Thousands of mourners including Islamic militants carrying assault rifles and bandoliers attended a funeral service today in a Pakistani tribal village for a Taliban fighter allegedly killed in a Nato raid in neighbouring Afghanistan, witnesses said.

A fire raced through a slum in the Bangladeshi capital early today, destroying about 700 huts and leaving nearly 3,000 people homeless.

A CLOSE associate of Saddam Hussein was quoted yesterday as saying that the deposed president was safe in Iraq, preparing to organise resistance to US-led occupation forces.

LIKE a latter-day Anne Frank, an ordinary resident of Baghdad has emerged as the voice of his beleaguered nation, posting a vivid daily account of life in the Iraqi capital on the internet.