Geneva  - The United Nations Refugee Agency said Friday that in recent weeks some 40,000 displaced Somalis have returned to the war ravaged capital Mogadishu as the areas elsewhere in the country where they sought refuge had become too violent and were being hit by drought.

"Somalis are between a rock and a hard place," said William Spindler, a spokesman for UNHCR.

The UN warned that it was "not encouraging returns to Mogadishu at this juncture, as the security situation is volatile and the conditions are certainly not conducive."

New York  - The US government and Citigroup Inc have cut a deal on the government substantially increasing its stake in the ailing bank, the Treasury announced Friday.

Under the agreement, the government will own as much as 36 per cent of the bank's shares in exchange for better access to Treasury funds, which could help Citigroup avoid bankruptcy.

The part-nationalization of what was once the world's largest bank has fuelled speculation that more financial institutions could face a similar government takeover.

Dublin  - An armed gang escaped with up to 6.2 million euros (7.9 million dollars) in a raid on an Irish bank in central Dublin after kidnapping an employee and family members, including a five- year-old girl, police said Friday.

The six-strong gang forced the worker into a central branch of the Bank of Ireland in Dublin as they held his girlfriend, her mother and her five-year-old granddaughter at gunpoint.

Dhaka  - The death toll in the Bangladesh troop mutiny rose to 62 Friday with rescuers recovering more bodies of army officers from headquarters the paramilitary border guards in central Dhaka.

The rescue teams retrieved 38 bodies, including that of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) chief Major General Shakil Ahmed, from a mass grave inside the compound.

Berne  - Jean-Pierre Roth, chairman of the Swiss National Bank, said Friday he would retire at the end of the year, having served in the role since 2001. He named no successor.

Roth, who worked for the bank for three decades, will step down in midst of a global economic crisis, which has also hit Switzerland, particularly as it is an exporting nation and relies on a financial sector that makes up an estimated 12 per cent of GDP.

Many observers have commended Roth's monetary policy during the onset of the financial woes and as it turned into an economic crisis.

British bishop Richard Williamson found himself back in the centre of controversy Friday despite a statement he issued expressing an apology over his Holocaust statements, with the Vatican calling it inadequate and Germany speaking about seeking his extradition.

Williamson, now residing at an undisclosed location in Britain after his expulsion from Argentina on Wednesday, had published a statement on the website of the British arm of the ultra-conservative Society of Saint Pius X expressing "regrets" about the "harm and hurt" which his Holocaust denial remarks had caused.