Advertisement
Violence on the streets of Bishkek as protesters and police clash
An opposition leader and former foreign minister, Roza Otunbayeva, told the BBC that new defence and interior ministers had been appointed.
The whereabouts of President Bakiyev are not clear but reports say that he has flown out of the capital, Bishkek.
Protests at rising prices, corruption and the arrest of opposition leaders had erupted in three cities.
Ms Otunbayeva said the interim government would remain in power for six months and draw up a new constitution.
Kyrgyzstan is a strategically important Central Asian state and houses a key US military base that supplies forces in Afghanistan. Russia also has a base there.
Ms Otunbayeva said these military bases could continue as before.
The United States said it deplored the violence and urged "respect for the rule of law". It also said it believed the government was still in control.
Russian PM Vladimir Putin denied that Moscow had played any role in the unrest, saying it was a "domestic affair" and that there should be "restraint".
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the protests showed the "outrage at the existing regime".
A spokesman for Ban Ki-moon said the UN secretary general was "shocked by the reported deaths and injuries that have occurred today in Kyrgyzstan. He urgently appeals for dialogue and calm to avoid further bloodshed".
Sudan's Umma party declares election boycott
Opposition parties warn that the poll is unlikely to be either free or fair
One of Sudan's key opposition parties has said that it plans to boycott the country's elections.
A spokesman said the Umma party would not take part in the presidential, parliamentary or state polls.
Sudan's first multi-party elections since 1986 are scheduled to begin on Sunday.
The Umma party's decision follows that of the main southern Sudan party, the SPLM, to boycott the vote in the northern areas.
"We have decided to boycott the electoral process at all levels," said Sarah Nugdalla, head of Umma's political bureau.
Umma was among a group of opposition parties that had given the Sudanese government a deadline to introduce reforms in return for a pledge to take part in the elections - as long as these were delayed until May.
Egypt calls for antiquities unity
The conference is aimed at recovering artefacts from overseas
States which say artefacts have been stolen and displayed overseas should unite to recover their stolen heritage, Egypt's top archaeologist has said.
Zahi Hawass, head of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), urged culture officials from around the world to draw up lists of missing items.
Some 20 countries are represented at the two-day conference in Cairo aimed at recovering artefacts from overseas.
The SCA wants many pharaonic items returned by Western museums.
"Museums are the main source for stolen artefacts," he told delegates from countries including Libya, Greece, Italy, China and Peru.
"If they stop (buying stolen artefacts) the theft will be less.
No comments:
Post a Comment