A roundup of today's other stories in brief.
20 killed in three Baghdad explosions
BAGHDAD - Three back-to- back explosions killed 20 people and wounded more than 70 last night in a mostly Shia neighbourhood in southern Baghdad.
The first blast occurred when a rocket struck an apartment building in the Zafraniyah neighbourhood.
About 10 minutes later, a car bomb exploded as police and bystanders rushed to the scene. A bomb strapped to a motorcycle went off in the same area minutes later, police Lt Thaer Mahmoud said. - (AP)
Fires spread across Galicia
MADRID - Forest fires have spread across northwest Spain's Galicia province as hundreds of paratroopers joined the fight at the weekend to put out the blazes and police arrested more suspected arsonists.
Some 15,000 people and 60 aircraft were fighting the fires, which have killed four people in the last 10 days. More than 400 paratroopers were sent to Galicia on Saturday to protect airports, power stations and other key sites from arsonists. - (Reuters)
Indian soldiers kill three in Kashmir
SRINAGAR - Indian soldiers shot dead three members of a Pakistan-based militant group in a gun battle in Indian Kashmir. An army spokesman yesterday said the clash broke out on Saturday near the town of Handwara, 80km north of Srinagar. - (Reuters)
Tamil Tigers say talks impossible
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers say peace talks are impossible as the worst fighting since a 2002 truce raged in the island's north and the government demanded that rebel fighters surrender.
The government had said it received a message from the Tigers on Friday, hours before clashes erupted on the northern Jaffna peninsula, saying that they were keen to talk. - (Reuters)
Prague hosts Pluto planet puzzler
PRAGUE - Some 3,000 astronomers and scientists from around the world will meet in Prague this week to decide whether Pluto, discovered in 1930, measures up to the definition of a planet.
In defining for the first time what exactly a planet is, the International Astronomers Union may be forced to downgrade Pluto's status or add as many as 14 others. - (Reuters)
23 die in Iranian bus, truck crash
TEHRAN - A bus and a truck collided in Iran's southern province of Fars, killing 23 bus passengers, state television reported on yesterday. One person dies every 20 minutes on Iran's roads. - (Reuters)
Boy dies at Florida boot camp
FORT LAUDERDALE - Private boot camps for the children of wealthy parents who want them to attend "character-building" courses were under scrutiny at the weekend after a 13-year-old boy collapsed and died. The unnamed teenager died hours after taking part in a relay race in temperatures of 34 degrees at a Christian military academy. - (Guardian service)