Tokyo— The worsening situation in Afghanistan
may keep Japan from sending troops to help in
humanitarian missions there, Japanese media
reported Friday. Reports in The Asahi, a
national daily, and the Kyodo News agency said
deteriorating security in the war-torn country
has weakened Tokyo’s political will to send
troops to the region.
United
Nations— More than 2.5 billion people worldwide
still lack access to improved sanitation and
nearly 1.2 billion people practice open
defecation, posing a major health threat to
their communities, according to a UN report
released.
FEW issues have exercised me as much as the
conflict in Darfur has. In fact, I have the
dubious distinction of being the first
journalist from the Middle East to break the
silence on the genocide in Sudan. When I first
wrote about Darfur way back in 2006 criticizing
the deafening silence of the Arab and Muslim
world on the genocide, it was as though I had
hit the proverbial hornets’ nest, with lots of
brickbats — and some bouquets — coming my way.
Not surprisingly, most of those brickbats
originated in Sudan.
Sydney— Qantas will cut
1,500 jobs around the world as the Australian
carrier seeks to combat the rising price of oil
and challenging market conditions, chief
executive Geoff Dixon said Friday. The airline
has also cancelled plans to hire 1,200 staff and
has reduced its forecast capacity growth for
2008-2009 from 8.0 percent to zero. Qantas will
also retire up to 22 older aircraft from its
fleet.
Washington—Troubled by the tainted tomato
scare, nearly half of Americans are concerned
they may get sick from eating contaminated food
and are avoiding items they normally would buy,
an Associated Press-Ipsos poll has found.
Although three in four remain confident about
the overall safety of foods, the poll found that
consumers overwhelmingly support setting up a
tracing system for produce in the wake of the
salmonella outbreak first linked to tomatoes
and, now, hot peppers.
