People: Suited to the job

THE Polish Prime Minister's new spokeswoman asked that the announcement of her appointment be postponed until after she appeared on television in a swimsuit, thinking it improper to do so as a government aide. In what is seen as an attempt to add a bit of spark to his recently formed government, Waldemar Pawlak, the Prime Minister, appointed Ewa Wachowicz, last year's Miss Poland, as his spokeswoman. Apart from beauty contests, Ms Wachowicz, 23, has only worked briefly as television announcer.

For Miss Lebanon, however, things are not going so swimmingly. She could be tried for 'collaborating with the enemy' after posing with her Israeli counterpart at last month's Miss World competition. Lebanon's top public prosecutor, Munif Oueidat, said investigators would question Ghada Turk when she returned from Johannesburg. Lebanon and Israel have officially been in a state of war since Israel's creation in 1948.

Australia's Prime Minister, Paul Keating, may not have eaten humble pie yet but its aroma is wafting through his kitchen. Under pressure to defuse an international dispute over his description of Mahathir Mohamed, the Malaysian Prime Minister, as 'recalcitrant', he has written to the Malaysian leader offering an olive branch.

Mr Keating stopped short of apologising to Dr Mahathir and blamed the media for creating a storm that has already seen Malaysia ban Australian- made advertisements and television programmes, suspend an education scheme for Malaysian students in Australia and threaten to boycott Australian defence and business contracts.

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