¤ Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi called on Group of Eight leaders to send a clear message to North Korea about its widely condemned missile launches, officials said.

On Saturday, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a Japan-initiated resolution that imposes weapons-related sanctions on Pyongyang, which Mr Koizumi said sent a strong message to the reclusive communist state.

¤ The leftist candidate claiming fraud in Mexico's presidential election two weeks ago led tens of thousands of supporters through the capital to pressure a court to order a recount.

Losing leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador flashed smiles and gave the thumbs-up sign as he marched with throngs of people along the main Reforma avenue toward the Zocalo square downtown.

¤ Somalia's government agreed to form a committee to attend future peace talks with the country's newly powerful Islamists, after rejecting a round of planned negotiations over the weekend.

The deal to form the committee was brokered among Somalia's parliamentary speaker Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adan, President Abdullahi Yusuf and Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi.