Three Story Sunday

Nepal is willing to use force to quell protests on Tibet.

Nepal says it is prepared to use force - including gunfire - to prevent anti-Beijing protests during the Olympic torch relay up Mount Everest.

The torch is scheduled to be brought up the peak from the northern, Chinese Tibetan side in early May.

Nepal is determined to prevent protests which may damage relations with China, says the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu.

The torch has attracted protests in some cities on the relay route.

The Olympic Torch is not being taken anywhere near the Nepalese base camp.

But Nepal's military and police have been deployed in extra numbers on the southern flank of the mountain because of sensitivities over the torch.

Well that's great to ...hear.

Russia still trying to grab "Greater Russia" from Georgia.

The United States called on Russia on Friday to repeal instructions to intensify its contacts with two breakaway regions in Georgia.

"We urge Russia to live up to its statements of support for the principles of Georgian sovereignty and territorial integrity and to repeal the April 16 instructions," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to increase cooperation with authorities in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, drawing an angry response from the Georgian government, which accused Moscow of seeking to annex the two regions.

I have a feeling our warnings will go unnoticed in Moscow.

Paraguay's election today.

IF THE poll numbers hold, the world's longest-ruling political party will be dismissed by Paraguay's voters on Sunday April 20th. The Colorado Party, which came to power two years before China's Communist Party, has governed for so long that Paraguay sometimes feels like a run-down country club that exists purely for the benefit of party members. Yet despite fielding a good candidate, the Colorados could well lose to a complete political novice.

Their main opponent is Fernando Lugo, a Catholic bishop who gave up his job preaching liberation theology to the poor in order to stand for office. In person, he is rather less charismatic than his story suggests. But since being chosen as the figurehead for a coalition of the biggest opposition parties, he has turned into a formidable candidate. Those close to him say he has struggled to switch from officiating at mass to talking confidently about fixing Paraguay. But he has cut his hair, had his teeth polished and embodies a fresh start—unlike his two main rivals.

Are things about to move left?

Just another Sunday.