In Brief

KILLED – At least 13 people have died and dozens have been injured in a series of bomb blasts in a busy area in the south of the Iraqi capital.

About 75 people were reported injured when three explosions hit the mainly Christian Camp Sarah district. * HARSH WINTER – Nearly two million survivors of last year’s earthquake in Pakistan face a second winter without proper protection against the weather, Oxfam says.The aid agency says 1.8 million survivors are in makeshift accommodation and other temporary facilities.* MEETINGS – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as part of her Middle East tour.Rice says Palestinians “need a government that can engage the international community”, after sanctions which crippled the region.* KIDNAPPED – Five oil workers have been kidnapped in southern Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region, officials say.The three Britons, one Indonesian and one Romanian were reportedly abducted near the Exxon Mobil oil company’s offices in Eket town in Rivers state.* NO PAYOUT – A European Union court has rejected a claim for damages from a journalist who says he has been persecuted by the EU anti-fraud office, Olaf.Hans-Martin Tillack was arrested by Belgian police and his files were seized after he exposed wrongdoing at the EU statistics agency, Eurostat.* FLU VACCINATION – Scientists say they are developing an entirely new way of providing instant protection against flu.In preliminary tests, it was found to protect animals against various strains of the virus – and may also protect against future pandemic strains.BBC* HARSH WINTER – Nearly two million survivors of last year’s earthquake in Pakistan face a second winter without proper protection against the weather, Oxfam says.The aid agency says 1.8 million survivors are in makeshift accommodation and other temporary facilities. * MEETINGS – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to meet Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as part of her Middle East tour.Rice says Palestinians “need a government that can engage the international community”, after sanctions which crippled the region.* KIDNAPPED – Five oil workers have been kidnapped in southern Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta region, officials say.The three Britons, one Indonesian and one Romanian were reportedly abducted near the Exxon Mobil oil company’s offices in Eket town in Rivers state. * NO PAYOUT – A European Union court has rejected a claim for damages from a journalist who says he has been persecuted by the EU anti-fraud office, Olaf.Hans-Martin Tillack was arrested by Belgian police and his files were seized after he exposed wrongdoing at the EU statistics agency, Eurostat. * FLU VACCINATION – Scientists say they are developing an entirely new way of providing instant protection against flu.In preliminary tests, it was found to protect animals against various strains of the virus – and may also protect against future pandemic strains.BBC