Interpol police call for Fujimori arrest
PARIS — The International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, issued a call Wednesday for the arrest of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori on charges of murder and kidnapping in Peru.
Fujimori allegedly authorized the massacres of two suspected rebel collaborators in the early 1990s. Last week, Peruvian lawmakers approved additional charges against the former president, including corruption for illegally authorizing millions of dollars in government purchases.
“(We were) able to satisfy itself quickly that all the relevant legal requirements for a red notice request had been satisfied by Peru,” Interpol said in an official statement.
Interpol’s “red notice” cannot force countries to arrest or extradite Fujimori, but it serves as the organization’s approval that an arrest is justified.
In response, Fujimori has used his “From Tokyo” Web site to argue that the accusations lack proof and credible witnesses.
Citizenship chances opened to Cubans
HAVANA — Under new law, an estimated 80,000 Cubans are eligible for Spanish nationality.
Before the law took effect Jan. 9, only people under age 20 could apply if at least one parent was born in Spain.
The new law also allows those with a Spanish-born grandparent to apply if the applicants get visas and live in Spain for a year.
Spanish citizenship would mean a better standard of living because Spain pays pensions to citizens over age 65 living in foreign countries. In Cuba, that equals an estimated $200 a year in a country where monthly salaries average $10.
According to a Spanish consul, the number of people seeking Spanish nationality has increased with the new law, mostly because of the pensions.
Nine-year-old stirs up abortion conflict
MANAGUA, Nicaragua — A nine-year-old girl from Nicaragua has become the focus of the international battle over abortion.
The girl was raped and became pregnant. She was given a pill to end her nearly four-month pregnancy in a private clinic.
In Nicaragua, a predominantly Roman Catholic nation, abortion is illegal except when the mother’s life is in danger.
A panel of doctors concluded that either pregnancy or abortion presented a threat to the girl’s life.
The nation’s family affairs minister has called for the girl to be taken away from her parents. The highest public health official declared abortion is a crime and the Catholic Church noted that excommunication was automatic for anyone involved in the abortion.
The church and anti-abortion groups in Nicaragua are now set to launch a campaign to further restrict abortion. A march with 60,000 people is planned for Good Friday, April 18.
Plans for Berlin Wall take different turns
BERLIN — A property developer and a local museum are debating how to keep the history of the Berlin Wall alive at the former frontier post, Checkpoint Charlie.
The post was where American and Soviet tanks faced off at the height of tensions between the East and West.
A 1,400-yard section of the wall along the Spree River has been preserved along with graffiti sprayed on its surface by international artists after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989.
Checkpoint Charlie now features a reproduction of the old guard house.
A privately run museum has campaigned to have sections of the wall removed from storage and returned to the site, which was bought by a developer.
The developer, Abrahan Rosenthal, said his company intends to build an office building when the Berlin property market improves.
According to the museum, the developer had promised to devote space to a Berlin Wall memorial, but instead, only souvenir stalls and tents are in the plans.
Tribal unrest causes oil facility shutdown
WARRI, Nigeria — The French company TotalFinaElf shut its oil