Other world stories in brief
Bombs kill 23 in Iraq but US hails security
BAGHDAD- Car bombs killed 23 people in Baghdad and three other Iraqi cities yesterday but US defence secretary Robert Gates said a secure, stable country was within reach.
A car bomb near a Shia mosque in Baghdad killed 15 people and wounded 35 as they gathered for evening prayers, making it the capital's deadliest bombing since September. - (Reuters)
Rice tries to avert African conflict
ADDIS ABABA- US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice urged Ethiopia yesterday to avoid acts that would raise tensions with Eritrea but got new promises from Africa's Great Lakes nations to end fighting in eastern Congo.
Ms Rice spent a day in the Ethiopian capital meeting African leaders and ministers with the aim of tackling conflicts in Congo, Somalia and Sudan and preventing war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. - (Reuters)
Chief traffic officer banned
LONDON- A policeman who was Britain's chief officer in charge of traffic was banned from driving yesterday after pleading guilty to speeding.
Meredydd Hughes, the chief constable of South Yorkshire Police and until recently the lead officer on road policing, was banned from driving for 42 days and fined £350 after he pleaded guilty to exceeding the speed limit while on a family holiday. - (Reuters)
Pakistan rivals close to deal
ISLAMABAD- Pakistan's opposition parties neared agreement yesterday on their demands for President Pervez Musharraf in return for calling off a boycott of next month's elections.
The meeting between representatives of Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif and other smaller parties are crucial to an opposition push to challenge Mr Musharraf's political dominance. - (Reuters)
Jailed journalist wins media award
PARIS- An Eritrean journalist who has been jailed for six years without a single family or lawyer visit has been named journalist of the year 2007 by Reporters without Borders (RSF), the media rights watchdog said.
Seyoum Tsehaye (54) was arrested in September 2001. RSF said there were concerns about his health, it was not known where he was being held and he had never been visited by a lawyer, charged or appeared in court. - (Reuters)
Kampusch to host chat show
VIENNA- Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch, who spent eight years locked up in a windowless cell after being kidnapped in Vienna before escaping in August last year, has said she will host her own TV chat show. She told weekly magazine News she planned to host a monthly chat show: "[ My guests] could be famous people, but also very ordinary ones - just anyone who has a story to tell really." - (Reuters)