Islamabad, Pakistan – The government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf announced an accord Thursday that includes amnesty for the opposition leader and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, clearing the way for the general to run for re-election as president on Saturday and for Bhutto to return to Pakistan for parliamentary elections.
The agreement has been approved by the Cabinet and awaits Musharraf’s signature. It also permits negotiations on a broader power-sharing pact with Bhutto.
The amnesty was a central demand of Bhutto, who plans to return to Pakistan on Oct. 18 to run for prime minister. She left Pakistan in 1999 to escape corruption charges that she contends were politically motivated.
Australia, New Zealand honor World War I dead
Passchendaele, Belgium – Australian and New Zealand leaders led tributes Thursday to the 10,000 soldiers from their nations who died 90 years ago this month in one of World War I’s bloodiest battles.
New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and Australia Gov. General Michael Jeffery led the commemorations, laying wreaths and honoring those who fell as part of the regiments that fought at the Battle of Passchendaele.
The bodies of five Australian soldiers found near Passchendaele last year were reburied at Buttes Military Cemetery, one of many Commonwealth grave sites that dot Flanders Fields.
Mexico unveils U.S. anti-drug aid
Mexico city – Mexico’s top diplomat for North America announced Thursday that the United States and Mexico have come to terms on a proposed $1 billion, two-year aid package to help Mexico fight drug trafficking.
The remarks by Carlos Rico, Mexico’s undersecretary for North American affairs, were the first public disclosure by a top official in either country about the size of an aid deal that has been quietly negotiated for months.
Relatives of Chile’s Pinochet accused in money scheme
Buenos Aires, Argentina – The widow and five children of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet were arrested Thursday for their alleged roles in hiding millions of government dollars in bank accounts in Washington and elsewhere.
Gen. Pinochet died last December before facing trial on numerous charges of human- rights abuses and corruption. He was accused of illegally keeping more than $27 million in overseas banks.
