BANGKOK - THAILAND'S royal family collected the ashes of the king's sister on Sunday, ending the main phase of an elaborate six-day funeral that has briefly calmed the country's turbulent political waters.

As monks in saffron robes intoned Buddhist chants, the Thai crown prince and princess received a lacquered, diamond-encrusted urn containing the remains of Princess Galyani, who died of cancer in January at the age of 84.

KUALA LUMPUR - A NEW generation of leaders in Malaysia is fighting for control of the ruling party - in disarray since heavy election losses - with the premier's son-in-law battling his predecessor's son.

The successors of current leader Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and former premier Mahathir Mohamad are shaping up to continue hostilities that have raged between the two veterans for the past few years.

HANOI - VIETNAM, like much of the world, is trying to stimulate its economy amid the global downturn, but it is in a quandary because it must also keep rampant inflation from flaring up again, say experts.

With a small and relatively insulated banking sector, Vietnam was not directly exposed to the subprime crisis that sparked the Wall Street meltdown and the subsequent worldwide credit crunch and turmoil on global financial markets.