Sharif `mentally shattered' before departure
Ousted PM Nawaz Sharif spent his final days in prison ``staring for hours at the wall'' before being freed and sent into exile in Saudi Arabia.



US Supreme Court grapples with historic election case
Americans on Tuesday anxiously awaited a ruling from the US Supreme Court in the historic case of George W Bush versus Al Gore as the legal battle over disputed Florida ballots -- and which of the two men will be the next president -- stretched into a fifth week.



Chinese to see Taleban head over Afghan sanctions
The ruling Taleban invited a Chinese delegation to a rare meeting on Tuesday with its leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, in an effort to head off new UN sanctions.



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UN declares global war on transnational mafias
Hirohito `guilty' in mock sex slave trial
Israel willing to swap top guerrillas for soldiers
Britain's Archer pleads not guilty to perjury