Costa Rica: Ties with Taiwan cut

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, June 6, 2007

President Oscar Arias announced Wednesday that Costa Rica has broken diplomatic ties with Taiwan after nearly 60 years and established relations with China. Arias said Costa Rica needed to strengthen ties with China to attract foreign investment. Since splitting amid civil war in 1949, Taiwan and China have fought to win the diplomatic allegiance of countries around the world. China refuses to have diplomatic ties with nations that recognize Taiwan.

Vatican: Man attacks popemobile

A German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of Pope Benedict XVI’s open popemobile before being swarmed by security guards Wednesday – reviving a debate over whether the pontiff needs stronger protection during his public audiences. Benedict was not harmed and appeared not to even notice, never looking back as he waved to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square.

Britain: Station airs Diana image

Pictures taken just after the 1997 Paris car crash that killed Princess Diana were aired on British Channel 4 television Wednesday night, despite a plea from her sons not to show them. Prince William and Prince Harry had protested that showing photographs of the final moments of her life would be a “gross disrespect to their mother’s memory.” A detailed black and white image of the rear of the car, where Diana lay, showed a doctor attending to her minutes after the wreck, but did not show her face.

From Herald news services