World Highlights

O Iraqis buried their dead from a day of bloodshed which left some Shi'ites calling for a backlash against the Sunni Arab militants they blame for a suicide bombing in their holy city of Kerbala.

O Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri said in a video US President George W. Bush's plans to withdraw troops from Iraq meant Washington had been defeated by the Muslims.

O Chad said Sudanese militiamen had killed nine civilians in a raid across its border and warned it would not let such attacks go unanswered much longer.

O Indonesian rescuers searched for more bodies buried under tonnes of mud after massive landslides on Java island while helicopters flew food and medicine to some villagers still cut off. The combined official death toll stands at 120.

O One person was killed and six were wounded in sporadic attacks in Sri Lanka's troubled eastern region, the military said, as the government sought US diplomatic help to avoid a slide back into war.

O At least 76 people died in the collapse of a Muslim pilgrims' hostel in Saudi Arabia days before the annual haj pilgrimage, a Saudi official said yesterday.

O China offered two pandas to Taiwan as a token of peace, but in the same breath accused President Chen Shui-bian of ratcheting up tensions with his support of formal independence for the self-ruled island.