TOKYO: During the first address by a Chinese leader in 22 years, Wen Jiabao told the parliament not to forget the past and that his people `must foster friendship'
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶)offered Japan the hand of friendship yesterday in a call to put aside bitter memories of the past that have hobbled relations between the two Asian giants.

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BANGLADESH: Sheikh Hasina Wajed decided not to return home after learning that a case is being made concerning her behavior during a military crackdown
Bangladesh's main opposition leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed has postponed her return home after being charged with the murder of four people during political unrest last year, a party official said yesterday.

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Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej has pardoned a Swiss man who was sentenced to 10 years in prison last month for vandalizing portraits of the monarch, prosecutors said yesterday.

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A bomb explosion in southern Afghanistan killed two Canadian soldiers and injured three others, as NATO military leaders met in Canada to ask for more resources for their fight in the volatile south, military officials said yesterday.

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Sunni and Shiite Muslims exchanged gunfire yesterday in northwestern Pakistan villages, where a week of sectarian violence has left at least 49 people dead and another 115 wounded, an official said.

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PROVOCATION: Abdelaziz Belkhadem said the bombings were meant to terrorize the public ahead of May 17 national polls, while world leaders condemned the killings
Algeria's prime minister vowed that national elections would go ahead next month despite suicide bombing attacks claimed by al-Qaeda killed 24 people and wounded 222 others in the capital.

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A Mauritanian court indicted six men on terror charges on Wednesday -- the same day al-Qaeda's North African wing claimed responsibility for a blast in Algiers.

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Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is willing to freeze his order to dissolve parliament, a chief aide said on Wednesday, but it appeared unlikely the concession was enough to bring an end to the political crisis in this ex-Soviet republic.

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Sameh Amira was fast asleep when he was jolted awake by pounding at the front door. Israeli troops were on a manhunt for wanted militants in the West Bank and decided to draft help.

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Google is using its popular online mapping service to call attention to atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan.

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GONE: While beekeepers across the country kept finding empty hives or dead bees, the authorities denied evidence of a 'colony collapse disorder'
When John Chapple, one of London's largest keepers of bees, opened his 40 hives after the winter, he was shocked: 23 were empty, seven contained dead bees, and only 10 were unaffected by what seemed to be a mystery plague.

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GETTING WORSE: It has been difficult to determine the numbers killed in shootings, bombings and military operations, but overall the situation has been deteriorating
Millions of Iraqis are in a "disastrous" situation that is getting worse, with mothers appealing for someone to pick up the bodies littering the street so their children will be spared the horror of looking at them on their way to school, the International Red Cross said on Wednesday.

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A suicide bomber blew up a truck on a major bridge across the Tigris River in Baghdad yesterday, killing 10 people and sending cars plunging from the wrecked structure into the waters below.

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REBELLION ANNIVERSARY: Rebel officers had arrested Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez after street protests, but he was freed and back in power less than 48 hours later
Five years after dissident generals ousted President Hugo Chavez in an ill-fated rebellion, Venezuela is again pushing to prosecute those who supported the two-day coup, including the exiled businessman who briefly assumed the nation's presidency.

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COUNTERCULTURE IDOL: Vonnegut became a cult hero when his bestseller Slaughterhouse-Five hit No. 1, although it was banned by many libraries
US literary idol Kurt Vonnegut, best known for such classic novels as Slaughterhouse-Five and Cat's Cradle, died on Tuesday night in Manhattan at age 84, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

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Three student athletes accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a black stripper at a Duke University lacrosse team party were cleared of all remaining criminal charges on Wednesday, authorities said.

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