Valletta, Malta  - EU Justice Commissioner Jacques Barrot made a "solemn appeal" for Europe-wide solidarity Saturday in an attempt to help Malta deal with illegal immigration problems.

Barrot was in Malta as part of a fact-finding mission into conditions faced by illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, who try to enter the EU by reaching the island.

Harare  - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe said Saturday his party's fight with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change was over and demanded an end to political violence in the country.

Mugabe was addressing mourners, including Tsvangirai, at the burial of former army commander Vitalis Zvinavashe at Heroes' Acre cemetery in Harare.

Tsvangirai attended, despite being himself in mourning for his late wife, Susan.

Islamabad  - The Pakistani government has put its troops on standby ahead of a planned anti-government rally in Islamabad by opposition groups, an army spokesman said Saturday.

Major General Athar Abbas said the military had been formally asked to keep the troops ready. "These can be deployed in sensitive areas of some districts if the situation gets out of control," he added.

Antananarivo - Madagascar's opposition declared it had taken power Saturday without force from President Marc Ravalomanana's government and named opposition leader Andry Rajoelina as president of a transitional two-year government.

The opposition met no resistance in installing its candidate for prime minister in government offices and in taking over the president's city-centre offices Saturday.

Beijing - Troops in full battle dress patrolled Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, on Saturday as the anniversary of last year's anti-Chinese protests and rioting in the city was marked largely with silence amid the heavy security.

The semi-official China News Service showed a photograph of two schoolchildren walking past a dozen soldiers in combat gear in the deserted Barkhor market street in the centre of Lhasa.

"Anniversary of the 'March 14' sacrifice: behind every statistic is grief and terror," said the agency's headline above a story that reflected the government's focus on the 18 Chinese civilian deaths in last year's rioting.

New Delhi, Mar. 14: Home Minister P Chidambaram has issued a legal notice against CPI MLA Gunasekaran for alleging that he had supported allocation of 500 acres of government land to a private company in his constituency Sivaganga.

“It is a total lie to say that 500 acres of land has been gifted to a private company. Some political parties are accustomed to reeling out lies and false charges for the sake of politics. My name has been dragged unnecessarily over an issue between the government and a private firm,” said Chidambaram.