CHINA

Chinese police were searching for a man suspected of intentionally setting off explosives at a restaurant where he had invited dozens of guests, killing nine people and injuring 25, a police statement said.

The explosion at the House of Xiaoxiang restaurant in south China's Hunan province Sunday night occurred as 30 guests gathered for a dinner hosted by a villager involved in a local dispute, a statement from the local Public Security Bureau said.

The man from Wenjiashi township in Hunan's Liuyang city allegedly told guests he wanted to treat them to dinner and apologize for the dispute, which involved "family matters," the statement said. It did not specify what the dispute was about or give the man's name.

SAUDI ARABIA Women hope to win right to drive

For the first time, a group of Saudi women have formed a committee to lobby for the right to drive, and they plan to petition King Abdullah.

"We would like to remind officials that this is, as many have said, a social and not a religious or political issue," said Fowziyyah Oyouni, a founding member of the Committee of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars. "And since it's a social issue, we have the right to lobby for it."

The driving ban applies to all women, Saudi and foreign, and forces families to hire live-in drivers. Women whose families cannot afford $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

SIERRA LEONE Opposition leader wins presidency

Opposition leader Ernest Bai Koroma was sworn in as Sierra Leone's president after officials declared him the winner of a tense runoff.

Koroma was sworn in after election officials declared him the winner with 55% of 1.7 million ballots cast, compared with 45% for the ruling party candidate, Vice President Solomon Berewa.

Hours later, hundreds of looters descended on the headquarters of the former president's party. Police blanketed the neighborhood with tear gas and made numerous arrests.

CHINA Typhoon alerts for Taiwan, Shanghai

China was evacuating thousands of people from Shanghai today as a powerful typhoon churned toward the coast.

About 200,000 people in the city of more than 14 million were to be moved to temporary shelters before Typhoon Wipha hit.

Schools, offices and markets were closed on the northern part of Taiwan near the capital, Taipei, where it had been raining steadily. The Category 4 storm had sustained winds of 155 mph.

SWEDEN Cartoon draws death threat

A Swedish cartoonist who depicted the prophet Muhammad with the body of a dog said police have taken him to a secret location and told him he cannot return home because of a death threat from militants in Iraq.

Transcripts of Islamic websites reported that $100,000 had been offered for Lars Vilks' death.

From Times Wire Reports