Foreign

Namibia to consider charging Basson
WINDHOEK -- Apartheid-era germ warfare expert Wouter Basson may still stand trial on atrocities here, Namibian foreign minister Theo-Ben Gurirab told AFP yesterday. "For us the matter will not rest until we see justice done," he said a day after ...

Forgiving may be divine, but crime doesn't pay
CRAZY WORLD By KEITH CHALKLEY POLICE in Chile arrested a suspected armed robber after he went back to apologise to his victims and to ask: "May I have my gun back?" He lost the weapon after the owner of the Santiago store he was trying to rob, gr...

Attractive widow gets lower payout
PERTH -- An Australian widow is angry that compensation for the death of her husband has been reduced because she is considered attractive and a good prospect for remarrying. Teresa de Sales, 39, said yesterday her payout was knocked down by abou...

Kinky sex a bind
FLORENCE -- A man here turned to his local hospital to get his handcuffs removed but ended up being questioned by police, who suspected him of being an escaped convict, Italian media reported yesterday. The 32-year-old man had told nurses he had ...

Suicide bombing mars Powell visit
JERUSALEM -- A young woman suicide bomber killed six other people and wounded scores more near a crowded market here yesterday just hours after US Secretary of State Colin Powell started a peace mission. The bomb went off as the woman was approac...

Schumi is hot stuff in the wet
IMOLA -- Four-time world champion Michael Schumacher proved once again his mastery of wet conditions yesterday when he set the fastest time in both free practice sessions for tomorrow's San Marino Grand Prix. Overnight downpours had soaked the tr...

Chretien in Nepad talks as tour ends
DAKAR -- Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien yesterday wrapped up an African tour by meeting officials preparing for a summit of the world's richest nations, where African development will be high on the agenda. Chretien, who currently chairs ...

Monk killed in Malagasy unrest
ANTANANARIVO -- An elderly Canadian monk and at least five other people were killed yesterday in fighting in the town of Fianarantsoa as unrest flared in Madagascar's bitter power struggle, the rival sides said. The monk was shot when he leaned o...

MDC seeks to annul Zim poll
HARARE -- Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) yesterday filed a petition with the country's high court seeking to annul last month's elections won by Robert Mugabe, a party official said. "They (opposition lawyers) filed th...

Venezuela's ruler forced out
CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez, the former army paratrooper who polarised Venezuela with his strongarm rule, resigned under military pressure yesterday after a massive opposition demonstration ended in a bloodbath. Chavez, 47, presented his res...

World in brief
Zambia bank probe LUSAKA -- Zambia's top prosecutor gave the go-ahead yesterday for police to investigate a bank fraud case allegedly involving senior members of former President Fredrick Chiluba's administration. Chiluba's officials have been ...

Luck and prosperity
Thai people splash water at a Buddha image for luck and prosperity on the eve of Songkran in Bangkok yesterday. Songkran or the New Year festival for people in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand starts today. They mark the Thai New Year by thr...