A court in Poland ruled that the law forbids the extradition of filmmaker Roman Polanski to the US, where he pleaded guilty nearly four decades ago to having sex with a minor.

Former Turkish president Suleyman Demirel, one of the dominant figures in the country’s politics for the past half century, has died at 90.

Turkish police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse thousands of demonstrators as the country’s biggest wave of anti-government protests in decades entered its second week with no signs of waning.

FOCUS SHARPENS ON SWING STATES

Jailed Pakistani opposition politician Imran Khan continued his hunger strike for a second day today.

The leader of the winning party in Poland’s election pledged today to move ahead quickly on forming a coalition government to tackle economic problems that include the European Union’s highest unemployment rate.

Turkey’s Islamic-rooted ruling party is planning to reintroduce a proposal to criminalise adultery, despite saying the controversial measure had been shelved.

STEPPING up the pressure on both the UN and Baghdad, President George W Bush last night warned Iraq “will be disarmed one way or the other” and the White House said Saddam Hussein would be a legitimate target if it comes to war.

Ending a high stakes diplomatic stand-off, the Turkish Cabinet today agreed to the deployment of tens of thousands of US combat troops ahead of a possible war in Iraq,

Turkey’s president today designated Abdullah Gul, a leading moderate figure from a party with Islamic roots, as prime minister and asked him to form the country’s first majority government in more than a decade.

Islamic leaders vow to maintain stance AFTER a landslide victory in Turkey’s elections, a party with Islamic roots yesterday pledged to maintain the nation’s pro-Western stance, quickly moving to soothe worries that the crucial ally would undergo a radical shift toward Islam.

Around 3,000 Muslims have held an anti-US rally in the Indonesian city of Surabaya to protest at the ongoing attacks on Afghanistan.

Police wielding canes and backed by water have broken up a rally of about 500 people against Malaysia's longtime leader Mahathir Mohamed.