World Highlights

• The US said it believed Syria, Lebanon and Hezbollah militants were trying to destabilise the Lebanese government. White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement Washington was "increasingly concerned by mounting evidence that the Syrian and Iranian governments, Hezbollah and their Lebanese allies are preparing plans to topple Lebanon's democratically elected government.

• Shi'ite and Sunni leaders sparred over a government order to lift US checkpoints around a Baghdad militia stronghold as data showed the number of Iraqis killed in October may have hit a record high.

• Democrats lead Republicans in 12 of 15 key races in the November 7 election to decide which party controls the US House of Representatives.

• Nelson Mandela led South Africans in remembering former President P.W. Botha, the defiant face of apartheid who doggedly clung to white rule and refused to free Mandela from jail.

• Sri Lanka's air force bombed Tamil Tiger targets in the island's restive east, the military said, as fears rose of an escalation in violence three days after peace talks collapsed.

• Fiji Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase refused to resign in the face of threats from the country's military chief, warning a coup would have dire consequences for the South Pacific nation's fragile economy.

• Somali Islamists called for talks with the interim government to be postponed and an international fact-finding mission sent to Somalia to help resolve "fundamental issues" between the rival sides.

• Central African Republic accused neighbour Sudan of sending armed rebels across the border to occupy a northeastern town, as tensions from the conflict in Darfur rippled across the region.