STORM SURGE: A top official said most of the deaths were caused by a 'tidal wave,' while the junta said it would postpone a constitutional ballot in the hardest-hit districts
The death toll from the cyclone that battered Myanmar last weekend rose above 22,000 yesterday, with at least 41,000 missing as the international community prepared to rush in aid, state radio reported.

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PROSECUTORS' RAIDS: The residences and offices of the three officials were searched by investigators yesterday morning and a number of documents were taken away
By Shih Hsiu-chuan, Jenny W. Hsu, Rich Changand Jimmy Chuang
The three high-ranking officials at the center of the Papua New Guinea diplomatic fund scandal resigned yesterday after prosecutors raided their homes and offices in the search for clues to what happened to the missing US$30 million.

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By Ko Shu-ling
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) apologized to the public yesterday for the Papua New Guinea (PNG) fund scandal, saying it has damaged the image of the country and his party, but denied that he was involved in the deal in any way.

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Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said yesterday that Indonesia was considering quitting OPEC because it is no longer a net oil exporter.

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Cash-flush China may be winning allies and displacing US influence by ramping up foreign investments and disbursing aid with no strings attached, but a US congressional study says Washington need not lose sleep over it.

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