U.S. Envoy to ‘Lower Decibels’

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — U.S. Ambassador Edward Perkins, responding to a neighbor’s complaint about loud parties at the American Embassy residence, has asked his staff to curtail the noise, an official said today.

Perkins, who was not at home when the parties were held, asked his staff at the suburban Pretoria residence to “lower the decibels,” an embassy official said. A neighbor complained of noise from outdoor parties at facilities attached to the American Embassy residence in the exclusive suburb of Waterkloof.