THE leaders of South Korea and China have expressed "profound concern" over rising tensions created by North Korea's recent missile launches, the office of South Korean president Roh Moohyun said.

Roh and Chinese president Hu Jintao also agreed during a phone call on Friday to step up diplomatic efforts to defuse the missile crisis, said Sun Mi-ra, a spokeswoman for Roh.

Tensions in the region have spiked after North Korea testfired seven missiles on 5 July against international objections.

Woman gets two years for head in bag

A HAITIAN woman has been sentenced to two years of probation for carrying a human skull in her luggage into the US.

The remains were found when Myrlene Severe, 30, a permanent US resident, arrived at Fort LauderdaleHollywood International Airport in February from Haiti. She told authorities she intended to use it as part of her Voodoo beliefs.

She faced up to 15 years in prison after being charged with smuggling a human head into the US without proper documentation, failure to declare the head and transporting hazardous material in air commerce.

Foreign flags illegal again post-World Cup

BANGLADESH police ordered soccer fans to pull down flags of World Cup contenders two weeks after the finals concluded in Germany.

"Flying flags of other countries is illegal but we allowed it considering that the World Cup was a special occasion, " the police said in a statement. Thousands of flags, mostly those of Brazil and Argentina, are still flying in the capital, Dhaka.