Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, general secretary of
the Organization of Islamic Conference, on Wednesday condemned last
Sunday's US attack inside Syria as Damascus took issue with Saudi
Arabia's official silence on the issue.

In a declaration from OIC headquarters in Jeddah, Ihsanoglu held
the US responsible in the deaths of innocent civilians in Sunday's
helicopter-borne commando raid on a remote Syrian border region village
in which the US said it killed an Iraqi militant.

Syria's state-run media said eight civilians, including four children, were killed in the raid.

The incident has meanwhile further increased tensions between Syria
- and ally of Iran - and Saudi Arabia as Damascus has taken offense to

Vienna  - Austrian Airlines AG will receive up to 500 million euros (625 million dollars) from its public owner after closing a deal to privatize the ailing flag carrier, the Austrian government decided Wednesday.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Russian domestic carrier S7 Airlines have both submitted bids for the 42.75-per-cent stake that is currently held by Austria's state holding OeIAG.

However, S7 announced Wednesday that its offer was non-binding.

Mogadishu - Five suicide bomb attacks, including one on an Ethiopian embassy and one on a United Nations compound, rocked Somalia Wednesday, witnesses and the UN said.

Witness Farhaan Omaye told Deutsche Presse Agentur dpa that three near-simultaneous bombs went off in in Hargeysa, in the breakaway northern state of Somaliland.

The Ethiopian embassy and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) compound were targeted, as was Somaliland's presidential palace.

Amman - A Jordanian delegation is expected to make efforts to mend diplomatic fences with Syria during a visit Wednesday.

The delegation of ranking Jordanian officials departed Wednesday to relay a message from King Abdullah II to the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on "issues of mutual interest," a royal court statement said.

Jordan's king is interested in improving ties with Damascus after strained relations over the past few years, analysts say. Part of the strain comes from Jordan's efforts to stay in the good graces of the United States, which has often pressured the country to take pro- Western stances that have, at times, hurt relations with Syria.

Paris - A trader believed to have been responsible for a loss of 751 million euros (954 million dollars) to the French bank Caisse d'Epargne has been taken into police custody, France Info radio reported on Wednesday.

No details were available regarding the trader's identity or the charges he may face.

The loss was reported by in mid-October and incurred the wrath of President Nicolas Sarkozy, who demanded that the bank's senior managers "take responsibility." As a result, Caisse d'Epargne head Charles Milhaud and two other highly placed executives resigned.

Berlin  - Germany offered cash aid to Islamabad on Wednesday after the earthquake in Pakistan.