■ Azerbaijan
Vote confirms prime minister
Azerbaijan's parliament confirmed ailing President Geidar Aliev's son as prime minister, which could ultimately catapult the younger Aliev to the top job in this oil-rich Caspian Sea nation. Ilham Aliev received the support of 101 of parliament's 124 members. One lawmaker abstained, and the opposition boycotted the session. Geidar Aliev, who has a history of heart problems, has been in a Turkish military hospital since July 8 and has not appeared in public during that time. Many observers believe he is laying the ground to transfer power to Ilham Aliev.
■ United Kingdom
Cherie Blair a big dance hit
The singing skills of Cherie Blair, the wife of Britain's prime minister, are this summer dazzling Britons on the dancefloor. Cherie stepped in to help her husband Tony Blair when he was asked to sing during a grilling by Chinese students in Beijing last month on the case for war in Iraq. She rattled off a verse from the Beatles When I'm 64. Now her effort has been worked into a dance track which is proving a hit with British holidaymakers in popular resorts like Ibiza in Spain and Ayia Napa in Cyprus, the Independent newspaper said yesterday. "The tune has taken off in a big way in the nightclubs all over Europe," a music industry source told the paper.
■ United States
De Niro licensed to kill
Actors Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel, radio host Howard Stern and developer Donald Trump are among the New Yorkers licensed to carry a loaded gun, according to police records. But some stars -- including Joan Rivers, action-movie star Steven Seagal and conservative commentator William F. Buckley -- were rejected when they applied to have their gun licenses renewed by New York City police this year, the New York Post reported Sunday. Police told the Post only that Rivers had an "incident" on her record. She was reportedly in a fight with a car-rental clerk last year but was not criminally charged.
■ United States
Schools chief fails test
This superintendent of schools in Lawrence, Massachusetts, who recently put two dozen teachers on unpaid leave for failing a basic English proficiency test, has himself flunked a required literacy test three times. Wilfredo Laboy called his failing scores "frustrating" and "emotional." He blamed his performance on a lack of preparation and concentration, as well as the fact that that Spanish is his first language. "It bothers me because I'm trying to understand the congruence of what I do here every day and this stupid test," Laboy told The Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence in a story published Sunday.
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