Seoul  - Opposition lawmakers and security guards clashed in South Korea's parliament on Saturday during a sit-in by the members of parliament (MPs) and their supporters, according to media reports.

A scuffle erupted as more than 150 guards tried to clear the main meeting room of the National Assembly in Seoul of several lawmakers and their supporters.

The official Yonhap news agency said one MP and about 20 aides and guards were lightly injured.

Dhaka - Legislators elected to Bangladesh parliament were expected to take oath on the weekend as the country inches back to democratic rule, officials said Saturday.

Nairobi - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki Friday said he had signed into law a new media bill that many fear will curtail press freedom.

The bill, which has prompted a public outcry, allows the state to raid media houses, interfere with broadcasters' programming and take stations off the air.

Kibaki said that it was important to regulate the media, but promised that the new bill did not mean that the government wished to restrict the press.

"I wish to reiterate the commitment of my government to the ideals of press freedom and democracy and assure the media and the public in general that we shall not roll back on the gains we have made in this regard," he said.

Brussels  - The Belgian parliament on Friday approved a new government made up of the same five political parties that formed the last ruling coalition, bringing at least a temporary end to the country's long-running political instability.

Lawmakers approved the formation of the government by a majority of 88 votes to 45, with no abstentions, parliamentary officials confirmed.

Canberra, Jan. 2: Australia's Leader of Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull, has called on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to immediately reverse a decision to allow former Guantanamo Bay inmates to resettle in Australia.

Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull said on Macquarie Radio the situation was unacceptable.

"It''s only in this morning''s report in The Australian that the Rudd government has made clear that it will accept these inmates of Guantanamo Bay," he said.

Budapest  - Hungarian President Laszlo Solyom gave a sombre New Year's address on Thursday and called on the nation to find a way out of an economic and political crisis that, for Hungary, is well into its third year.

"We stand before an uncertain and critical year, and however regrettable it may be, it is not possible to give you a traditional New Year's greeting," said Solyom.

"In just a few years, after being a model country we are now bringing up the rear," Solyom said. As he spoke, Hungary's small neighbour to the north, Slovakia, was starting the year with a new currency, the euro.