British race riots BRITISH police say "rumour, myth and speculation" fuelled violent riots in one part of Birmingham that left one man dead and led to the arrest of two others over the weekend. An investigation is looking into whether the Sunday incident was related to clashes between black and Asian youths that broke out on Saturday in the northern neighbourhood of the city. The Saturday disturbances, in which one man was stabbed to death, were sparked by unconfirmed news that a 14-year-old girl had been raped by a group of Asian men. The Sunday incident came after gangs of youths gathered near a mosque that had been allegedly attacked. Detectives say no claim of rape has been filed yet, although they are looking into the case. Community leaders have appealed for calm. Birmingham is located in an area that has a history of tension between its different religious and ethnic communities. The city is known for its multicultural make- up but also for its poor neighbourhoods. According to one survey, as many as 19,000 families live in overcrowded environments, second only to the number in the capital London. Twenty years ago, two people died in riots that wreaked havoc in one of Birmingham's neighbourhoods. The clashes back then were triggered by the arrest of a black man following a stop and search incident. US in the dock SPANISH Judge Santiago Pedraz issued an international arrest warrant for three United States military officials over the April 2003 bombing of a Baghdad hotel. The Palestine Hotel, which was renowned for mainly housing journalists working on covering the US invasion of Iraq, was shelled just a day before the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein fell. Spanish journalist for national television channel Tele 5 Jose Couso was killed when a US tank shelled the building, as was Ukrainian cameraman Taras Protsyuk. The bombing was witnessed the world over as it was caught on film by the victims' colleagues. Pedraz has issued warrants for Sergeant Shawn Gibson, Captain William Wolford and Lieutenant Colonel Philip de Camp. At the request of the Spanish reporter's family, the Spanish National Court agreed to consider pressing charges against the US military soon after the bombing took place. Since then, seeing as the US administration has not cooperated on taking the case any further, the Spanish judiciary decided to take things into its own hands and launching a case of its own, according to the BBC. The Spanish press, however, deemed the warrants unrealistic, given that Spain does not have the power to try such crimes abroad. Some perceive the judiciary's action as a poor attempt at merely satisfying a public concern, rather than at actually solving the issue at hand. Human rights and reporters' associations the world over condemned the US for deliberately targeting journalists. They also condemned the US bombing of Al-Jazeera's office in Baghdad, which took place on the very same day and killed one of the channel's correspondents. New Polish president RIGHT-wing Law and Justice Party candidate Lech Kaczynski was set to become Poland's new president following this week's elections. Competition was close -- with his liberal rival Donald Tusk coming only 10 per cent behind him in the vote count. Turnout was set at around 50 per cent. Kaczynski and his twin brother Jaroslaw, who heads the Law and Justice Party, are both former members of the Solidarity movement, which led Poland's move away from the Communist bloc in the 1980s. Their conservative party advocates shifting away from socialism and towards a revival of "moral", Catholic values. Their policy therefore has significant pulling power in a country which is traditionally Catholic. Even before the announcement of the final count, Tusk told reporters: "Today I must tell myself I did not make it." He had focussed his campaign on Poland's entry into the European Union and the economic opportunities that this represented. Kaczynski, on the other hand, had focussed his campaign on highlighting the corruption of the outgoing government, composed mainly of former Communists. Prize for Pamuk THE 2005 Frankfurt International Book Fair, the biggest in the world, awarded its prestigious German Book Trade Peace prize to Orhan Pamuk, a renowned Turkish writer awaiting trial in Turkey for "ridiculing the Turkish Nation". Pamuk, who was a runner up for the Nobel Peace Prize, is expected to stand trial in December after he spoke in a Swiss newspaper of Turkish involvement in the massacring of one million Armenians during WW I. The award comes in the wake of the 11th hour kick-off of negotiations over Turkish accession to the European Union last month. Acknowledging the Armenian massacre has been a top demand by the European Union for granting Turkey full membership. In awarding its prize to the Turkish author Orhan Pamuk, the German Publishers & Booksellers Association said it "honoured a critical and committed individual whose outstanding literary achievements and his unwavering support for human rights and freedom of expression have made him a worthy laureate." Pamuk's novels tackle the contradictions between religion and modernity as well as the contemporary political and social concerns of Turks, including their wish to join Europe while preserving their unique identity. Compiled by Serene Assir and Hicham Safieddine
