A BOMB exploded yesterday in a predominantly Shiite area southeast of Baghdad, killing eight people and wounding 13 others, police and hospital officials said.

The blast, which occurred at 7.30am in Jisr Diyala, targeted restaurants frequented by government employees and construction workers, according to officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to release the information.

Last Wednesday, eight people were killed and 24 injured when a bomb struck the same area.

Suicide blast kills 4 outside US base

A SUICIDE bomber detonated explosives at the entrance to a US base in Afghanistan yesterday, killing three soldiers and one Afghan civilian, a US official said. No Americans were injured in the attack. It was not immediately clear if the bomber had been trying to gain entry to the base.

Beverly Hills Diet author dies aged 63

JUDY Mazel, US author of 1981 bestseller The Beverly Hills Diet, has died aged 63. Mazel died on 12 October from peripheral vascular disease, said close friend Victoria Marechal. Mazel's weightloss regime advocated eating one type of food at a time. The Beverly Hills Diet told dieters to avoid combining carbohydrates and proteins in the same meal and to only eat fruit for the first 10 days.