The ethnic Albanian insurgency that threatens civil war in Macedonia was spreading yesterday as security forces failed to contain guerillas who appear able to move at will along the mountain ridges bordering Kosovo. A minute of desperation, panic and fear, and two men lie dead An incident at a Tetovo checkpoint has taken tension near breaking point, writes Peter Beaumont. A divided Defence Force fights for its soul Calls by outsiders for cuts may be a humiliation too far for Papua New Guinea's army, writes Ben Bohane. Herald Correspondent Mark Baker reports from Vientiane. Australia loses patience over imprisoned couple For Kerry and Kay Danes it will be a day much like every other in the unending nightmare that began with their arrest just before Christmas and imprisonment without charge for allegedly conspiring to smuggle sapphires from Laos.
China thinks so.
China's Vice-Premier Qian Qichen was no innocuous piece of diplomatic timetabling, but a clumsily delivered message about which regional power the US regards as more important. Paul Daley writes. The Japanese are rapidly losing confidence in their own society, posing huge problems for the country's policymakers as they try to lead the country out of prolonged economic problems. A scholar is building a giant database on Europe's oldest language, writes Andy Dabilis in Athens. Imagine a world where great American heroes are turned on their heads.