President Bush interrupted his vacation for two hours on Saturday afternoon to massage 350 of his most prodigious campaign fund-raisers at a soggy barbecue down the road from his ranch. The fund-raisers, who had each collected at least US$50,000 for Bush's re-election campaign by June 30, were also greeted by Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, and Ken Mehlman, the Bush-Cheney campaign manager. The barbecue, at Stan and Kathy Hickey's Broken Spoke Ranch three and a half miles down Prairie Chapel Road from Bush's property, was what Bush calls a "friend-raiser," meaning no contribution was required for entry.
■ United States
Mass breast-feed no record
To the sounds of slurping, gurgling and the occasional howl, 684 women and their children held a mass breast-feed in Berkeley, California on Saturday to mark World Breast-feeding Week. The number fell short of the 1,130 women of last year's nurse-in, which set a mark listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. But the group was happy to have trounced a weak challenge by counterparts in Australia, who could only muster 48 women a few days earlier. The the event was mainly held to promote breastfeeding, done by only an estimated one-third of American mothers.
■ Canada
Forest fire under control
An estimated 3,500 people displaced for more than a week by a forest fire in the mountains of British Columbia were allowed to return home on Saturday. Officials declared the town of Barriere, about 300km northeast of Vancouver, safe enough to reopen, as crews made progress containing the fire that has scorched more than 180km2 of woodlands. The blaze destroyed more than 60 homes in the area causing at least US$5.75 million in residential damage, but firefighters were able to keep the flames away from most of Barriere's houses. Several businesses and a saw mill that was one of the region's biggest employers were also destroyed.
■ Italy
Tourists to get fined
Tired tourists, beware. If you visit the cathedrals of Florence or Venice and afterwards want a minute's rest on their steps or pavements, you may be hit with a fine. Jarred by criticism that city councils around Italy were not keeping back-packing day trippers in line, both cities have begun fining those who do not behave with decorum around churches. The 50-euro (US$56.50) fines apply to the areas around Florence's cathedral, the Duomo, and the Basilica of St Mark in St Mark's Square in Venice.
■ United Kingdom
Instant literature
The Reduced Shakespeare Company won acclaim chopping the Bard down to digestible soundbites. Now it's taking on the history of western literature in 90 minutes. All The Great Books (Abridged), being performed to packed houses at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, is a literature student's dream -- Ulysses and War and Peace summed up in an instant. The company, with its origins in Californian street theatre in 1981, is now a literary travelling circus with three troupes touring the globe and shows translated into 16 languages. Its shows -- from Shakespeare to the Bible, from the Millennium to the History of America -- are now being performed for an eighth year in London.
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