World highlights

¤ US President George W. Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi used a White House summit on Thursday to warn North Korea against test-firing a long-range missile.

¤ The US Federal Reserve raised US interest rates for a 17th straight time yesterday and said more rises may be needed to curb inflation even after the now two-year run of credit-tightening.

¤ Iraqi and US troops battled Shi'ite militiamen in a village northeast of Baghdad yesterday, and witnesses and police said US helicopters bombed orchards to flush out gunmen hiding there.

¤ The United States, the European Union and big developing countries showed no sign yesterday of making the concessions needed to unblock a global trade round that risks running out of time soon.

¤ Many Bolivians think of the country's black community as little more than an exotic curiosity, and the thousands of descendants of African slaves still have to tick the 'others' box on census forms.

¤ Kuwaiti women voted and competed for office in parliamentary elections yesterday for the first time in the Gulf Arab state.

¤ The world's richest countries are falling short on pledges made to Africa a year ago on providing life-saving AIDS drugs, expanding trade and boosting aid, said activist rock star Bono.