NEW YORK – Tumbling Chinese exports, sliding German factory orders and falling prices in Japan underscored the weakness of the world economy, while US and British leaders staked out positions ahead of a global finance meeting.
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PARIS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced yesterday that France would rejoin NATO’s military command, saying General Charles de Gaulle’s reasons for quitting the inner circle four decades ago were no longer relevant.
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ISLAMABAD – Pakistani authorities banned protests and rounded up hundreds of activists yesterday, a day before a rally by lawyers and opposition parties that could destabilise a fragile, year-old government.
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HARARE – Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court ordered the release on bail of a senior MDC official, his lawyer said, a sign political tensions may be easing in the new unity government.
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RIYADH – A summit between Syria and Arab conservatives ended with a pledge for a concerted approach to Arab issues, but a joint statement did not mention Lebanon, addressing mainly the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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COLOMBO – Nearly 400 people fled Sri Lanka’s shrinking war zone and a wounded cabinet minister regained consciousness after a suicide bombing blamed on the cornered Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said.
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BAGHDAD – Former Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz was jailed for 15 years yesterday and two of Saddam Hussein’s half brothers were sentenced to death for their roles in the killings of dozens of traders in 1992.

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BERLIN – German prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for 88-year-old US citizen John Demjanjuk on suspicion he helped in the murders of at least 29,000 Jews as a Nazi death camp guard, they said yesterday.