Christians on trial for ‘inciting hatred’
ISTANBUL Two Christian Turks went on trial for allegedly denigrating Islam and the Turkish nation while on missionary work, under laws that penalise incitement of hatred.
Hakan Tastan and Turan Topal, from the Turkish Protestant Church, in Istanbul, were charged after complaints about their missionary activities with schoolchildren in the suburb of Silivri.
The defendants said that they sought only to spread the message of the Bible. The trial was adjourned. (AFP)
Asia’s century
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BOMBAY Asia will dominate the next century if China and India can strengthen their trade and business links, President Hu Jintao of China said. “We need to move towards a free trade agreement and boost bilateral trade further,” he added. (AFP)
‘Mugabe must go’
LONDON Pius Ncube, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bulawayo, appealed to the world to increase pressure on Robert Mugabe to quit as President of Zimbabwe. He said that life had become impossible, with many citizens dying of hunger. (Reuters)
Rwandan defiance
KIGALI Thousands of Rwandans denounced France’s alleged complicity in the 1994 genocide by Hutu extremists and a French judge’s call for the prosecution of President Kagame over a killing which sparked the violence. (AFP)
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School run-in
CANBERRA A bus driver who was stopped for speeding while 13 times over the drink-drive limit when his vehicle was full of children asked if he could finish his school run. David Stack, 50, will be sentenced in New South Wales in February. (Reuters)