NO ENTRY: Pakistani police blocked roads leading into Islamabad and even a man who told them he needed to take his ailing father to hospital was turned back
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf formalized his candidacy for a new five-year term yesterday as security forces sealed off the Pakistani capital to prevent a planned protest by angry attorneys.

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DEADLY DROP: The Japanese-financed bridge will cross the Hau River linking Vinh Long Province and Can Tho, a crossing thousands make each day by ferry
Workers searched for bodies yesterday after a section of a massive bridge under construction in southern Vietnam collapsed, killing at least 43 people and injuring 87 others.

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Envoys to six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament held bilateral meetings yesterday ahead of what they described as a crucial round of negotiations, saying steps taken now could help ensure that North Korea provides no nuclear know-how to other countries.

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MISTAKEN IDENTITY?: A man claiming to be Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who authorities say they captured, denied that he was in custody
Taliban insurgents have kidnapped two foreign officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Afghan province of Wardak, the provincial police chief said yesterday.

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The Israeli military killed two Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip early yesterday, bringing to 11 the death toll in one of the bloodiest 24 hours in the Hamas-run territory in recent months.

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EU lawmakers on Wednesday backed plans for an EU-wide work permit to attract skilled workers, to offset labor shortages in the 27-nation bloc and combat falling birth rates and demographic shifts.

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The parents of missing British toddler Madeleine McCann were left disappointed on Wednesday after a photo of a blonde girl snapped in Morocco turned out to be a false alert, their spokesman said.

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ACCOUNTABILITY: The Pentagon has sent a memo to US commanders, outlining their authority over private security contractors hired by the Defense Department
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Wednesday raised concerns about oversight of private security contractors in Iraq and sent a team to confer with US commanders after an incident that left 10 Iraqis dead.

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US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has asked Congress for nearly US$190 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan next year, the biggest funding request yet in the six-year-old "war on terror."

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Georgia's president told world leaders on Wednesday that Russia continues to interfere in its domestic politics and engage in "reckless and dangerous" behavior and was involved in a "mission of terror," the latest in a series of conflicts between the two countries.

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The US is willing to look at any "concrete proposal" from the Colombian Marxist guerrillas holding three American hostages since 2003, the US ambassador to Colombia said on Wednesday.

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As the Democratic presidential hopefuls debated on Wednesday night in New Hampshire, a debate broke out about the decision of the leading Republican candidates to skip a televised forum scheduled for last night that was to focus on issues important to black and Hispanic voters.

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The murder trial of music producer Phil Spector ended on Wednesday in a mistrial after the jury, leaning heavily to convict him, could not reach a unanimous verdict.

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COMMITMENT: Attendees pay a US$15,000 fee and are expected to commit their time or money to the issues; those who do not are not invited to the next forum
Famous faces and unknowns, conservatives and liberals, business leaders and nonprofit activists turned out for the first day of the three-day Clinton Global Initiative to talk about climate change, poverty, health care and education.

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■ CHINA
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