In Brief

UN team in Khartoum KHARTOUM – A UN Security Council team held talks in Khartoum yesterday to thrash out the details of a beefed-up peacekeeping force for Darfur after the Sudan government finally gave its green light to the plan.

Council ambassadors met Foreign Minister Lam Akol ahead of talks with President Omar al-Beshir, who had long held out against the hybrid UN-African Union force of up to 23 000 peacekeepers. * Sarkozy headed for big win PARIS – France voted yesterday in a parliamentary election that is expected to give an overwhelming majority to conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy for his programme of tax and labour reform.Despite controversy in the past week over government proposals for a hike in VAT, Sarkozy’s centre-right UMP party is likely to win a majority of 380-420 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, according to a survey by pollsters Ipsos.* Castro meets with Ortega HAVANA – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Fidel Castro discussed Cuban-supported education and health care programmes in Nicaragua and Venezuelan, state-run media reported yesterday.”The meeting between the two leaders served to deepen bilateral relations between Cuba and Nicaragua.Comrade Fidel was very satisfied with his meeting with Daniel,” the government communique said.Ortega was the third Latin American socialist president to visit the convalescing Cuban leader in less than two weeks.* Hostages released in Nigeria PORT HARCOURT – Militants released 10 Indian hostages in Nigeria’s oil producing delta as thousands welcomed the return of a rebel leader to the region’s capital.Nampa-Reuters-AFP* Sarkozy headed for big win PARIS – France voted yesterday in a parliamentary election that is expected to give an overwhelming majority to conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy for his programme of tax and labour reform.Despite controversy in the past week over government proposals for a hike in VAT, Sarkozy’s centre-right UMP party is likely to win a majority of 380-420 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly, according to a survey by pollsters Ipsos.* Castro meets with Ortega HAVANA – Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Fidel Castro discussed Cuban-supported education and health care programmes in Nicaragua and Venezuelan, state-run media reported yesterday.”The meeting between the two leaders served to deepen bilateral relations between Cuba and Nicaragua.Comrade Fidel was very satisfied with his meeting with Daniel,” the government communique said.Ortega was the third Latin American socialist president to visit the convalescing Cuban leader in less than two weeks. * Hostages released in Nigeria PORT HARCOURT – Militants released 10 Indian hostages in Nigeria’s oil producing delta as thousands welcomed the return of a rebel leader to the region’s capital.Nampa-Reuters-AFP