■ Canada
O'Brien says `pardon moi'
Talk show host Conan O'Brien apologized on Wednesday for offending any French Canadians during his show's visit to Toronto last week, but not before trying to wring some laughs out of the flap."People of Quebec, I'm sorry," O'Brien said on NBC television's broadcast of "The Late Show with Conan O'Brien" telecast early on Wednesday. He had his remarks "translated" into French and subtitled: "People of Quebec, I'm an albino jackass." O'Brien's cantankerous sock puppet, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, also drew the ire of French Canadian separatists with some of his jokes last week. O'Brien did a week of shows from Toronto -- with the help of US$750,000 in Canadian taxpayers' money.
■ United States
Soldier tried to aid enemy
A member of a US National Guard armored unit in Washington state sent details of military weak points to what he thought were al-Qaeda operatives in an effort to help them kill American troops, according to Army charges disclosed on Wednesday. Army Specialist Ryan Anderson, 26, who had been slated for deployment to Iraq with his unit based at Fort Lewis, near Tacoma, Washington, is being held there on three charges of attempting to aid the enemy. Anderson, who was arrested on Feb. 12, faces a possible death penalty if convicted of the charges by a military court. The charges accused him of sending the undercover officers, among other things, sketches of the M1A1 and M1A2 Abrams main battle tank.
■ Cyprus
Bomb hits near PM's house
Just hours before Cyprus reunification talks were scheduled to begin yesterday, a small bomb exploded in front of the home of the prime minister of the self-declared Turkish Cypriot state. There were no injuries. Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Mehmet Ali Talat, a leading advocate of reunification, quickly vowed that the talks would go on. The blast in front of his home shattered windows and tore apart tree branches and street signs.
■ United Kingdom
Bare floors taking their toll
A vogue among British householders to replace carpets with bare wooden floors might be doing wonders for their minimalist credentials, but only at high cost to their health, according to a report in The Times. New accident statistics showed that more than 12,000 Britons a year have to go to hospital after falling on their floors, against a figure of just 2,900 five years ago, the newspaper said yesterday.
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