United States President George Bush sought to buy more time for his Iraq ”surge” strategy on Wednesday by making a risky comparison for the first time with the bloodshed and chaos that followed the US pull-out from Vietnam. He made it clear he will resist congressional pressure next month for an early withdrawal.
A leading member of Germany’s Jewish community has accused the government of failing to control right-wing extremism following an attack on a group of Indian men in an eastern town. His remarks followed a brutal attack on eight Indians in the town of Mügeln, near Leipzig, at the weekend.
The European special envoy for Kosovo has dismissed suggestions that the European Union favours partitioning the province between its ethnic Albanian majority and a northern Serb enclave, saying the idea had not been discussed and was not a realistic option.
Historic churches and colonial-era haciendas along Peru’s southern coast suffered serious damage in last week’s earthquake, which also halted boat trips to an offshore wildlife reserve. In a statement, Peru’s Foreign Trade and Tourism Ministry lamented ”significant damage” to old churches and other important tourist sites.
The United States Justice Department is giving Britain’s largest airline a break, even as it faces one the largest antitrust fines in years. Representatives of British Airways are scheduled to plead guilty on Thursday to two counts of conspiracy and face a likely fine of -million for colluding with Virgin Atlantic over fuel surcharges.
The Sunday Times is trying to turn Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang into a public figure destroyed by scandal like Oscar Wilde, Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi said on Wednesday. He called the widely publicised battle between the two a witch-hunt.
A fresh study into the link between nutrition and HIV/Aids does not provide any new information, the Health Department said on Wednesday. ”The outcomes … do not necessarily provide any new information that was unknown to the Department of Health,” the department said in a statement.
The government is to establish recording studios to help launch new music stars, the Department of Arts and Culture announced on Wednesday. ”The greatest single constraint on the launching of a musical career for the new artist is access to recording facilities,” said Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan.
Hurricane Dean ripped into Mexico’s Gulf coast on Wednesday with screaming winds and torrential rain that killed two people, flooded towns and forced thousands into shelters, but then weakened rapidly. Large trees felled by wind were blocking roads as Dean made landfall in Mexico for the second time.
The families of four South African men kidnapped in Iraq last year are making an international plea to their captors, South African Broadcasting Corporation news reported on Wednesday. The four men were kidnapped in December when they were flagged down at a roadblock north of Baghdad.