KEEPING THE PEACE: Cops and military units were deployed in several districts in the run-up to the vote, and were also transporting ballot boxes to remote areas
The Philippines military went on alert yesterday as voters prepared for national polls today following a blood-soaked campaign season that saw more than 110 people killed.

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The wife of one of Southeast Asia's most-wanted terror suspects has asked the Philippines to release four of their children who were found in a suspected militant hide-out, a relative of the Indonesian woman said yesterday.

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Thai police said yesterday they had briefly arrested about 800 farmers after a clash in the country's south, where they used tear gas on a crowd who had occupied private land.

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LONG REIGN: The king was made the joint head of state with Tupua Tamasese Meaole when Samoa gained its independence from New Zealand in 1962
King Malietoa Tanumafili II, one of the world's longest reigning monarchs, passed away at a hospital in Samoa, the prime minister's office said. He was 94.

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SERIOUS CHALLENGE: President Pervez Musharraf condemned the violence in a speech at a rally of his supporters in Islamabad, but he ruled out declaring a state of emergency
Security forces patrolled Karachi yesterday after two days of violent clashes over the suspension of Pakistan's chief justice left 36 people dead.

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North Korea sacked its prime minister last month because he suggested an incentive-based wage system for workers in the communist regime, a proposal that was deemed too similar to US-style capitalism, a news report said yesterday.

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Japan's Defense Ministry plans to develop a high-powered laser capable of shooting down missiles to boost its defenses against North Korea, a news report said yesterday.

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The Dalai Lama will keep his spiritual role but wants to lessen his political burden as he moves into "retirement," an official in the Tibetan spiritual leader's office said.

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THREAT: The demonstration was staged to pressure Prime Minister Erdogan's government to remain secular after nominating an Islamist presidential candidate
At least 100,000 secular Turks demonstrated in Turkey's third-largest city yesterday, keeping up pressure on the Islamic-rooted government that they fear is working to raise the influence of religion on society.

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Cannabis smokers are unwittingly funding Islamist extremists linked to terror attacks in Spain, Morocco and Algeria, according to a joint investigation by the Spanish and French secret services. The finding will be seized on both by campaigners for a harsher clampdown on cannabis and by those who argue that legalization is the only way to end a petty dealing trend that is dragging growing numbers of teenagers into crime.

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POWDER KEG: Israeli defense officials have cautioned that militants are smuggling in weapons from Egypt and those affiliated with Hamas are involved in rocket fire
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's senior ministers were expected yesterday to approve intensified operations against Gaza Strip rocket squads, but to stop short of authorizing a large-scale operation to try to stop daily attacks on southern Israel, government officials said.

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Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown is planning to strip Downing Street of key powers in some of the most far-reaching reforms of the British premiership for a generation.

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Britain's most senior road-safety campaigners are calling for smoking while driving to be banned in an attempt to cut the number of crashes.

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MAYOR WOUNDED: Dozens were injured, including an elected official, and 10 were killed when a truck loaded with explosives drove into a Kurdish political party's offices
A suicide truck bomber crashed into the offices of a Kurdish political party yesterday, killing at least 10 people and wounding dozens, including the mayor, officials said. It was the second suicide attack in Kurdish areas of the north in four days.

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SHARING PAIN: At one of the ceremonies, nearly all of the students and many faculty stood when asked if they knew someone killed or injured in the shooting
Virginia Tech's engineering school remembered with tears its three professors and 11 students slain by a gunman last month and cheered wounded student Kevin Sterne, who limped across the stage with a crutch to receive his diploma.

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US Vice President Dick Cheney made a lightning visit to Egypt yesterday for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak expected to focus on helping Iraq and curbing Iran's rising influence.

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INTIMIDATION: The note left by a military barracks in Veracruz warned that federal forces would not be able to put a stop to violent organized crime
A severed head accompanied by a note of defiance from organized crime groups was found outside a military barracks in Veracruz on Saturday, a day after authorities said they were sending more troops and police to the state to fight the gangs.

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After Eric Congdon opened a crate from China and discovered a cat inside, coming up with a name for the furry stowaway was easy.

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■ VIETNAN
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