In Brief

* CHINA WARNS – China is “fully prepared for all eventualities” with Taiwan, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said as he warned of recent “extremely dangerous” moves by the island’s president.

* PLOTTER – A US judge will consider whether to spare the life of al Qaeda plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, after revelations of witness coaching by a government lawyer pitched his September 11 death penalty case into turmoil. * FLU DEATHS – Three people have died of bird flu in Azerbaijian, according to tests carried out using World Health Organisation (WHO) equipment, the Azeri health ministry was quoted as saying by the Russian Itar-Tass news agency.* SECRET TALKS – Israel’s former prime minister Shimon Peres held secret talks in Jordan on Sunday with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas following Hamas’s upset victory in parliamentary elections, the prime minister’s office revealed.* THAI PROTESTS – Up to 60 000 people rallied in the largest of a series of protests against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, held under tight security and warnings a state of emergency could be declared if it turned violent.* BORDER TENSION – US Ambassador John Bolton said that the Security Council was likely to extend for 30 days the mandate of the UN mission monitoring the Eritrea-Ethiopia border dispute.* POLL UPSET – Conservatives scored a stunning upset in weekend elections in Colombia, wresting control of the legislature from the once-dominant Liberal Party for the first time in a half-century.- Nampa-AFP* FLU DEATHS – Three people have died of bird flu in Azerbaijian, according to tests carried out using World Health Organisation (WHO) equipment, the Azeri health ministry was quoted as saying by the Russian Itar-Tass news agency.* SECRET TALKS – Israel’s former prime minister Shimon Peres held secret talks in Jordan on Sunday with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas following Hamas’s upset victory in parliamentary elections, the prime minister’s office revealed.* THAI PROTESTS – Up to 60 000 people rallied in the largest of a series of protests against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, held under tight security and warnings a state of emergency could be declared if it turned violent.* BORDER TENSION – US Ambassador John Bolton said that the Security Council was likely to extend for 30 days the mandate of the UN mission monitoring the Eritrea-Ethiopia border dispute.* POLL UPSET – Conservatives scored a stunning upset in weekend elections in Colombia, wresting control of the legislature from the once-dominant Liberal Party for the first time in a half-century.- Nampa-AFP