Malaysia
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad opened a Group of 15 (G-15) summit on Monday with a sharp attack on currency and stock speculators who he said had impoverished Southeast Asia in the space of a few months.
Singapore
SINGAPORE - Singaporeans woke up to the smell of smoke on Monday as smog fuelled by Indonesian bush fires sneaked back into town overnight.
Australia
CANBERRA - Australia should lease two of its three Antarctic bases to other nations and create a permanent air link and summer tourism on the ice continent, said a government report on Antarctica released on Monday.
Nepal
An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the open-ended Richter scale rocked the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal on Monday but there were no reports of casualties, the Press Trust of India said.
Britain
LONDON - A former MI6 secret intelligence officer is to be charged on Monday under Britain's Official Secrets Act in what is thought to be the first such prosecution since 1961.
Saudi Arabia
DUBAI - Prison conditions for two British nurses charged with murder in Saudi Arabia have improved with the installation of new bathroom facilities and access to fast food, an embassy official in Riyadh said on Monday.
Brazil
SAO PAULO - Police said Monday a group of inmates armed with revolvers seized three guards and freed more than 200 fellow prisoners Sunday night in a jail in southeastern Brazil.
Sri Lanka
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's military may have killed up to 60 people in a weekend attack on a Tamil Tiger rebel supply ship, military officials said on Monday.
France
PARIS - Eight of the photographers under investigation for their role in the car crash that killed Princess Diana sued a French author whose book blamed paparazzi for the princess's death.
Netherlands
THE HAGUE - The International Court of Justice said on Monday it expected to rule by early March on a dispute between Libya, the United States and Britain over the hunt for the Lockerbie bombers.
Croatia
ZAGREB - Croatia's fascist past came back to haunt it on Monday after two Israeli politicians urged that President Franjo Tudjman be barred from visiting the Jewish state.
Portugal
PUNTA DELGADA - With the last body recovered, mechanical diggers began on Monday clearing away tons of mud and debris left by a landslide that smashed through an Azores' village, killing 29 people.
Thailand
BANGKOK - Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said on Monday he would submit his resignation on Thursday.
Nigeria
ABUJA - Pope John Paul II will visit Nigeria next March, when he is expected to beatify a Nigerian priest, government and religious officials said.
Montserrat
OLVESTON - The Soufriere Hills volcano on the ravaged island of Montserrat threatens to explode again at any time, officials said.