World Briefs

Author: Derek Schlikeisen

MEDIA CONFLICTS

Leading German politicians accused U.S. media agencies on Tuesday of smearing the German government, citing reports that German intelligence aided American forces in their 2003 invasion of Iraq. Heads of the ruling and opposition parties attacked as inaccurate a Monday article in the New York Times claiming German agents passed Iraqi military plans to the U.S. weeks before the offensive. Matthias Platzeck, chairman of ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats, said the report tried to make his government's public opposition to the war look hypocritical. "It's so patently obvious what is doing on, and it won't succeed," he said.

- Reuters, Berlin

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY

A Dutch study released Wednesday says that people who describe themselves as optimists are half as likely to die of heart disease as the rest of the population. The report, issued by the Delfland Institute of Mental Health, attributed the better health of optimists to their stress-coping abilities and more frequent exercise. The study also suggests that an individual's sunny outlook may improve the functioning of his or her immune and hormonal systems.

- BBC, London

REUNIFICATION ABOLISHED

Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian abolished on Monday the National Reunification Council, a body set up in 1990 to promote political unification between the democratic island and communist China. The move was decried by China's state-run newspaper as an "escalation of secessionist activities" that would "no doubt stoke tensions and trigger a serious crisis." While Taiwan has maintained its own national government since 1949, China views the island as a rebellious province and has threatened to regain control with military force.

- CNN, Beijing

BAGHDAD VIOLENCE Sixty-six are dead and 55 wounded Tuesday in Baghdad, Iraq after renewed violence between Sunni and Shiite insurgents. At least six separate incidents, all of which appeared to target religious sites, followed the lifting of a curfew that had briefly put a stop to a pattern of violence that international observers increasingly worry may lead to a sectarian civil war. U.S. President George W. Bush, responding to the rash of violence, said that the choice for Iraqis is one between "chaos or unity."

- AP, Baghdad