London – Britons vote in national elections today, and the question on the minds of most political professionals is not whether Prime Minister Tony Blair will win a historic third term but by how much.
The latest polls show Blair’s Labor Party with a comfortable lead of 10 to 14 percentage points. A poll published Wednesday in the Financial Times showed Labor with 39 percent of the vote, the Conservatives with 29 percent and the Liberal Democrats with 27 percent. A Times/ITV News tracker poll had Labor with 41, the Conservatives with 27 and the Liberal Democrats with 23.
But another sampling of voter sentiment this week by the Guardian newspaper suggested that Labor’s share of support has slipped significantly in 108 so-called marginal constituencies where it faces a strong challenge from the Conservatives.
“This is going to be decided in the marginal constituencies,” Blair told the British Broadcasting Corp. “This thing is tight, it’s tough, and we’ve got to fight for every vote.”
PONDERAY, Idaho
Woman charged after infant pepper-sprayed
A woman pepper-sprayed a 2-month-old girl while feuding with the infant’s family in a Wal-Mart, police said.
Lorlie Gantenbein, 36, of Sagle was charged Tuesday with felony injury to a child. She was released after posting $5,000 bail.
The girl was recovering at home after being sprayed Monday, police said. She was treated at a hospital.
The cause of the dispute between the families was not immediately known. “It sounded like this has been going on for a while,” the police chief said. “It just escalated.”
Police said Gantenbein’s 16- year-old daughter sprayed the infant’s grandmother and aunt, one of whom was holding the child. Gantenbein then took the canister and sprayed the baby, authorities said. The juvenile was cited with two counts of battery.
PHOENIX
Inmate convicted of attacks in standoff
An inmate who took two guards hostage in a watchtower last year in one of the nation’s longest prison hostage standoffs was convicted Wednesday on 19 charges, including sexual assault.
Ricky Wassenaar, 42, was convicted of kidnapping, aggravated assault and sexual assault against a female guard who was held hostage for 15 days.
Following the reading of the verdicts in Maricopa County Superior Court, Wassenaar repeatedly said, “Worst verdicts I ever heard.”
Wassenaar is to be sentenced June 3. He faces up to 16 life sentences.
CAIRO
Dozens arrested in political protests
Thousands of supporters of the banned Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest Islamic group, protested across the country Wednesday for political reform. Dozens were arrested.
The frequency of anti-government protests by several reform groups has increased since December. The Muslim Brotherhood – probably Egypt’s most powerful opposition group – tried to hold a large protest in March in central Cairo but was mostly stymied by a massive police presence. That led to a crackdown against the group.
The Muslim Brotherhood was established in 1928 and has been banned since 1954, though the government tolerates some of its activities.
WASHINGTON
Badge honors GIs not in official combat role
Any Army soldier who has seen active combat while in Iraq or Afghanistan may now receive a new “Combat Action Badge,” making tens of thousands of soldiers who are not in the infantry ranks – including women – eligible for a combat award for the first time.
The new award, which the Army announced Wednesday, means that the thousands of soldiers who are exposed to enemy action but are not officially in combat roles can earn a prestigious badge for being involved in the fight. Army officials said the badge was designed to honor soldiers who face perilous situations while doing their jobs in wars.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia
Plane-blast acquittals won’t be appealed
Canadian prosecutors will not appeal the acquittals of two men in the 1985 bombing of an Air India plane that killed 329 people because they believe they have no grounds for winning a new trial, a spokesman for prosecutors said Wednesday.
Canadians Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri were found not guilty of murder and conspiracy charges March 16 in the bombing of Air India Flight 182. The plane blew up June 23, 1985, off the coast of Ireland en route from Toronto to Bombay, India. All 329 people onboard were killed.
In his verdict, Justice Ian Josephson said he simply did not believe the witnesses against Bagri and Malik. As a result, prosecutors could not win an appeal because the judge made no error in law, a spokesman said.
TOKYO
Japanese reportedly to recall forces in Iraq
Japan will withdraw its 550 soldiers from their noncombat mission in Iraq in December, according to a media report Wednesday.
Tokyo will notify other countries participating in the peacekeeping mission in Iraq as early as September and then shift its contribution to financial assistance, Kyodo News agency said, quoting sources it did not identify.
Several American allies – including Ukraine, the Netherlands and Spain – have started pulling their troops from Iraq, and Poland has said it will withdraw its soldiers by year’s end unless the U.N. Security Council renews their mandate.
