SAPPORO, Japan (Reuters) - Twenty South Korean activist farmers have been detained by Japanese immigration for over 19 hours and expect to be deported, a spokesman for the group said, in further signs of growing security jitters from the host nation ahead of a G8 summit.

MINSK (Reuters) - About 50 people were injured when a home-made bomb exploded in Belarus's capital early Friday at an outdoor Independence Day concert attended by long-time ruler President Alexander Lukashenko, officials said.

TOKYO (Reuters) - G8 leaders aim to present a united front against global inflation, driven by soaring oil and food prices, at a summit in Japan next week, but solving the problem requires more than just a strong message from rich nations.

TAIPEI/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Historic regular flights between Taiwan and China began on Friday, in a show of conciliation between the long-time rivals that could bring large numbers of mainland Chinese visitors to the island.

BEIJING (Reuters) - A senior Chinese security official said the Beijing Olympics are threatened by sabotage and unrest, state media said on Friday, as authorities moved to sack officials blamed for a riot that torched a police headquarters.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Ingrid Betancourt began each day in captivity at 4 a.m. -- cold and depressed but awake in the dark waiting to hear her mother's words of encouragement over the radio.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia on Friday mobilized reservists and threatened to use heavy weapons against Georgian forces after two people were killed in heavy exchanges of fire overnight.

YANGON (Reuters) - At least 38 people died when their ferry sank in a river in Myanmar's cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta, official newspapers reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in China next month, the White House said on Thursday.

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Ingrid Betancourt, the symbol of rebel hostages in Colombia, hugged and wept with her children for the first time in six years on Thursday after a military rescue that dealt a severe blow to already weakened guerrillas.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's cabinet wants to ban parties from using pictures of figures who are not running for office at campaign rallies in local elections, the government's spokesman said on Thursday.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on Thursday for quickly starting face-to-face negotiations with Syria after a third round of indirect peace talks mediated by Turkey ended with an agreement to meet again.

HARARE (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday it expects the U.N. Security Council to vote next week on sanctions against Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and top aides in response to last week's widely condemned election.

LUSAKA (Reuters) - Zambia's information minister told the nation on Thursday President Levy Mwanawasa was in stable condition in hospital, dismissing media reports that he had died.

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's top religious official warned on Thursday Saudis and foreigners living in the kingdom to not hide information about militants in the world's largest oil exporter.

LONDON (Reuters) - An Algerian suspected of links to Osama bin Laden and bomb plots in the United States and France has been freed from a British prison after more than seven years but placed under house arrest while he fights deportation.

ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - The ruling Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) has won parliamentary elections by a landslide, preliminary results showed on Thursday, after charges of election cheating sparked violence killing five people.

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's deputy prime minister said on Thursday the man who has accused opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim of sodomy had turned to him for help because he was in a trauma.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China must make a stand against the opponents of reform and allow market forces to play a greater role in setting prices, including the yuan's exchange rate, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Asia's arms race may be overstated, with defense spending on the decline as a proportion of economic growth, pointing to an increasing sense of regional security, an Australian defense conference heard on Thursday.