A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Seven killed in Turkish bomb blast
DIYARBAKIR, Turkey -A bomb blast killed seven people when it ripped through a street in the southeast Turkish city of Diyarbakir yesterday, police reported. They said the explosion occurred near a park in the city in the mainly Kurdish southeast of the country. Fourteen people were injured. - (Reuters)
51 killed in election stampede
ADEN - At least 51 people were killed and 238 injured yesterday after a stampede in a Yemeni stadium where President Ali Abdullah Saleh was holding a pre-election rally. "The president promised to compensate the families who lost a relative today. They will receive monthly salaries," said an official. -(Reuters)
Iran promises to back al-Maliki rule
TEHRAN - Iran's president pledged undying support for Baghdad's new government yesterday, telling Iraq's visiting prime minister and fellow Shia Nuri al-Maliki that Tehran would help him end the violence at home.
The US, wary of the relationship building between its Iranian adversaries and Iraqi leaders brought to power by the US invasion, again accused Tehran of funding "terrorists" in Iraq and said its biggest contribution would be to stop. -(Reuters)
Firebomb disrupts Swedish hustings
STOCKHOLM - Swedish police evacuated a square in the southern city of Malmö yesterday after finding a firebomb near a political party's election booth. Meanwhile, fresh polls showed the ruling Social Democrats of premier Göran Persson and his allies just behind the opposition bloc ahead of Sunday's election. - (Reuters)
Ex-policemen on gang rape charges
PARIS - Seven French former policemen have been charged with gang-raping prostitutes and ordered to stand trial, a judicial source said yesterday. The case dates back to 2003 when the men were members of the CRS riot squad. Prosecutors believe the group forced foreign prostitutes, who were illegally in France, to have sex with them in return for not arresting them. - (Reuters)
Spanish ban on ultra-thin models
MADRID - The world's first ban on overly thin models at a top-level fashion show in Madrid has caused outrage among modelling agencies.
Madrid's fashion week turned away underweight models. Organisers say they want to project an image of beauty and health, rather than a waif-like, or "heroin chic" look. - (Reuters)
Nepal seeks €2.6 for flood victims
GENEVA - Nepal has appealed for €2.6 million to rebuild homes and provide food and other aid items for tens of thousands of flood victims, the UN said.
At least 50 people were killed in late August by flash floods and landslides in western Nepal. - (Reuters)
Young suicides on rise in China
BEIJING - Suicide has become the number one cause of death among young people aged between 15 and 34 in China, where 250,000 people kill themselves a year, state media reported yesterday. Nearly 685 people commit suicide every day in China and at least two million try to kill themselves every year. - (Reuters)
Madonna defies Russian Christians
MOSCOW - Madonna sang suspended from a cross during her first Moscow concert yesterday, defying a plea from the Russian Orthodox Church to drop that part of her act because it was blasphemous. The 48-year-old pop star has outraged Christians across Europe by staging a mock crucifixion. - (Reuters)