INTERIM DEAL: Indonesia will start sending samples once the mechanism ensuring that the samples are used for assessment and not for commercial purposes is in place
Indonesia is set to resume sharing bird flu virus samples with the WHO under an interim deal that ensures they are not used for commercial purposes, the health minister said yesterday.

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A group of Japanese ruling party lawmakers is set to urge the government to water down parts of an apology it issued to Asian women used as sex slaves in military brothels during World War II, Yomiuri Shimbun said yesterday.

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More than 1,000 people remain hospitalized with measles following an outbreak last November in North Korea, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said yesterday.

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Barbers are scared to shave customers' chins; alleged thieves with blackened faces are paraded through the streets in shame and suspected spies for the US are found beheaded in a ditch.

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CLOSE MARGIN: After his narrow victory, Romano Prodi is expected to sail through another vote today in the Chamber of Deputies, where he enjoys a comfortable majority
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi on Wednesday survived a close vote of confidence in the Senate, ending a weeklong political crisis after his shock resignation.

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Dozens of people were arrested as pro-democracy activists defied a police ban on demonstrations and took to the streets to protest growing economic hardship and repression in Zimbabwe.

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Dozens of protesters in Namibia vented anger on Wednesday at visiting Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe while Africa's most elderly leader sealed bilateral deals with his host, Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba.

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JUMBO PROBLEM: Concerned by a population growing by 6 percent a year, the environment minister announced measures including contraception and possible culling
South Africa's environment minister offered a new plan on Wednesday to control the nation's booming elephant population that contemplates resuming the much-criticized killing of excess animals, but only after thorough scientific study and as a last resort.

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A candidate for Israel's Cabinet from a stridently anti-Arab party withdrew her nomination after key parts of her official resume turned out to be false. A retired police commander will take her intended place at the Cabinet table if he survives the confirmation process.

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One of Britain's most senior police officers accused the nation's security service, MI5, on Wednesday night of "smearing" him after it emerged that the security service told Scotland Yard it suspected him of being an Iranian spy.

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FLOODS CRISIS: President Evo Morales had originally hesitated to announce a national disaster because of a potential loophole in last year's land reform law
President Evo Morales officially declared months of deadly flooding a national disaster, committing some US$50 million to the crisis that killed 35 people and affected some 72,000 families.

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HUMAN TRAFFIC: The US has urged Mexico to do more to stop the Central and South Americans who hop freight trains north and sneak across its border
Mexican President Felipe Calderon hopes to show visiting US President George W. Bush that he can accomplish the sweeping immigration reform Washington has failed to adopt -- not just cracking down on the southern border but also creating a guest-worker program and improving conditions for illegal Central American migrants.

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LIFE CHANGING: Most scientists agree the Arctic is the first place to feel the impact of rising temperatures, and the Inuits believe their whole way of life is at stake
As the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the US has come under heavy criticism, now including from people who live almost on top of the world.

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A fifth US Catholic diocese caught up in a pedophilia scandal has filed for bankruptcy after failing to settle up to US$200 million in claims by victims of sex abuse by priests.

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■ Indonesia
Odd playmates thriving
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