MALE (Maldives) - The Maldives military has fired rubber bullets and clashed with the country's police force, which has defied a presidential order to end a protest against what it perceives as illegal orders by authorities.

Hundreds of police started the protest in the capital Male early Tuesday after officials ordered them to withdraw protection for government and opposition supporters protesting close to each other. The withdrawal resulted in a clash.

President Mohamed Nasheed visited the police and urged them to end the protest, but they refused and instead chanted for his resignation.

Protests have become a daily occurrence in the Maldives after Nasheed ordered the controversial arrest of a senior judge. AP

ISLAMABAD (Pakistan) - A rescue official says the death toll from a factory that collapsed in eastern Pakistan has risen to 18.

The factory, which manufactured medicine, caved in Monday in the city of Lahore after several gas cylinders inside exploded.

Rescue official Asad Ahmad said Tuesday that workers have pulled 13 people out of the rubble alive. Around 30 people are still believed to be under the debris.

Government officials say the factory was built illegally in a residential area of Lahore. The government closed it three times, but each time it reopened. AP

Abu Sayyaf commander Umbra Jumdail, who was killed in an air strike last Thursday on Jolo island, was tracked down with the help of Filipino villagers, a Philippines military intelligence official said on Sunday.

Jumdail had taken a course related to medicine and ingratiated himself to many villagers by providing treatment for tropical maladies, earning the rebel alias "Dr Abu Pula".

But surviving militants suspect that villagers pretending to seek medical treatment from Jumdail had left some kind of sensor that the military used to target his Abu Sayyaf hideout, according to a Philippine military intelligence official who had been helping monitor the militants.

A United States-backed air strike killed Jumdail and several militants last Thursday.

The Philippine military announced that Malaysian terrorist Marwan and his Singaporean ally, Abdullah Ali also known as Muawiyah, were killed in that air raid, but two security officials said on Sunday that new intelligence shows the two foreign terror suspects are still alive. AP

Myanmar's Election Commission yesterday gave opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi the green light to run for parliamentary by-elections, another step toward political openness in a country emerging from nearly a half-century of iron-fisted military rule.

Ms Suu Kyi announced her intention last month to run in the April elections under her National League for Democracy party banner, but was waiting for official approval from the commission, which said it had to scrutinise her eligibility.

A nominally civilian government took office last March. The new government has surprised even some of the country's toughest critics by releasing hundreds of political prisoners, signing ceasefire deals with ethnic rebels, increasing media freedoms and easing censorship laws.

On Sunday, the United Nations envoy to Myanmar, Mr Tomas Ojea Quintana, also said he had seen signs of positive developments and that Naypyidaw is considering letting foreign observers monitor April elections.

Mr Quintana ended a six-day visit to the country on Sunday.

Regularly drinking two large glasses of wine or two strong pints of beer a day triples the risk of developing mouth cancer, according to a United Kingdom government campaign that will be launched soon .

The campaign follows a survey of more than 2,000 people which found that up to 85 per cent do not realise that drinking over recommended limits increases the risk of developing various forms of cancer, including breast, bowel, mouth, throat and neck cancer.

Some 63 per cent were unaware of a raised risk of pancreatitis, 30 per cent did not realise the increased risk of high blood pressure and 37 per cent did not know it could impact fertility.

Television advertisements will aim to show that excessive drinking increases the risk of serious health problems, and encourage drinkers to cut down on alcohol consumption through measures such as having alcohol-free days, swapping to low or alcohol-free drinks and using smaller glasses.

Elderly adults who regularly drink green tea may stay more agile and independent than their peers over time, according to a Japanese study that covered thousands of people.

In the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers decided to examine the question of whether green tea drinkers have a lower risk of frailty and disability as they grow older.

Dr Yasutake Tomata of the Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine and his colleagues followed nearly 14,000 adults aged 65 or older for three years.

They found that those who drank the most green tea were the least likely to develop "functional disability", or problems with daily activities or basic needs, such as dressing or bathing.

Researchers have been studying green tea's effect on everything from cholesterol to the risk of certain cancers, with mixed results so far. Reuters

Queen Elizabeth (picture), 85, celebrated 60 years on the throne yesterday, becoming the second British monarch to reach the milestone.

The Queen ascended the throne at age 25 on Feb 6, 1952 upon the death of her father George VI, while on tour in Kenya with her husband Prince Philip. She has been on the throne for longer than any other monarch except Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.

The Queen said in a statement that she was grateful for "the wonderful support and encouragement" she had received over the years, and promised to "dedicate myself anew to your service".

HELENA (MontANA) - A 250-pound man (113 kg) with a history of jumping on the backs of student athletes in the Pacific Northwest has pleaded guilty to assault.

The Independent Record reports 28-year-old Sherwin Shayegan acknowledged in court Wednesday that he hopped on two players at a soccer tournament in Helena in October. He pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of assault.

Last spring, the Oregon School Activities Association warned athletes to look out for Shayegan after he turned up at events in Eugene and Pendleton and got piggyback rides from some athletes. Police in Bonney Lake, Washington, say he gave money to an athlete and jumped on his back.

Judge Bob Wood gave him a 360-day suspended jail sentence, fined him US$730 (S$909) and told him to "go back to Seattle and behave." AP

Australia will introduce body scanners at all its international airports from July.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard's government will present legislation for the plan to Parliament this week, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said in an emailed statement.

The machines will only produce a generic body outline to display the location of metal and non-metal items under clothing.

The scanners are part of an A$28-million (S$37.4-million) package announced in 2010 for new security measures at Australia's "eight international gateway airports", according to the statement. Bloomberg