World highlights

• Civil rights groups filed a suit with German prosecutors yesterday seeking war crimes charges against outgoing US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for the alleged abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons. "I don't expect he'll go to jail. I think he should go to jail," Peter Weiss of the Centre for Constitutional Rights told a public presentation of the suit.

• The ruling Islamic group Hamas said yesterday a planned Palestinian unity government would not recognise Israel or accept a two-state solution to the Middle East conflict as demanded by Israel and the US. The stance could undercut Palestinian efforts to ease a Western economic boycott by forming a unity cabinet more acceptable to the West.

• President George W. Bush, politically weakened by US congressional elections, headed to Asia yesterday on a three-nation swing likely to be dominated by North Korea and his views on fighting Islamic militancy. The week-long trip to Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia will allow Mr Bush to leave the woes of Washington behind as opposition Democrats prepare to take command of the US Congress and pressure him for a change of course on Iraq.

• Top diplomats from India and Pakistan held what they described as positive talks yesterday, their first dialogue in nearly a year in a bid to revive a peace process halted by deadly train bombings in Mumbai in July. The two-day talks between the nuclear-armed neighbours are expected to set up a joint system to combat terrorism and also push new moves to build trust.

• Rival groups deflated hopes for a peaceful end to political conflict in Bangladesh by refusing to compromise on the removal of controversial election officials, the focus of a transport blockade that has paralysed the country. About 80 people were injured in clashes between rival groups yesterday as transport was blocked by protesters seeking the removal of the officials before polls in January.

• Congolese presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba's coalition yesterday rejected results published so far which showed his rival President Joseph Kabila poised to win a historic election. "The Union for the Nation will not accept an electoral holdup that aims to steal the victory from the Congolese people," the coalition said in a statement which questioned the impartiality of Democratic Republic of Congo's Independent Electoral Commission.