OBITUARY.Turkmen leader died of cardiac arrest. Turkmen President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov has died, Turkmenistan state-controlled television said yesterday confirming an earlier report from a government source.

?Turkmenbashi (Head of the Turkmen) the Great has died,? said a news presenter on Turkmen state-controlled television. He said the 66-year-old leader had died of a sudden cardiac arrest. The TV ran still images of a national flag in a black-bordered frame.

TERRORISM. Australia warns of Christmas attacks in Indonesia. Australia yesterday warned of possible militant attacks in Indonesia over the Christmas and New Year period, mirroring a US warning issued this week.

Indonesia, the world?s most populous Muslim country, has in recent years been hit by a series of bomb blasts blamed on Islamic militants. ?There is a credible threat of terrorist attack in Indonesia during the Christmas and New Year period,? Australia?s Department of Foreign Affairs warned citizens in a travel security warning. ?Large gatherings of people over the holiday season may be appealing targets for terrorists.? Most attacks against Western targets have taken place in the capital Jakarta and on the resort island of Bali, where 92 Australians died in two separate bombings in 2002 and 2005.

GABON. Ruling party maintains majority in poll. The ruling coalition backing Gabon?s President Omar Bongo, Africa?s longest-serving leader, maintained its parliamentary majority in an election last weekend, preliminary results showed yesterday.

Bongo?s Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG) won 74 seats in the 120-member National Assembly, down from the 91 held previously, a member of the national election commission said. But the loss was expected to be compensated by gains by allied parties.

AFGHANISTAN. Roadside bomb kills four . A roadside bomb aimed at a senior Afghan police officer killed at least four civilians yesterday and wounded four others and the policeman, police said.

The remote-controlled blast happened on a bridge on the main highway just south of the western city of Herat bordering Iran. No further details were immediately available. Herat is generally considered one of the safest parts of Afghanistan in the bloodiest year since the Taliban were ousted in 2001. More than 4,000 people have been killed in fighting this year, a quarter of them civilians.

SENEGAL. Gunmen kill two soldiers in Casamance. Gunmen believed to be separatist rebels opened fire on a military vehicle in Senegal?s southern Casamance region, killing two soldiers and wounding 14 others, the army in the West African country said yesterday. The attack happened on Wednesday near the village of Boutolate, some 40 km (25 miles) from the regional capital, Ziguinchor, when the soldiers were heading out on a de-mining mission, army spokesman Colonel Antoine Wardini said.

?An armed group opened fire towards the vehicle, killing two soldiers. The vehicle left the main road and hit trees. Fourteen other soldiers were injured,? he said. The Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) took up arms against the government in the former French colony in 1982, accusing it of neglecting the region, sandwiched between Gambia and Guinea-Bissau and cut off from the rest of Senegal. The violence in the fertile province, whose white sand beaches are Senegal?s main tourist attraction, has generally been low-level but a string of peace moves has failed to rein in rebel hardliners. The attack came as the army began the process of removing landmines laid by both government troops and rebels over the past two decades. Senegal has pledged to remove all mines on its soil by March 2009 but progress has been slow.

Three soldiers were injured this week during a de-mining operation and a Swiss-American Red Cross worker was killed in September when her vehicle hit a suspected mine. Experts say almost 800 people have been maimed by mines during the conflict.

IRAN. Ahmadinejad opponents win elections. Opponents of Iran?s ultra-conservative president won nationwide elections for local councils, final results confirmed yesterday, an embarrassing outcome for the hardline leader that could force him to change his anti-Western tone and focus more on problems at home.Moderate conservatives critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won a majority of seats in last week?s elections, followed by reformists who were suppressed by hard-liners two years ago. Analysts said the president?s allies won less than 20 percent of local council seats across the country.

The vote was widely seen as a sign of public discontent with Ahmadinejad?s stances, which have fueled fights with the West and led Iran closer to UN sanctions.

Ahmadinejad?s anti- Israel rhetoric and staunch stand on Iran?s nuclear program are believed to have divided the conservatives who voted him into power. Some conservatives feel Ahmadinejad has spent too much time confronting the West and failed to deal with Iran?s struggling economy.