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World News Quick Take

PHOTO: AP

■ EAST TIMOR

PM visits wounded president

Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao visited President Jose Ramos-Horta in a hospital in Darwin, Australia, yesterday in their first meeting since both were attacked by rebel gunmen last month. Gusmao said he met Ramos-Horta for about two hours. Gusmao told reporters that he updated the president on efforts to capture the remaining rebels responsible for the Feb. 11 attacks. One suspect has been arrested over last month's attacks.



■ THAILAND

Thaksin faces new charges

Investigators said they filed new criminal corruption charges yesterday against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, accusing him of wrongly legalizing a lottery scheme. The Assets Examination Committee, set up by the military after the 2006 coup against Thaksin, brought the charges to the Supreme Court, said Udom Faungfoong, the head of the investigation. The charges center on a procedural issue, claiming Thaksin and his cabinet legalized an underground lottery with a decree instead of parliamentary approval.



■ AUSTRALIA

Magazine apologizes

A women's magazine apologized yesterday for breaking a media blackout on Prince Harry's deployment in Afghanistan, forcing him to be withdrawn from frontline duty. "We did not knowingly breach any embargo and were not party to any agreement for a media blackout on the story," said New Idea in its latest edition. "However, and more importantly, we do acknowledge that our actions in publishing the story can be reasonably viewed as insensitive and irresponsible." Harry, 23, was hastily pulled out of Afghanistan last month, after just 10 weeks on the frontline, because of fears that news of his presence could increase the danger to him and his fellow soldiers. ■ MALTA

Nationalist Party wins

The election commission confirmed that the long-ruling Nationalist Party had won the parliamentary vote by a small margin. Officials said the Nationalist Party of Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had 49.3 percent of the vote, compared with the opposition Labor Party's 48.8 percent and had won by some 1,500 votes. The announcement prompted Labor, which had hoped for a return to power after a decade, to finally concede defeat after one of the tightest elections since the former British colony gained independence in 1964.



■ UNITED KINGDOM

`Gametes' ban mulled

The government said on Sunday it would review a ban on the use of artificial sperm or eggs to induce human pregnancies. British law currently allows the creation of so-called "artificial gametes" -- sperm or eggs derived from other types of cells such as stem cells -- for research but bars their use in assisted reproduction because of safety and ethical concerns. The Department of Health said on Sunday it had agreed to "look further into this matter."



■ AUSTRIA

Acid mail suspect nabbed

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the mailing of packages containing acid to several officials in the northwestern parts of the country, a security chief said on Sunday. Alois Lissl, director of public safety in the province of Upper Austria, also said authorities had been alerted to a fifth suspicious package. A man was taken in custody in the town of Wels, Lissl told said in a telephone interview. He identified him as a 48-year-old real estate broker from the local district of Schaerding, adding he was arrested late on Saturday and that he had maintained his innocence. The probe was continuing, Lissl added.



■ UNITED KINGDOM

Atlantic storm hits Wales

A storm rushing in from the Atlantic lashed parts of south Wales yesterday as high winds and tides brought the risk of coastal flooding. Gusting winds brought down trees and ripped tiles off roofs, damaging power lines and cutting electricity to parts of south Wales. The Environment Agency issued seven severe flood warnings around the Cornish and Devon coastlines and advised the public to check the agency's flood hotline and listen to local radio. Gusts of up to 130kph were forecast at the height of the storm around midday, with blustery weather expected to continue until tomorrow.



■ UNITED KINGDOM

Extra money spent on jets

The government is planning to use money earmarked for weapons disposal and landmine removal in former conflict zones to service Tornado jets flying in Iraq, the Guardian reported yesterday. In quotes published in the newspaper, a defense ministry spokeswoman confirmed the decision, describing it as a "short-term measure only, due to Tornados' increased use on operations." Citing a copy of a memo sent to junior defense minister Baroness Ann Taylor that it had seen, the paper said the Ministry of Defence planned to raid the Conflict Prevention Fund to pay British defense manufacturer BAE Systems to service six Tornado jets. Servicing each plane costs between ?5 million (US$10.1 million) and ?10 million, the Guardian said. The need to raid the fund arose because of the jets' increased use in Iraq. ■ UNITED STATES

Tree attracts visitors

No, that's not a hallucination. That pear tree really is wearing a sweater. The southwestern Ohio town's quirky public art is a conversation piece. Visitors to Yellow Springs are taking pictures with the giant, multicolored shell. Residents are climbing ladders and sewing more pieces on the sweater. Wrapped around the tree's trunk is a colorful, crazy-quilt skin made up of panels of yarn knitted individually by residents and visitors alike. Good-luck charms cling to the yarn. Family photos, poems and jokes peek out of knitted pockets. The knitting is the latest trend in public art.



■ VENEZUELA

Drug suspect captured

One of the US government's most-wanted drug trafficking suspects has been captured in Venezuela, state television reported on Sunday. The US has offered a reward of up to US$5 million for the arrest of Hermagoras Gonzalez Polanco, and state television channel confirmed his capture. Lawyer Freddy Ferrer told the private TV channel Globovision that Gonzalez is innocent and criticized his "illegal and illegitimate detention" on Saturday by a counter-drug squad at a ranch in western Venezuela. US authorities accuse Gonzalez of leading a drug ring known as the Guajira cartel and being behind the smuggling of many tons of cocaine to the US in the past decade.



■ UNITED STATES

Missile defense talks held

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was hoping talks yesterday with US President George W. Bush would help break an impasse on allowing US missile defense interceptors to be based on Polish soil. The two leaders were also likely to discuss NATO's operations in Afghanistan, since Poland is set to expand its contribution to the force. The two countries have been intensively negotiating Polish demands for help in upgrading its military in exchange for allowing the missile defense interceptors. Negotiations were continuing, but it was not expected that the two leaders would reach a deal in the meeting.



■ UNITED STATES

Basketball sells vasectomies

For guys who park in front of the TV during college basketball's March championship tournament, the Oregon Urology Institute in Springfield has a suggestion: Why not use that time to recover from a vasectomy? "When March Madness approaches you need an excuse ... to stay at home in front of the big screen," the clinic's radio ad says. "Get your vasectomy at Oregon Urology Institute the day before the tournament starts. It's snip city." Institute Administrator Terry FitzPatrick said men need two to four days to recover from the procedure -- but not all take the time. He has reserved a dozen appointment slots for March 19, the day before the first tipoffs of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's college basketball championship tournament, and another dozen for March 26, before the competition's second week.
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