■SPAIN
Weary Solbes wants to quit
Economy Minister Pedro Solbes, long rumored to be weary of his post, said on Monday he was envious of the justice minister who has just resigned. Mariano Fernandez Bermejo quit on Monday after a hunting trip he shared with a prominent judge investigating opposition party members became an issue in regional elections. Asked at a conference in Madrid if he was envious of Bermejo, Solbes said: “Yes, in the sense that he’s an ex-minister.” Solbes’ desire to retire has long been an open secret. He wanted to step down at last March’s general election before Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero persuaded him to stay.
■NETHERLANDS
ICC to rule on Beshir case
The International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Monday it would rule next week whether to seek the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir for alleged war crimes in Darfur. A pre-trial chamber of judges in The Hague said it “would issue on Wednesday, March 4, its decision concerning the prosecution application” for a warrant for Beshir, a court statement said. ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo asked the court last July for an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Sudan’s war-torn western region.
■ITALY
Coca-Cola plan criticized
Venetian Mayor Massimo Cacciari’s plan to install Coca-Cola vending machines has the city’s bar owners and media up in arms. “Coca-Cola drinks up Venice,” La Stampa newspaper said in its online edition on Monday. La Stampa said the five-year deal is worth 2.1 million euros (US$2.69 million). Venice’s City Hall confirmed the report, but said the deal has not been signed yet and that the vending machines would not be installed in or near city landmarks such as St. Mark’s Square or the Rialto Bridge. “I’m stunned at the controversy that is erupting over a partnership between the Venice City Hall and one of the largest and most prestigious brands in the world, Coca-Cola,” Cacciari said in a statement. He said the deal was part of a “financial strategy that today is indispensable for the safeguard of our artistic heritage.”
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