● MADAGASCAR NET Political tension roils Madagascar

Madagascar police have released six detained opposition members, including a senator, but political tensions flared as their party's exiled leader vowed to return despite arrest threats, officials said on Wednesday. Government officials renewed pledges to detain Arema party chief Pierrot Rajaonarivelo if he sets foot on the Indian Ocean island, saying they had proof of financial crimes he committed while serving as deputy Prime minister. Undeterred, Rajaonarivelo, who is currently on the island of Mauritius, renewed his promise to return home in time for a Saturday rally and to register as a candidate to challenge President Marc Ravalomanana in December elections. Since Saturday, police in Toamasina had at least twice fired tear gas at crowds of Arema supporters and on Tuesday arrested six, including opposition Senator Pierre Fajy, for participating in an illegal demonstration. In Antananarivo, the government said it had evidence Rajaonarivelo is guilty of more than just embezzlement charges he was convicted on in August and given 15 years at hard labour in absentia.

● PYONGYANG NEWS North Korean defectors seek end to regime

North Korean defectors with painful memories of starvation and torture say they hope the North's claimed nuclear test will prompt international sanctions that could help advance their long-held dream of the communist regime's collapse. Many defectors said the test was a sign of desperation from an increasingly isolated regime trying to gain international recognition and retain its authoritarian grip over an impoverished population. «With the test, (the North) will come to face with enormous counterattacks from the outside world, and I am very skeptical it has any measures to survive those.» North Korea's announcement Monday that it exploded its first atomic bomb immediately prompted the UN Security Council to discuss tighter sanctions on the communist country. The council placed limited sanctions on Pyongyang after its test-fired a barrage of missiles in July. Defectors hope international sanctions will choke off an economic lifeline for the poor nation, eventually provoking an uprising against leader Kim Jong Il by the North's elite class, which is becoming increasingly disgruntled with his diplomatic and economic failures.

● RUSSIA POST Rubbing it in, Putin

President Putin of Russia is an angry man. He is angry that celebrated Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya has died on him, unleashing a global wave of criticism against his regime. Putin is angry that Politkovskaya, who until her death tormented him with her strident criticism of his war in Chechnya, is haunting him even after her exit. So it's no wonder that a bitter and frustrated Putin says that those behind Politkovskaya's assassination have damaged Russia more than her writings did. But the Russian leader is wrong if he thinks he can smear the fearless journalist as someone who was not ?faithful to father Russia? by such heartless remarks. The throng of thousands of ordinary people who turned up to pay tribute to Politkovskaya yesterday spoke volumes about the enduring legacy of the free-spirited journalist. There is no doubt now that she paid the ultimate price for exposing Russia's dirty war in Chechnya. Putin cannot fool his people by accusing Russian 'exiles' of masterminding Politkovskaya's killing to discredit Russia. Such insinuations will do nothing to shift the spotlight on his authoritarian administration and its policies but will only add insult to injury. If the Russian leader is pained by Politkovskaya's assassination, he should order an independent investigation into the killing. This is the least Russia can do for her courageous daughter.

● ALL AFRICA L?Asiatique succède à l?Africain

L'actuel ministre sud-coréen des Affaires étrangères a été désigné à l'unanimité du Conseil de sécurité lundi dernier pour remplacer en janvier 2007 le Ghanéen Kofi Annan. Ils étaient cinq candidats en lice enregistrés par le président de l'Assemblée générale des Nations Unies : l'actuel Secrétaire géneral adjoint de l'Onu chargé des Communications et de l'information publique, l'Indien Shashi Tharoor ; Surakiart Sathirathai, vice-Premier ministre de la Thaïlande jusqu'au coup d'Etat du 8 septembre dernier; le conseiller spécial du président Sri lankais Jayantha Dhanapala ; l'actuel ambassadeur représentant permanent du Royaume de Jordanie aux Nations Unies, Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein et enfin le ministre sud coréen des Affaires étrangères, Ban Kin-Moon. C'est donc désormais presque certain qu'en janvier 2007, l'actuel chef de la diplomatie sud-coréenne remplacera au poste de Secrétaire général de l'organisation des Nations unies (Onu), l'Africain originaire du Ghana Kofi Atta Annan.