FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE? : Gastao Salsinha has vowed he would not 'surrender,' arguing this implies defeat, instead preferring to describe it as 'coming down from the hills'
A fugitive soldier wanted over the coordinated attacks that nearly killed East Timor's president is negotiating the terms of his surrender, the nation's military chief said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Heroin production in Afghanistan reached a new high last year despite global efforts to battle the menace, the UN's International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) said yesterday in its annual report.

[ FULL STORY ]

The bird flu virus is "firmly entrenched" in Asia and a pandemic among humans remains possible, a WHO specialist warned yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

NO REFORMS: Tight control on the media had become even more glaring during the campaign, with state run outlets observing a virtual blackout on the opposition
Malaysians will be denied a fair vote in general elections this weekend, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday, accusing the government of muzzling the opposition and manipulating the electoral process.

[ FULL STORY ]

Soaring oil prices and the rising cost of living have driven nearly 4 million people in the Philippines back into poverty, officials said yesterday.

[ FULL STORY ]

FEELING 'FRUSTRATED': Ibrahim Gambari's visit follows the junta's surprise announcement that it would hold a referendum on a draft constitution and elections in 2010
The UN's special envoy to Myanmar returns to the military-ruled country today for his third attempt to coax democratic reforms out of the junta since its deadly crackdown on protesting monks and students last September.

[ FULL STORY ]

LOBBYING: After receiving a phone call from Condoleezza Rice, Mahmoud Abbas backed off from a threat to boycott peace talks until a ceasefire has been reached
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday Israel and the Palestinians had agreed to resume peace talks suspended over an Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, but she did not specify a date.

[ FULL STORY ]

NOT THROUGH YET: The fiery Protestant preacher and politician will keep his legislative posts in Belfast and London, but step down as first minister
The largest Protestant party in Northern Ireland scrambled yesterday to secure a seamless transfer of power after its firebrand leader Ian Paisley announced his departure, drawing tributes from all sides.

[ FULL STORY ]

A US missile strike in Somalia on Monday targeted a Kenyan suspected in the 1998 bombings of two US embassies in Africa, officials said on Tuesday.

[ FULL STORY ]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that Iran would hold no talks outside the UN atomic watchdog over its nuclear program, after the US Security Council urged Tehran to resume talks with the EU, the official IRNA news agency said.

[ FULL STORY ]

The former No. 2 US commander in Iraq said on Tuesday that Iran is still training, funding and arming Shiite extremists in Iraq, with the aim of keeping a weak government in Baghdad.

[ FULL STORY ]

Officials in Azerbaijan and Armenia made conflicting casualty claims yesterday after clashes near the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

[ FULL STORY ]

APOLOGY NOT ACCEPTED: The Ecuadoran president began a six-nation tour, saying Colombia's leader `wanted war.' A Venezuelan official said that war had `already begun'
Venezuela and Ecuador took their growing conflict with Colombia to the diplomatic front, asking other countries to condemn Colombia's deadly assault on a rebel base in Ecuador.

[ FULL STORY ]

Ottawa said on Tuesday that it was "profoundly disappointed" by Saudi Arabia's sentencing of a Canadian national to death by beheading after he was found guilty of a schoolyard murder. "We are profoundly disappointed" with the verdict by Saudi authorities, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said.

[ FULL STORY ]

Brazil's Supreme Court was set to decide if scientists in Latin America's largest country should be allowed to conduct embryonic stem cell research, which some scientists believe could lead to cures for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

[ FULL STORY ]

KEEPING TABS: The nine-person Agency for International Development team faced a reduction to two, but pressure from Congress resulted in an about-face
In a switch under Congressional pressure, the US State Department agreed on Tuesday to retain nine US inspectors in Iraq to oversee reconstruction, health and other assistance programs.

[ FULL STORY ]

■ JAPAN

[ FULL STORY ]