Kuala Lumpur (Agence France-Presse): Military officials seized a large number of .weapons and detained 22 Filipinos when they attempted to sail into Malaysia through the waters off Sabah state on Borneo island, which borders the Philippines, a top security official said on Thursday.

Hong Kong (Agence France-Presse): Hundreds of thousands of Asians took to the streets for May Day rallies on Thursday against a backdrop of deepening economic uncertainty caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus crisis.

Baghdad (Agence France-Presse): Three weeks after the fall of Baghdad, the United States is discovering it may have been easier to topple Saddam Hussein's regime than to figure out how to replace it.

Gaza (Agencies): Nine Palestinians including a two-year-old boy. were killed on Thursday when Israeli forces thrust into a Gaza neighborhood to detain wanted militants shortly after the release of a Middle East peace "road map".

Turkey (Associated Press): Astrong earthquake shook southeastern Turkey on Thursday, killing nearly 100 people and injuring 1,000 others. Rescuers dug frantically in the rubble of a school dormitory, hunting for dozens of children believed trapped.

Falluja, Iraq (Reuters): Agrenade attack wounded seven U.S. soldiers in Iraq on Thursday even as President George W. Bush prepared to announce an end to combat and his envoys sought to reap diplomatic gains from the war.

Paris (Agencies): An unusual mood of cautious optimism prevailed following the publication of a roadmap for peace for the Middle East, presented on Wednesday and aimed at breaking a bloody 31-month cycle of violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

Washington (Agence France-Presse): The U.S. government said on Wednesday it will axe 6,000 of the country's 55,600 airport screeners to save money, just over a year since it beefed up the force to fight terrorism.

Paris (Reuters): Top U.S. and European Union trade negotiators put a brave face on stuttering progress towards a new global trade pact on Wednesday despite tensions over agricultural reform and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Munich, Germany (Agence France-Presse): Tim Henman's injury comeback on clay was ground, to dust on Thursday in a 6-4, 6-0 second-round-round loss to Austrian Stefan Koubek at the 400,000-euro BMW Open.

New Orleans, (Agence France-Presse): South Korea's Choi Kyoung-ju opens defense of his first career PGA title here on Thursday at the US$5 million HP Classic.