■ Italy
Prodi to lead opposition bid
Former European Commission president Romano Prodi was crowned yesterday as the opposition leader to take on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi at the next general election after triumphing at center-left primaries. Prodi won almost 75 percent of the vote, while his nearest rival among the six other candidates was veteran communist leader Fausto Bertinotti, who took 15 percent. Four million people voted, far more than anyone had expected, giving Prodi's leadership an overwhelming seal of approval ahead May's general election.
■ Turkey
Strong quake, little damage
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 shook the western port city of Izmir yesterday, sending terrified residents running from their homes but causing only minor damage. The earthquake struck at 8:45am and was centered in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Izmir. Two aftershocks with preliminary magnitudes of 4.1 and 3.0 followed. Quakes are frequent in Turkey, which lies on an active fault.
■ Germany
Raccoons wipe out grapes
Authorities have stepped up efforts to cull raccoons amid reports that the ravenous American mammals have ruined wine-grape harvests in one region. Imported to Germany from North America before World War II, raccoons have multiplied throughout Germany and Central Europe. The mammals have become a health hazard in many cities, where they rummage through garbage bins and invade attics and cellars. Now, they are becoming a threat to agriculture. "Raccoons wiped out almost the entire harvest in a matter of days," vintner Werner Kothe said. "We have 540 vines and they have been stripped bare by these pesky animals."
■ Russia
Responsibility claimed
Top Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility in an Internet message yesterday for raids on the southern Russian city of Nalchik that left more than 100 people dead. "I was responsible for the general operational guidance" of the attacks on Nalchik, a message posted on a Web site used by Chechen rebels quoted Basayev as saying. Russian officials said they killed 92 gunmen in two days of fighting in Nalchik, but the message attributed to Basayev said there had been only 41 fatalities among the militants. Basayev said the attacks had been carried out by 217 mujahidin of the rebel Caucasus Front and had targeted 15 "military objectives."
■ Saudi Arabia
Cinema opens for women
The country's first movie theater will open in Riyadh during the Id Al-Fitr holidays that mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but will show only cartoon films for women and children. The movie theater will start screening on Nov. 3 tentatively, at the InterContinental Hotel in the capital. The 1,200-seat theater will hold three one-hour shows to screen foreign cartoon films dubbed in Arabic every evening. The project is a prelude to the start of real screenings for all in Saudi Arabia, given that cafes in main cities already show films, sports games and video clips on TV. Abdullah Dahlan, a writer, said he had not come across any law that bans running of movie theater in the kingdom. He said movie theaters existed in the country more than 50 years ago, but disappeared in the past 15 years due to religious extremism.
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