World Highlights

¤ Thousands of Shi'ite civilians charged with guarding neighbourhoods in Iraq marched through Baghdad in a show of force likely to stir passions in a country ravaged by sectarian violence. Young men in civilian uniforms and headbands, all members of what is known as the popular committees, chanted as a speaker called on them to crush "terrorists" and loyalists of ousted President Saddam Hussein leading a Sunni Arab insurgency against the Shi'ite-led government.

¤ Sri Lanka's civil war appeared to have resumed in all but name as Tamil Tigers attacked three army camps and pushed into government territory and the military said dozens of rebels were killed. A 2002 ceasefire between the two sides still exists on paper, but a battle last week over water supply for about 50,000 people in a government-controlled area has spread to the port of Trincomalee and surrounding areas with both sides exchanging artillery and mortar fire.

¤ Nato and Afghan forces killed 18 Taliban guerrillas in a raid on a village in southern Afghanistan, where violence has escalated after Nato troops took over from US forces. In another province in the Taliban's southern heartland, 15 police surrendered as the rebels were about to attack their post, the Taliban said.

¤ Militants detonated a bomb by a bridge on the main railway line through Thailand's rebellious Muslim south, killing three policemen and leaving thousands of travellers stranded, officials said. At least five trains, including one from Bangkok and one from the Thai-Malaysian border, had to stop at nearby stations as security officials checked the line for damage and more devices, officials said.

¤ Ukraine's president will make a final push to win guarantees for his Western-leaning policies as he faces a deadline to either nominate a rival as prime minister or dissolve parliament. President Viktor Yushchenko wants to secure a commitment from pro-Moscow Viktor Yanukovich, leader of the opposition Regions party, that he would keep moving ex-Soviet Ukraine closer to Europe if he became prime minister.

¤ The third tropical storm of the Atlantic season skirted the Caribbean's northern Leeward Islands and could become the year's first hurricane headed for the Gulf of Mexico later this week, US forecasters said. At 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT), tropical storm warnings remained up for some of the small northeastern Caribbean islands and the US territory of Puerto Rico and the US and British Virgin Islands, as Tropical Storm Chris' maximum sustained winds remained near 97 kph, the US National Hurricane Centre said.

¤ Seven Indonesians from the same village in North Sumatra have been hospitalised and are being tested for bird flu, raising fears of new cluster cases in the country. The group comes from Karo district in North Sumatra province where bird flu killed as many as seven people in an extended family in May, triggering fears the H5N1 bird flu virus had mutated into a form that could spread easily between people.