DISARMAMENT ON HOLD: Funds destined for North Korea were held up in Russia, which may affect the scheduling of the next six-party nuclear disarmament talks
A technical glitch was holding up the final transfer of previously frozen North Korean funds, US nuclear envoy Christopher Hill said yesterday, but added that the issue would likely be resolved soon to facilitate disarmament talks next month.

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Thousands of Pakistanis turned out in support of the country's suspended chief justice yesterday as top US officials held talks with embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

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CONVOY: A suicide car bomb exploded near a NATO group of vehicles in Kabul. US soldiers arrived on the scene fired shots, killing one and wounding one
US soldiers at the scene of a suicide attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul yesterday "mistakenly" opened fire, killing one person and wounding another, a city police chief said.

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Indonesia's capture of the leader and military boss of Southeast Asian militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) has dealt the network a major blow but it still has the ability to bounce back, analysts say.

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A North Korean family of four arrived in South Korea yesterday after leaving Japan, where they landed two weeks ago after a daring boat voyage.

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More than 30 years after the Vietnam War ended, the poisonous legacy of Agent Orange has emerged anew with a scientific study that has found extraordinarily high levels of health-threatening contamination at the former US air base at Danang.

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FEARED EXODUS: While the heads of Arab countries renewed their support for the Palestinian president, neighboring countries were increasing border security
Arab countries on Friday threw their support behind Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' leadership but also urged an immediate halt to infighting so that the unity of Palestinian lands could be preserved.

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Warrior horsemen who once struck fear into the hearts of nomads and czars alike, Russia's Cossacks are looking to seize power again -- this time through peaceful means.

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'LITTLE SYMPATHY': Seven British men involved in a plan to attack various landmarks with limousines packed with explosives received sentences from 15 to 26 years
A British court handed down lengthy prison sentences on Friday to seven men who served as accomplices to al-Qaeda terrorists planning spectacular attacks in the US and Britain.

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Author Salman Rushdie, against whom Iran's revolutionary leader issued a fatwa 18 years ago, was awarded a knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth II yesterday.

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Russian authorities tried to turn the tables on Britain over the poisoning death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko, saying on Friday they were investigating allegations of British espionage made by the suspect British prosecutors have named in the case.

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TOUGHER LINE: A `New York Times' report said that Condoleezza Rice still favored diplomacy, but conservatives led by Dick Cheney were pushing for military action
An internal debate is under way in the administration of US President George W. Bush on whether the current diplomatic approach toward Iran has any hope of halting the country's nuclear program, the New York Times reported on its Web site on Friday.

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AFTER THE HURRICANE: Thousands of Hispanic workers who poured into the city to help clean up after Katrina have found a new home in the old city
Brass bands and jazz, crawfish po-boys and gumbo still rule in the French Quarter, where tourists flock in search of New Orleans cultural icons.

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A US astronaut of Indian heritage made history early yesterday when she set a new record for the longest uninterrupted space flight by a woman.

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For more than 50 years, the governments of Arizona and its Mexican neighboring state, Sonora, have gathered regularly to strike agreements, pledge cooperation and bask in border bonhomie.

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US defense contractors are receiving nearly half the money allotted by Washington to fight cocaine trafficking and leftist rebels in Colombia, throwing into doubt their mission to train Colombians to replace them.

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■ LEBANON
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