Other world stories in brief
Bosnia moves closer to EU membership
SARAJEVO -The European Union will today initial an agreement putting Bosnia on the road to membership after the country's rival ethnic leaders agreed on a set of long-delayed reforms, the EU's enlargement commissioner said.
"I've decided to initial the stabilisation and association agreement with Bosnia-Herzegovina tomorrow," Olli Rehn told a news conference in Sarajevo yesterday. However, he said formal signing of the accord would depend on further reforms proving the Serb republic and Muslim-Croat federation can work together. - (Reuters)
King calls for end to Belgian impasse
BRUSSELS- Belgium's king Albert has asked caretaker prime minister Guy Verhofstadt to find a swift way out of the country's deepening political crisis after coalition talks collapsed, the royal palace said yesterday.
"The king . . . asked [ Mr Verhofstadt] to inform him in the very short term on the way out of the current impasse and to make all necessary contacts for that," a palace statement said.
Belgian media had speculated that the king would ask Mr Verhofstadt to form an emergency government after Yves Leterme, the Flemish Christian Democrat leader expected to succeed him, abandoned coalition talks on Saturday. - (Reuters)
DRC army attacks Nkunda stronghold
MUSHAKE- Congo's army attacked a stronghold of renegade Tutsi general Laurent Nkunda yesterday, a day after his men took a strategic town from the government and forced out thousands of civilians, UN and army officials said.
The army shelled rebel positions around Mushake, 40km (25 miles) west of North Kivu's provincial capital, Goma.
Gen Nkunda and his fighters have been battling with the UN-backed Congolese army in North Kivu province, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their homes. - (Reuters)
Mark Wallinger wins Turner Prize
LIVERPOOL- British artist Mark Wallinger has won the Turner Prize, one of the art world's most controversial awards.
Wallinger, presented with the £25,000 (€35,200) prize by Hollywood star Dennis Hopper, won for Sleeper (2004-05). The video work recorded the artist dressed as a bear prowling through Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie for 10 nights in a row. - (Reuters)
Honey 'better' than cough syrup
A clinical trial has found that honey is more effective at soothing a sore throat than a common active ingredient in children's cough medicines.
Scientists believe honey may be effective because it has constituents that kill microbes and it acts as an anti-oxidant. - (Guardian service)
US doctors fail to report mistakes
WASHINGTON- Almost half of all US doctors fail to report incompetent or unethical colleagues, even though they agree that such mistakes should be reported, researchers said yesterday. They found that 46 per cent of physicians surveyed admitted they knew of a serious medical error that had been made but did not tell authorities about it. - (Reuters)
Yushchenko calls for closure of mine
DONETSK- Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko yesterday called for the closure of a colliery in eastern Ukraine while an investigation is carried out into three explosions which have killed 106 men in two weeks.
Acting prime minister Viktor Yanukovich acknowledged that the Zasyadko mine could be closed, but said it would have severe economic consequences. - (Reuters)