About 380,000 people - 86% of registered electors - voted for the man they want to become president of East Timor when it becomes a country on 20 May.

Independence hero Xanana Gusmao is expected to win by a landslide.

Francisco do Amaral (r) says he is only standing to give the voters a choice

Sealed ballot boxes were taken from polling stations to district counting centres where they were opened before local and international monitors.

Preliminary tallies should be available later on Monday, but the final results will be announced on Wednesday.

	Key facts: President to serve for five years New parliament already elected Independence on 20 May See also: Profile of East Timor

Chief electoral officer Carlos Valenzuela proclaimed the vote a success, after provisional estimates suggested a turnout of 86%.

Voting started slowly on Sunday morning but picked up significantly as people went to polling stations after attending church to celebrate Mass. 

The two candidates went together to their polling station in a school in the capital Dili and embraced before casting their votes.

Polling stations had been due to close at 1600 (0700 GMT) on Sunday, but electoral officials said voters already in the queue were still allowed to cast their ballots after this time, as had been agreed earlier.

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Dili says the election went ahead very smoothly, with no reports of any serious trouble.

I was awoken by a huge explosion and found I was hanging from a tree

Suh Jin-shik, survivor

Flight CA129 from Beijing had been making its final approach to Kimhae airport.

There were 155 passengers and 11 crew on board the plane. Most of the passengers were South Korean nationals. 

Poor weather

Thick smoke and bad weather at the scene are hampering rescue efforts, but one of the plane's black box flight recorders has been recovered.

The survivors, including some in a critical condition, are being treated at several hospitals in Busan and nearby Kimhae. 

The BBC's Caroline Gluck in the South Korean capital, Seoul, said officials had reported low visibility around Busan on the south coast of the Korean peninsula at the time of the crash.

Other flights had been diverted because of the fog and rain in the area.

Air China said it would be the flag carrier's first fatal accident. China's regional airlines have poorer safety records.

'Roaring sound'

Civil aviation officials said the plane had crashed at about 1145 local time (0245 GMT).

The airline in Beijing said the passengers comprised 136 South Koreans and 19 people of other nationalities, mostly Chinese.

Survivor Kim Mun-hak told local cable news network YTN that the plane had crashed shortly after an announcement telling passengers to fasten their seat belts.

"The plane crashed with a roaring sound, and I managed to come out from the plane... I saw thick smoke and blaze," he said.

Another survivor, Suh Jin-shik, said: "I was awoken by a huge explosion and found I was hanging from a tree." 

Some reports suggest extreme weather conditions caused the plane to crash - accident investigators are at the scene.

Aviation officials quoted by the national news agency Yonhap said the plane was trying to land but pulled up because of strong winds. It then hit the mountainside as it turned to prepare for a new landing attempt.

Yonhap reported that rescue workers believe the tail of the aircraft hit the ground first, as most of the survivors were in the front section.

The crash comes just weeks before South Korea co-hosts the World Cup football finals with Japan.

The number of regional flights into the country has been increased to accommodate the tens of thousands of extra visitors who will be attending football matches, including large numbers from China.

By the BBC's Rachel Harvey

An African regional conference on water is due to begin in the Ghanaian capital Accra.

More than one billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water

Sponsored by the African Development Bank, the conference aims to come up with a vision of how to address the problem of providing clean water to all people across the continent at an affordable price. 

Two million people, mostly in Africa, die needlessly each year, because water supplies are not being properly managed. 

This is the stark message from a United Nations report which will be presented to the conference. 

Sustainability

The report says that more than one billion people in the world do not have access to safe drinking water, and also says that half of the global population lacks adequate sanitation. 

In Africa the problem is stifling development, and the challenge for the conference is to come up with ideas which involve all sectors of society - government, private companies and water management experts - but which do not cost a lot of money. 

The emphasis is on sustainability rather than short-term fixes, and on co-operation rather than competition for scarce supplies. 

And the stakes are high. 

The UN has warned that unless Africa confronts the problem of proper water management, it will never escape the poverty trap. 

The [peace] conference in and of itself isn't the solution, but it's a way to get the parties together and talking

Colin Powell

The secretary of state was speaking to reporters after arriving back in Israel following brief meetings with Lebanese and Syrian leaders.

"We've got to move quickly to a political track," said Mr Powell, who arrived in the region last week to try to produce a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.

"The [peace] conference in and of itself isn't the solution, but it's a way to get the parties together and talking," he said.

The idea of a peace conference - excluding Mr Arafat - was suggested by Mr Sharon at a meeting with Mr Powell on Sunday night.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the secretary of state, who held talks with Mr Arafat at his beseiged Ramallah compound on Sunday, might meet the Palestinian leader again on Tuesday.

Cross-border fears

Mr Powell said he had warned the Lebanese leadership in talks in Beirut earlier on Monday of a "very real danger of the situationalong the border [with Israel] widening the conflict throughout the region".

President Lahoud called for Colin Powell to be objective and realistic

Lebanese ministers said they would not stop the attacks, although they would try to restrict them to the disputed area called Shebaa Farms.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud called on Mr Powell to view the situation with "objectivity and realism" and not to be influenced by Israel's presentation of events, his Foreign Minister Mahmoud Hammoud said.

Mr Powell then flew to the Syrian capital, Damascus, where he held a 90-minute meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The secretary of state said he was seeking the Syrian leader's assessment on "a way forward to negotiations" to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict.

European peace plan

European Union (EU) ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, Belgium, said they regretted the Israeli leader had omitted the EU from prospective delegations to a Middle East peace conference.

"If Mr Sharon only wants to talk with those who agree with him, he'll soon find himself without interlocutors," said Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique.

The ministers were on Monday discussing a separate peace plan proposed by Germany's Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer.

The proposal sets a two-year timeframe for an end to hostilities, followed by talks on final status issues such as the future of Jerusalem and the exact borders of Israel and the Palestinian state. 

They were also debating moves to impose trade sanctions on Israel in response to its military offensive in the West Bank.

Jenin bodies

In the West Bank on Monday, Israeli military and Red Cross officials began a mission to remove bodies from the Jenin refugee camp, following fierce fighting there last week.

Palestinians say the Israelis carried out a massacre in the camp - which is a closed military zone - and oppose their removal of the bodies. Israel says about 70 people were killed in the fighting, mostly Palestinian gunmen.

	Detailed map of the West Bank operation

 The BBC's Jeremy Bowen reports that smoke and sonic booms were let off and loudspeakers were broadcasting dogs barking, cocks crowing and women screaming, in an attempt to disorientate those inside.

A protected box - which Palestinians say contains Israeli snipers - has been lowered from a nearby crane overlooking the church and gunshots have been heard coming from it, our correspondent reports.

The talks come after Germany became the first EU country to apply direct economic pressure on Israel over its incursions by suspending the supply of military equipment. 

Fischer has put forward a two-year timeframe for peace

But EU opinion is divided and officials say sanctions are unlikely. 

While US Secretary of State Colin Powell continues his peace efforts in Lebanon and Syria on Monday, the European ministers will also discuss a two-year timeframe for peace put forward by Germany.

Influence

The plan drafted by Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer for a ceasefire includes:

• The withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian areas
• The dismantlement of Jewish settlements
• The creation of a Palestinian state
• An internationally monitored buffer zone
• International security guarantees under the auspices of the UN, the US, the EU and Russia.

Our correspondent says the EU is looking for a more prominent political role in the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis - and trade is the one area in which it does have influence.

Members divided

Under a special agreement between the EU and Israel, the latter enjoys preferential trading with the bloc.

The European Parliament has voted to suspend this Association Treaty - but its vote is not binding, and out of the 15 member states only Belgium has backed the suggestion.

The European Commission wants an emergency meeting of the council which oversees the agreement.

But member states are divided over the issue and some, such as the UK, believe an emergency meeting would be counterproductive. Analysts say this option is unlikely to be approved.

Our correspondent says that with Colin Powell still in the Middle East, ministers will avoid doing anything that could make his mission even more difficult.

Elsewhere along the border the Ethiopians have made substantial gains from the international ruling.

The BBC's Martin Plaut, who has studied the 125-page document defining the border, says the rejection of Ethiopia's claim to Badme is tucked away in the text - although the legal ruling was sufficiently obscure to allow both countries to claim victory. 

The decision was made public on Saturday and triggered street celebrations in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Click here to see a map of the region

None of the maps used in the ruling show the village of Badme - the same name is used to refer to the village, the plains and a district. 

The BBC's Alex Last in Asmara says that people clapped and cheered, while drivers blared their horns in jubilation when state television and radio announced that Badme had been given to Eritrea. 

This weekend's decision in the Netherlands was asked to sort out exactly where the 1,000km (620 mile) disputed border lies. 

Flagpole

On 6 May 1998, a group of Eritrean soldiers attempted to enter Badme. 

It consists of little more than an administration building, complete with flagpole, surrounded by a handful of houses. 

Hundreds of thousands were forced to flee their homes during the war

The Ethiopian troops holding the town challenged the Eritreans to lay down their arms. 

The Eritreans refused, and the ensuing firefight grew into a war that left over 70,000 dead. 

Diametrically opposed

The boundary was decided by a five-member panel of judges, treaty experts and international jurists at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

"In the final analysis, the end of the war on the basis of a legal determination is a victory for both the Eritrean and Ethiopian peoples," read a statement on the website of Eritrea's ruling Popular Front for Democracy and Justice. 

Immediately after the ruling, Ethiopia declared it had won the land it claimed and Eritrea had lost the case, just as it had lost the war.

Eritrean state television denounced the Ethiopian comments as a lie. 

Zalambessa - the scene of heavy fighting - has gone to Ethiopia, as have the towns of Alitena - in the central sector of the border - and Bada in the east.

Eritrea appears to have made some gains in the west.

Diplomats say both governments are putting forward their diametrically opposed views of the ruling to convince their citizens that the sacrifices and loss of life have not been in vain.

Those names have been placed on the list representing clear evidence of their involvement in human rights abuses

Phil Goff, New Zealand foreign minister

The Commonwealth has suspended Zimbabwe for a year, after its observers said the election was marred by violence against opposition supporters. 

The European Union, Canada and the United States have already imposed travel bans on senior Zimbabwean officials. 

Symbolic move

In announcing New Zealand's own ban, Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff said there was "clear evidence" that those on the list had been involved "in terms of human rights abuses and undermining the rule of law." 

Mr Goff said his government had also banned sales of arms or other "instruments of oppression" to Zimbabwe, and will consider freezing the assets of Mr Mugabe and his associates if evidence emerges that they have investments in New Zealand. 

Tsvangirai wants a rerun

Mr Goff added that the moves were largely symbolic, since New Zealand and Zimbabwe have limited ties. 

Last week Zimbabwe's main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the result of the presidential election invalid 

The MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he has "shocking" evidence of electoral fraud, and is demanding a fresh election. 

Mr Mugabe denies the allegations and has said no new presidential poll will be held until his term expires in six years' time.

Last week the ruling Zanu-PF party and the MDC began talks about the future of the country.

The talks, which have been adjourned for a month, are being held under South African and Nigerian mediation

The hunger strike is to demonstrate solidarity and sympathy. It is also to protest their unjust detention under ill-conceived and vexatious grounds

Statement by Anwar Ibrahim

The six launched their hunger strike five days ago on the first anniversary of their detention and it is believed some of them are in a serious condition. 

Mr Nair told the BBC that if the prison authorities attempted to force-feed Mr Anwar, he would file an assault case against them. 

After visiting Mr Anwar in prison, Mr Nair said he looked tired and weak as he had also stopped taking medication for his back.

Mr Anwar is serving 15 years in jail after being convicted for sodomy and abuse of power. He denies the charges, saying they were framed to prevent him posing a threat to Prime Minister Mahathir.

"The hunger strike is to demonstrate solidarity and sympathy. It is also to protest their unjust detention under ill-conceived and vexatious grounds under the draconian ISA," Mr Anwar said in the statement issued by his lawyer.

The ISA, or Internal Security Act, allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Refusing liquids

Mr Nair said his client was apparently refraining from drink as well as food. 

Anwar is appealing his sentence

"He is taking the risk. Anwar can't stand it - seeing his six supporters in distress and pain," he told AFP news agency.

The six men are all members of the opposition National Justice Party, which was founded by Mr Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Ismail.

They began refusing food on Wednesday, a year after their arrest under the ISA. A dozen of their supporters have also begun a hunger strike.

The six detainees have lost weight and were weak, their families said. One of them, Badrulamin Bahron, is reported to be running a high fever.

"I'm afraid for his life, of course" Mr Badrulamin's wife told reporters. "But I'm ready for anything, including my husband's death."

United States Defense Department officials said several others were injured or missing.

"It doesn't appear to be hostile fire - it is related to ordinance," said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Dave Lapan.

The wounded are being treated at a hospital in a US airbase near Kandahar, which was a Taleban stronghold before it fell at the height of the US-led war in Afghanistan late last year.

A team of US soldiers reportedly numbering between five and 10 had been destroying old 107 mm missiles in the Mian Khoh area, about 4 km northeast of Kandahar, when the blast occurred.

A spokesman for Kandahar's provincial government, Khalid Pashtoon, told Reuters news agency that they had been using gunpowder to set off the ordnance.

Coalition soldiers have been helping locals remove munitions

Monday's blast comes after a series of unexplained explosions at an airfield used by forces of the US-led coalition at Khost, on the Pakistani border.

Coalition forces have stepped up operations against remaining fighters from the Taleban and Osama Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network in recent days.

But Afghanistan began an important new stage in its progress towards political stability on Monday when thousands of people assembled in the north to start selecting candidates for a grand national assembly, the Loya Jirga.

Click here to read about preparations for the Loya Jirga

Landmine problem

The munitions which exploded on Monday appear to have been left over from Afghanistan's years of civil war and war against the USSR. 

The country is littered with landmines and troops have been finding and blowing up weapons caches left in caves. 

In March, exploding ordinance killed five peacekeepers, three Danes and two Germans, in Kabul.

About 7,000 US troops are deployed in Afghanistan, pursuing the war on terror launched after the 11 September suicide attacks on America.

Before Monday's incident, 32 US troops had died in and around Afghanistan.