Today's other stories in brief.
Montenegro set for EU recognition
BRUSSELS - EU foreign ministers will agree on Monday to recognise the independence of Montenegro, which voted last month to break away from with Serbia, according to a draft statement.
The move is largely a formality after the tiny western Balkan republic voted in a referendum on May 21st, by more than the required 55 per cent, for independence, completing the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. - (Reuters)
FW de Klerk stable after operation
CAPE TOWN - FW de Klerk, the last president of white-ruled South Africa, was in a stable condition yesterday after suffering respiratory problems following an operation for colon cancer, a hospital official said.
De Klerk, a longtime smoker before reportedly quitting last year, shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for his efforts to end apartheid and establish a multi-racial democracy. - (Reuters)
Rebel Serb leader 'hanged himself '
AMSTERDAM - Former Croatian Serb rebel leader Milan Babic, who died in jail in March, hanged himself and there were no signs of criminal conduct, an internal UN war crimes inquiry revealed yesterday.
Babic, who was in The Hague to testify against another top Croatian Serb, committed suicide in the detention centre on March 5th, a week before former Yugoslavia President Slobodan Milosevic died of a heart attack in the same prison.
- (Reuters)
Overloaded boat mishap claims 25
VALETTA - Twenty-five illegal migrants are feared to have drowned after an overloaded boat overturned 40 miles northeast of Malta yesterday, army officials said.
A further 12 were rescued by an Italian fishing boat.
- (Reuters)
Kennedy's archive set to go online
BOSTON - President John F Kennedy's personal archives will go online under an ambitious government project that will make it the first full presidential collection to be made accessible to Web surfers around the globe.
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum said yesterday that it planned to turn millions of documents, photos and audio recordings into a digital library that can be accessed online. - (Reuters)
Japan's fertility rate in decline
TOKYO - Japanese women are willing to have more children if their husbands help with childcare chores, almost all of which are carried out by women, according to a survey published yesterday.
Japan's fertility rate - the average number of children a woman bears in her lifetime, fell to an all-time low of 1.25 in 2005. Demographers say a rate of 2.1 is needed to keep arrest decline . - (Reuters)