International News brief

Sarah Palin brought her book-signing tour to North Carolina’s Fort Bragg on Monday and hundreds greeted the former Republican vice presidential candidate in a campaign-like gathering.

Palin’s appearance tested Department of Defense regulations, which prohibit politicians from using installations as a platform. Palin didn’t give a speech and individually thanked soldiers, and a base spokesman said she was not campaigning.

But the bus parked nearby encouraged donations to her political action committee and supporters made clear that she should run for president.

Army officials initially barred media from the event, fearing coverage would lead Palin’s backers to lob negative comments at President Barack Obama. The military later relented and allowed media access.

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Governor faces charges

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, whose tryst with an Argentine lover blossomed into a wide-ranging scandal, is accused of breaking ethics laws by using taxpayer money for pricey airline seats, taking state planes for personal and political trips and occasionally tapping his campaign chest to reimburse himself for travel.

The details of civil charges against the second-term Republican governor were released Monday. He has been under scrutiny since he vanished for five days over the summer, reappearing to tearfully admit to an extramarital affair with a woman he later called his “soul mate.”

MONTREAL

Woman to fight insurer

A Canadian woman on sick leave for depression said Monday she would fight an insurance company’s decision to cut her benefits after her agent found photos on Facebook of her vacationing, at a bar and at a party.

Nathalie Blanchard said Monday she was diagnosed with major depression and was receiving monthly sick-leave benefits until payments dried up this fall.

When Blanchard called her insurance provider, Manulife, to find out why, she says she was told the Facebook photos showed she was able to work.

She said her insurance agent described several pictures Blanchard posted on Facebook, including ones showing her having a good time at a Chippendales bar show, at her birthday party and on a holiday.

Her lawyer, Tom Lavin, said Blanchard was wrongfully dismissed from her benefits, and she had the right to go on a sunny vacation.

BERLIN

McD’s swaps red for green

McDonald’s is going green — swapping its traditional red backdrop for a deep hunter green — to promote a more eco-friendly image in Europe.

About 100 German McDonald’s restaurants will make the change by the end of 2009, the company said in a statement Monday. Some franchises in Great Britain and France have already started using the new color scheme behind their Golden Arches.

The Oak Brook, Ill.-based burger behemoth has more than 32,000 restaurants in 118 countries and has long been targeted by activists as being environmentally unfriendly.

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