| French cafes set to ban smoking | ||
The health ministry said smokers would be allowed a 24-hour "grace" period for the New Year festivities. The ban, which will also cover casinos and hotels, comes on top of a partial ban on smoking in public places that took effect in February. Similar bans are already in place in Britain, Ireland, Italy and Spain. The French health ministry said the wider ban, due to take effect on 1 January, would not be monitored strictly during the New Year festivities, in a gesture of "tolerance". Any smoker caught flouting the ban thereafter faces a 450-euro (£332; $662) fine, while those who turn a blind eye to smokers on their premises can be fined up to 750 euros. France has about 13.5 million smokers among its population of 60.7 million. In February smoking became outlawed in French airports, railway stations, hospitals, schools, shops and offices. The new ban is seen as a big cultural shift for France, where smoky cafes have long been the haunts of famous artists and philosophers. The ban does not include pavement tables or open-air terraces. In 2004, Ireland became the first European country to introduce a comprehensive smoking ban in all workplaces, including pubs and restaurants. | ||
 Benazir Bhutto had been addressing rallies in many parts of Pakistan |
Ms Bhutto had just addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi when she was shot in the neck by a gunman who then set off a bomb.
At least 15 other people died in the attack and several more were injured.
President Pervez Musharraf condemned the killing and urged people to remain calm so that the "nefarious designs of terrorists can be defeated."
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack.
Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), had twice been the country's prime minister and had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January.
It was the second suicide attack against her in recent months and came amid a wave of bombings targeting security and government officials.
Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister and a political rival, said her death was a tragedy for "the entire nation".
"It is not a sad day, it is [the] darkest, gloomiest day in the history of this country," he said, speaking at the hospital where she was taken.
The United Nations Security Council is to meet for emergency consultations shortly to discuss the situation in Pakistan after the killing.
Scene of grief
The attack occurred close to an entrance gate of the park in Rawalpindi where Ms Bhutto had been speaking.
Extremist groups have in their sights all those committed to democratic processes in Pakistan 
David Miliband
UK foreign secretary 
Police confirmed reports Ms Bhutto had been shot in the neck and chest before the gunman blew himself up.
She died at 1816 (1316 GMT), said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of the PPP who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.
Some supporters at the hospital wept while others exploded in anger, throwing stones at cars and breaking windows.
Police in the north-western city of Peshawar are reported to have used tear gas and batons to break up a demonstration by angry Bhutto supporters and there were also protests in other cities.
Mr Sharif said there had been a "serious lapse in security" by the government.
But an old friend of Ms Bhutto, Salman Tassir, told the BBC World Service he did not think criticism should be directed at the government.
"There have been suicide attacks on Gen Musharraf also," he told Newshour.
"... I mean it is extremism and the fanatics who are to blame."
Earlier on Thursday, at least four people were killed ahead of an election rally Mr Sharif had been preparing to attend close to Rawalpindi.
Ms Bhutto's death has plunged the PPP into confusion and raises questions about whether January elections will go ahead as planned, the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says.
'Cowardly act'
The killing was condemned by the US, the UK and others.
BENAZIR BHUTTO Father led Pakistan before being executed in 1979 Spent five years in prison Served as PM from 1988-1990 and 1993-1996 Sacked twice by president on corruption charges Formed alliance with rival ex-PM Nawaz Sharif in 2006 Ended self-imposed exile by returning to Pakistan in October Educated at Harvard and Oxford
"The US strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy," US President George W Bush said.
"Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice."
UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he was "deeply shocked" by Ms Bhutto's death and said "extremist groups... [could] not and must not succeed".
Ms Bhutto returned from self-imposed exile in October after years out of Pakistan where she had faced corruption charges.
Her return was the result of a power-sharing agreement with President Musharraf in which he granted an amnesty that covered the court cases she was facing.
It was only a matter of time before the darker forces... carried out this action
Helen Stynes
Swaffham
But relations with Mr Musharraf soon broke down.
On the day of her arrival, she had led a motor cavalcade through the city of Karachi. It was hit by a double suicide attack that left some 130 dead.
| | Peterson received all of Canada's highest honours during his lifetime Peterson performing |
Peterson was one of jazz's most recorded musicians, and was famous for his fast-playing virtuoso style.
He made more than 200 albums and won eight Grammy awards, including a lifetime achievement honour in 1997.
He released his first single at the age of 19 and performed with greats such as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington and Nat "King" Cole.
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame announced last month that it was to present the star with its Founder's Award in 2008.
Peterson, who had a working-class upbringing in Montreal, won a talent contest organised by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) when he was 14 years old.
"The world has lost an important jazz player," Hazel McCallion, mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, and Peterson's close friend, told CBC News.
"He's been going downhill in the last few months, slowing up," she added.
His studio and live partners included Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie and Stan Getz.
Gifted at improvisation, Peterson said in 2005 how live free-form jazz could enable "moments of great beauty to emerge".
He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, the country's highest civilian honour, and he was the first living Canadian to be depicted on a stamp.
Peterson was married four times and had five children.
My friend Johnboy posted this on myspace :)
Anyway, I was thinking this should be posted outside every giant pizza slice place in Adams Morgan:
Ten Reasons You Should Call It A Night, Girl
1. You have absolutely no idea where your friends are.
2. You have absolutely no idea where your car is… wait did you bring your car??
3. You've become convinced that dancing with your arms overhead, shaking your ass, and yelling WOO HOO is truly the sexiest dance move EVER.
4. You've suddenly decided you want to kick someone's ass and honestly believe you can do it (bitch…i ain't playin…).
5. You start singing 80's songs at the top of your lungs and showing off your dance skills to the car next to you.
6. Your bladder becomes amazingly full every 10 minutes.
7. You sit down and the room and people around you start spinning profusely.
8. Your slurring your words so bad, that nobody can understand what your saying and then when they say what, you can't even remember what you were talking about.
9. You've come up with the brilliant idea that you can create less hassle on your friends by just "sleeping over" at a your guy friend's house.
10. You see beers all over a table so you lift each one up until you find one half full and chug it when no one is looking.
In the tradition of poetry on a bar-nap, usually at Kramer's...
