: Rattling the supreme one
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjQ0AW

KUWAIT celebrated with national holidays, the distribution of free
trees to every home and the slaughtering of sheep as its ruler returned
from four months of medical treatment in London after suffering a brain
haemorrhage.

A general strike froze NIGERIAN CITIES, as unions protested against a
recent 18% rise in the heavily subsidised price of petrol. The
government declared the strike illegal and arrested union officials.

Under international pressure, ZIMBABWE postponed passing a law aimed at
making life hard for independent journalists. But opposition activists
continued to be murdered, allegedly by Robert Mugabe's militia. Britain
promised to stop deporting Zimbabwean asylum-seekers.

- - - - - See article: Trouble in Zimbabwe
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjR0AX

In MADAGASCAR, the constitutional court ordered a recount of last
month's presidential election, which had yielded no clear winner.

The opposition in ZAMBIA filed a petition to have the result of their
country's presidential election nullified, alleging vote-rigging by the
ruling party, whose candidate won. Opposition offices were promptly
raided by police.

CONSERVATIVE CHOICE

Germany's two main conservative parties picked Edmund Stoiber, premier
of Bavaria and leader of the Christian Social Union, as their candidate
to become GERMANY'S CHANCELLOR after a general election later this
year. The leader of the much larger Christian Democratic Union, Angela
Merkel, had withdrawn her bid for the candidacy.

- - - - - See article: Edmund Stoiber
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjS0AY

FRANCE'S main business organisation, Medef, demanded cuts in taxes and
social charges, and the easing of labour laws. The Constitutional
Council had already ruled against parts of a recent law that would bar
lay-offs through redundancy except in extreme circumstances.

- - - - - See article: France's bosses are feeling hogtied
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjT0AZ

In CYPRUS the leaders of the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot
communities opened face-to-face negotiations. Outsiders hope that the
talks will lead to a deal bringing the breakaway "Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus" back into the fold as part of an island united,
however loosely, under a single central government.

Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, visited POLAND, the first leader of
his country to do so since 1993.

Norway's finance minister, Per-Kristian Foss, revealed that he had
formalised his long-term GAY PARTNERSHIP under Norwegian law.

Will Britain and Spain agree to joint sovereignty over GIBRALTAR? Some
British MPs erupted over press reports that the deal was done already.
Not so, said the British government, po-faced.

- - - - - See article: Joint sovereignty for Gibraltar?
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjU0Aa

PAT COX, an Irish liberal, was elected as president of the European
Parliament.

WAR AVERTED?

Tension between INDIA and PAKISTAN eased after the Pakistani president,
General Pervez Musharraf, ordered a crackdown on militants blamed for a
recent attack on the Indian Parliament.

- - - - - See article: The problem of Kashmir
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjV0Ab

The World Bank said that rebuilding AFGHANISTAN will cost $15 billion.
As the central bank reopened in Kabul, the governor said he had more
money in his wallet than was in the bank's safe.

- - - - - See article: Reluctant donors
http://news.economist.com/cgi-bin1/flo?y=eVQ0UBQN0Mo0qjW0Ac

Afghanistan's interim government banned cultivation of the opium poppy
and trafficking in its derivatives, including HEROIN. Afghan farmers
have started to sow the poppy since the defeat of the Taliban, who
imposed a similar ban.

EAST TIMOR is to set up a truth and reconciliation commission as a
"healing process" like the one in South Africa that probed
apartheid-era crimes.



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The world this week: Politics is a summary of the world's main events
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