REGULAR FLU: Officials in Guangdong and Shenzhen said they had not seen an unusual increase in flu cases, adding that they were closely observing the situation
Flu cases that spurred Hong Kong to close primary schools for the first time since the SARS scare have prompted close monitoring in the surrounding region, but no unusual flu patterns have been detected, China's health minister said yesterday.

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Malaysia's three-party opposition alliance signed an accord yesterday to stop squabbling over the leadership of a state government, averting a split in their newfound friendship.

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CHOICES: Yasuo Fukuda told parliament he would make a decision soon on whether to resubmit Toshiro Muto's nomination or come up with a new candidate
The Japanese government said yesterday it was aiming for a last-minute breakthrough in a standoff over the next central bank chief to prevent a leadership vacuum in the midst of a global credit crisis.

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In just six months, China's apparent heir to the leadership has vaulted from Shanghai boss to a spot in the ruling Communist Party's inner sanctum and an unusually visible role overseeing preparations for the Olympic Games.

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The world's wealthy countries need to pump more money into financing poorer nations' efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and cope with climate change, environmentalists said yesterday ahead of a global warming conference.

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A Russian businessman accused of sexually assaulting at least 19 Cambodian girls was jailed yesterday for 13 years after being convicted in the first of several cases against him.

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BACK TO THE TABLE: Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir and Chadian counterpart Idriss Deby accuse each other of backing rebels to overthrow their governments
The heads of Sudan and Chad on Thursday signed a non-aggression pact -- the sixth deal in five years aiming to halt hostilities between the African rivals.

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TWO HOSTAGES: The al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb said it would allow authorities until midnight tomorrow night to meet their ultimatum
Austria's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday it had received an ultimatum from al-Qaeda's North Africa branch demanding the release of prisoners in Tunisia and Algeria in exchange for freeing two Austrian tourists it claims to have kidnapped.

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The UN Security Council insisted on Thursday that Eritrea fully cooperate in the temporary relocation of UN peacekeepers based in the country who had been monitoring the tense border with Ethiopia.

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A Sicilian tour guide who got fed up with answering the same questions about the mafia has written a pocket-sized book he thinks visitors will be unable to refuse.

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy was on Thursday forced to back down from an ambitious plan to launch a Paris-led "Mediterranean Union" linking the EU's southern states in a political club with Turkey and the Maghreb and Middle Eastern countries, including Israel.

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CONDITIONS: Despite pressure on the government to withdraw troops, parliament approved an extension that would be contingent on more support from NATO
Parliament voted to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan to 2011 if NATO supplies more troops and equipment to back up its forces in the volatile south.

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Ecuador is still angry over a Colombian raid into its territory and will not restore diplomatic relations with its neighbor until at least the end of this month, the government announced on Thursday.

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Archeologists in Peru have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, roadway and irrigation systems at a famed fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco, officials involved with the dig said on Thursday.

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MYSTERIOUS DEATH: The corpse was found after kidnappers told the church where they buried his body. Authorities were treating the case as homicide
Christians from across Iraq were gathering yesterday for the funeral of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop whose body was found in northern Iraq two weeks after he was kidnapped, clerics said.

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Cuba has eased restrictions on the sale of computers, DVD players and other electrical goods in the first sign of economic liberalization since former Cuban president Fidel Castro retired last month. The appliances will go on sale immediately and be available to anybody who can pay, according to an internal government memo seen by the news agency Reuters.

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■ MYANMAR

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