BRITAIN: Mr Paul Burrell will earn more than £400,000 from selling his story to the Daily Mirror and Granada Television, putting at risk the public support he has enjoyed since the collapse of his trial.
Diana's former butler has concluded a deal worth about £300,000 for interviews with the Mirror, and will be paid more than £100,000 to appear on Tonight with Trevor McDonald this Sunday.
The Mirror emerged as the victor in a fierce bidding war for Mr Burrell's story after the former butler turned down an offer of £1 million from News International, publishers of the Sun and the News of the World. - (Guardian Service)
US votes today in Congress elections
On the last day of the battle for control of the US Congress, President Bush went through Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas yesterday. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 34 of 100 Senate seats and 36 state governorships are at stake today in an election which could decide power in Congress and the fate of Mr Bush's policy proposals and judicial nominations heading into the 2004 White House race. - (Reuter)
Warship attack suspect killed
A car explosion in Yemen has killed six alleged members of Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda, including a key suspect in the attack on the US warship Cole in Aden two years ago.
Arabic television channel al-Jazeera quoted witnesses yesterday as saying a helicopter had blown up the car on Sunday. Witnesses said they saw an army helicopter in the air at the time of the blast but could not confirm it had attacked the car. - (Reuters)
Russians search for 'suicide fighters'
Russian forces hunted "suicide fighters" in Chechnya yesterday as they broadened a drive to stop guerrilla resistance in response to the Moscow theatre siege. Interfax quoted unnamed police sources in Chechnya as saying officials expected car bombs and suicide attacks in the capital Grozny and the second city Gudermes.
The news agency gave no details, but its report followed Sunday's warning by Defence Minister Mr Sergei Ivanov that intelligence reports suggested suicide fighters were being trained in Chechen settlements. - (Reuters)
Milosevic trial is adjourned
Mr Slobodan Milosevic's war-crimes trial has been adjourned until at least next week because of the former Yugoslav president's poor health, the UN court said yesterday. - (Reuters)
Call for end of travel warnings
A summit of south-east Asian nations demanded yesterday that the rest of the world stop issuing warnings against travel to a region which depends on tourism for large amounts of revenue. However, the US is among several Western countries which have warned of threats to their nationals in the region following last month's Bali blasts which killed 180 people. - (Reuters)
Government is dissolved
Senegalese President Mr Abdoulaye Wade has dissolved the government, national television said yesterday, amid speculation that the move is linked to the ferry tragedy in September which cost 1,000 lives.
"Prime Minister Mame Madior Boye has been relieved of her functions, as have, in consequence, the members of her government," RTS television said during its midday news broadcast. - (AFP)
Rebels threaten to leave peace talks
Rebels in the Ivory Coast threatened yesterday to pull out of peace talks in Togo unless government negotiators agreed to address all their political demands. However the government said the rebels were looking for an excuse to scuttle West African mediated talks aimed at ending a war which has threatens the region. - (Reuters)