FREEDOM OF SPEECH?: Letters and poems, signed by unknown groups, were copies of handwritten pages and included criticisms of the pro-democracy movement
Leaflets demanding that US and British diplomats stop their "blatant support" for pro-democracy protests in Myanmar were left in front of those countries' embassies yesterday.

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Pakistan yesterday probed suspected links between pro-Taliban militants and the twin suicide blasts that killed 31 people and heightened the crisis facing President Pervez Musharraf.

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Roman Catholic Masses, candle processions and interfaith prayer on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, who dedicated her life to serving the poorest of the poor in this eastern Indian city.

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MULLAH MATEEN: A day earlier, Afghan officials claimed to have killed a Taliban commander who had allegedly been involved in the kidnapping of 23 South Koreans
Afghan and US-led coalition soldiers battled Taliban militants in Afghanistan and called in airstrikes in fighting that killed more than 20 insurgents, the coalition said yesterday.

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US President George W. Bush launched strong criticism at Myanmar's military junta yesterday, accusing it of tyranny for repressing the supporters of democracy in the Southeast Asian country.

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COOPERATION: The 27-nation bloc plans to set up a shared explosive database to warn authorities when explosives are reported lost or stolen in any member state
The EU's top justice official said yesterday that the threat of a terror attack remained high in the 27-nation bloc.

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Chinese hackers, some believed to be from the People's Liberation Army, have been attacking the computer networks of British government departments.

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A peace deal between Sudan's Muslim government and Christian and animist rebels in the semiautonomous south can serve as a "blueprint for long-term peace" for the entire country -- including Darfur, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said during a visit.

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TWO FIRSTS: It was the first time two Category 5 hurricanes hit in the same year and Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes made landfall on the same day
Torrential rains and winds de-stroyed thousands of homes and killed at least three people as Felix pushed across Nicaragua and Honduras, while Henriette punished resorts as it roared over the Baja Peninsula toward mainland Mexico.

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Authorities plan to kill tens of thousands of stray dogs in the Ethiopian capital, saying they want to eradicate rabies before next week's celebration of the Coptic millennium.

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A 16-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the murder of Rhys Jones, 11, who was shot dead in Croxteth, Liverpool, on his way home from playing soccer.

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Paul Bremer, the US' former proconsul in Baghdad, on Tuesday defended his reputation against comments from US President George W. Bush that the official had acted on his own accord in committing one of the most calamitous mistakes of the Iraq war.

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SEARCH: Sixty-three-year-old Steve Fossett took off on Monday morning from an airstrip 113km southeast of Reno, Nevada, scouting for suitable land-speed locations
Millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett, who has cheated death time and again in his successful pursuit of aviation records, was missing after taking off in a single-engine plane the day before to scout locations for a land-speed record attempt, officials said.

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US Senator Larry Craig is reconsidering his decision to resign after his arrest in a Minnesota airport sex sting and may still fight for his Senate seat, his spokesman said.

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Firefighters responding to a blaze at an Amarillo apartment found the body of 37-year-old Ronnie Dawn Hewitt, but the fire did not kill her.

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