Muslims from the Mediterranean to the Pacific protested Friday over the reported desecration of the Quran by a US soldier at Guantanamo Bay. In Afghanistan, where anti-American riots began three days ago, at least seven people were reported killed, doubling the death toll from the violence.

The upheaval kept the Bush administration on the defensive, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealing for calm and repeating assurances that the US military is carefully investigating the Guantanamo incident.

Tony Blair has only just walked back into No 10 Downing Street but already Britons are asking when he will be out the door.

Despite awarding his Labour party a historic third straight term, disillusioned voters at least halved his parliamentary majority, denting his authority when he needs it more than ever.

Defeat in a planned 2006 referendum on the European Union constitution could trigger the end of the Blair era.

The new Airbus A380, the largest commercial airliner ever built, is expected to make its long-awaited first test flight on Wednesday at the production facility in Toulouse, France, the company said on Monday. The new Airbus A380 is the largest commercial airliner ever built.

Pope Benedict XVI was installed as leader of the Roman Catholic Church on Sunday, receiving the symbols of his authority at an inaugural outdoor mass that mixed centuries-old pageantry with prayer.

The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the 16th pontiff to take the name Benedict, was elected in a secret conclave of the Roman Catholic Church's 115 voting cardinals last Tuesday.

For those who believe in the traditional values of the Church, the election of Joseph Ratzinger is a blessing. They know they can rely on him to hold the line against those with an agenda for change. But those who want to reform the Church may be less happy, as they see him as a man in the mould of John Paul II.

Pope Benedict is firmly opposed to birth control, supports the celibacy of the priesthood, and is against the ordination of women. He has said that anyone who supports the "grave sins" of abortion and euthanasia should be denied Communion. He has also spoken out against homosexuality, and once denounced rock music as "the vehicle of anti-religion".

This Vatican department, a descendant of the Holy Inquisition, protects Church orthodoxy. The job earned him unflattering nicknames such as "The Pope's Enforcer" and "God's Rottweiler". He has a reputation for stifling dissent, and one of his early campaigns was against "liberation theology" in Latin America.

Some priests became involved in fighting poverty through social action, but to Cardinal Ratzinger it smacked of Marxism. As a key aide to John Paul II he had a fearsome reputation, but those who know him say he is gentle and somewhat shy.

The first clue about any pope's intentions is his choice of name. Cardinal Ratzinger could have called himself John Paul III. It would have been seen as a statement that he intended to continue the work of his mentor. Instead, he opted for Benedict, which comes from the Latin for "blessing". The last Pope Benedict reigned during the First World War. He is credited with settling animosity between traditionalists and modernists, and wanted to bring about a reunion with Orthodox Christians.

The new Pope Benedict faces a variety of challenges, not least declining Church attendance and a chronic shortage of priests in many parts of Europe. Another task is to continue the drive towards better relations with Islam, as the two religions compete for converts in parts of the developing world.

When John Paul II was elected, the focus was on East-West relations, and the Polish Pope was credited with helping to bring down communism. As the new papacy begins, it is the tension between North and South that is most pressing. Globalisation and debt relief are issues Pope Benedict will be expected to face. There is some surprise that a key member of the Vatican bureaucracy has been elected pope.

Many cardinals would like to see a less centralised Church, and a less powerful pope who guides rather than governs. They may have to wait a little longer. Pope Benedict XVI looks like a man who will not be afraid to exercise his powers.

China's GDP (gross domestic product) grew by 9.5 percent to 3.1355 trillion yuan (US$379 billion) in the first quarter of this year, and the growth rate was 0.3 percent lower than a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in Beijing Wednesday.

After moments of confusion when nobody could discern if the gray smoke was meant to be white or black, and then the unmistakable ringing of the campanone, the grand bell of St Peter's Basilica, the crowd was electric with excitement.

The announcement, "Habemus Papam," or "we have a pope," sent them into wild cheers.

Taking the name Pope Benedict XVI, the 78-year-old German appeared on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica. His arrival was greeted by loud cheers from the many thousands of pilgrims who had packed St Peter's Square as news of his election spread across Rome. He was chosen on the third round of votes by the 115 cardinals meeting to select Pope John Paul II's successor. The name Benedict comes from the Latin for "blessing" and the last Pope bearing the name, Benedict XV, reigned during World War I.

Indonesia's Mount Talang sent out fresh clouds of dust and continued to rumble on Friday, ruling out an early return home for about 20 000 frightened people who have fled villages on its slopes.

Elsewhere in the country, which is still recovering from the December 26 earthquake and tsunami and a second killer quake.

Could the world cope? There have been three flu pandemics during the past 100 years. The 1918 Spanish flu is estimated to have killed up to 50 million people worldwide. The Asian flu of 1957 was caught much earlier but still claimed one million lives.

The Hong Kong flu of 1968 was responsible for a similar number of deaths.

Rainier III, Europe's longest-reigning monarch, died on 6 April at the age of 81, after spending several weeks in hospital. His coffin was carried from the palace chapel towards the city-state's cathedral for the service.

Rainier will be buried next to his wife, the Hollywood star Grace Kelly, who died after a car crash in 1982. He is succeeded by their son, Prince Albert, 47. The couple had two other children - Princess Caroline and Princess Stephanie.

The US dollar is facing an imminent collapse and the global economy will suffer a "catastrophe" when it is rejected as the currency for trade, former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said in remarks published Wednesday.

Mahathir, who famously ignored International Monetary Fund (IMF) advice and instead chose to peg his country's ringgit to the US dollar during the Asian financial crisis, said a standard gold currency was now the best alternative for world trade.

The dollar was retaining some value because of fears of a global economic catastrophe if it was rejected, he told a conference of some 650 chief executives from 30 countries at a conference in Kota Kinabalu on Borneo island Tuesday, The Star newspaper reported.

"But the catastrophe will come one day because even the most powerful country in the world cannot repay loans amounting to seven trillion dollars," Mahathir said.

President Hugo Chavez has recently accused President Bush of plotting to assassinate him, made suggestive comments about Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, visited Fidel Castro in Cuba and bashed the United States on the al-Jazeera television network.

Such bluster and anti-American showmanship are nothing new from the fiery former paratrooper. But concern in Washington has been rising as Chavez has worked feverishly in recent months to match his words with deeds.

Since threatening to cut off oil shipments to the United States, which buys 1.5 million barrels a day from Venezuela, Chavez has been traveling the globe looking for new markets and allies to unite against "the imperialist power."

He recently signed energy deals with France, India and China, which is searching for new sources of oil to power its industrial expansion. Chavez also has made arms purchases, including one for military helicopters from Russia.

On March 11, Chavez hosted President Mohammad Khatami of Iran, a nation that has a secretive nuclear program and has been labeled by Bush as part of an "axis of evil."

"Iran has every right... to develop atomic energy and to continue its research in that area," Chavez said at a joint appearance with Khatami. "All over the world, there is a clamor for equality... and profound rejection of the imperialist desires of the US government. Faced with the threat of the US government against our brother people in Iran, count on us for all our support."

The vast earthquake that triggered the Indian Ocean tsunami on Boxing Day last year could yet set off repeats of both events because it has destabilised two neighbouring fault lines.

Research by British scientists has revealed that the magnitude 9.3 quake off the coast of Indonesia has dramatically increased stress on the Sumatra and Sunda Trench faults, both of which are now primed to deliver another major earthquake.

Should a fresh quake take place on either of the faults, the regional consequences would be devastating, though not quite on the scale of the December catastrophe, which has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives.

China's economy is still on the fast track, and its growth is expected to reach between eight and nine percent in 2005, said a report published recently by the China Centre for National Accounting and Economic Growth.

The report, the China Economic Growth Report for 2005, cited a number of factors to support the forecast including stronger market forces, the improvement of economic system and the benefits brought by China's entry into the World Trade Organization