NEWS OF THE DAY
1Pakistan _ politics: President Asif Ali Zardari stepped down Sunday at the end of his five-year term, becoming the first democratically elected president in Pakistan’s history to complete his full term in office. His successor, Mamnoon Hussain, is to be sworn in Monday. Zardari rose to power after assassination of his wife, two-time Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, in 2007. Analysts count his government’s completion of a full term in a hostile political environment to his credit, and note his strong stance against Islamic militancy. However, economic mismanagement and a failure to tackle the country’s energy crisis hurt his popularity.
2Iraq _ violence: The Iraqi branch of al Qaeda claimed responsibility Sunday for a recent series of car bomb attacks that killed more than 50 people in Baghdad. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant posted a message on a militant website taking responsibility for the deadly attacks last week, mostly in Shiite areas. The group said the attacks were a response to the arrest of Sunnis during a recent government security crackdown. The bombings were the latest in a wave of bloodshed that has swept Iraq since April, killing more than 4,000 people.
3Maldives _ election: The first democratically elected president of the Maldives said Sunday that his rivals portraying him as anti-Islamic may have turned some voters against him and possibly denied him a majority in the presidential election. Mohamed Nasheed emerged the clear leader in Saturday’s election, receiving 45 percent of the votes, but fell short of the more than 50 percent needed to avoid a Sept. 28 runoff against Yaamin Abdul Qayyoom. Nasheed was ousted from power midway through his first term last year.
4Berlusconi _ appeal: Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi is petitioning Europe’s human rights court in a bid to avoid a ban on public office and other punishments for his tax fraud conviction, his aides said Sunday. The tax conviction isn’t Berlusconi’s only legal issue. An appeals trial is expected to take up Berlusconi’s conviction in June by a Milan court of paying for sex with a minor and then pressuring public officials to cover it up. He denies the charges.
5Communal _ clashes: Hundreds of troops have been deployed to quell deadly riots and clashes between Hindus and Muslims sparked by the killing of three villagers who had objected when a young woman was being harassed in northern India. Police said 19 people were killed when the groups set upon each other Saturday with guns and knives in Kawal village in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The violence spread to neighboring villages. Soldiers were going door to door to search for weapons. A state of high alert was declared for the entire state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 200 million people.
6Observatory _
strike: The world’s largest radio telescope is resuming operations after workers in Chile decided to end a 17-day strike. The installation known as the Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array is to reopen Monday after workers reached an agreement with Associated Universities Inc., which employs the Chilean staff. The agreement includes reduced work hours and a bonus for high altitude work. The observatory known as ALMA is located above Chile’s Atacama Desert at an altitude of 16,400 feet. The $1.4 billion project is jointly funded by the United States, Canada, Japan and Europe.