In brief: Paraguay president doesn’t need surgery

ASUNCION, Paraguay – President Fernando Lugo, who is fighting cancer, does not require surgery, doctors said Saturday after the Paraguayan leader was flown to Brazil for emergency treatment of an apparent infection.

Doctors had said Lugo would likely have a buildup of fluids caused by infection drained from his neck. The surgery would take place at Sao Paulo’s Hospital Sirio Libanes, where he has been undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

But later Saturday the hospital issued a report saying it was not an infection.

Bin Laden now says Muslims not helping enough

CAIRO – In a second audio recording in 24 hours, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden says Muslim nations haven’t done enough to support relief efforts in flood-hit Pakistan.

In a copy of the recording provided by the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group on Saturday, bin Laden also accuses the media of not reporting on the tragedy effectively.

In his earlier recording, released Friday, bin Laden called for the creation of a relief body to aid Muslims affected by natural disasters and wars.

Bin Laden’s deputies have issued similar messages recently as a way to angrily criticize the government of Pakistan, where bin Laden is believed to be hiding.

But the al-Qaida leader’s two messages on the floods have taken a softer tone in an apparent attempt to broaden the group’s appeal.

Britain recognizes Druidry

LONDON – The ancient pagan tradition of Druidry has been formally recognized as a religion in Britain – a decision its followers hailed Saturday as a long-overdue status for the worship of spirits and the natural world.

The Druid Network, a group of about 350 Druids, will receive exemptions from taxes on donations after the semi-governmental Charity Commission granted it charitable status just like mainstream religions.

To register as a religious charity in England, an organization must satisfy requirements that include belief in a supreme entity, a degree of cohesion and seriousness, and a beneficial moral framework.

It took nearly five years for the charities regulator to decide on the Druids’ status, said Phil Ryder, who chairs the Druid Network.

“There were a lot of problems and we had to go into a lot of explanations … it was just a matter of them trying to understand it,” he said.