By Abdi Sheikh MOGADISHU (Reuters) - Islamist militants carried out a deadly assault on the main U.N. compound in the Somali capital on Wednesday, dealing a blow to fragile security gains that have allowed a slow return of foreign aid workers and diplomats. The assault, claimed by Islamist group al Shabaab, began before midday when a car bomb exploded outside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) base. Rebel gunmen forced their way into the compound and fought with security guards.

By Asher Levine SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Demonstrators blocked a major highway and other roads in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, crippling transportation in Brazil's largest city and financial hub, in an ongoing wave of protests against poor public services, inflation and police violence.

The Taliban office opened in Doha to facilitate peace talks does not carry the name of the "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," as it appeared earlier, Qatar said on Wednesday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai denounced as a provocation the use of the formal name of the Islamist movement's government from 1996 until it was toppled in 2001. "The office that was opened in Doha yesterday is the political office of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and is not the political office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Qatar's foreign ministry said, quoted by QNA state news agency.

Smog levels in Singapore hit a record high on Wednesday as raging forest fires from neighbouring Indonesia triggered a major health alarm and sent residents of the densely populated city-state scrambling for face masks. Singapore's air pollutant index soared past the government-designated "hazardous" level of 300 before midnight as officials in both countries desperately sought a solution to the environmental crisis.