RIFE SPECULATION: The secrecy surrounding Tung Chee-hwa's supposed resignation is prompting fears that Hong Kong's autonomy is about to be further compromised
Concerns about the future of Hong Kong's autonomy under Chinese rule grew yesterday following reports that Beijing may flout the territory's mini-constitution in appointing a new leader.

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CUTS: King Gyanendra's coup last month damaged political confidence in the troubled nation, but the worst is still to come as military and humanitarian assistance begins to dry up
Nepal's financial planners are scrambling as foreign donors disgusted by King Gyanendra's power grab last month cut off aid -- a vital lifeline for the impoverished Himalayan kingdom.

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A woman who drew international attention after being gang-raped in Pakistan in a retaliatory "honor" attack said yesterday she is fearful after several of the alleged perpetrators were ordered released from prison.

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POSSIBLE UNREST: In his `state of the nation' speech, the Chinese premier said more needs to be done to help the rural poor left behind in the country's economic boom
Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) yesterday admitted China faced "glaring" social problems and pledged more help for the poor to deal with simmering unrest as he forecast economic growth of eight percent this year.

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A few blocks from the 1950s-era hall where China's figurehead parliament met yesterday, shoppers at the sleek modern shops in Wangfujing district felt so removed from its workings that they might have been in a different world.

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POWERING UP: Tehran has completed construction of a heavy water nuclear reactor that could be used to make bombs, an ISIS report and photos assert
Iran, at loggerheads with the US and EU over its nuclear activities, has completed a heavy water production plant built to supply a nuclear research reactor which could be used to make plutonium for atom bombs, a think tank said on Friday.

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SUSPICIOUS: Just hours before he was to be questioned about the killing of a journalist in 2000, Yuri Kravchenko was found with at least one bullet in his head
Ukraine's former interior minister was found dead yesterday Friday, hours before he was due to be questioned over the murder of an investigative journalist.

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Rocco Buttiglione, Italy's minister for Europe, has said he is ready to go to Baghdad to testify as a character witness in the trial of Saddam Hussein's former right-hand man, Tariq Aziz.

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The IRA was on Friday under unprecedented pressure from within its own heartlands, with two more Catholic families coming forward to claim rogue members had killed their sons and intimidated them into silence.

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DETECTIVE STORY: The defense lawyers in Robert Blake's trial acknowledge he wanted to ``annihilate'' his wife, but proving Blake pulled the trigger is tough
During the murder trial of Robert Blake, the public has been privy to one bizarre scenario after another, grist for a true-life pulp novel.

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It's Thong Night at Elle et Lui, one of the Colombian capital's more popular spots if you're looking for sex with someone else's spouse. Behind a nondescript door, in a dimly lit room adorned with erotic paintings, couples chat and dance in various states of undress.

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CONFLICTING SIGNALS: An apparently scripted video was made, casting doubts on the motives of the family now charging him with child molestation
A family now accusing Michael Jackson of child molestation was seen by jurors in a video praising him as a father figure, and the sister of the accuser testified under cross-examination that she had accused her own father of molesting her after her mother made the allegation.

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■ Philippines
Tables turned on abductors
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