World Briefing
Zimbabwe opposition may agree to talks with Mugabe / No winner in first Nepal presidential vote / No end to Cambodian-Thai dispute in sight / Rev. Sun Myung Moon hurt in helicopter crash / Detached foot found on Canadian shore linked to missing man
Zimbabwe's main opposition party might sign an agreement as early as Monday to begin substantive talks with President Robert Mugabe's party on ending a political impasse that has worsened the country's severe economic crisis, opposition officials said.
The apparent breakthrough came after South African President Thabo Mbeki proposed forming a team drawn from African regional bodies and the United Nations to help him mediate the crisis.
The Movement for Democratic Change has refused to recognize Mugabe's victory in a June 27 runoff vote held after MDC candidate Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out, citing violence by ruling party militias.
NEPAL
No winner in first presidential vote
Nepal's national assembly failed to elect the new republic's first president when none of the three candidates was able to secure the votes necessary to win, an official said.
A candidate had to garner 50% of the 594 votes in the Constituent Assembly to be elected. Constituent Assembly chairman Kul Bahadur Gurung said another election would be held Monday, between the two top candidates -- Ram Baran Yadav, backed by the Nepali Congress party and the Communist Party; and Ramraja Singh, who is backed by the Maoists.
CAMBODIA
No end seen to border dispute
A Cambodian general said he had little hope that upcoming talks between his government and Thailand would resolve a tense border dispute that has seen hundreds of troops face off around an ancient temple.
Cambodian Brig. Gen. Chea Keo said Thai troops had deployed an artillery piece about half a mile northeast of Preah Vihear temple, the latest escalation before Monday's meeting aimed at averting a military confrontation.
He based his pessimism on a recent counterclaim by Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej that the area around a Buddhist pagoda near the temple belongs to Thailand. Thai troops have been stationed at the pagoda since Tuesday.
SOUTH KOREA
Rev. Moon hurt in chopper crash
The founder of the Unification Church, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, is recovering from injuries he suffered when a helicopter taking him to a church-linked hospital crashed into a mountain, officials said.
Moon, 88, was one of 16 people on board when the helicopter crashed and burst into flames in Gapyeong, about 37 miles northeast of Seoul, the South Korean transport ministry said. None of the occupants, which included Moon's wife and other relatives, were seriously hurt.
CANADA
Foot linked to disappeared man
One of five detached feet that have washed up on the shores of British Columbia over the last year has been linked to a depressed man who disappeared a year ago, police said.
Sgt. Pierre Lemaitre said DNA testing helped identify the man, whose name was not made public at the family's request, he said.
The foot is the first to be identified by investigators, who have been working on the case since August, when two feet were found about 40 miles southwest of Vancouver on islands in the Strait of Georgia.
From Times Wire Reports
