Foreign

Aspirin good for the heart ­ study
WASHINGTON -- Known for its benefits to heart disease sufferers, aspirin is also an effective tool in preventing cardiovascular problems, according to a British study to be published this week. "Aspirin is widely used to prevent heart attacks and...

Zimbabwe Asians assured their property is safe
HARARE ­ The government yesterday reassured citizens of Asian origin yesterday that their businesses and properties would not be seized by ruling party militants. Home Affairs Minister John Nkomo, who is in charge of the police, said threats...

Police say headless body may be Pearl's
KARACHI -- Pakistani police suspect a decapitated body unearthed in a blood-stained hut here yesterday could be the remains of murdered US reporter Daniel Pearl. "The body was beheaded and in several pieces," police chief investigator Manzoor Mug...

Bread loses crust to please children
CHICAGO -- Sara Lee Bakery says it is bowing to the demands of US children, and offering a pre-packaged crustless bread to American consumers. "We are pleased to provide a unique, breakthrough product that kids have been demanding for years," sai...

Taiwan wives to be paid for house chores
TAIPEI -- Taiwan women won another victory on Thursday in their fight for rights when parliament revised the law, ordering husbands to pay their wives for doing housework. Parliament's legal committee revised the Civil Code to order a family's s...

Crazy World
Satisfying sex drive COUPLES in Fortaleza, Brazil, can now enjoy nights of passion in a "sex drive-in." Mozart Gomez de Moura Neto has divided a warehouse into 20 parking spaces which he hires out at R30 an hour and R7 for each additional hour. ...

Stage set for crucial Lesotho elections
MASERU ­ The stage has been set for general elections in Lesotho on May 25 with the delivery of more than 900000 ballot papers from a Durban company. The chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Leshele Thoasane, said yesterday the ...

Young giraffe gets artificial leg
TOKYO -- A young giraffe at a zoo in Japan's northeastern Akita prefecture has received an artificial leg during a six-hour operation, a zoo spokesperson said. "The operation may be the first success of its kind in the world," said Katsumi Chiba ...

Death toll in Indian heatwave up to 525
NEW DELHI -- The death toll from a scorching heatwave this month has risen to 525, despite scattered rains yesterday, officials said. Some 456 heat-related deaths in the past two weeks were reported from the southern Indian state of Andhra Prades...

Court rejects appeal forurgent media law review
HARARE ­ Zimbabwe's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by foreign journalists to urgently revise a tough new media law they say infringes on press freedom, the Foreign Correspondents' Association said yesterday. Three foreign journalists -...

Website tracks polar bears
PARIS ­ Internet surfers can now track polar bears from the comfort of their homes, thanks to a website (www.panda.org/polarbears/) that follows the movement and welfare of two tagged bears in the Arctic wilderness. Louise and Gro have been ...

Round About
Tenor cancels UK concert LONDON ­ Tenor Luciano Pavarotti has cancelled a planned performance in Britain to train for the World Cup. The Italian opera star is scheduled to perform in a Three Tenors concert at the tournament in Japan in lat...

WORLD BRIEFS
R19m for Beethoven's 9th LONDON ­ The earliest draft of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, a single-page manuscript, was sold for a record £1,3 million (R19 million) here yesterday. The manuscript was bought by an anonymous telephone bidder d...