MALAYSIA
KUALA LUMPUR -- In a startling turnaround, a key witness whose allegations form the bulk of sex charges against jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim denied that he was ever sodomized by the former deputy prime minister.CYPRUS
NICOSIA -- Dervis Eroglu, prime minister in the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, was declared the winner in parliamentary elections. The result was a show of approval for the government's hard-line stance toward reunification of the island.
FRANCE
PARIS -- A fire broke out before dawn at a nursing home in a Paris suburb, killing seven people and injuring 36 others, authorities said.
PARIS -- French sculptor Cesar, famed for twisting scrap metal into works of art, has died of cancer at the age of 77, radio and television reported on Monday.
ANGOLA
LUANDA -- The United Nations has evacuated 14 of its peacekeepers who were trapped by fighting between the army and rebel forces in central Angola, a U.N. spokesman said.
PHILIPPINES
MANILA -- A World War II-vintage bomb dug up from under a house exploded Monday, killing the owner of the house and three others, Filipino police said. The homeowner had called three friends to help him open the bomb, hoping to sell the gunpowder inside.
UKRAINE
SEVASTOPOL -- A Ukrainian telephone company shut off lines to Russia's Black Sea fleet because of unpaid bills, fleet officials said Monday.
JAPAN
TOKYO -- A 15-year-old boy was arrested on attempted murder charges after allegedly stabbing a schoolmate to vent frustrations, police said.
RUSSIA
MOSCOW -- Russia's Defense Ministry will owe weapons makers more than $1.25 billion by Jan. 1, a news report said Monday.
SOMALIA
MOGADISHU -- At least 10 people were killed and more than 15 wounded in clashes between rival militiamen in a southern Somali port, reports from the town said.
INDONESIA
JAKARTA -- A brawl between supporters of rival political parties injured 11 people at a town in eastern Indonesia, a newspaper reported.
CHINA
BEIJING -- China's rapid economic growth and reliance on coal have spread acid rain damage to 40 percent of the country, an official newspaper reported Monday.
BEIJING -- China will put one of the leaders of a budding opposition party on trial for subversion next week, a rights group reported. The move was the latest government attempt to stamp out any challenge to the ruling Communist Party.
BRITAIN
LONDON -- Britain planned to unveil plans on Monday for a $41 million compensation fund for victims of Nazi persecution and their relatives for assets seized by the government during World War II.
IRAN
TEHRAN -- President Mohammad Khatami on Monday told raucous students clamouring for decisive reform of Iran's Islamic system to be patient and tolerant in the face of mounting attacks by conservatives.
ALGERIA
ALGIERS -- A parcel bomb exploded on Monday in the Algerian capital, injuring five people, one critically, government security forces said in a statement.