POLITICAL TURMOIL: Filipinos vote today in a tight race. Analysts wonder whether the democracy is strong enough to accept its result without another `people power' revolt
Filipinos reaped praise worldwide for using peaceful "people power" to oust dictator Ferdinand Marcos and restore democracy in 1986. But 15 years later, they were criticized for using the same tactics to force out President Joseph Estrada midway through the six-year term he won with the widest margin in Philippine history.

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JURASSIC ZHOU: Most people take offense to having their country called a dinosaur kingdom -- not this paleontologist
All through China's tumultuous experiments with first communism and then market economics, Zhou Shiwu has stayed devoted to the study of a period 150 million years ago when dinosaurs ruled the earth.

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Thousands of security forces patrolled the streets in the capital Dhaka and nearby Tongi town yesterday as a general strike called to protest the slaying of an opposition lawmaker brought Bangladesh to a near standstill.

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Opposition lawmakers yesterday condemned the fatal shooting of a union leader in Cambodia, claiming he is the latest in a series of people linked to the political opposition to have been slain.

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Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee warned of political instability unless voters return his ruling alliance to power with a parliamentary majority as he wrapped up campaigning ahead of the final round of national elections.

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DIPLOMACY: After the league's last meeting was postponed due to lack of consensus, Arab foreign ministers met under heavy secrecy to find common ground on tough issues
Under extraordinary secrecy -- even paper was banned for fear documents could be leaked -- Arab foreign ministers tried Saturday to find common ground on Israel, Iraq and US-proposed political reforms in an effort to resurrect a summit of their leaders.

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Palestinians reacted angrily Saturday after US President George W. Bush threw into doubt a target date of next year for their promised state, while Israel echoed the US president's open questioning of the timetable set out in an international peace roadmap.

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SURPRISE: The conservative oversight agency defied expectations by approving a torture ban that had been passed by the outgoing, and moderate, parliament
Iran's hardline Guardian Council, in a surprise move, has approved a law banning torture two days after the measure was passed by the departing reformist Parliament. The council, a powerful oversight agency, had rejected an earlier bill three times, saying it violated Islamic law.

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British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to push for Muslim troops from Pakistan to be deployed in Iraq in a desperate attempt to shore up the reputation of the coalition forces following the widely-condemned images of abuse of Iraqi detainees.

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ON THE WAGON: Under a proposed law, Muslims who indulge would be subject to `80 strokes,' while Christians would get off with prison terms
Lawmakers in a mostly Muslim Nigerian state have approved legislation calling for Muslims to be whipped and Christians to be jailed if they are caught drinking alcohol, officials said Saturday, raising fears of renewed violence after sectarian fighting left 500 dead elsewhere in the country in recent days.

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FACTIONAL FIGHTING: The government's presence in the north, where there is a standoff between an Uzbek warlord and a Tajik rival, appears to be keeping the peace
Hunkered down behind walls topped with razor wire built by the US military, Afghan army Captain Abdul Jabar boasts that his less than 200 lightly armed soldiers can beat any challenge if confronted by the warlords who hold sway across northern Afghanistan.

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DRUNK IN CHARGE: Everyone knows about the Brazilian president's liking of alcohol, but only now are people fearing that it's clouding his mind
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has never hidden his fondness for a glass of beer, a shot of whiskey or, even better, a slug of cachaca, Brazil's potent sugar-cane liquor. But some of his countrymen have begun wondering if their president's predilection for strong drink is affecting his performance in office.

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WEIGHTY PROBLEM: As more infectious diseases are brought under control, the new health concern of the 21st century is beginning to take hold around the world
It's a bitter truth to swallow: About every fourth person on Earth is too fat. Obesity is fast becoming one of the world's leading reasons why people die.

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One US Marine was killed and another injured in a firefight with suspected Taliban forces in Afghanistan as coalition forces opened up a new front against al-Qaeda-backed extremists, the US military said on Saturday.

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INSIDER ANGER: Catwalk models will be among those protesting outside the London offices of `Vogue' about `unfulfillable aspirations and pointless dress-code criteria'
Fashion is dead. Long live fashion! The strangest strike ever held against haute couture is to be held this week, as those most deeply enslaved to the dictates of cool meet to protest outside Vogue headquarters in London.

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A series of debilitating strikes by Italian transportation workers has again cast Italy as the land of unceasing work stoppages and walkouts, even as Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi campaigns on his economic record.

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■ China
Scores hurt as ships collide
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