World Highlights

¤ Iraq's prime minister pleaded for Iraqis to "unite as brothers" as a fresh spasm of violence gripped Baghdad, where 60 people were killed at the weekend in a dramatic escalation of sectarian bloodletting. Two bomb blasts in a Shi'ite neighbourhood...

¤ Iraq's prime minister pleaded for Iraqis to "unite as brothers" as a fresh spasm of violence gripped Baghdad, where 60 people were killed at the weekend in a dramatic escalation of sectarian bloodletting. Two bomb blasts in a Shi'ite neighbourhood killed 12 and wounded dozens, while gunmen ambushed a commuter bus in a Sunni district and shot dead seven people. Militiamen, believed to be Shi'ite, fought gun battles in a southern Sunni district.

¤ A Chinese leader visiting North Korea days after its missile tests defied international opinion said yesterday that Beijing stood by its Communist neighbour, adding to uncertainty about China's position in the standoff. Vice Premier Hui Liangyu's "friendship delegation" arrived in Pyongyang earlier in the day for a six-day visit announced before North Korea last week test-fired seven missiles, one of them a long-range Taepodong-2 that fell into the sea moments after launch.

¤ Prime Minister Ehud Olmert rejected international criticism of Israel's offensive in Gaza and Israeli air strikes killed eight Palestinians in the strip. Mr Olmert, speaking to foreign media, said operations in Gaza to press for the soldier's release and an end to cross-border rocket attacks against Israel would continue indefinitely as he rebuffed militants' demands for a prisoner exchange.

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