RACTOPAMINE: The amount of residue from the beta-agonist found in a sample was higher than that in two shipments of pork from the US that were banned two weeks ago
By Angelica Oung
After rejecting two shipments of pork from the US less than two weeks ago for containing a banned feed additive, a sample of domestic pork was found to be tainted with the same substance -- ractopamine -- a health official said yesterday.

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Libya will seek support from the Arab League today in the row over Bulgaria's "betrayal" in pardoning the five nurses and one doctor jailed in the AIDS case.

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AID WORKERS' ORDEAL: President Hamid Karzai met with an envoy from Seoul yesterday and called the kidnapping of women an `un-Islamic' act
Taliban militants threatened yesterday to kill some of their 22 South Korean hostages if there was no progress by noon today on their demand for the release of eight jailed rebels.

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UPPER HOUSE POLLS: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he planned to stay in his job on despite his party's losses in yesterday's elections
Japan's ruling party suffered a devastating defeat in parliamentary elections yesterday, early exit polls suggested, as voters angry at a spate of recent government scandals used the ballot box to express their dissatisfaction.

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By Rich Chang
Police charged a Japanese rock singer yesterday with violating public decency laws after he briefly stripped on-stage during a concert in Taipei on Saturday night.

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