A round up of today's other world stories in brief
Four killed by bomb in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD - Four people have been killed in a bomb blast in Pakistan's northwest while police earlier foiled planned suicide attacks on the capital Islamabad and neighbouring Rawalpindi.
A bomb exploded yesterday in a deserted area in the town of Dera Ismail Khan without causing damage but, as police and civilians gathered at the scene, another bomb exploded that killed four, including two policemen. Nine people were wounded.
Dera Ismail Khan is close to South Waziristan tribal region, a known sanctuary for al-Qaeda and its allies.
On Thursday, police arrested six people and seized three vehicles packed with explosives in Rawalpindi. - (Reuters)
London showcase investigated
LONDON - Police are investigating alleged financial irregularities involving a Caribbean Showcase event partly organised by Lee Jasper, an adviser to former London mayor Ken Livingstone.
A spokesman for the Greater London Authority said Scotland Yard had been asked to investigate after an employee queried the funding of the event. The showcase was seen as a rival to the world-famous Notting Hill Carnival and took place in Hyde Park on the same weekend.
Funding for the event was examined by the Forensic Audit Panel of new London mayor Boris Johnson, which flagged it up for further investigation. - (PA)
Darfur refugees in protection plea
GOZ BEIDA - Refugees from conflict in Sudan's Darfur and Chad have appealed to visiting UN Security Council envoys for more international protection so they can return home.
On the sixth day of a 10-day tour of African conflict spots, the ambassadors travelled to Goz Beida in eastern Chad to visit United Nations-run camps sheltering Sudanese refugees from Darfur and Chadian civilians displaced by violence. - (Reuters)
Estate agents to lose their jobs
LONDON - Almost 15,000 estate agents in Britain could lose their jobs over the next two years as a result of the global credit crunch.
Estate agents were part of an estimated 40,000 people working in Britain's business services sector, including accountants and consultants, who are predicted to lose their jobs, the Centre for Economics and Business Research found.
Predicting the sector would have a "tough couple of years", the centre said the loss of estate agents was equivalent to the sector losing about 5 per cent of its workforce. - (Reuters)