The great and good of Kazakhstan are getting tired of having to clear up wild misconceptions about their republic. They are tired of having to insist that shooting a dog and then having a party is not a favourite national pastime and of denying that their wine is made of fermented horse urine and that women are kept in cages.

Australia’s only nuclear reactor was a possible target for alleged Islamic militants arrested for plotting a major attack, it was revealed on Monday. In a 21-page report, police investigators said members of the terror cell were stockpiling bomb-making materials as well as sizing up a possible strike on the reactor.

Spanish police have traced up to 42 suspected CIA operatives believed to have taken part in secret flights carrying detained or kidnapped Islamist terror suspects to interrogation centres and jails in Afghanistan, Egypt and elsewhere. Germany and Italy are already investigating similar flights.

French President Jacques Chirac acknowledged on Monday night that France’s 18 nights of urban violence have revealed a ”profound malaise” in society and launched an appeal to combat the ”poison” of racial discrimination. Chirac delivered his first formal address to the nation since the unrest started on October 27.