■ United Kingdom
Veggie motivation backfires
Managers at two branches of the Bank of Scotland made staff sit vegetables on their desks to try to prompt improved performance. The move prompted outrage instead. Two tellers at branches of the bank in Glasgow and Paisley had the vegetables placed on their desks within full public view. In the first case, an 18-year-old male teller was said to be deeply upset by the cabbage put on his desk. In the second case, which only emerged on Tuesday, a 24-year-old had a cauliflower placed on her desk. She was apparently told she could only pass it on when someone opened an account.
■ Zimbabwe
UN charges disputed
Zimbabwe accused the UN yesterday of exaggerating the impact of its urban demolition campaign, denying police killed anybody and accusing the UN of bias against President Robert Mugabe's government. The official Herald newspaper said Harare had completed an official response to a UN report issued last month which accused Zimbabwe officials of "indiscriminate" demolitions that destroyed the homes or livelihoods of some 700,000 people. "In its 45-page response, the government said the launch of the operation was intended to address a cocktail of social, economic and security challenges that were negatively impacting on the country's economy and the populace," the Herald said.
■ United States
Unit knew about Atta
A US army intelligence officer says his unit was blocked in 2000 and 2001 from giving the FBI information about a US-based terrorist cell that included Mohamed Atta, the future leader of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer said the small intelligence unit, called "Able Danger," had identified Atta and three of the other future Sept. 11 hijackers as al-Qaeda members by mid-2000. He said military lawyers stopped the unit from sharing the information with the FBI. The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks left the Able Danger claims out of its official report.
■ United States
Juice can fight arthritis
Drinking a glass of orange juice a day may help stave off arthritis, new research suggests. Certain carotenoids, compounds commonly found in some fruits and vegetables, appear to be responsible. The findings from previous studies have suggested that dietary carotenoids, the chemicals responsible for the orange and yellow coloring of fruits and vegetables, can reduce inflammation through antioxidant effects. Dr. Alan Silman, from The University of Manchester in the UK, and colleagues analyzed data from a study of more than 25,000 subjects to investigate the association between dietary carotenoids and arthritis risk.
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