A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Saddam given counsellor for hunger strike
BAGHDAD - Saddam Hussein is receiving psychiatric counselling to convince him to start eating again after 12 days on hunger strike in a US military prison.
Saying that the 69-year-old ousted Iraqi president was still refusing food but taking liquid nourishment, a US spokesman said such counselling was part of additional daily medical care for inmates who risked damaging their health by their actions. - (Reuters)
Islamist militia advance on capital
MOGADISHU - Heavily armed Islamist militia who control the capital advanced towards the seat of Somalia's interim administration yesterday, stoking fears of conflict and leading the government to put its troops on alert. "We see it as aggression towards government-controlled areas and the people who support us," said prime minister Ali Mohamed Gedi. - (Reuters)
20 killed as building collapses
LAGOS - Twenty people were killed and many were trapped in the ruins of a four-storey building in Nigeria's largest city Lagos yesterday after it collapsed overnight, the Red Cross and residents said.
"So far 50 people have been rescued alive and 20 confirmed dead," Red Cross officer Umar Mairiga said. "We are still hopeful that more people will be brought out alive as rescue work progresses." - (Reuters)
Yushchenko rival proposed for PM
KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko's "Orange Revolution" rival has been proposed as Ukraine's prime minister, the president's office said yesterday, six days before a deadline to form a government or face new elections.
A new opposition coalition made up of the president's adversaries has proposed as premier Viktor Yanukovich, the Moscow-backed politician who lost the 2004 presidential race to Mr Yushchenko in the aftermath of the revolution's mass protests. - (Reuters)
Pakistan takes stations off air
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has taken 156 FM radio stations off the air to stop the spread of religious extremism and anti-state sentiments, notably among Pashtun tribes near the Afghan border, a spokesman for the regulator said yesterday.
The raids have been conducted by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulating Authority (PEMRA), working in tandem with local officials in the semi-autonomous tribal areas during the last six months.- (Reuters)
Seoul warning over North Korea
SEOUL - South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun yesterday condemned North Korea for potentially sparking an arms race with its recent missile launches, but cautioned other countries against provocative responses.
"North Korea's missile launches are wrong behaviours that not only violate peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and increase tension, but spark an arms race that doesn't help anyone," Mr Roh told security officials. - (AP)