<B>KABUL. Karzai forming cabinet </B>- Afghan President Hamid Karzai is considering ministers for five cabinet jobs that were left unfilled when parliament voted against his nominees last month, and will put forward names soon, a spokesman said yesterday. The lower house of parliament, elected in landmark polls last September, voted on April 20 to approve 20 of 25 members of Karzai’s new cabinet in its first important constitutional duty.

<B>PARIS. Immigration plan </B>- France’s plan to cherry pick immigrants with the skills it needs is a step in the right direction if the euro zone’s second biggest economy wants to remain competitive, according to analysts. Their main caveat is that the new immigration bill, which Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy unveiled amid controversy this week, might not go far enough to beat off international competition to attract the best brains in the world and keep the economy ahead in terms of skills and productivity. Sarkozy has proposed creating a 3-year residence permit for qualified workers and making it easier to recruit foreigners in sectors that face staffing shortages, such as catering.

<B>BAGUIO CITY. </B>Emergency rule - The Philippine Supreme Court yesterday upheld President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s declaration of emergency rule after the discovery of an alleged coup, but slammed her harsh action against the media and protesters. “The court rules presidential proclamation 1017 is constitutional,” Ismael Khan, the high court’s spokesman, told reporters in Baguio City, confirming an earlier Reuters report.

<B>BRUSSELS.</B> EU breaks ties with Serbia - The European Union broke off talks on closer ties with Serbia yesterday over its failure to arrest and transfer fugitive genocide suspect Ratko Mladic to the UN war crimes tribunal, the bloc’s enlargement chief said. European Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn confirmed the move after being briefed by telephone on the hunt for the former Bosnian Serb military commander by chief U.N. war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte, who had expressed hope the EU would get tough with Belgrade.

LONDON. </B>Cancer treatment - A leading cancer charity launched a plan yesterday to develop new treatments from anti-cancer drugs that have been shelved by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Cancer Research UK said the initiative aims to increase the number of treatments available to cancer patients by “borrowing” compounds that have not been developed by a company and taking them into early clinical trials.