World Highlights

¤ Hundreds of thousands of Shi'ite Muslims turned a religious ceremony in Lebanon into a protest against cartoons in the Western media lampooning the Prophet Mohammad. The European Union, trying to calm Muslim anger around the world over the cartoons, called for a voluntary media code of conduct to avoid further inflaming religious sensibilities, while the United States accused Iran and Syria of deliberately stoking Muslim rage.

¤ Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would invite Hamas leaders to Moscow, opening a crack in a wall of US-led opposition to dealing with the Palestinian election winner until it recognised Israel. Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas official, said in Gaza that leaders of the group, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction, "would be delighted" to visit Russia if Mr Putin tendered a formal invitation.

¤ The unexplained deaths of large numbers of birds in northern Nigeria fanned fears that the H5N1 avian flu virus was spreading rapidly after it was detected in Africa for the first time. Bird flu has killed at least 88 people since it re-emerged in late 2003, most of the victims in east Asia. Indonesia said yesterday that two women in their 20s had tested positive for the virus and were being treated at a specialist Jakarta hospital.

¤ A bomb blast at an internet café in Istanbul wounded 17 people, including seven police officers, and a hardline Kurdish group claimed responsibility. The Kurdistan Liberation Hawks, who have claimed to be behind a series of bombings in Turkey in recent years, carried out the attack in the Bayrampasa district, not far from Istanbul airport, according to a person who called the Kurdish Firat news agency claiming to speak on behalf of the group.

¤ Top officials from the 'G6' group of countries including the United States and European Union will meet in London next month to try to advance talks on a global trade pact, US trade chief Rob Portman said. Representatives from Japan, Brazil, India and Australia will join US and EU trade ministers for two days of meetings on March 10 and 11, Mr Portman told a briefing for reporters.