Former French president Jacques Chirac was rushed to hospital after being mauled by his own ‘clinically depressed’ pet dog.
The 76-year-old statesman was savaged by his white Maltese dog – which suffers from frenzied fits and is being treated with anti-depressants.
The animal, named Sumo, had become increasingly violent over the past years and was prone to making ‘vicious, unprovoked attacks’, Chirac’s wife Bernadette said.
The former president, who ruled France for 12 years until 2007, was taken to hospital in Paris where he was treated as an outpatient and sent home, VSD magazine reported.
Mrs Chirac said: ‘The dog went for him for no apparent reason.
‘We were already aware the animal was unpredictable and is actually being treated with pills for depression.
‘My husband was bitten quite badly, but he is certain to make a full recovery over the coming weeks.’
The former French First Lady did not reveal where on his body Chirac was bitten.
The pet, named after the Japanese form of wrestling, was a gift to the Chiracs from their grandson Martin.
Recent polls have shown that since leaving office Chirac is now regarded as one of the most popular politicians in France, liked by 70 per cent of people.
In the last days of his presidency, he was much less popular, liked by just 50 per cent of the population.
If I were Chirac’s poodle, I’d be clinically depressed too but this is not the first time a French leader has been attacked by a dog. Napoleon Bonaparte was attacked by his wife’s dog, Fortuné, a Maltese, on their wedding night. The dog, jealous of Napoleon or protective of Josephine, bit the not yet French Emperor in the shin and drew blood.
In a story in the New York Times today on Arab discord at yet another failed pan-Arab conference is this paragraph:
By many measures, the Arab world is slipping further and further behind in its ability to compete globally. Perhaps the single greatest drag on the region, one that afflicts wealthy Gulf states as well as poorer countries like Egypt, is the quality of schools. International trends in math and science among fourth- and eighth-graders show that in math, for example, eighth-graders from Saudi Arabia placed 46th, out of 48; among fourth-graders, the bottom four nations out of 36 were Tunisia, Kuwait, Qatar and Yemen. In science, eighth-grade students in Qatar placed second to last, below Botswana and El Salvador. Among fourth-graders taking the science test, Algeria, Kuwait, Tunisia, Morocco, Qatar and Yemen were at the bottom of the list.
The numbers are stunning. In Yemen, only 40% of the population achieves a primary school education. In Egypt, 52% of the rural poor remain illiterate. Overall, Egypt’s literacy rate is just 58%. Even in wealthy Bahrain and Qatar, the literacy rate is just 89%. Across the Middle East and North Africa region as a whole, public spending on education has actually decreased as percentage of GDP and on a per capita basis since 1990 (in 1980 the region spent $250 per capita on education, now it is under $200) even as much of the region enjoyed unprecedented wealth from the oil boom. Yet in too many parts of the Middle East, education remains a luxury, unavailable to many or only offered to a select few. Too often, girls are prevented from attending school by custom, lack of resources, and oppression. The result is that too many people in the region can neither read nor take advantage of the opportunities that come with education. According to the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), across the broader Middle East and North Africa, more than seventy-five million women and more than forty-five million men are illiterate. So the question is why has the Middle East lagged in its educational human development? (more…)
Afghanistan’s leader, Hamid Karzai, has welcomed the new US president, saying he hopes for a “promising new era of understanding” between the two countries.
But for the Afghan people, they’re less concerned about diplomatic matters, and more about living with high unemployment and a lack of electricity, as Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports.
Turkey is still on track towards membership of the European Union, the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been told by the president of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso.
Mr. Barroso might want to ask Europeans first. Mr. Barroso might also want to ask Turkey why their army is occupying the northern third of Cyprus?
Israel officially announced on Wednesday that all of its troops are out of the Palestinian territory of Gaza.
There are still Israeli soldiers and tanks stationed near the border as the two sides attempt to work out a permanent cease-fire. Israels conditions reportedly include the release of a soldier captured in 2006 who is still being held by Hamas. Israel is also demanding the closure of smuggling tunnels on Gazas southern border with Egypt, some of which were back in operation on Wednesday despite weeks of bombing.
Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel during the Clinton administration and the director of the Saban Center for Middle East policy at the Brookings Institution, joins Martin Savidge to speak about the challenges and opportunities facing the new Obama administration in the Middle East.
They discuss what the Obama administration can do in Gaza and how it will approach Hamas and Iran.
Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip lasted three weeks and killed more than 1,300 people. Now there are more accusations about Israel’s use of illegal weapons in the fighting. Just hours after Israeli forces withdrew from the Strip footage has also surfaced showing the tunnels that lead from Egypt into Gaza are still being used to smuggle in supplies. Destroying the tunnels was one of the principal justifications Israel gave for its offensive. Al Jazeera’s Tarek Bazely reports in the above video.
In the conservative Muslim region of southern Jordan, more and more women are leaving the home for the first time and going to work — largely out of economic necessity. The number of women in the workforce has more than doubled over the past five years. Still only 14% of Jordanian women are employed.
Worldfocus correspondent Kristen Gillespie reports from Jordan.
President Obama met with top military officials to discuss U.S. defense, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Worldfocus talks with Shawn Brimley of the Center for a new American Security to understand the challenges facing the new administration. Hard choices await.