REUTERS, YANGON - The first U.S. military aid flight left Thailand on Monday for Myanmar, an "outpost of tyranny" according to Washington, as relief supplies continued to dribble into the reclusive state nine days after a devastating cyclone.

The C-130 transport plane that left the Vietnam War-era U-Tapao airbase was carrying water, mosquito nets and blankets.

REUTERS, MUMBAI  - India's monsoon has set in over parts of the Bay of Bengal five days ahead of schedule, the weather office said, but officials said this did not mean the mainland would get rains, key for farming, early.

The monsoon usually advances to the southeast Bay of Bengal and the south Andaman sea by May 15 but this year rains had come early, the India Meteorological Department said in a statement dated May 10.

REUTERS, Portland - Republican John McCain pledged to take the lead in combating global climate change if elected president in a speech that set him apart from the policies of President George W. Bush.

In remarks he prepared to give at a wind technology firm in Portland, Oregon, on Monday, the Arizona senator said he would seek international accords to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and would offer an incentive system to make businesses in the United States cleaner.

REUTERS, Beirut - Clashes resumed in Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli on Monday and security sources said at least 36 people had been killed on Sunday in fighting between Hezbollah and its pro-government Druze opponents east of Beirut.

Pro-government Sunni Muslim gunmen in Tripoli's Bab Tebbaneh district exchanged machine gun and grenade fire with Alawite militiamen allied to Hezbollah in the nearby Jebel Mohsen area.

REUTERS, Harare - Zimbabwe will not invite election observers from Western countries to monitor a presidential run-off unless they remove sanctions, state media said on Monday, rejecting opposition demands in a political crisis.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said Zimbabwe would not bow to pressure to invite elections monitors from Western countries and the United Nations.

REUTERS, Shanghai - China's tallest building, the Jinmao Tower, and other high-rise buildings in Shanghai's financial district were ordered evacuated on Monday after tremors were felt from a strong earthquake in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, witnesses said.

On Monday, an earthquake measuring 7.5 rocked Sichuan province less than 100 km (60 miles) from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the U.S. Geological Survey said on its website.

REUTERS, WASHINGTON - A senior World Bank official said on Thursday that countries should not greatly increase biofuels production until there is more clarity about how much they have contributed to the global food price crisis.

Juergen Voegele, director for agriculture and rural development department at the World Bank, cautioned against shifting a lot of the blame to biofuels but also said massive subsidies for the biofuel industry was not helping the crisis.

REUTERS, BEIJING - China's consumer price inflation clung near a 12-year high in April, and authorities quickly reacted by raising the amount of money banks must keep in reserve, sticking to a tight policy despite weakening global growth.

For authorities who have insisted their priority is to tackle price rises, the quickening of annual inflation to 8.5 percent from 8.3 percent in March will be frustrating, while there is also a glimmer of optimism.

REUTERS, New York - Cablevision Systems Corp sealed a $650 million deal to buy 97 percent of Newsday Media Group from Tribune Co, the companies said on Monday, after Rupert Murdoch's News Corp withdrew its bid.

Cablevision said the deal returns the daily Newsday newspaper to Long Island, New York, ownership after 40 years, and saw opportunities for cross-marketing and advertising with its cable operations based in the same area.

The 25th anniversary of the International AIDS Candlelight Memorial will be observed in Chittagong as elsewhere in the world on May 18, 08, says a press release.

Multi-sectorial HIV/AIDS Coordination Committee in Chittagong city will observe the event at Engr. Abdul Khaleque Auditorium of Ctg Press Club Building on the day.

Bangladesh Human Rights Forum Ctg accorded a reception to Alhaj Abu Zafar, a social worker of Ctg and Managing Director of Concord International for his being elected as a member of Bangladesh Association of Recruiting Agency(BARA), says a press release.

Alhaj Abdul Malek, MD of Sabuj Bangla International and Adviser of HR form in Chittagong greeted him with flowers on the occasion.

Bangladesh perspective

The Premier League is preparing for one of the most dramatic days in the history of the competition, reports BBC.

The league title, Uefa Cup placings and the relegation issues will all be decided on the closing weekend of the 2007-08 season.

Boat sinks with first Red Cross aid for Myanmar

REUTERS, BANGKOK - The number of people reported missing in the Myanmar cyclone was about 220,000, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Sunday, warning of environmental damage, violence and mass migration.

Chief adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed will address the nation Monday evening, two advisers said Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.

Awami League president Sheikh Hasina Sunday reportedly urged senior party leaders from jail to launch a movement to realise the five demands publicised by the party, reports bdnews24.com

Bdnews24.com

The interim cabinet Sunday approved the Securities and Exchange Amendment Ordinance 2008 that prescribes tougher punishment to companies guilty of violating rules and regulations, a government spokesman said.

Bdnews24.com

The chief adviser's special assistant, M Tamim, Sunday stressed keeping up subsidies to farmers despite any hike in fuel prices.

Bdnews24.com

The caretaker government is set to form a local government commission in a bid to shore up the local justice system, LGRD adviser Anwarul Iqbal said Sunday, reports bdnews24.com.

"We are going to establish soon a local government commission in pursuance of the popular demand of wide range of stakeholders including local government representatives, academia and the development partners," the adviser said at a two-day workshop on "strengthening local justice system".