World in brief

Pyongyang plans trip with Seoul

South Korea: Seoul has said that officials from North and South Korea will team up and travel to industrial zones in China and Vietnam next month.

The South's Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung said that the team would be comprised of 10 officials from each side and is expected to make a 10-day trip in December.

The two sides still have to work out further details, including which industrial zones to visit he added.

Military chopper missing in action

Afghanistan: A NATO spokesman has said that a helicopter belonging to a military contractor has disappeared in a remote area of Lograr province.

Major Steven Coll said that the Supreme Global Service Solutions helicopter had been missing since Tuesday.

He would not provide any information as to how many people were on board.

Georgia worried about Russia arms

France: Georgia has said that his country is worried about the sale of French warships to Russia.

Foreign Minister Grigol Vashadze said he intended to push for security guarantees from France.

Mr Vashadze also said that he planned to seek French support for closer Georgian ties with the European Union and with NATO.

Athens goes to NATO for help

Greece: A Greek official has said that his country has asked NATO to take a more active role in resolving an airspace dispute between his country and Turkey.

Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas said that he had told NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen that "the alliance should not passively observe the dispute."

The counties often carry out mock dogfights over the Aegean Sea.

Peshawar bomb blast injures 3

Pakistan: A roadside bomb targeting a police officer has exploded in the main north-western city of Peshawar injuring three people in the latest of a wave of attacks to strike the area since the army launched a major anti-Taliban offensive last month.

The bomb was detonated by remote control as local police chief Riaz Ulislam was passing by in his vehicle in a residential area of Peshawar near a school.

Suspected militants have carried out a wave of deadly attacks in and around Peshawar since the army launched a major offensive in mid-October in the South Waziristan tribal area, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.

PKK urges Turkey to seek peace

Turkey: A Kurdish rebel group has said that Turkey must start dialogue with the guerillas and their imprisoned leader for a peaceful solution to the conflict.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) said that a political solution was inevitable.

Turkey refuses to negotiate with the PKK or its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, but it has announced measures to reconcile with its minority Kurd population, including removing restrictions on the Kurdish language.

Policeman dies in Maoist attack

India: A policeman has died and six others were injured after Maoist rebels blew up a police jeep in eastern India, killing a policeman and six others.

A police official said the officer was killed instantly when the rebels set off explosives as the jeep he was riding in passed through a forested area in Jharkhand state where elections are about to take place.

The rebels have ordered a boycott of elections for the state legislature and have threatened to attack those involved in the process.

Baghdad violence leaves four dead

Iraq: Four people have been killed and at least 32 others wounded in two separate bombings south of Baghdad.

The first attack involved two home-made bombs that targeted a vegetable market in Mussayab, killing two people and injuring 26.

The second took place two hours earlier when a car bomb hit a suburban bus station in the Youssifiyah area.