DECISION TIME: The opposition is threatening to boycott the presidential vote and it is still not certain whether President Musharraf will be able to stand again
Pakistan's election commission yesterday named Oct. 6 as the date for a presidential poll in which Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf will seek a new five-year term, even as opponents urged the Supreme Court to stop him from running.

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The arrest of the Khmer Rouge regime's top surviving leader will lend much-needed credibility to Cambodia's beleaguered UN-backed genocide court, analysts said, but is only a small step on the road to justice.

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LOOKING TO THE HEAVENS: Among guidelines prepared by Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development are suggestions on how to pray in a zero-gravity environment
Malaysia's first astronaut will blast off into space next month armed with guidelines from Muslim authorities on how to pray, wash and even be "buried" in space.

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Police issued a murder and kidnapping warrant yesterday for the father of a three-year-old girl found abandoned in Australia, after identifying the body of her mother found stuffed in the trunk of a car in New Zealand.

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Corruption among leading Chinese officials is falling, a top Communist Party graft-buster said yesterday, sounding a positive note during a rare look inside the body responsible for disciplining the party's 70 million members.

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FORMAL SUSPECTS: Reports had said Portuguese detectives were on the verge of leaving for Britain to put further questions to the parents of missing Madeleine McCann
Portuguese prosecutors said on Wednesday that the parents of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann did not need to be questioned again about the disappearance of their daughter last May.

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BITE-SIZED BIRD: No longer on menus because of a ban, ortolan is eaten at home or served secretly to special customers and a single bird can fetch up to 150 euros
Scottish haggis. Mexican chili-dusted grasshoppers. On the world's list of weird foods, ortolan -- a bite-size songbird roasted and gulped down whole -- can claim a place of distinction.

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Romanian lawmakers began to debate on Wednesday whether Bran Castle, commonly known as Dracula's Castle, was legally returned to owner Dominic Habsburg and whether he is allowed to sell it.

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British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has threatened to boycott a summit of African and European leaders in Lisbon later this year if Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe attends.

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NOT WELCOME: New York authorities refused the Iranian president's request to visit Ground Zero, while Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani expressed anger
Citing security concerns, New York City authorities yesterday rejected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's request to tour Ground Zero, the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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IS O.J. OUT OF LUCK? LEGAL EXPERTS ARE INTRIGUED AT THE THOUGHT :
Former football star O.J. Simpson was released from jail after posting bail in connection with the armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors at a Las Vegas hotel, but still faces charges that could put him behind bars for life.

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A sleek piece of Cold War history was put on display at the CIA yesterday -- the once supersecret A-12 spy plane, which flew higher and faster than any other manned aircraft to spy on North Vietnam and North Korea.

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Dan Rather filed a US$70 million lawsuit against CBS and his former bosses, claiming they made him a "scapegoat" for a discredited story about US President George W. Bush's military service during the Vietnam War.

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Before they leave for Iraq, thousands of troops with the 101st Airborne Division line up at laptop computers to take a test: basic math, matching numbers and symbols, and identifying patterns. They press a button quickly to measure response time.

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■ AUSTRALIA
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