ACTORS: The Tibetan government-in-exile accused Beijing of using police officers dressed up in monks' robes to instigate violence to justify the recent crackdown
Police beat and detained dozens of ethnic Tibetans during the latest protest in a restive region of western China, sparked when monks gathered to demand the release of fellow clergy, residents and an activist group said on Friday.

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Secret police tails. Reprimands or perhaps even expulsion for writing about topics sensitive for the Chinese Communist Party. Big Brother propaganda apparatchiks working overtime to stifle negative news.

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Thai authorities beefed up security in Bangkok’s historic center with 2,000 police to protect the Olympic flame from protesters ahead of the torch relay yesterday.

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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda bluntly told China on Friday that Tibetan unrest had become an international issue, contradicting Beijing’s official line, and hinted it could hit the Olympics.

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HOSTAGE: A Pakistani diplomat to Afghanistan was seen for the first time since his disappearance in February, calling on his country to cooperate with his Taliban captors
Pakistan successfully test-fired a long-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead yesterday, the military said.

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RODENT TROUBLE: A rare flourishing of bamboo flowers has driven up the rat population in Mizoram, cutting last year’s harvest to only a fifth of that expected
A food shortage has hit a remote Indian state after an army of rats began devouring rice crops, triggering a famine scare, officials said.

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VOTED OUT: With the ultra-leftists' projected win in recent polls, Maoist leader Prachanda, formerly a wanted terrorist, was to ask the king to step down
Nepal’s Maoist leader said on Friday he would meet the country’s embattled king to try to persuade him to step down before the monarchy is abolished following a Maoist election victory.

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The mystery over how an accused terrorist with a limp escaped from a tightly secured detention center in Singapore will be revealed tomorrow, seven weeks after Mas Selamat sparked the biggest manhunt in the country’s history.

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A severe tropical storm was expected to hit southern China late yesterday bringing heavy rain, as authorities reported the rescue of 38 fishermen who abandoned their boats and sheltered in reefs as the typhoon approached.

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Actress Cate Blanchett’s six-day-old son stole the limelight from more than 1,000 of Australia’s top citizens yesterday at a summit aimed at generating fresh policy ideas for the future.

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OUT OF BUSINESS: The tabloid that reported on the Russian leader's private life was reportedly suspended, with the publishing house citing budgetary concerns
Perhaps it was the setting — one of Italy’s most romantic resorts. Or the company — standing next to Italy’s famously flirtatious leader.

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Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe devoted his first major speech since disputed elections three weeks ago to denouncing whites and former colonial ruler Britain.

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Abu Izzadeen, the radical Muslim cleric who heckled former home secretary John Reid at a public meeting and called for volunteers to fight against British and US troops in Iraq, was yesterday jailed for four-and-a-half years for inciting and funding terrorism.

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For generations, its sharp and unmistakeable sound has struck fear into Scotland’s enemies, emboldened its troops in battle and helped define its national identity. Every year, tourists in their tens of thousands flock to Edinburgh Castle to applaud the pipe bands of Scotland’s regiments.

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Climate negotiators from the world’s biggest polluters clashed over how deeply to cut emissions of heat-trapping gases, but decided to hold new talks aimed at reaching an accord.

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AGAINST A WALL: The militants are trying to prevent the construction of a concrete wall in Baghdad's Sadr City that would cut off the insurgents' ability to move freely
Twelve people died in overnight clashes in Baghdad’s Sadr City district, which has become a chief battleground between US and Iraqi forces and the Mehdi Army of anti-US cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, police and hospital officials said yesterday.

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The more than 400 children taken from a ranch run by a polygamous sect will stay in state custody and be subject to genetic testing to sort out family relationships that have confounded welfare authorities, a judge ruled.

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Making a plea for human rights, Pope Benedict XVI warned diplomats at the UN that international cooperation needed to solve urgent problems is “in crisis” because decisions rest in the hands of a few powerful nations.

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DELAYED JUSTICE: The five retired navy officers are accused of the abduction, torture and killing of Michael Woodward, a priest who also held British citizenship
Five high-ranking retired navy officers were indicted on Friday for the abduction, torture and killing of a British-Chilean priest and other dissidents on floating detention centers in the days following Chile’s 1973 military coup.

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A sheriff in a small town in Oklahoma has been charged with using female inmates as sex slaves, court records showed.

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