KUALA LUMPUR - A NEW political party for Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority was launched on Tuesday, with its leader saying it would fight discrimination against the disadvantaged community.

The Malaysian Makkal Sakti (People's Power) party is an offshoot of the banned rights group Hindraf, which had five of its leaders detained without trial after mounting unprecedented anti-discrimination protests in 2007.

MANILA - THE Philippine government on Tuesday said it was demanding a formal apology from Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin over a joke he made about getting a Filipina mail-order bride.

The joke, made during a May 12 interview with US talk show host David Letterman, had sparked outrage among politicians and Filipinos around the world, the government said.

BANGKOK - THAI judges said on Tuesday they would wait until August to rule on a US request for the extradition of a Russian alleged arms dealer dubbed the 'Merchant of Death.'