International news briefs

They call it the “Botax.”

The White House and Senate Democrats have turned to a proposal to tax breast implants, tummy tucks, wrinkle-smoothing injections and other procedures as they search for ways to pay for costly health care overhaul plans.

Vanity was an easy target as lawmakers scraped for cash for the nearly $1 trillion plan to expand health care to millions of Americans who lack insurance. But it’s no joke to the drug makers and people who perform the cosmetic nips and tucks. And they’re fighting back.

Skin-smoothing Botox injections could be hard-hit. There were some 4.7 million last year and an average cost per visit of about $400, some including several injections.

The plastic surgeons say it will be a blow to countless American women — of every income level.

ISLAMABAD

Suicide bomber kills 19

A suicide bomb strike on a crowded courthouse in Peshawar killed 19 people Thursday, the 10th bomb attack in six weeks for a city bearing the brunt of retaliation from Taliban militants battling Pakistani troops along the Afghan border.

Now in its fifth week, Pakistan’s military offensive has succeeded in retaking much of the ground held by Taliban and al-Qaida fighters in South Waziristan, for years the militants’ primary stronghold. That success, however, has been tempered by a wave of militant attacks since early October that have claimed more than 300 lives across Pakistan.

Peshawar, a city of nearly 3 million people situated on the fringe of Pakistan’s largely ungoverned tribal areas, has been hardest hit by the violence.

With Thursday’s strike, the death toll from the wave of attacks around Peshawar since early October has reached at least 247 people.

LONDON

EU selects first president

European Union leaders on Thursday selected Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy as the first president of the 27-nation bloc.

Leaders also agreed to name Britain’s Catherine Ashton, currently the E.U. trade commissioner, to fill the newly-created post of EU foreign-policy chief.

Both posts were created by the recently ratified Lisbon Treaty, a controversial pact designed to streamline the E.U.’s operations and decision-making process.

LOS ANGELES

Kerry daughter alleged DUI

The daughter of Sen. John Kerry has been arrested in Hollywood for allegedly driving drunk.

Los Angeles police say 36-year-old Alexandra Kerry was stopped by officers on a Hollywood street at about 12:40 a.m. Thursday and failed a sobriety test.

Officer Bruce Borihanh says she was booked at the Hollywood police station and was held for about five hours. She was released at about 5:30 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail.