SICKENING: A hospital in Chenxi County was said to be `packed with poisoned villagers,' with a newspaper saying as many as 1,000 people had been affected
Sulfuric acid leaked into the water supply from a chemical factory in central China, poisoning at least 26 villagers who have been admitted to hospital with nausea and swollen faces, authorities said yesterday.

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The US-led drive to eradicate opium poppy fields in Afghanistan is a waste of money that plays into the hands of Taliban insurgents, a former US ambassador to the UN said on Wednesday.

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A 37-year-old man died of kidney failure after being treated with an antibiotic tainted with an antifreeze ingredient, the 14th fatality in China linked to the drug since 2006, state media and a hospital said yesterday.

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The mayor of Shanghai yesterday vowed to clean up the city's "negative image" and to forestall protests by resolving tensions over construction projects and other issues.

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PROTESTS: Islamabad police fired tear gas after scuffles with hundreds of lawyers and other anti-government activists demanding President Musharraf step down
Pakistani troops backed by helicopters and artillery attacked suspected militant hideouts in tribal areas close to the Afghan border, killing 40 rebels and arresting 30, the army said yesterday. At least eight soldiers also died.

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A Japanese destroyer departed yesterday to resume the country's anti-terrorism mission in the Indian Ocean after a divisive battle in parliament caused a three-month suspension.

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WAR-TIME EXECUTIONS: The remains of 400 people have been excavated so far from four of a suspected 160 killing sites. The skulls all had bullet holes in the back
After decades of silence, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is uncovering a dark stain on South Korea's past -- the wartime execution of tens of thousands of suspected communists.

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A Canadian businessman providing dental aid to North Koreans has been detained for more than two months, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

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The Malaysian government plans to stockpile essential goods such as rice and cooking oil to prevent shortages and to keep inflation down in a move welcomed yesterday by consumer groups.

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India's battle against its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu suffered a new blow yesterday as rain forced a halt to culling in West Bengal, an official said.

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SOBERING: World Economic Forum speakers said that the world could not escape the effects of economic trouble in the US, marked by its roiling stock market
Afghanistan's president warned on Wednesday that world could suffer terribly from the "wildfire" of terrorism engulfing his region, thickening the gloom at a meeting of political and economic leaders already worried about the threat of global recession.

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The UN climate chief predicted on Wednesday that the world will reach the goal of cutting global-warming gases 50 percent by 2050 and said the US economic meltdown should spur governments to take bolder action in confronting climate change.

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CRITICAL: The Tara team recorded a temperature of 10oC at altitudes between 500m and 1,000m and pointed to the role of ocean currents behind the warming of water
The Arctic ice cap has shrunk by an area twice the size of France's land mass over the last two years, the Paris-based National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) said on Wednesday.

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UNDETERRED: After the text was agreed upon during talks in Berlin on Tuesday, US and European diplomats said it bolstered existing sanctions, such as freezing assets
A draft UN resolution on Iran's nuclear program does not call for any harsh sanctions, Russia said, and the Iranian president said new measures would not deter the country's pursuit of nuclear technology.

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Iran received a sixth shipment of nuclear fuel yesterday from Russia, destined for a power plant being constructed in the southern port of Bushehr, the official IRNA news agency reported.

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Two British teenage girls were sentenced on Wednesday to nine months for trying to smuggle cocaine out of Ghana in laptop bags, government officials said.

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HIT JOB? : The former president complained to reporters about their coverage of the Illinois senator labeling Hillary as untruthful, poll-driven and lacking in character
A poisonous new exchange erupted on the Democratic campaign trail Wednesday as former president Bill Clinton accused his wife's chief rival, Senator Barack Obama, of a political "hit job."

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Venezuela's major opposition parties agreed on Wednesday to choose single candidates in upcoming gubernatorial and municipal elections in hopes of ending a near monopoly on the control of local governments by allies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

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FINE LINE: The tax laws help states keep seized drug money even when a suspected drug dealer goes free because it's easier to prove tax evasion than drug crimes
The Tennessee tax authorities slapped a young concertgoer with US$11,506 in taxes and penalties when he was caught with Rice Krispie Treats laced with marijuana. North Carolina collected US$11 million in taxes last year on illegal drugs and moonshine. And in Alabama, the rare drug user who chooses to pay state taxes on a stash is issued a sticker to place on the package that declares, "Say no to marijuana."

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How many lives did kitten Gracie Mae use up when she crawled into her owner's suitcase, went through an airport X-ray machine, got loaded onto a plane, thrown onto a baggage belt and picked up by a stranger far from home?

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The Canadian military secretly stopped transferring prisoners to Afghanistan's government in November after Canadian monitors found evidence that they were being abused and tortured.

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■ PHILIPPINES

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