Four people were killed in southeastern Iran when police put down a riot sparked by their shooting dead a motorcyclist who defied orders to stop, a local MP said today.

An e-mail written by a purported al-Qaida leader has warned the terrorist network is preparing to stage devastating attacks against Americans during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

ISLAMIC leaders will gather in Qatar tomorrow Wednesday for an emergency summit in yet another 11th-hour bid by a regional organisation to convince the US to forgo plans to invade and occupy Iraq.