FOREIGN POLICY: China is the the Russian president's first stop outside the former Soviet Union as the two countries pursue closer ties and international cooperation
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Beijing yesterday on his first trip abroad since taking office, hoping to boost energy and political ties with China amid tension between Moscow and Washington.

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Cambodia's royal cows performed an ancient ceremony yesterday, predicting the country would have a "quite good" rice harvest this year, despite global concerns over supplies of the grain.

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SHORTFALL: Samak Sundaravej played down any fears of a food crisis, saying the Philippines seemed to have enough but vowed that Thailand would help if needed
The leader of the world's largest rice exporter, Thailand, has promised to provide supplies to the Philippines as it struggles to plug a domestic shortfall in the staple grain, a Philippine official said yesterday.

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Police said yesterday they expected to file charges over a Sydney art exhibition that the Australian prime minister called revolting for its portrayal of nude 12- and 13-year-old children.

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Fiji's military leader has threatened to break a commitment to hold elections by early next year if Fijians refuse to support his plans to change the electoral system, reports said yesterday.

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A Malaysian lawmaker told parliament that there would be fewer marital problems and a lower divorce rate if Muslim women were taught to accept polygamy, news reports said yesterday.

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OUT WITH THE OLD?: Edward Timpson claimed a decisive victory in the northwestern Crewe and Nantwich constituency in the Conservatives' first by-election win since 1982
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was dealt a fresh blow yesterday after his party suffered a crushing by-election defeat in a previously safe Labour seat.

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The leaders of Cyprus' rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities were to meet yesterday to try to clear up disagreements that have strained attempts to reunify the ethnically divided island.

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ALLEGATIONS: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faces the fifth investigation against him since he took office, this time for alleged deals made while industry and trade minister
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was set to be questioned yesterday for a second time in three weeks in the latest corruption probe against him, which has stirred calls for his resignation.

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COOPERATION: Dempsey and Petraeus both said Washington and Tehran could work together on issues like fighting the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan
Two of the US military's most prominent voices on Middle East issues are holding out the prospect of improved relations with Iran despite tensions over its nuclear and military ambitions.

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Georgian President Mikheil's Saakashvili party has won parliamentary polls with 59.5 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission said yesterday.

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'IMPUGNING MOTIVES': Barack Obama took aim at John McCain's decision to oppose college scholarships for those serving in the military for three years or more
Republican Senator John McCain, a Vietnam War veteran, blasted likely Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama for never having served in uniform as the two took aim at each other in yet another sign that the presidential race is rapidly moving toward the general election matchup.

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CASTING THE NET WIDER: Journalists, politicians and a US consultant are all under investigation based on information gleaned from laptops seized in a March raid
Colombia's chief prosecutor opened preliminary investigations on Thursday into contacts between leftist rebels and prominent politicians, journalists and foreigners — including a US consultant.

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A prosecutor sought the arrest of former Argentine president Carlos Menem on Thursday, accusing him of covering up the involvement of a Syrian-Argentine businessman in the country's bloodiest terrorist attack.

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Cuba demanded on Thursday that the US respond to its accusations that the US' top diplomat in Havana carried cash to political opposition leaders on the island.

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In a ruling that could torpedo the case against the West Texas polygamist sect, a state appeals court on Thursday said authorities had no right to seize more than 440 children in a raid on the splinter group's compound last month.

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