World highlights

• British Airways Plc narrowly averted a costly 48-hour strike by cabin crew members yesterday, reaching a last-minute deal with its largest union in return for new working conditions.Europe's third-largest airline said it would try to reinstate as many as possible of the 1,300 flights it had cancelled, although it acknowledged that many of the 140,000 travellers affected had already switched plans.

• Sudan lost its bid to assume the rotating leadership of the African Union to Ghana after regional leaders snubbed Khartoum for a second time because of international outrage over bloodshed in Darfur. Alpha Oumar Konare, the AU's top diplomat, told reporters Ghanaian President John Kufuor would take the post of AU chairman.

• US President George W. Bush vowed to respond firmly if Iran foments violence in Iraq and the White House urged Tehran to play a constructive role in the region.Washington has accused Tehran of undermining efforts to bring stability in Iraq and of pursuing nuclear weapons. Two US aircraft carriers have been stationed in the Gulf as a warning to Iran.

• Afghan President Hamid Karzai offered peace talks with a resurgent Taliban after the bloodiest year since the hardline Islamists were ousted in 2001 and amid warnings of a violent spring offensive. More than 4,000 people, including about 170 foreign soldiers, died in fighting last year, a year that saw a dramatic jump in suicide bombings as the Taliban and other militants copy tactics from insurgents in Iraq.