Newsline, 19 August 2009: The Taliban in Afghanistan have once again vowed to disrupt Thursday's presidential elections, the Rotterdam city council and the city's Erasmus University want to break ties with Muslim philosopher Tariq Ramadan and enjoying the silence on the Amsterdam canals in an electrical boat.

Afghanistan's deadly elections
With only one day to go, preparations for Afghanistan's presidential elections take place amidst fear of fraud, suicide attacks on polling stations and Taliban threats to disrupt the elections. Our correspondent Hans Jaap Melissen reports from Kabul.

Listen to Hans Jaap Melissen's full report here

Rotterdam breaks ties with Muslim philosopher
He had been appointed to 'bridge the divide' between Muslims and non-Muslim communities in Rotterdam, but Swiss-Egyptian Tariq Ramadan has now lost the support of the city council after it was revealed he works for an Iranian TV channel paid by the Iranian government. Mr Ramadan has vowed to fight back, by saying that his sacking is the result of the current harsh political climate in Rotterdam and the rest of the country.

The sound of silence back on the Amsterdam canals
The Amsterdam city council wants to put an end to the smelly, noisy and polluting boats that Amsterdammers use to cruise the famous canals. A boat rental company has now started to rent out electrical boats that enable you to enjoy the silence on the canals.

Read the full story here (includes audio).

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