Bridge in southeast Madagascar dynamited:A bridge has been blown

Bridge in southeast Madagascar dynamited:A bridge has been blown
up on a vital road link between the Madagascan capital
Antananarivo and the southeastern coast, police said on Tuesday.
The bridge is the fifth to be blown up since backers of long-time
ruler Didier Ratsiraka began sabotaging bridges and setting up
roadblocks in a bid to starve the capital of vital goods, after
his election rival Marc Ravalomanana declared himself president
in February. --AFP

Australian-U.S troops kill 4 al-Qaeda members:
Australian special forces, backed by U.S. troops, killed up to
four al-Qaeda rebels on the Afghan-Pakistan border at last
bringing into the open a shift of fighting to the sensitive
frontier region, military spokesman said on Tuesday. --Reuters

China slammed for detaining, torturing workers:In a report timed
ahead of International Labor Day, Amnesty International on
Tuesday slammed China's use of imprisonment and even torture to
keep blue-collar activists quiet. --AFP

Chirac prepares for decisive action:If he is reelected on Sunday,
France's conservative President Jacques Chirac will act swiftly
to push through a reform program to clamp down on crime and
stimulate the country's economy, supporters said on Tuesday.
Chirac, 69, is almost certain to take Sunday's run-off election
against far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, 73. --AFP

Microsoft trims witness list, cites strong case:Microsoft Corp.
told a federal judge on Monday it will not call nearly half of
its remaining defense witnesses, citing "progress made so far" in
defending itself from severe antitrust sanctions. The software
giant reached a settlement with the Justice Department and nine
other states last November. --Reuters