THE FATA OF THE LAND: An anonymous US official said Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders were based in Quetta and the tribal areas of the US ally; Pakistan said this was nonsense
Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar and their top commanders are hiding in Pakistan, posing a "huge challenge" to the security of the country and neighboring Afghanistan, a senior US administration official said on Friday.

[ FULL STORY ]

FRENCH MUSING: The Canadian government is asking NATO for help in keeping south Afghanistan under control. The French might come to the table
Canada's Conservative government introduced a motion in parliament on Friday to extend the Canadian combat mission in Afghanistan indefinitely, contingent on other NATO countries sending 1,000 more troops to southern Afghanistan.

[ FULL STORY ]

Hundreds of mourners, including family and celebrities, gathered to bid farewell to actor Heath Ledger at a memorial service yesterday that celebrated his life and work.

[ FULL STORY ]

The editor of a Chinese newspaper known for its aggressive reporting has been released early from prison after serving four years on corruption charges, a colleague at his newspaper and a journalists' group said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

A Russian strategic bomber briefly entered Japanese airspace over the Pacific south of Tokyo yesterday, prompting 22 Japanese military aircraft to scramble, officials said.

[ FULL STORY ]

KARBALA RAID: Officials said four of the detainees are members of the People's Mujahidin Organization of Iran, which the US has labeled a terrorist organization
Iraqi police arrested 15 Shiite activists yesterday in early morning raids south of Baghdad, and five US soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings, officials said.

[ FULL STORY ]

US military prosecutors filed war crimes charges against two more Guantanamo prisoners on Friday, saying one was an al-Qaeda videographer and the other one a driver and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden.

[ FULL STORY ]

A 23-year-old woman killed two fellow students with a .357 revolver in a classroom at a vocational college, then committed suicide, police said.

[ FULL STORY ]

CONTROVERSIAL CLERIC: Rowan Williams triggered a storm of criticism in Britain after saying on Thursday that adoption of some part of `Shariah' law was unavoidable
The Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday defended his remarks about Shariah law and clarified his position amid mounting criticism, saying he was not proposing Islamic law in Britain, nor was he recommending its introduction as a parallel legal system.

[ FULL STORY ]

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that electrocution is cruel and unusual punishment, outlawing the electric chair in the only US state that still used it as its sole means of execution.

[ FULL STORY ]

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama vied for the support of women voters as they faced off for electoral contests yesterday, after nationwide races this week failed to anoint either candidate as the Democratic front-runner for the presidential nomination.

[ FULL STORY ]

■ CHINA

[ FULL STORY ]