FORMER French president Jacques Chirac has refused to testify to in an inquiry into the socalled Clearstream affair.

Judges want to know if Chirac ordered a secret probe into Nicolas Sarkozy over corruption claims, before Sarkozy succeeded him as president. Allegations that Sarkozy received illicit funds have been disproved.

Chirac has agreed to answer questions over a separate alleged financial scandal during his time as Paris mayor, a French newspaper said.

UN asks Kenya to open border for food aid

THE UN has appealed to Kenya to allow food aid for more than 100,000 people through its border to war-torn Somalia.

The 140 trucks have been stranded on the border for nearly a month, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) says.

Kenya closed its border with Somalia in January to people and commercial traffic but humanitarian assistance has previously been allowed to across.

Fourth pupil sick as TB outbreak continues

ANOTHER pupil at a Swansea school where there is an outbreak of tuberculosis has been confirmed with the disease.

Four children at Gorseinon infants and junior schools are now diagnosed as having TB.

Three others are being treated for exposure to the infection.

A female staff member and her three children . . .all pupils at the schools . . .were diagnosed in May.

Public health experts say there is no evidence the disease is spreading from child to child in the schools.

Karzai angry over West's tactics

NATO and US-led troops are failing to co-ordinate with their Afghan allies and thereby causing civilian deaths, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said.

He criticised his Western allies' "extreme" use of force and said they should act as his government asked.

"Innocent people are becoming victims of reckless operations" because the troops had ignored Afghan advice for years, Karzai told reporters.

He was speaking after a week in which up to 90 Afghan civilians were killed.

"You don't fight a terrorist by firing a field gun 37 kilometres (24 miles) away into a target."