[One-Minute World News] from [BBC NEWS]
[South Asia]
Page last updated at 13:12 GMT, Saturday, 31 October 2009
Abdullah to make run-off decision
{Saturday is the deadline Mr Abdullah has set for his "minimum conditions"}
President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential poll says he will announce on Sunday whether he intends to quit the race.
Dr Abdullah Abdullah called for the resignation of key election officials and others as a way to mitigate fraud and corruption in the vote.
But those demands were rejected earlier in the week in talks with Mr Karzai.
A senior adviser said that in talks on Friday, Mr Abdullah's team decided he should not take part in the poll.
But Mr Adbullah's campaign said on Saturday that no final decision had been made, and that the former foreign minister would announce his next move on Sunday.
The BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul says that if he withdraws it will raise serious questions about the credibility of the election.
However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a runoff with only one candidate would not necessarily threaten the legitimacy of the process.
"We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward," Mrs Clinton told reporters in the United Arab Emirates.
'Nothing has changed'
Hundreds of thousands of votes were discounted from August's first round of voting.
The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission's (ECC) action meant Mr Karzai's total was reduced to below the 50% plus one vote threshold for outright victory, indicating a run-off poll was needed.
Among the "minimum conditions" Mr Abdullah has set for holding a relatively fair and free contest to be accepted, is sacking of the head of the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC), Azizullah Lodin.
{{KARZAI V ABDULLAH}
Hamid Karzai:
> First popularly elected president of Afghanistan
> Opposed Soviet occupation in 1980s
> Critics say he has done little to rein in corruption
Abdullah Abdullah:
> Tajik-Pashtun, doctor by profession
> Senior Northern Alliance leader during Taliban rule
> Removed from Karzai's cabinet in 2006
The deadline for those conditions to be met expires on Saturday.
On Monday, Mr Adbullah said Mr Lodin had "no credibility". Mr Lodin denies allegations that he favoured Mr Karzai.
One of Mr Abdullah's senior advisers, Ahmed Wali Massoud, said he was unhappy that nothing had been done to redress the electoral system's problems.
"The fact is that the infrastructure of this fraud is still there. Almost 1.5 million votes were rigged. Nothing has changed," he told the BBC.
"So if you go back and do the second round election, it means that it will happen again. So, therefore, I don't think that we would be willing to participate."
Earlier, the IEC announced that it planned to open 6,322 polling stations for the run-off - more than it did during the first round.
The ECC had recommended cutting the number from 6,000 to about 5,800 - to make sure there would be enough monitors to limit fraud and troops to ensure security.
Mr Abdullah served as foreign minister in the short-lived government headed by the Northern Alliance, and continued as "foreign minister in exile" throughout the years of rule by the Taliban, which was ousted in 2001.
He continued in that role under the Karzai government that was formed after the fall of the Taliban, leaving the government in 2006.
[Middle East]
Page last updated at 12:27 GMT, Saturday, 31 October 2009
US in new push for Mid-East peace
{Hillary Clinton was asked why she was intervening personally at this stage}
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East for talks aimed at unblocking the peace process.
She met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the United Arab Emirates before heading to Jerusalem to see Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking earlier to the BBC, Mrs Clinton said a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians remained a "high priority" for the United States.
The US remains committed to plans for a two-state solution, Mrs Clinton added.
Before Mrs Clinton's arrival in the region, Mr Netanyahu said he hoped for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians as soon as possible.
However, a key sticking point is Israel's refusal to freeze settlement building on the occupied West Bank.
During their talks, Mr Abbas told Mrs Clinton that Palestinians would not agree to re-launch peace talks with Israel without a complete freeze of Jewish settlements, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Saturday.
'Little urgency'
Mrs Clinton's visit is part of a weekend of discussions to try to restart the stalled peace process.
"This is a high priority for not only our administration but for much of the world. It is one of the most common questions that I am asked," Mrs Clinton stressed.
"The fact that I'm in the region... reinforces the seriousness with which we are approaching our desire to get the parties to begin a serious negotiation that can lead to a two-state solution."
The Palestinians had been emboldened by earlier American talk of the need for a settlement freeze, the BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says.
Mrs Clinton has said that there is little point in the US wanting negotiations more than the parties themselves and our correspondent adds that there appears little sense of urgency from the Israelis and the Palestinians.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 11:10 GMT, Saturday, 31 October 2009
Fresh storm batters Philippines
{Water rose to chest-high levels in the town of Santa Cruz in Laguna province}
The fourth storm in a month to hit the Philippines has lashed the eastern coastal province of Quezon, bringing heavy rain and winds to the region.
Typhoon Mirinae followed a similar route to a September storm, Ketsana, which dumped the heaviest rains in 40 years on Manila.
At least seven people have been killed and several others are missing.
Many regions are still reeling after the worst storm-related floods in decades, which have left hundreds dead.
Mirinae, with winds of 150 km/h (93mph) and gusts of up to 186 km/h (115mph) made landfall on Quezon around midnight Friday, sweeping west, south of the capital and weakening into a tropical storm on Saturday afternoon.
It is thought to be heading in the direction of Vietnam.
'High as rooftops'
One man was found dead and his one-year-old baby was missing after they were washed away while trying to cross an overflowing creek in Pililla township in Rizal province, east of Manila.
{Naval boats were sent to Santa Cruz, where roads were badly flooded}
Six people were reported dead in Laguna province, just south of the capital. At least four others are believed to be missing.
In the town of Santa Cruz, hundreds of residents were seen wading through stagnant waters after the storm hit. Surrounding roads were flooded and naval boats sent to help with rescue efforts.
"The waters were really high. It was like a flashflood. It was waist deep in our area but in other areas it went as high as the rooftops," local official Marlon Albay was quoted as saying.
Earlier, the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 115,000 people in provinces south of the capital.
Flights cancelled
{{We are getting reports from the south...that there has been heavy rain and has been significant damage there}
Vanessa Tobin
Unicef}
At least 10,000 left their homes in areas near rivers and the active Mayon volcano in Albay province, which the authorities feared might unleash rivers of mud and loose volcanic rock.
Officials also closed schools and grounded ferries, and trucks loaded with relief supplies were sent to northern areas in the storm's path.
About 180 flights from Manila were cancelled.
Before the storm arrived, residents in the city were told to prepare supplies to last 72 hours and stay indoors.
Vanessa Tobin, the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) in the Philippines, told the BBC that the rain had been very heavy in the capital early on Saturday, but that it had been replaced by strong winds.
"The reports from Manila are not as bad as had been expected," she said. "But we are getting reports from the south... - particularly around Bicol, which was hit in 2006 by mudslides - that there has been heavy rain and has been significant damage there," she added.
More than 900 people have been killed in the multiple storms, including Typhoon Parma, which have battered the Philippines over the last month.
More than 100,000 people are sheltering in government-run evacuation centres and some communities in Manila remain flooded with residents using makeshift rafts to move around.
[South Asia]
Page last updated at 13:12 GMT, Saturday, 31 October 2009
Abdullah to make run-off decision
{Saturday is the deadline Mr Abdullah has set for his "minimum conditions"}
President Hamid Karzai's rival in the second round of the Afghan presidential poll says he will announce on Sunday whether he intends to quit the race.
Dr Abdullah Abdullah called for the resignation of key election officials and others as a way to mitigate fraud and corruption in the vote.
But those demands were rejected earlier in the week in talks with Mr Karzai.
A senior adviser said that in talks on Friday, Mr Abdullah's team decided he should not take part in the poll.
But Mr Adbullah's campaign said on Saturday that no final decision had been made, and that the former foreign minister would announce his next move on Sunday.
The BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul says that if he withdraws it will raise serious questions about the credibility of the election.
However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said a runoff with only one candidate would not necessarily threaten the legitimacy of the process.
"We see that happen in our own country where, for whatever combination of reasons, one of the candidates decides not to go forward," Mrs Clinton told reporters in the United Arab Emirates.
'Nothing has changed'
Hundreds of thousands of votes were discounted from August's first round of voting.
The UN-backed Electoral Complaints Commission's (ECC) action meant Mr Karzai's total was reduced to below the 50% plus one vote threshold for outright victory, indicating a run-off poll was needed.
Among the "minimum conditions" Mr Abdullah has set for holding a relatively fair and free contest to be accepted, is sacking of the head of the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC), Azizullah Lodin.
{{KARZAI V ABDULLAH}
Hamid Karzai:
> First popularly elected president of Afghanistan
> Opposed Soviet occupation in 1980s
> Critics say he has done little to rein in corruption
Abdullah Abdullah:
> Tajik-Pashtun, doctor by profession
> Senior Northern Alliance leader during Taliban rule
> Removed from Karzai's cabinet in 2006
The deadline for those conditions to be met expires on Saturday.
On Monday, Mr Adbullah said Mr Lodin had "no credibility". Mr Lodin denies allegations that he favoured Mr Karzai.
One of Mr Abdullah's senior advisers, Ahmed Wali Massoud, said he was unhappy that nothing had been done to redress the electoral system's problems.
"The fact is that the infrastructure of this fraud is still there. Almost 1.5 million votes were rigged. Nothing has changed," he told the BBC.
"So if you go back and do the second round election, it means that it will happen again. So, therefore, I don't think that we would be willing to participate."
Earlier, the IEC announced that it planned to open 6,322 polling stations for the run-off - more than it did during the first round.
The ECC had recommended cutting the number from 6,000 to about 5,800 - to make sure there would be enough monitors to limit fraud and troops to ensure security.
Mr Abdullah served as foreign minister in the short-lived government headed by the Northern Alliance, and continued as "foreign minister in exile" throughout the years of rule by the Taliban, which was ousted in 2001.
He continued in that role under the Karzai government that was formed after the fall of the Taliban, leaving the government in 2006.
[Middle East]
Page last updated at 12:27 GMT, Saturday, 31 October 2009
US in new push for Mid-East peace
{Hillary Clinton was asked why she was intervening personally at this stage}
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in the Middle East for talks aimed at unblocking the peace process.
She met Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the United Arab Emirates before heading to Jerusalem to see Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.
Speaking earlier to the BBC, Mrs Clinton said a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians remained a "high priority" for the United States.
The US remains committed to plans for a two-state solution, Mrs Clinton added.
Before Mrs Clinton's arrival in the region, Mr Netanyahu said he hoped for a resumption of peace talks with the Palestinians as soon as possible.
However, a key sticking point is Israel's refusal to freeze settlement building on the occupied West Bank.
During their talks, Mr Abbas told Mrs Clinton that Palestinians would not agree to re-launch peace talks with Israel without a complete freeze of Jewish settlements, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said on Saturday.
'Little urgency'
Mrs Clinton's visit is part of a weekend of discussions to try to restart the stalled peace process.
"This is a high priority for not only our administration but for much of the world. It is one of the most common questions that I am asked," Mrs Clinton stressed.
"The fact that I'm in the region... reinforces the seriousness with which we are approaching our desire to get the parties to begin a serious negotiation that can lead to a two-state solution."
The Palestinians had been emboldened by earlier American talk of the need for a settlement freeze, the BBC's Tim Franks in Jerusalem says.
Mrs Clinton has said that there is little point in the US wanting negotiations more than the parties themselves and our correspondent adds that there appears little sense of urgency from the Israelis and the Palestinians.
[Asia-Pacific]
Page last updated at 11:10 GMT, Saturday, 31 October 2009
Fresh storm batters Philippines
{Water rose to chest-high levels in the town of Santa Cruz in Laguna province}
The fourth storm in a month to hit the Philippines has lashed the eastern coastal province of Quezon, bringing heavy rain and winds to the region.
Typhoon Mirinae followed a similar route to a September storm, Ketsana, which dumped the heaviest rains in 40 years on Manila.
At least seven people have been killed and several others are missing.
Many regions are still reeling after the worst storm-related floods in decades, which have left hundreds dead.
Mirinae, with winds of 150 km/h (93mph) and gusts of up to 186 km/h (115mph) made landfall on Quezon around midnight Friday, sweeping west, south of the capital and weakening into a tropical storm on Saturday afternoon.
It is thought to be heading in the direction of Vietnam.
'High as rooftops'
One man was found dead and his one-year-old baby was missing after they were washed away while trying to cross an overflowing creek in Pililla township in Rizal province, east of Manila.
{Naval boats were sent to Santa Cruz, where roads were badly flooded}
Six people were reported dead in Laguna province, just south of the capital. At least four others are believed to be missing.
In the town of Santa Cruz, hundreds of residents were seen wading through stagnant waters after the storm hit. Surrounding roads were flooded and naval boats sent to help with rescue efforts.
"The waters were really high. It was like a flashflood. It was waist deep in our area but in other areas it went as high as the rooftops," local official Marlon Albay was quoted as saying.
Earlier, the authorities had ordered the evacuation of about 115,000 people in provinces south of the capital.
Flights cancelled
{{We are getting reports from the south...that there has been heavy rain and has been significant damage there}
Vanessa Tobin
Unicef}
At least 10,000 left their homes in areas near rivers and the active Mayon volcano in Albay province, which the authorities feared might unleash rivers of mud and loose volcanic rock.
Officials also closed schools and grounded ferries, and trucks loaded with relief supplies were sent to northern areas in the storm's path.
About 180 flights from Manila were cancelled.
Before the storm arrived, residents in the city were told to prepare supplies to last 72 hours and stay indoors.
Vanessa Tobin, the representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) in the Philippines, told the BBC that the rain had been very heavy in the capital early on Saturday, but that it had been replaced by strong winds.
"The reports from Manila are not as bad as had been expected," she said. "But we are getting reports from the south... - particularly around Bicol, which was hit in 2006 by mudslides - that there has been heavy rain and has been significant damage there," she added.
More than 900 people have been killed in the multiple storms, including Typhoon Parma, which have battered the Philippines over the last month.
More than 100,000 people are sheltering in government-run evacuation centres and some communities in Manila remain flooded with residents using makeshift rafts to move around.
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