Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will testify today at her trial for allegedly violating terms of her house arrest as the prosecution's withdrawal of its nine remaining witnesses suggested the military government wanted to quickly wrap up the proceedings.

Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers, said yesterday her defence team was unhappy that it was not given sufficient time to consult with their client about her planned testimony.

Suu Kyi is widely expected to be found guilty for allegedly harbouring an American who swam across a lake to her residence. She faces up to five years in prison.

Boy who fled chemo returns to Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP):

A sheriff's office in Minnesota says a 13-year-old cancer patient and his mother, who fled the state to avoid chemotherapy, have returned.

Daniel Hauser and his mother, Colleen, were due to appear in court last Tuesday for a hearing that could have resulted in a judge ordering chemotherapy to treat Daniel for Hodgkin's lymphoma. They missed the court appearance, and the search for them had focused on southern California and Mexico.

Doctors say Daniel has a cancerous tumour growing in his chest that's likely to kill him without chemotherapy, but the Hausers prefer natural healing methods inspired by American Indian traditions.

Dying bulldog saves owner from fire in US

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AP)

A man's decision not to end his terminally ill bulldog's life has ended up saving his own.

Scott Seymour said his dog, Brittney, awakened him with her barking early last Saturday in time for both of them to escape from his burning house in Grand Rapids.

The fire came two weeks after a veterinarian discovered the nine-year-old American bulldog had several cancerous tumours.

The vet said the dog might not survive surgery, and Seymour ruled out chemotherapy, believing it would be too hard on Brittney.

Explosion at Swiss campground injures 16

HAUSEN AM ALBIS, Switzerland (AP)

Swiss police say a gas explosion at a campground near Zurich has injured 16 people, one seriously.

Police say several gas canisters blew up yesterday afternoon at the campground on the Tuerle Lake, nine miles (15 kilometres) south of Zurich.

A statement said one man was transported by helicopter to a hospital after his leg was hit by pieces of flying metal.

Police added that a fire caused by the explosion destroyed 17 trailers.

They said they could not yet comment on why the gas canisters exploded.

Obama: N Korea 'recklessly challenging' the world

WASHINGTON (AP):

United States President Barack Obama assailed North Korea yesterday for new missile tests, saying the world must "stand up to" Pyongyang and demand that it honour a promise to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Appearing on the White House steps, Obama said that its latest nuclear underground tests and subsequent test firings of short-range ground to air missiles "pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action".