BARGAINING: After allies of Thaksin dominated last month's elections, the new government was tasked with bringing the country out of economic instability
Thailand's parliament was to convene yesterday for the first time since last month's election, dominated by allies of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra after the People Power Party (PPP) cobbled together a coalition.

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Heads of China's nationwide urban inspection force have openly criticized their officers for beating to death a bystander man who filmed a protest, in a rare admission of abuse of power.

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Police and troops captured a suspected member of the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group wanted in connection with the beheading of 10 marines in the southern Philippines last year, officials said yesterday.

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PRICE OF BAD MANNERS: A man was 'fed up' with a lawyer 'always on the phone' as he taped a conversation that has brought Malaysia's judicial system into question
A businessman testified yesterday that boredom forced him to secretly videotape a lawyer allegedly brokering the appointment of top judges in a scandal that has severely damaged Malaysia's judiciary.

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Surging floodwaters forced scores of people to evacuate their homes in northeastern Australia yesterday, officials said, as farmers described heavy rains as a mixed blessing after years of drought.

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Japan will propose setting 2000 as the reference year for future greenhouse gas emission cuts in a bid to bring more countries aboard a post-Kyoto Protocol deal, a report said yesterday.

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COMMON GROUND?: After winning control of one of the houses of parliament in last year's polls, the Democratic Party of Japan spoke out against a coalition government
Japan's opposition went on the offensive yesterday, pledging to push for an early election and spelling stalemate for the divided parliament's new session.

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Beijing has initiated a broad security sweep to ensure it is safe in the run-up to August's Olympics Games, state media quoted the city's top police official as saying.

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CONCERNS: Following German Chancellor Angela Merkel's meeting with the Dalai Lama last year, Beijing successfully pressured Germany into making a series of concessions
The foreign ministers of Germany and China have conducted two months of "secret diplomacy" to mend relations between the countries ahead of a meeting in Berlin next week, a magazine report said.

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Two years ago, a knock on Fatima and Mansour al-Timani's door shattered the life they had built together.

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TERROR: Despite increasing violence and international opprobrium, the Kenyan government has rejected mediation efforts, saying there is no crisis in the country
Seven people were killed in clashes in the Kenyan capital and western region as the country reeled from deadly opposition protests against President Mwai Kibaki's reelection, police said on Sunday.

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The Lebanese parliament speaker on Sunday postponed a session to elect a new president until next month as the head of the Arab League failed to break the presidential deadlock after crisis talks with the country's feuding factions and Syrian officials.

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The longstanding antagonism between Germany and the Church of Scientology escalated over the weekend when a high-profile historian compared Tom Cruise's performance in a Scientology video with the style of Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels.

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ONLINE OPTION: Expat Democrats will be able to cast their votes in person or by fax, mail and over the Internet. Their votes will be represented by 22 convention delegates
This year, for the first time, US expatriates who are Democrats can cast their ballots on the Internet in a presidential primary for people living outside the US.

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Senator Hillary Clinton was to pay homage to Martin Luther King yesterday in a bid to woo African-American voters ahead of this week's Democratic primary in South Carolina, where her top rival, Senator Barack Obama, enjoys strong support.

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"Traveling among women is so much more pleasant," said Alejandra Lugo as she takes a seat on the women-only bus that began circulating earlier this month in Mexico City.

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NO MORNING COFFEE: Women who drink two or more cups of coffee a day are twice as likely to miscarry as those who consume no caffeine
Women are being advised to cut out caffeine during the first three months of pregnancy to help reduce their risk of having a miscarriage.

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The Pentagon is considering appointing General David Petraeus the chief of the NATO command later this year, a move that would give the top US commander in Iraq a high-level post during the next administration, but which has raised concerns about the practice of rotating war commanders.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Colombia's president a "pawn" of the US government and compared him to a mafia boss, raising tensions in a dispute that erupted during mediation efforts to free rebel-held hostages.

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