Outraged Pakistani journalists have been confronting police on the streets since President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule three weeks ago and muzzled the vibrant media that blossomed under his rule.

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora assured his country on Saturday there was no cause for alarm and said his Cabinet was assuming executive powers in the absence of a president for the first time in nine years.

Turkish and US commanders on Saturday discussed measures against Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, while Turkey’s prime minister said the struggle against the separatists was at a “critical stage”.