1. Radioactive water

    Japan said on Sunday it hoped to stop pumping radioactive* water into the sea soon, which should help ease concerns in neighboring China and South Korea over the spread of radiation from the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

    But problems in restoring cooling systems at Japan’s crippled* nuclear plant, hit by a tsunami* on March 11, mean more contaminated* water may eventually be pumped into the sea if the complex again runs out of storage capacity.

    2. Cote d’Voire standoff

    The elected president of the West African nation of Cote d’Voire heralded* “the dawn* of a new era of hope” on Monday when a bloody, four-month standoff* ended with the capture of his rival, the longtime strongman who lost the vote but refused to give up power.

    A video of former President Laurent Gbagbo being led into a room in a white undershirt was broadcast on television as proof of his detention. He would not sign a statement formally ceding* power after losing a November 28 election to economist Alassane Ouattara.

    More than 1 million civilians fled their homes and untold numbers were killed in the power struggle between the two rivals.

    3. Belarus Metro blast

    A blast tore through a crowded Metro station in the Belarus capital Minsk in evening rush hour on Monday, killing at least 11 people in what President Alexander Lukashenko said was an attempt to destabilize* the country.

    The blast occurred on a platform at around 6 p.m. at the Oktyabrskaya Metro station, about 100 meters from the main presidential headquarters.

    4. FBI memo

    The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) has published in its Web site a bizarre memo that proves aliens* did land in New Mexico in 1947.

    FBI agent Guy Hottel, who was in charge of the Washington field office in 1950, reveals that an Air Force investigator had stated that “three so-called flying saucers* had been recovered in New Mexico,” the Daily Mail reported on Monday.

    5. Gadhafi accepts peace plan

    Moammar Gadhafi has accepted a road map for ending the civil war in Libya including an immediate cease-fire, the African Union said on Monday, adding that the issue of his stepping down had also been discussed.

    South African President Jacob Zuma, who led a delegation of African leaders at talks in Tripoli, earlier called on NATO to stop air strikes on Libyan government targets to “give cease-fire a chance.”

    6. Mubarak denies abuse of power

    In the first remarks since his dramatic ouster*, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied that he used his position to amass* wealth and property during three decades in power, and issued an emotional defense of his legacy.

    The statement, broadcast on Sunday at the end of a turbulent* weekend that saw a deadly military crackdown* on protesters, only stoked more public anger in the midst of Egypt’s turbulent transition to a more democratic* system.

    7. Full veil ban

    France’s ban on full face veils, a first in Europe, went into force on Monday, exposing anyone who wears the Muslim niqab or burqa in public to fines of 150 euros (US$216).

    (SD-Agencies)