World highlights

¤ China and Iran expressed support for a Russian proposal to resolve Tehran's standoff with Western governments which suspect it of secretly planning to build a nuclear bomb.

Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani, on a one-day trip to Beijing to seek China's support, said the Russian proposal - that Iran's uranium fuel be enriched on Russian soil rather than in Iran - needed further discussion.

President George W. Bush backed a Russian proposal to resolve a nuclear stalemate with Tehran and said the United States supported democratic reformers in Iran.

¤ A roadside bomb hit an armed convoy carrying Iraqi Industry Minister Osama Abdel-Aziz al- Najafi, killing three bodyguards but leaving him unharmed, his ministry said.

The US military in Iraq freed five women prisoners, but American and Iraqi officials insisted their release was planned and not linked to the case of the kidnapped US reporter Jill Carroll.

¤ President George W. Bush, who has faced heat from conservative Republicans over high budget deficits, pledged to take a tougher stance toward Congress over spending, including vetoing bills if necessary.

¤ China is preparing to "strike hard" against rising public unrest, a senior police official said according to state media, highlighting the government's fears for stability even as the economy booms.

¤ Silvio Berlusconi's daily TV appearances have failed to help his standing in opinion polls, giving the prime minister's taciturn opponent, Romano Prodi, an unexpected boost ahead of Italy's election on April 9.

¤ Sri Lanka's military and Tamil Tiger rebels both said they came under attack yesterday, a day after the two sides agreed to hold fresh peace talks in Geneva.

¤ President George W. Bush insisted his decision to allow spying on Americans' international telephone calls was legal and said he would resist changing laws governing such action if it meant revealing secrets to an enemy.

¤ Worsening violence in Sudan's Darfur needs an urgent international response, but the fear is that help will again arrive late, a top United Nations human rights envoy said.

¤ Nigeria is making progress in talks with the kidnappers of four foreign oil workers, President Olusegun Obasanjo said, playing down any impact on investment in Africa's largest oil producer.

¤ Chile said it was confident the United States would reject a political asylum request from the eldest daughter of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet after she fled her country on tax charges.

¤ Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper will be sworn in as Canada's 22nd prime minister on February 6, an official statement said.