A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Al-Qaeda chief visited madrasa
KHAR - Al-Qaeda Number Two Ayman al-Zawahri was a past visitor to a madrasa destroyed by a Pakistan army helicopter attack, but he was not there when the missiles struck on Monday, senior Pakistani security officials said.
More than 15,000 armed Pakistani tribesmen protested yesterday over the attack on the al-Qaeda-linked religious school that killed around 80 suspected militants.
Chants of "Down with America" and "Down with Musharraf" rang out as the tribesmen protested in Khar, the main town in the Bajaur tribal region close to the Afghan border. - (Reuters)
Fury at Khatami visit to Scotland
ST ANDREWS - The former president of Iran flew into a political storm yesterday as he arrived at a British university to be awarded an honorary degree.
Mohammad Khatami was met with protests as he visited St Andrews University to receive his degree, deliver a speech and open its Institute for Iranian Studies.
His visit has provoked fury from human rights organisations and politicians. - (PA)
Eight die after drinking alcohol
RIGA - Eight people have died in Latvia after drinking the same home-made alcohol laced with disinfectant and furniture polish that put hundreds in hospital in Russia. Latvian police said yesterday 69 people were in hospital and some were critically ill. - (Reuters)
Iraq to extend security force goal
WASHINGTON - US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said Iraq was expected to build up its security force beyond the goal of 325,000, as high levels of violence persist in the country. Mr Rumsfeld said he had received recommendations from Iraq's government and Gen George Casey, the top US commander in the country, to boost the size and speed up training of the forces.
Meanwhile, a car bomb ripped through a wedding procession in northeastern Baghdad yesterday, killing at least 15 people, including four children. Another 19 people were wounded when the blast struck a convoy of vehicles celebrating the wedding in the religiously mixed district of Ur. - (Reuters)
N Korea to return to nuclear talks
BEIJING - North Korea agreed yesterday to return to six-party talks on dismantling its atomic weapons just weeks after staging its first nuclear test, drawing cautious welcome from President George Bush and Asian powers. - (Reuters)