ABUJA - Thousands of Nigerians stayed into the night at a huge state-backed rally calling on General Sani Abacha to transform himself into a civilian and remain in power when he ends military rule.
KAMPALA - Uganda`s parliament has censured a minister accused of abuse of office and fraud, calling for him to bo relieved of his post. Under Uganda`s constitution,
PHNOM PENH - Cambodia`s military court convicted deposed co-Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh on a charge of illegally buying and transporting weapons into the country and sentenced him to five years in prison.
WASHINGTON - President Bill Clinton sent Iraq a blunt warning that it faces military action if it fails to give U.N. arms inspectors unrestricted access to suspected weapons sites.
UNITED NATIONS - In an effort to coordinate U.N. policies on Iraq, Secretary-General Kofi Annan is expected to name an Indian diplomat as his new special representative to communicate with Baghdad leaders.
JERUSALEM - Parliament met to elect Israel`s next president with maverick incumbent Ezer Weizman battling a dark-horse challenger backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel is holding 10 Lebanese in prison as bargaining chips in talks over the return of missing or captured Israeli servicemen.
SEOUL - South Korea`s opposition party vowed to seek the resignation of acting premier Kim Jong-pil and apply for a court injunction suspending his appointment.
PRISTINA - The Kosovo Albanian death toll in weekend fighting with Serb police rose to at least 24 as families held a mass funeral for the victims.
NEW DELHI - India`s Hindu nationalists and the rival Congress party have begun jockeying for power as general election results showed a hung parliament. The Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made unprecedented gains in the southern region with help from its new-found allies and a backlash against bomb attacks. But it was expected to get only around 250 lower house seats - short of the 272 needed for control.
QUETTA, Pakistan - Flash floods caused by freak spring rains killed at least 40 people, and possibly hundreds, in the remote, arid region of Dasht in southwest Pakistan. At least 250 people were reported missing.
FREETOWN - West African peacekeepers said they had seized control of Makeni, the third biggest town in Sierra Leone, opening the way for much-needed food supplies after three weeks of fighting.
LAGOS - Nigerian pro-democracy campaigners said that police in Lagos had detained at least 35 activists overnight after breaking up their protest against military ruler General Sani Abacha.
BRASILIA - President Cardoso signed into law a bill criminalizing money laundering, in an attempt to end Brazil`s reputation as a clearing house for organised crime.
BONN - Germany`s Social Democrats has unveiled a broad election platform they hope will unseat long-time Chancellor Kohl, mixing conservative-oriented policies like tax cuts with left-wing favourites, e.g. shutdowns of nuclear plants.
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is close to naming diplomat and former intelligence official Efraim Halevy to head the beleaguered Mossad spy agency.
ISFAHAN, Iran - Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini came away from his ground-breaking visit to Iran with a fresh vow from the Islamic government that it did not support international terrorism "in any way".
