A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Another four Somali junior officials resign
BAIDOA - Somalia's government continued to unravel yesterday with the resignation of another four top officials who cited the administration's reluctance to reach out to a rival Islamist movement.
The departure of four junior ministers brought to 34 the number of senior officials to have left the Western-backed but virtually powerless government in less than a week.
"We have resigned because the prime minister has refused reconciliation to go on between the government and the Islamic courts and all the Somalis," said Hirsi Adan Roble, an assistant minister who quit. - (Reuters)
Kidnapped Turk released in Iraq
ANKARA - A Turkish technician kidnapped in Iraq in June was released unharmed yesterday, the foreign ministry said.
Hasan Eskimutlu was kidnapped on June 14th. A video from the Imam Ali Battalion aired in June on al-Jazeera television showed a middle-aged man identified as Eskimutlu sitting next to a wall as a militant pointed an assault gun at his head.
He is expected to arrive in Turkey today. - (Reuters)
NY paper gets suspicious package
NEW YORK - The New York Times said yesterday that it had received a second envelope with a suspicious white powder and a stamp with a September 11th image, just weeks after a similar incident raised fears of an anthrax attack.
The substance was discovered by a mailroom worker on Monday and city authorities have determined that it was "nonhazardous", said Abbe Ruttenberg Serphos, a spokeswoman for the newspaper. - (Reuters)