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/ 12 April 2006

Bargain plastic surgery flourishes in Egypt

”Had Cleopatra’s nose been shorter, the whole face of the world would have changed,” French philosopher Blaise Pascal famously said three and half centuries ago. Today, it would cost Egypt’s ancient queen and beauty as little as to get a nose job in her native country, but specialists and disfigured patients might advise her against it.

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/ 12 April 2006

Death toll in Karachi bombing rises to 57

Relatives on Wednesday began burying the dead from a suspected suicide bombing at a religious gathering in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi as the death toll rose to at least 57. Police and paramilitary forces were put on high alert after the blast blew up dozens of people — including top leaders of a religious organisation, Jamaat-e-Ahle Sunnat.

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/ 12 April 2006

Trial session held without Saddam

The trial of Saddam Hussein on charges of crimes against humanity resumed on Wednesday for a brief ten minute session without the deposed leader or any of the other seven defendants present. Chief Judge Rauf Abdel Rahman adjourned the session to April 17 after the shortest session of the trial since it began in October.

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/ 12 April 2006

Wallaby lock ruled out of Tri-Nations

Wallabies lock Hugh McMeniman will miss Australia’s midyear rugby internationals, including the Tri-Nations series against New Zealand and South Africa, because of a shoulder injury. McMeniman (22) said on Wednesday he will undergo surgery to repair the injury and related nerve damage, and will not be available for international selection.

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/ 12 April 2006

Security strike: Employers declare end to bargaining

No striking security guard will be allowed to come to work during the strike as from Friday, the Security Employer Organisations said. ”They can’t come to work when they feel like it and strike when they feel like it,” spokesperson Steve Friswell said on Tuesday. The employers also said that they were not prepared to return to wage negotiations with the striking union.

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/ 12 April 2006

New blast raises Sri Lanka toll to 21

Two policemen died in a suspected Tamil Tiger mine attack in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, the third in as many days, raising to 21 the number of people killed in the latest wave of bombings, police said. The policemen were on their way to Trincomalee to buy provisions for colleagues stationed further north of the main city in the eastern coastal district when they were ambushed.

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/ 12 April 2006

Rare snails evicted by New Zealand coal mine

Hundreds of rare snails were given their marching orders on Wednesday by the New Zealand government after an eight month battle between conservationists and a mining company. Up to 250 powelliphanta augustus snails — only discovered in 1996 — live on a mountainous ridge containing five million tonnes of coal worth about NZ$400-million.