A round-up of some of today's other world stories in brief...
SA summit seeks deal for Zimbabwe
JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwean opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai asked a summit of southern African leaders yesterday to set a deadline for a deal on forming a cabinet to end a deadlock threatening a powersharing deal.
Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe appeared optimistic that an agreement could be reached but Mr Tsvangirai warned of regional instability if the ruling party refused to loosen what he called its illegitimate grip on power. Highlighting growing regional impatience, South African president Kgalema Motlanthe said the deal offered the only hope for Zimbabwe to ease the economic crisis. - (Reuters)
Afghan airstrike killed 37 civilians
KABUL - A joint Afghan-US investigation has found that an airstrike last week killed 37 civilians and wounded 35 after Taliban militants used the victims' village as cover for an ambush, the US military said.
President Hamid Karzai said after the incident that mounting civilian casualties was the biggest source of tension with his main backer, the US. He called on President-elect Barack Obama to make it his priority to stop the killing of innocent bystanders. - (Reuters)
Iraqi bomb kills 5, wounds mayor
BAGHDAD - An explosion in a crowded market north of Baghdad yesterday killed five people and wounded at least seven, including the town's mayor, police said.
The bomb, planted on a motorcycle, targeted Uday al-Khadran, mayor of the town of Khalis, 80km north of Baghdad. He was severely wounded. - (Reuters)
Bin Laden's son arrives in Qatar
DUBAI - Osama bin Laden's son Omar and his British wife arrived in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday after being refused entry to Egypt, according to al- Jazeera television.
Omar bin Laden and his wife arrived on Saturday in Egypt from Madrid after the Spanish authorities refused his request for asylum.
Airport sources in Egypt said Omar bin Laden, who has not seen the al-Qaeda leader for many years and says he does not support violence, had asked to go to Qatar, where as a Saudi citizen he would have right of entry. - (Reuters)
Artist to give 1,000 works away
LONDON - A British artist is to give away 1,000 of his works by leaving them around London for anyone to find.
The Independent on Sundaysaid the works would be signed by the artist Adam Neate, whose pieces have fetched up to £43,000, and will be dotted around the city next Friday.
"It's always been a dream of mine to do a show around the whole of London, to take over the whole city in one go, Neate was quoted as saying. - (Reuters)