Bhutto's husband acquitted of charges

A lawyer says a Pakistani court has cleared the widower of slain ex-Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto of charges of smuggling artifacts.

Asif Ali Zardari was accused of trying to smuggle antique guns and swords out of Pakistan in a case filed in 1997, soon after Bhutto's ouster as prime minister.

Zardari's lawyer, Abu Bakar Zardari, says a provincial court cleared Zardari yesterday of the long-pending charges.

Zardari became leader of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party after she was slain in bomb attack in December.

He spent eight years in jail on various corruption charges before the Supreme Court granted him bail in late 2004.

The case was registered in 1997 after a consignment of eight boxes was intercepted at London airport. The boxes allegedly contained artifacts, antiques and other contraband items. Zardari and Hassan were charged with smuggling the items to London.

Mandela breaks his promise, gets award

Former South African President Nelson Mandela broke a promise yesterday - by accepting an award.

In accepting Pretoria's "freedom of the city" award, Mandela recalled he had decided several years ago that because "the baton of leadership" has been passed on, others should be getting such honors.

Mandela, who turns 90 in July, accepted the award from South Africa's capital at his offices in Johannesburg, appearing by video link in the capital, about 80 km north.

He has cut down on public appearances in recent years, and leaned on a cane and the capital's mayor during a brief appearance before reporters after the ceremony, smiling and greeting familiar faces.

Ex-German premier Kohl gets married

Former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl has married his partner Maike Richter, an economist who is nearly 35 years his junior. Kohl's office said yesterday the two had tied the knot last week at a Heidelberg clinic where Kohl is recuperating from a head injury.

Last month, his office announced that 78-year old Kohl planned to marry Richter, 44, who is on leave from her post in the German Economy Ministry to tend to the former chancellor.

Kohl, a conservative Christian Democrat (CDU), was Germany's longest-serving post-war leader, in office from 1982 to 1998. He underwent knee surgery last year and suffered a bad fall earlier this year, which led him to be hospitalized.

Kohl's late wife Hannelore, who suffered from a rare illness that made her allergic to light, took her own life in 2001.

Agencies

(China Daily 05/14/2008 page11)