o Poland's conservative Prime Minister-designate said yesterday he was ready to form a minority government as hopes for a last-minute deal with the pro-business Civic Platform all but evaporated. Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said he still hoped for a deal before he is due to present his Cabinet on Monday, but the Civic Platform flatly rejected his latest economic policy proposal.
o Farmers blocked roads in eastern Spain to protest against high fuel prices yesterday, a day after the Socialist government agreed to increase fuel subsidies for fishermen to end a blockade of Mediterranean ports. About 200 farmers blocked two main highways in the eastern region of Valencia, a source at the government office in the regional capital said. The roadblocks, coinciding with a mass exodus from Spanish cities for a long holiday weekend, were lifted in the afternoon, the source said.
o Unusually heavy snow will soon hit Pakistan's earthquake zone and thousands more lives are at risk unless donors provide another $250 million in emergency aid immediately, the United Nations said yesterday. The world body said that with the severe Himalayan winter just three weeks away and many survivors of the October 8 quake still without food or shelter, only about $117 million of $550 million needed for emergency relief has been provided. A fresh appeal on Thursday generated only $16 million.
o Up to 1,500 Nigerians are to be flown back home from Morocco after losing hope of reaching European territory illegally, a Nigerian diplomat said yesterday. Most of these migrants have spent months living mainly in Casablanca, Rabat and Tangiers waiting for a chance to slip into Europe.
o An Italian court yesterday held the first in a series of closed-door hearings to decide whether to indict Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and 13 others for alleged fraud at his family's broadcaster Mediaset. The proceedings in Milan's courthouse marked the latest in more than a decade of legal battles for Mr Berlusconi and came a month after he was acquitted in a separate graft case. If charged, the media tycoon-turned-politician could find himself on trial during what is likely to be a close-fought general election in April.
o The arrest of four Muslim men in Denmark this week is connected to those of three people arrested in Bosnia on terrorism charges earlier this month, Danish police said yesterday. Danish police arrested four Muslim men aged between 16 and 20 years on Thursday under an anti-terrorism law after being tipped-off by a Balkan country. A court decided they should stay in custody until November 16.