Foreign Desk
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

China Courts Africa’s Human Rights Abusers
BEIJING — Some of the world’s most notorious abusers of human rights will be feted in Beijing today when China seals its growing ties with Africa at a summit of more than 40 of the continent’s leaders. Presidents al-Bashir of Sudan and Mugabe of Zimbabwe are among the 43 heads of state and government who have confirmed their presence at the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. The high-level attendance, along with the presence of delegations from every African nation with which China has relations, dwarfs the continent’s presence at Commonwealth summits and confirms the growing status that Chinese investment and diplomatic support has there.
— The Daily Telegraph
Two NATO Troops Die in Afghanistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A roadside bomb killed two NATO soldiers and wounded two others on patrol in eastern Afghanistan yesterday, the alliance said. The roadside bomb struck the soldiers’ vehicle in the province of Nuristan, NATO said. The two wounded soldiers were taken to an American military facility in Asadabad in neighboring Kunar province. NATO did not release the nationalities of the soldiers, but American troops are the primary NATO component in eastern Afghanistan.
— Associated Press
Germany Passes Ban On Smoking in Public
BERLIN — Lawmakers from Berlin’s incoming government of Social Democrats and the Left Party agreed to propose legislation to ban smoking in bars, cafes, and public places. “A smoking ban in public buildings, hospitals, and restaurants should be enforced,” Town Planning Minister Ingeborg Junge-Reyer said yesterday after coalition talks between the two parties to form a state government in the German capital. The ban should come into effect during the next legislation period, which lasts five years, she said.
— Bloomberg News
Survey: 30% of British Firms Ban iPods
LONDON — More than one in five workers in Britain are tuning out of the workplace by listening to iPods and similar devices at their desks. The increasing popularity of digital music players has led 30% of British firms to ban them, according to a survey published this week. It found that 22% of employees used their MP3 music player for up to three hours a day in offices where listening to music has become a way of shutting out colleagues in open-plan areas.
— The Daily Telegraph