NOT INTERESTED: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Angela Merkel said they were not planning to attend the Olympic opening ceremony
China braced against further protests yesterday as it prepared for the arrival of the Olympic torch today amid reports of fresh disturbances in Lhasa.

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Iraqi radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr ordered his fighters off the streets yesterday, in a move the government said would help end fierce clashes that have killed hundreds across the country.

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From the Sydney Opera House to Rome's Colosseum to the Sears Tower's famous antennas in Chicago and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, floodlit icons of civilization went dark for Earth Hour, a worldwide campaign to highlight the threat of climate change.

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FAIR PLAY? : As polling stations pinned up their results, a pan-African team of election observers found that 8,450 voters were registered on a plot of deserted land
Zimbabwe's opposition claimed victory yesterday in a general election, even before the first results were announced, based on unofficial returns posted at polling stations.

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By Lin Ming-hung, Tsai Shu-yuan and Hsieh Feng-chiu
Forget about cockroaches and ants -- there's a new bug in town.

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