■ United Kingdom
No EU foreign minister
A single European foreign policy is unfeasible, Britain's minister for the EU said in remarks published yesterday, countering calls by some European policy makers for more centralized EU decision-making. "The federalist vision of a single EU foreign policy, implemented by a central bureaucracy without the consent of all the governments, is neither realistic nor desirable," the Financial Times quoted the minister, Dennis MacShane, as saying. The EU, soon to span 25 countries, on Friday adopted the first draft constitution for an enlarged union. An EU foreign minister was among its proposals.
■ France
Anti-strike protesters march
More than 15,000 people fed up with strikes that have hobbled transport around France demonstrated on Sunday -- four days before a new strike to protest a government pension plan reform. Demonstrators marched from the square in front of Paris City Hall to the Place de la Concorde. Police said some 18,000 people took part in the march. The demonstration was organized by groups called "Liberty, I Write Your Name" and "The France That Works." Stickers reading "Stop the Strike" have recently shown up on walls around Paris. A new strike set for Thursday -- the eighth since the movement against the retirement reforms started last month -- was expected to cripple transport around France and air traffic.
■ Liberia
Taylor won't seek re-election
Liberian President Charles Taylor will not seek a further term in office when his current mandate runs out in January next year, the international mediator in the strife-torn country's civil war said Sunday. "What is sure is we have obtained from his government that Taylor will not represent himself at the end of his mandate and this has already been acknowledged," said the mediator, former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar. "We must do everything that is possible to find a compromise and find a lasting peace in Liberia," he said.
■ United Kingdom
Prison security questioned
British prison authorities said Sunday they had launched an investigation after a journalist reportedly used fake credentials to get a job guarding a prisoner accused of killing two 10-year-old girls. The tabloid News of the World said reporter David McGee used a false address and fake references to get the job at Woodhill high-security prison north of London. Within weeks, the newspaper said, he had been left alone to guard Ian Huntley, accused of killing schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman. The newspaper ran photographs of the 29-year-old in his cell which it said had been taken by McGee.
Agencies
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