Washington  - Space shuttle Endeavour lifted off late Friday from Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida for a construction mission to the International Space Station.

The shuttle and its seven-member crew blasted off at 7:55 pm (0055 GMT Saturday) for a planned 15-day flight that is to include four spacewalks to repair joints that allow the station's solar panels to rotate toward the sun and to prepare the ISS for expansion.

Taipei  - A Taiwan newspaper on Saturday launched a search for the Word of the Year for 2008, offering 48 Chinese characters for the public to choose from.

The search was launched by the United Daily News and a private foundation in the hope that one Chinese character could summarize the situation of Taiwan in 2008 or reflect Taiwan's people's feelings about the year.

Singapore  - A Singapore minister criticized job cuts at the city-state's largest bank amid fears of more lay-offs next year, newspapers reported Saturday.

Lim Swee Say, a minister in the Prime Minister's Office and the secretary general of the 500,000-member National Trades Union Congress, said DBS Bank had not consulted with the DBS Staff Union on other alternatives to cut costs and opted for sudden job cuts.

But the listed and partially state-owned DBS defended its decision, saying the job cuts affected 3.5 per cent of its junior ranks, compared with 16 per cent of its senior management.

Bangkok  - Thailand's fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra has divorced his wife of 32 years, sealing the separation at the Thai consulate in Hong Kong, Thai news reports said Saturday.

Thaksin, who faces a two-year jail term if he returns to Thailand, announced his divorce from his wife, Pojaman, to political allies who attended a dinner with him in Hong Kong Friday evening, the Bangkok Post said.

The Thai-language Thai Rath newspaper also carried reports of the separation.

Los Angeles  - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency Friday as more than 1,000 firefighters battled a raging wildfire near the celebrity hideaway of Montecito.

Up to 200 houses had been destroyed by the wind-driven flames by Friday night as fire teams worked to contain the damage amid winds that picked up again after a day of calm.

Tokyo  - Japan agreed to provide 2 billion dollars to launch a fund with the World Bank to help recapitalize struggling financial institutions, especially in developing nations.

The World Bank was expected to contribute 1 billion dollars to the fund, according to a statement released Friday at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Washington.

The leaders of 20 developed and emerging economies gathered in Washington for a two-day summit to discuss ways to fight the global financial crisis.