1.   Cyprus is to protest to Lebanon over its refusal to take back two boatloads of illegal immigrants, the foreign ministry announced Saturday.

2.   The French foreign minister, Dominique de Villepin, will pay a four-day visit to the Middle East starting Sunday, his ministry announced Friday.

3.   The opposition has said it will target other members of the government with travel expense allegations, but may hold off until the new ministry is announced.

4.   Two army officers on an island fortress have been dismissed for the accidental shelling of a mainland Chinese village that injured four people, the defense ministry announced Saturday.

5.   Germany has decided to expel four Iranian officials and to recall its ambassador from Iran, the foreign ministry announced Thursday.

6.   Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati is to visit Thailand Wednesday to Friday, the Thai foreign ministry announced Tuesday.

7.   A senior delegation of Cuban diplomats will arrive in Cambodia Saturday for talks aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two countries, the foreign ministry here announced Thursday.

8.   Brazil and Japan will join forces to fight a new AIDS-like virus which causes neurological disorders, the health ministry announced Saturday.

9.   China has ordered six days of mourning for Deng Xiaoping, the foreign ministry announced Thursday.

10.   China test-fired missiles and launched live artillery off northern Taiwan on Tuesday, the Taiwan defense ministry announced Wednesday.