CONTROVERSIAL: Critics say the law gives the military sweeping powers, including restrictions on freedom of movement as well as access to electronic equipment
Thailand's military-installed parliament approved a controversial internal security law that critics yesterday warned will allow the military to maintain a grip on power even after this weekend's general election.

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A court yesterday cleared the way for an Indian doctor arrested over failed bomb attacks in Britain to return to Australia when it upheld a previous ruling that the government erred in canceling his visa.

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INTENTIONS: The president-elect proposed linking up South Korean technology with Russia's resources and urged Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear weapons for its own good
South Korean president-elect Lee Myung-bak yesterday expressed strong interest in joint energy development in Russia's resource-rich Siberia with the help of North Korean labor.

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South Korea's coastguard has applied for court permission to arrest the captains of the vessels that collided early this month, causing the country's worst oil spill, an official said yesterday.

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Father Christmas is about to join a pantheon of Marxist and Russian celebrities in the former Soviet nation, as authorities here prepare to name one of their snowy peaks "Mount Santa Claus."

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CHANGES: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela is back as head of the executive committee,while the investor-friendly finance minister surprised many by retaining his position
A divisive African National Congress (ANC) meeting ended with another loss for South African President Thabo Mbeki as eight of his Cabinet ministers and deputies were cut from the top party structure, media reported yesterday.

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Three men detained by British police after their release from Guan-tanamo Bay have been reunited with their families for the first time in nearly five years, although two face extradition to Spain.

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POWERFUL: Critics say Vladimir Putin is turning Russia into a Soviet-style police state, and that corruption in the security forces and other agencies hurt economic growth
Russian President Vladimir Putin, a longtime KGB officer, praised the nation's security services and said their ranks were growing stronger, but also stressed that they must obey the law and protect people's rights.

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Two Israeli Cabinet ministers yesterday urged the government to examine any serious ceasefire proposal from Hamas, the radical group that does not recognize the Jewish state but which rules the Gaza Strip.

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Belgian anti-terror police arrested 14 Muslim extremists allegedly planning to break an al-Qaeda prisoner out of jail as the government raised security in the capital for the Christmas season.

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Queen Elizabeth II became Britain's oldest-ever monarch on Thursday, reaching a new milestone in a job she has held for more than half a century -- one that comes with luxurious accommodation, long hours and little chance of retirement.

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MISSING ARMS: After a complaint from Turkish officials that weapons seized from Kurdish militants may have come from the US, the Pentagon is increasing its staff
The Pentagon is bolstering a badly understaffed office in Baghdad to speed the flow of combat gear to Iraqi forces and help keep the weapons from insurgents and off the black market.

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A powerful Iraqi Shiite leader yesterday called for Sunni groups battling against al-Qaeda to be closely monitored, and said that such groups must operate in conjunction with the state.

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Police are hunting a gang that pulled off a daring dawn theft on Thursday of a Picasso painting worth an estimated US$55 million and another precious work from Latin America's most renowned museum.

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Airport security lines can annoy passengers, but there is no evidence that they make flying any safer, US researchers reported on Thursday.

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HANDS TIED: Majority leader Harry Reid returned seven nominations to the White House, forcing the president to resubmit them before appointments can be made
The Senate seemed to wrap up its last business of the year on Wednesday night. But anyone listening carefully to the majority leader, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, would have heard him laying out plans for the Senate to work through the holidays -- sort of.

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A man's long search for his birth mother ended at an incredible place: the home-improvement store where he works.

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Three men detained by British police after their release from Guan-tanamo Bay have been reunited with their families for the first time in nearly five years, although two face extradition to Spain.

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■ MALAYSIA

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