TBILISI - Thousands rallied yesterday in Georgia to demand the prosecution of top officials fired in a prison abuse scandal that threatens to unseat the governing pro-Western party in the upcoming parliamentary election. President Mikhail Saakashvili has sought to contain the damage by firing his interior and prison ministers and reshuffling prison personnel. Still, protesters increased their demands as rallies went into a third day, insisting Interior Minister Bacho Akhalaia and his brother, a deputy defence minister, be brought to justice. AP
BERLIN - German judicial authorities confirmed for the first time Nazi war criminal Aribert Heim, known as Doctor Death, had actually died as reported. Baden-Baden prosecutors said papers provided by Heim's attorney and testimony from his son helped convince them that Heim was the same person as Tarek Hussein Farid who died of cancer in Cairo in 1992. AFP
ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn took the oath of office, vowing to maintain the legacy of long-time ruler Meles Zenawi who died last month. Hailemariam, 47, was elected last week as the chairman of the ruling coalition Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front, which holds an overwhelming majority in parliament. A close ally of Meles as deputy prime minister and foreign minister since 2010, Hailemariam has vowed to continue in the footsteps of the late ruler. AFP