NOT AMUSED: Commonwealth foreign ministers gathered in Kampala for a meeting expected to decide whether or not Pakistan should be excluded from the organization
Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf is set to quit as army chief and become a civilian president at the weekend, a top government official said yesterday, as the military ruler won fresh US backing.

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CLEAN UP YOUR ACT: The country's environment is already being affected by pollution from China and it is offering US$2 billion to promote a `greener' East Asia
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda yesterday unveiled a US$2 billion aid package to help developing Asian nations fight pollution and combat climate change.

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Education programs for sex workers have helped arrest the spread of HIV/AIDS in some Asian countries, but drug use and unprotected sex threaten to reverse the gains across the region, a UN agency said.

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Thousands of US sailors expecting to spend Thanksgiving in Hong Kong were still on their ships last night, waiting for permission to enter Hong Kong waters, US and Hong Kong officials said.

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Thousands of people lined up patiently for food as a navy ship arrived at a remote Bangladesh island, bringing the first aid since last week's devastating cyclone.

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DEADLOCK: The Kosovo delegation said Serbia's offer did not go far enough and threatened to declare independence unilaterally if no deal is reached by Dec. 10
Kosovo Albanians rejected a reworked offer of wide-ranging autonomy from Serbia on Tuesday and said there were no alternatives to the province's demands for outright independence.

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Iranian Kurds living in a sprawling refugee camp in Kurdish north Iraq dream of returning home, voicing hope the US will use its might to overthrow the Tehran regime and make that wish come true.

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OUT OF SIGHT: Massive fraud is feared after data on 7 million families was mislaid. The Revenue and Customs chief resigned following the 'extremely serious failure'
The UK government was forced to admit a breach of the most fundamental level of faith between the state and citizen on Tuesday when it disclosed that the personal records of 25 million individuals, including their dates of birth, addresses, bank accounts and national insurance numbers had been lost in the post, opening up the threat of mass identity fraud and theft from personal bank accounts.

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Just outside the gates of the vast Zasyadko mine, men accustomed to digging coal took up a grimmer job -- digging graves for colleagues killed in post-Soviet Ukraine's worst mining disaster.

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Saudi Arabia defended on Tuesday a controversial verdict sentencing a 19-year-old gang rape victim to six months in jail and 200 lashes.

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COOPERATION: Tehran appears to be holding to its pledge to stem the flow of arms into Iraq, contributing to a sharp decline in roadside bomb attacks in recent months
Tough talk on Iran's nuclear program has raised the specter of a possible US attack, but tensions between the two diplomatic foes nevertheless appear to have eased on the issue of securing Iraq.

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FEED AND FORAGE: Democrats say there is enough money to support the troops. Republicans warn that powers dating back to the Civil War may be necessary
The Bush administration clashed with Congress over Iraq War funding on Tuesday, with the Pentagon warning of looming layoffs and base shutdowns, dismissed by Democrats as scare tactics.

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A Venezuelan lawmaker repeatedly slapped a journalist in the face during a TV program, accusing him of slander after he wrote about the death of her infant son years ago.

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An Internet hoax that ended with the suicide of a 13-year-old has led to calls from her family for better protections against online harassment, though any solution may run afoul of constitutional free speech rights.

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Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan blamed President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney for efforts to mislead the public about the role of White House aides in leaking the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.

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Cuba announced on Tuesday it has set Jan. 20 for national elections that are part of the process of determining whether ailing President Fidel Castro will stay on as president.

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■ CHINA

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