B.C. dairy cow gets mad-cow test

Federal officials Thursday tested a British Columbia dairy cow suspected of contracting mad cow disease, potentially bad news for Canadian cattle ranchers still recovering from a two-year ban on their beef in the United States.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it was trying to confirm whether it is a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE.

The cow was identified on a Fraser Valley farm through the national BSE surveillance program. It would be the fifth case in Canada since May 2003, when the U.S. border was closed to Canadian beef after the sick cows were detected in Canada.

Preliminary results of the cow were positive for BSE. Final testing is under way and was expected to be completed over the holiday weekend.

Katmandu, Nepal

King calls for talks with opposition

Nepal’s King Gyanendra broke his silence today after more than a week of pro-democracy protests in which four people have died, calling for dialogue with opposition political parties.

Thousands have filled the streets daily calling for the restoration of democracy and ouster of Gyanendra 14 months after he seized power. Many of the demonstrations have deteriorated into bloody clashes between protesters and security forces.

In a message for Nepal’s new year, Gyanendra called for “the active participation of all political parties committed to peace and democracy,” and he again said the country should hold a general election, although he did not specify a date.

One opposition leader immediately dismissed the king’s overtures as “meaningless.”

London

Judge deals blow to anti-terror law

A High Court judge ruled Wednesday that a key provision of British anti-terrorism law, one that allows a form of house arrest for suspected terrorists, is “conspicuously unfair,” an “affront to justice” and incompatible with European and British human rights law.

The sharply worded decision by Judge Jeremy Sullivan was the second time in 18 months that the judiciary has rebuked Prime Minister Tony Blair’s government over laws passed following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States.

The Home Office, which oversees domestic security, said in a statement that it would appeal the decision.

Jakarta, Indonesia

Police ask Playboy to end local version

Police asked Playboy magazine Thursday to stop publishing its Indonesian edition out of fears it could enrage Muslims.

Previously, police and government officials said that there were no laws to ban the magazine, which does not feature any nudity and is no more risqué than scores of other local and foreign publications already being sold in the world’s most populous Muslim nation.

Ponti Carolus, the director of Playboy’s publishing company, said the magazine would think about the request by police.