MANILA - THE Philippines' influential Catholic bishops on Friday attacked a new a bill promoting family planning in the Philippines, calling for drastic changes before it is passed into law.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is still willing to discuss the provisions of the Reproductive Health Care Act with its proponents in the legislature, said their spokesman Bishop Socorro Villegas.

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia) - MALAYSIA'S highest court freed a Hong Kong man on Friday, overturning his death sentence for alleged drug trafficking and ruling that police fabricated evidence against him.

BANGKOK - THAI Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said on Friday he was considering building a new headquarters in Bangkok as anti-government protesters continue a three-month siege of his office.

Mr Somchai, the brother-in-law of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, has been working with his cabinet from an abandoned airport terminal since demonstrators seized his offices in August.