DUBLIN (Reuters) – Ireland's most famous rock band, U2,
has been enlisted by the Irish government to help reassure
American tourists the country is safe to visit.
The band, currently touring in the U.S., made a brief
statement to fans at a concert in Los Angeles Monday night.
“We are a little surprised that the government has asked us
to get involved, but we're happy to dispel any rumors that
foot-and-mouth disease has made Ireland unsafe for tourists,”
said lead singer Bono in a message posted on U2's Web site.
“This is a ridiculous misunderstanding. We would like to
tell everyone that Ireland is a perfectly safe place for a
vacation. All of us in the band live and work there.
“It's a great place for a vacation and we hope everyone
will continue to visit.”
Ireland launched a major charm offensive earlier this month
in a bid to reassure foreign tourists put off by images from
neighboring Britain of blazing pyres heaped with livestock
carcasses.
Bardot Blasts Bucharest's “Betrayal” Over Dog Cull
PARIS (Reuters) – French film star turned animal rights
activist Brigitte Bardot lashed out Tuesday at the mayor of
Bucharest for abandoning an adoption scheme to save 100,000 stray
dogs which roam the streets of the Romanian capital.
“I trusted you but you betrayed me as well as all those who
are fighting to save animal lives. You rule Bucharest through
tyranny. … You are unworthy of your position,” the former film star wrote in an open letter to Traian Basescu.
Bardot pledged last month $150,000 over two years to fund a
mass sterilization program designed to save stray dogs from
death, but Basescu announced on April 20 he was abandoning the
plan.
The mayor has now gone back to his original idea and ordered
the mass killing of stray dogs, which he says eat up too much
public money.
“My goal is clear: no dogs on the streets,” Basescu said
during a television talk show, adding that pet groups had
returned 2,000 sterilized dogs to the streets instead of finding
them new owners as planned.
Estimates vary on just how many dogs wander wild around
Bucharest.
Some say the dog population, which ballooned when thousands
were let loose after communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu
rehoused their owners in cramped flats, numbers 300,000. However
the mayor's veterinary adviser says the figure is closer to
120,000.
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