President Bush is sending his national security adviser to the Middle East next week and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will make a return visit soon afterward to keep up pressure on Israeli and the Palestinians to start peace negotiations. National security adviser Stephen Hadley and Rice will make separate trips to the region to bridge wide gaps between the two sides on a document outlining how they intend to resume talks that will be presented at a U.S.-hosted conference this fall, a senior official said.
Benazir Bhutto made a dramatic return to Pakistan on Thursday, ending eight years of exile to reclaim a share of power with the country’s U.S.-backed President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. More than 150,00 jubilant supporters gathered to greet her amid massive security. Bhutto, who is expected to seek the premiership for an unprecedented third time and partner in ruling Pakistan, was in tears as she descended the steps of a commercial flight that brought her from Dubai, United Arab Emirates to Karachi, Pakistan, where jubilant crowds of flag-waving, drum-thumping supporters waited to give her a rousing welcome.
Paris’ subways slowed to a halt and rail lines were disrupted Thursday during a massive strike in France. Unions are protesting President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to trim special retirement packages for some workers, part of his pledge to cut back on costly public services. The strikes began late Wednesday and were to last through Thursday. The first mass-scale problems for travelers and commuters were expected at Thursday morning rush hour. Paris transport authority RATP said traffic would be “virtually nil” on most of its lines. The national rail network said it would be “nearly paralyzed.”
Most British citizens could be obese by 2050, a new government report warns, and the nation’s health secretary called Wednesday for a fundamental shift in the way the nation tackles obesity. Health Secretary Alan Johnson didn’t blame British eating habits, calling obesity “a consequence of abundance, convenience and underlying biology.” The obesity analysis by the Foresight program, run by the Office of Science, concludes that excess weight has become the norm and described Britain as an “obesogenic” society. Obesity costs Britain the equivalent of $90 million a year already.
