BAKU President Aliyev has threatened to halt Azerbaijan’s oil shipments through a Russian-controlled pipeline in response to Moscow’s proposal to more than double the price of gas for his country. Concerns are mounting that Russia is using its energy resources as a political weapon. For several former Soviet republics whose policies have not coincided with Moscow’s, Russia has threatened to put up the price of natural gas. (AP)

Sudan battles

KHARTOUM At least 150 people were killed and 400 wounded in heavy clashes in south Sudan between former rebels and the Sudanese Army, according to the UN. The fighting in Malakal, which ended with a ceasfire on Friday, was the heaviest since a peace deal last year ended the civil war. (Reuters)

Election ultimatum

SUVA Commodore Frank Bainimarama, the military commander threatening to topple the Government of Fiji, said that he was planning to appoint an interim civilian administration and then hold elections to restore democracy. He demanded that Laisenia Qarase, the Prime Minister, resign at once. (AP)

Bus death plunge

TAIPEI A bus carrying 46 people from Kaohsiung City plunged at high speed into a valley in a mountainous area of southern Taiwan, killing 22, including four schoolchildren, in one of the worst accidents of its kind in recent years. Twenty-three passengers were taken to hospital in a critical condition. (AFP)

Vatican rebuked

BEIJING China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs rebuked the Vatican for criticising the consecration of Wang Renlei as an auxiliary bishop in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, without papal blessing, and called on the Holy See to stop interfering in its internal affairs. (Reuters)

Wrong signals

WASHINGTON Hundreds of homeowners found that their garage-door remote controls did not work after a US Air Force base tested a signal that used the same frequency. The signal would be used by the base in Colorado Springs to communicate with the emergency services during a terrorist crisis.

Pyramids row

CAIRO Zahi Hawass, who heads Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, derided a new study claiming that an early form of concrete was used to build the pyramids and questioned the origin of samples studied. He said: “It’s really silly. It was limestone. It’s been studied before by hundreds of chemists.” (AFP)

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