NORTH AFRICA

EGYPTIAN MAN RECOVERS FROM BIRD FLU

A 28-year-old Egyptian man recovered from a suspected case of bird flu, a day after the country’s Health Ministry announced that the virus had killed a 30-year-old woman from the same area, Qaloubiyah, which is about 25 miles north of Cairo, Reuters reported. The man, who tested positive for the virus but is being tested again to confirm the presence of bird flu in his system, admitted himself to the hospital where doctors treated him with Tamiflu. He is expected to be discharged in two days, the wire service said.

The virus has been found in birds in 18 of Egypt’s 26 governorates, the wire service said. Scientists fear that it could mutate into a form that would pass easily from person to person, causing a pandemic.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

EAST ASIA

THOUSANDS PROTEST PRESIDENTIAL VISION OF AN INDEPENDENT TAIWAN

For the second time in a week, thousands rallied in Taiwan in protest of President Chen’s decision to prioritize the island’s formal independence from China; demonstrators specifically urged the island’s leader to downsize a $16 billion arms deal with America, the British Broadcasting Corporation reported.

“People care most about the economy, about whether the many corruption scandals are thoroughly probed,” the network quoted the chairman of the opposition Nationalist Party, Ma Ying-jeou, as saying when addressing the crowd.

“We oppose the ultimate unification as the sole option for Taiwan’s people as it runs against the principle of democracy,” the BBC quoted Mr. Chen as countering. “Our future will only be decided by the 23 million people of Taiwan.”

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

EASTERN EUROPE

INCUMBENT DECLARED WINNER OF BELARUS PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

MINSK, Belarus – Thousands of protesters thronged the main square of the Belarusian capital yesterday in defiance of a government ban, refusing to recognize a presidential vote that gave a landslide – and largely expected – victory to the ironfisted incumbent.

At the opposition demonstration in the capital’s main square – the largest in years – protesters chanted “Long Live Belarus!” and the name of the main opposition candidate. Some waved a historic flag that President Alexander Lukashenko had replaced with a Soviet-style design, while others waved European Union flags.

Mr. Lukashenko won a third term with 82.6% of the vote, compared with 6% for Alexander Milinkevich, the main opposition candidate, the Central Election Commission chief said early today, citing a nearly complete preliminary count from yesterday’s balloting. Turnout was 92.6% the commission said.

“We demand new, honest elections,” Mr. Milinkevich told the crowd yesterday evening. “This was a complete farce.”

– Associated Press