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.

Lahore, Mar. 14: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has opened the door for reconciliation with President Asif Ali Zardari, by saying that he was ready to give Zardari “the next five years if he delivers on his pledges”.

“There is no need for back channel diplomacy or private and secret dialogue. I have not slammed my doors on dialogue. If Zardari showed sincerity, I am ready to give him another five years (after his tenure expires),” The Daily times quoted Sharif, as saying.

Islamabad, Mar 14: Pakistan’s Information Minister Sherry Rehman resigned following differences over government’s handling of the electronic media and insistence by President Asif Zardari and his close aides to impose further restrictions on private news channels.

Rehman was against the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA)’s blocking of a private TV channel without taking her into confidence

Washington  - The US government is urging Brazil to return an 8-year-old boy to his father in the United States in a case that could come up when US President Barack Obama holds his first meeting with his Brazilian counterpart on Saturday.

The boy lives with his stepfather in Brazil. A New Jersey court has ruled in favour of his father, David Goldman, and decided the boy, Sean, should be returned to the United States. But a Brazilian court has granted custody to his stepfather.

The Hague  - Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo has appealed against the decision by the ICC not to charge acting Sudanese President Mohammed al-Bashir with genocide, it emerged Friday.

On March 4, The Hague-based court decided to charge al-Bashir with crimes against humanity and war crimes, but excluding genocide, and issued a warrant for his arrest.