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MAKE US YOUR HOMEPAGE | Saturday, November 21, 2009 | WIRELESS

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News Briefs

Mann

By Wire Reports
Published: 11/4/2009 2:25 AM
Last Modified: 11/4/2009 4:49 AM

Malabo, Equatorial Guinea: British coup-plotter freed by presidential pardon

A British coup-plotter and four South African mercenaries were freed Tuesday after President Teodoro Obiang Nguema pardoned them for their foreign-bankrolled conspiracy to overthrow the government and take over the country's oil riches.

The Briton, Simon Mann, testified in a trial last year that U.S. and European governments knew of the 2004 plan in advance and welcomed it, as did international oil companies operating in the Central African country, which is the continent's No. 3 oil producer.

His testimony also implicated Mark Thatcher, the son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, as the plot's chief bankroller. Mark Thatcher denied involvement.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jose Obono Olo told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Nguema had granted full pardons to the five men. Information Minister Geronimo Osa said they never would be allowed back in the country.

Clarksville, Md.: Staff told to secretly monitor hand-washing

Maryland officials said Tuesday that they are creating teams of staff members at hospitals around the state to secretly monitor their colleagues' hand-washing habits as part of a first-of-its-kind program.

The monitors will contribute to a report on hand-washing, using $100,000 in federal stimulus money.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown said the program is to raise awareness about the importance of keeping hands clean while dealing

with patients.

Oakland, Calif.: Oakland mayor says he owes back taxes to IRS

Mayor Ron Dellums says he owes back taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.

Alameda County records show the agency placed a lien on his property Oct. 14.

Dellums acknowledged in an interview Monday with the Oakland Tribune that he owes taxes and said the issue was being dealt with. He would not say how much money he owes or why he is in arrears.

Dellums receives about $184,000 a year as mayor. He previously served in Congress and worked as a lobbyist.

London: Qatari company to buy U.S. Embassy in London

The U.S. said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its vast London Embassy building to a company owned by the Qatari government. The embassy announced plans last year to move by 2017 out of central London's Mayfair district to a new high-security building south of the River Thames.

The embassy said the State Department had signed a deal to sell the 600-room Chancery building to Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co.

Kinshasa, Congo: Military accused of 500 civilian deaths in Congo

A top human rights group is accusing the Congolese military of killing more than 500 civilians in eastern Congo and saying the U.N. peacekeeping force in the area did nothing to stop the soldiers from decapitating men and raping girls.

The report by Human Rights Watch came a day after the U.N. peacekeeping force, known by its French acronym MONUC, said it was suspending military aid to an army unit implicated in the deaths of 62 civilians between May and September.

Human Rights Watch said the U.N. peacekeeping force should immediately suspend its aid to the entire operation.

Hanoi, Vietnam: Severe flooding from tropical storm kills 57

Tropical Storm Mirinae unleashed severe flooding in central Vietnam, killing 57 people, leaving two missing and stranding families on rooftops, disaster officials said Tuesday.

Mirinae hit the Philippines with typhoon strength over the weekend, killing 20 people.

Geneva: China official: Syphilis increase, affluence linked

China has seen a tenfold increase in syphilis cases over the past decade, as migrant workers made enough money in the country's economic boom to hire more prostitutes, a senior Chinese health official was quoted as saying Tuesday.

The sexually transmitted disease re-emerged in China during 1980s after being virtually eradicated for two decades, and cases are now growing by 30 percent a year, the official, Chen Xiangsheng, said in an interview in the World Health Organization's monthly bulletin. Last year, 278,215 cases were officially reported, Chen said. By Wire Reports

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Few Clothes, America (11/4/2009 7:52:29 AM)

I feel that the monitoring of employees washing their hands is a good idea. I would guess that 80% of the men in all wash rooms do not wash their hands. I hope you wives and sweethearts remember this.

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