BELGRADE - The United States said the big powers would meet in London to try to resolve the crisis in Kosovo by combining diplomacy and the threat of force as fighting flared in the Serbian province.
UNITED NATIONS - U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed on Wednesday Indonesia`s willingness to consider independence for East Timor and move rebel chief Xanana Gusmao from jail to de facto house arrest.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia`s ousted finance minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday accused Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of "dilly-dallying" for four months over injuries he suffered while in police custody.
WASHINGTON - A massacre of 45 ethnic Albanians in Kosovo this month was ordered by senior Serbian officials in Belgrade, who later tried to cover up the attack, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing telephone intercepts by Western governments.
JAKARTA - Indonesia`s parliament votes on Thursday on political and electoral reforms to pave the way for a national election on June 7.
MANILA - The Philippine military and Moslem rebels agreed to a fresh ceasefire in the southern Mindanao region beginning Thursday, ending three days of clashes in which at least 16 people have been killed.
BEIJING - China`s state media on Thursday stepped up condemnation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), saying a widening bribery and corruption scandal has done irreparable harm to the august body.
CANBERRA - Former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter said on Thursday the United States had effectively taken control of U.N. intelligence gathering activity in Iraq.
ST. LOUIS - Pope John Paul issued his strongest condemnation of the death penalty on Wednesday at the end of a six-day visit to the Americas during which he called on the faithful to combat poverty, racism and violence by returning to fundamental morality.
WASHINGTON - Microsoft executive James Allchin said in written testimony released on Wednesday for the company`s antitrust trial that Web browsing could not be removed from its Windows 98 operating system.
LONDON - Kenya`s Charles Mukora on Wednesday became the fourth Olympic member involved in the Salt Lake City bribery affair to resign as the biggest scandal to hit the Olympics sparked more argument and animosity.
LONDON - German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said in an interview published on Thursday that Germany`s allies could count on it as a reliable NATO partner despite his proposal that the military alliance adopt a "no first use" policy on nuclear weapons.
NEW YORK - The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is probing allegations of anti-Semitic remarks by members of the Russian Communist party.
ROCHESTER - Jordan`s King Hussein was fighting a renewed battle against cancer in a U.S. hospital on Wednesday after a brief but tumultuous return home where he dismissed his younger brother as heir.
RIYADH - U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright met Saudi leaders in Riyadh on Wednesday for talks on U.S. plans to contain Iraq and possibly overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
