La Paz, Bolivia  - The conflict between left-wing populist President Evo Morales and five of the opposition-dominated provinces of Bolivia escalated Wednesday.

Looters overpowered national police to invade major telephone and television facilities in the large Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a day after tax-collection offices were targeted, Bolivian television ATB reported.

Berlin  - Lower Saxony may buy 5 per cent more of carmaker Volkswagen if the state fails to win its battle with the European Union over special voting rights at the company, Premier Christian Wulff said Wednesday.

The European Union resumed Tuesday its assault on Lower Saxony's claim to special veto rights through its 20.1-per-cent stake in the carmaker. German corporate law normally reserves such rights to a shareholder with 25 per cent or more of a company.

Seoul  - What is Kim Jong Il's true state of health? North Korea's eccentric leader is the subject of speculation yet again. According to South Korean and American intelligence services, he is seriously ill and may have suffered a stroke.

North Korea has denied reports that Kim is ill; a high-ranking North Korean diplomat was quoted by the Japanese news agency Kyodo as saying they were part of a conspiracy.

Washington  - The United States expressed concern Tuesday about the health of Myanmar democratic activist Aung San Suu Kyi, who reportedly began a hunger strike last month to protest years of detention.

"The regime's continued isolation and detention under house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi makes it impossible to confirm reports such as these," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

"The United States and the international community remain deeply concerned about her welfare."

Wellington  - New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters was facing the battle of his political life on Wednesday after an expatriate billionaire benefactor gave damning testimony to Parliament's powerful privileges committee.

Owen Glenn, who lives in Monaco, flew home to tell the committee on Tuesday that Peters personally asked him for money to help pay legal fees after the 2005 general election and he donated 100,000 New Zealand dollars (about 66,000 US dollars).

Beirut  - Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman has set September 16 as the date for launching a national dialogue among the country's political rivals, a government source said Tuesday.

The talks will take place in the Baabda Presidential Palace and are aimed at generating a consensus between the country's major parliamentary factions - namely the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed ruling majority - on several controversial issues.

A major sticking point is the proposed disarmament of Hezbollah by the ruling majority.