World Vignettes — Saying sorry with whale’s tooth

LONDON: Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji has officially apologised to Queen Elizabeth II for the military coup that transformed the P...

LONDON: Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka of Fiji has officially apologised to Queen Elizabeth II for the military coup that transformed the Pacific Island Group into a republic. He formally presented her with the highest Fijian gesture of apology and atonement — a tabua or whale’s tooth yesterday at Windsor castle 20 miles, west of central London.

Sweatshop Mir

MOSCOW: A veteran space psychologist has accused Russian Mission Control of provoking a June space collision by overloading the Mir’s exhausted crew, describing the aging station as a “sweatshop.” “A Russian cosmonaut is a galley slave, a human being deprived of any rights,” Rostislav Bodgashevsky, who has spent 35 years working with cosmonauts, was quoted as saying in an interview published yesterday in the respected daily Izvestia. He accused officials at mission control and state-run RKK Energia — the corporation that built and runs the 11-year old orbiting outpost — of callous disregard of the crew. “You can sum up their attitude in one word: Sweatshop,” the newspaper quoted Bogdashevsky as saying.

Bibi’s blunder

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, usually a master of the media, didn’t notice the Israel radio microphone. Leaning toward a rabbi at a public appearance, Netanyahu whispered that Israeli doves have forgotten “what it means to be Jewish” and, he jeered, how could they seriously think they could rely on the Arabs for security? Netanyahu’s remarks were broadcast at the top of the evening news, triggering an outcry from Opposition leaders. Having just survived a messy spy scandal that raised questions about his judgment and ability to govern, Netanyahu found himself once again on the defensive.

Anti-smoking pill

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BOSTON: Taking an anti-depressant medicine appears to double smokers’ chances of kicking the habit, a study found. The Food and Drug Administration approved the marketing of this medicine, called Zyban or Bupropion, to help smokers last May.

The study was conducted on 615 volunteers who wanted to give up smoking and were not outwardly depressed.