Paris
Palestinians say Arafat's health improving
Yasser Arafat telephoned colleagues in the West Bank, read telegrams from well-wishing world leaders, ate cereal and sipped tea Sunday, his aides said -- signs that the Palestinian leader's health may be on the upswing following three days of urgent treatment for an undisclosed illness at a French military hospital.
There was still no explanation for what caused the recent deterioration in his condition, although Palestinian officials say Arafat's low blood platelet count is not due to leukemia.
Doctors have not said what might be causing the deficiency
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime MInister Ariel Sharon said Sunday that Arafat would be allowed to return to his West Bank compound, but he maintained his promise that, when dead, Arafat would not be laid to rest in Jerusalem.
China
Martial law imposed after deadly rioting
Martial law has been imposed on a town in central China after rioting killed at least four people and injured an unknown number, local residents said early today.
The violence erupted Friday in Langchenggang, a town in Henan province, according to residents contacted by phone. They said large groups of rioters fought with sticks and burned several houses.
One resident said at least four people were killed. Residents could not confirm a report by The New York Times on its Web site that as many as 148 people had been killed and that the violence involved clashes between members of China's ethnic Han majority and the Hui Muslim minority.
Ukraine
Election outcome uncertain
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych took the lead today in Ukraine's presidential election with about 46 percent of the vote, according to partial results, but that was not enough to avoid a runoff next month after balloting marred by fears of violence and charges of election fraud.
With nearly 50 percent of the precincts counted from Sunday's vote, the main challenger, opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, had 33.59 percent of votes, the Central Elections Commission said.
An array of exit polls put the two top candidates within a few percentage points of each other, and both of them below the 50 percent needed to avoid a Nov. 21 runoff.
Official results that differed sharply from the polls could inflame tensions, which were already high in the former Soviet republic after weeks of opposition claims that officials planned wide-scale vote fraud.
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