World highlights

¤ The legal official who will decide whether there is enough evidence to bring rape charges against Israeli President Moshe Katsav recommended that Mr Katsav stand down until his investigation is over. The office of Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz made the recommendation in response to a private lawyer's High Court petition demanding Mr Katsav resign after police said there was evidence the president raped and molested female employees.

¤ Bangladeshi President Iajuddin Ahmed consulted feuding party leaders to try to defuse a mounting crisis over forming a caretaker government to steer the nation through to January general elections. A deadlock has triggered political clashes that have killed 22 people and injured hundreds more over the past three days across the impoverished country of 140 million.

¤ Cuban leader Fidel Castro defiantly dismissed rumours that he was dead in television images showing him walking, talking on the telephone and reading the day's newspapers.

¤ Bulgarians voting in a presidential run-off looked set to hand incumbent Georgi Parvanov a second five-year term and reject a nationalist firebrand who fought against European Union entry.

¤ Serbia resumed voting in a two-day referendum on a new constitution that enshrines the breakaway province of Kosovo as an "inalienable" part of Serbia.

¤ Crunch talks in Geneva between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels were expected to end with little more than a pledge for further negotiations as sporadic fighting continued.