Gulf News Archive Published: April 24, 2008, 01:08
Arab boycott halt talks
Sixteen Arab news agencies refused to attend a conference on news cooperation unless the Egyptian delegation was expelled. The opening session of the two-day meeting was boycotted by the agencies after a late-night battle over the inclusion of Egypt's Middle East News Agency (MENA). The conference, organised by the Austrian news agency APA, was the third in a series arranged by European and Arab news agencies to promote cooperation and news sharing.
The South African government announced plans to impose jail sentences of up to seven years and fines up to 7,000 rand ($8,250) on anyone who publishes information about the country's oil supplies and reserves. A bill published here said the penalties will apply to anyone causing the information to be issued outside South Africa, as well as internally. South Africa, which has no oil of its own, has always been sensitive over information on its supplies because of the political opposition it faces from many producers.
General killed by gunmen
General Mohammad Vali Gharani, Iran's first armed forces Chief of Staff after the revolution was shot by unknown gunmen in his home and died later in hospital. There was immediate speculation that General Gharani in his late sixties, was the victim of leftists who considered him pro-American or of Kurds who resented his tough line against Kurdish uprising in Sanandaj last month.
Two new settlements in West Bank
Israel's cabinet voted to set up two new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank of the Jordan River. The settlements, to be called Elon Moreh and Shiloh, were the first new West Bank outposts announced since the March 26 signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty providing for Palestinian autonomy in the disputed region.
Iran bans wide range of luxury goods
Iran has banned the import of a wide range of luxury goods including cars, alcohol and pork in what is seen as a move towards increasing austerity and greater adherence to Islamic principles. Spares and knocked-down car kits are not expected to be affected but the new regulations will still cause great disruption in the Iranian car industry already in revolutionary chaos as workers demand greater participation and purges are conducted of the previous management. The local plants producing Chrysler.
Johnson loses boxing crown
Challenger Matt Franklin won the World Boxing Council light-heavyweight championship when he stopped fellow-American Marvin Johnson after one minute 44 seconds of the eighth round.
Franklin, 25, from Philadelphia, unleashed savage attacks to Johnson's head in the two rounds before referee George Defabis called a halt. The end came when Johnson climbed back on his feet after being knocked down by a jarring right cross.
