Briefs

Zim’s neighbours to seek end to sanctions
* KINSHASA – Zimbabwe’s neighbours were due to step up calls yesterday for an end to Western sanctions against Zimbabwe and urge South Africa to plead Harare’s cause within the Group of 20 rich and developing nations, officials said.

2 000 students report swine flu symptoms* SAN FRANCISCO – Some 2 000 students at Washington State University have reported symptoms of swine flu, university officials said, in one of the largest reported outbreaks of the virus on a US college campus.Gabon recovers from post election violence * PORT GENTIL – Shopkeepers swept glass from streets littered with burned-out cars and hungry residents braved long lines to buy bread as Gabon inched back to normal yesterday after several days of post election violence.UN watchdog warns of Iran ‘stalemate’ * VIENNA – The UN nuclear watchdog is locked in a ‘stalemate’ with Iran over the country’s suspect nuclear programme, the agency’s chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, said yesterday, pressing Tehran to answer lingering questions about its atomic ambitions.Car bomb kills 8 at checkpoint in Iraq * BAGHDAD – A suicide attacker drove an explosives-packed car into a line of vehicles at a checkpoint in western Iraq yesterday, killing eight people and wounding 16, police and hospital officials said.Libya rules out payments to IRA families * LONDON – Libya will not pay compensation to the families of people killed by Irish republican bombs they say were made using Libyan-supplied explosives, the son of the north African country’s leader Muammar Gaddafi said. San Cristobal volcano spews ashes, gas* MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s San Cristobal volcano has let off a series of explosions, spewing gases and showering ash on nearby towns. There are no reports of injuries or damage.
Iran won’t halt nuclear work: Pres* TEHRAN – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday Iran would neither halt uranium enrichment nor negotiate over its nuclear rights but is ready to sit and talk with world powers over ‘global challenges.’3 British men guilty of airline bomb plot * LONDON – Three Britons were found guilty yesterday of plotting to kill ‘thousands’ by blowing up transatlantic airliners bound for North America in mid-flight suicide attacks using bombs made from liquid explosives.Somali govt detains hostages freed by pirates* MOGADISHU – A deal to swap three hostages held by Somali pirates with 23 prisoners accused of piracy was halted by Somali authorities who say they were not informed of the plan, officials said yesterday.Israel OKs hundreds of new WB apartments* JERUSALEM – Israel officially approved the construction of hundreds of new homes in the West Bank, the Defence Ministry said Monday, deepening an already unprecedented rift with the US over Israeli settlement expansion.Swine flu fells president’s security chief* QUITO – The Ecuadorean government says President Rafael Correa’s chief of security has died of swine flu. The online government publication El Ciudadano says air force Lieutenant Colonel John Merino died on Sunday after being hospitalised for 28 days.