A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Weekend vote on new Iraqi government
BAGHDAD - Iraq's parliament may vote on Saturday on a new government in which the country's main religious and ethnic groups will share power, officials said yesterday, signalling an end to months of political paralysis.
As Saddam Hussein's trial continued in a heavily guarded Baghdad courtroom, Iraq's prime minister-designate put the finishing touches to a unity government Washington hopes can quell an insurgency that erupted after Saddam's 2003 overthrow.
At least eight people were killed in two separate attacks in Baghdad and the town of Baquba north of the capital, underlining the security challenges facing the government led by Nuri al-Maliki.- (Reuters)
Serb minister's threat to resign
BELGRADE - Serbian finance minister Mladjan Dinkic said yesterday he would resign on October 1st if Serbia failed to turn war crimes fugitive Ratko Mladic over to The Hague tribunal and resume talks with the EU.
He said his liberal G17 Plus party would follow his lead and leave parliament, bringing down the centre-right minority coalition led by prime minister Vojislav Kostunica and almost certainly leading to an election a year ahead of schedule.
"I have written my letter of resignation, dated October 1st, 2006, and so have two other ministers from G17 Plus, if conditions are not met by then for the resumption of talks with the EU," Mr Dinkic told a news conference. - (Reuters)
Peace protest in Somalia
MOGADISHU - Chanting anti-American slogans, hundreds of Somalis protested for peace in lawless Mogadishu yesterday after militia battles that killed 150 people - but a fresh attack claimed five more lives.
Civil groups called the protest after a week-long battle between militia linked to the Islamic courts which have imposed order on parts of Mogadishu through traditional Islamic law, and a self-styled anti-terror alliance of warlords. - (Reuters)
Seven killed in Russian blast
MOSCOW - Seven people, including a top policeman, were killed yesterday when a car exploded in the southern Russian region of Ingushetia.
Among the dead was Dzhabrail Kostoyev, deputy head of the interior ministry in Ingushetia, two of his guards and four civilians, a police spokesman said. - (Reuters)
Minister pressed on asylum-seeker
AMSTERDAM - The Dutch immigration minister was under pressure yesterday after parliament demanded she reverse her decision to strip a Somali-born lawmaker of citizenship.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an outspoken critic of Islam, said she was resigning on Tuesday after immigration minister Rita Verdonk, a member of her own VVD liberal party, told her she might lose her Dutch passport because she lied on her asylum application.
Ms Verdonk reluctantly accepted a demand by parliament to reconsider her decision within six weeks and said she would also look at any new request for citizenship immediately. - (Reuters)
600,000 flee typhoon in China
HONG KONG - China evacuated more than 600,000 people as the strongest typhoon on record to enter the South China Sea in May bore down on the south coast yesterday, causing flight and shipping delays.
Typhoon Chanchu, packing winds up to 170kph (106 mph), was forecast to make landfall northeast of Hong Kong after killing 37 people in the Philippines. - (Reuters)