A round-up of other world news in brief
US army foils Islamist tunnel bomb plan
BAGHDAD - US forces said they foiled a plan by Iraqi militants to bomb a government building using a tunnel.
US forces detained two suspected militants on Monday when they searched a bakery in the city of Mosul, 390km north of Baghdad.
They discovered a tunnel they said was part of a plan by al-Qaeda to bomb the provincial government headquarters in Nineveh province, where Mosul is located. Mosul police said the tunnel began underneath the bakery. - (Reuters)
Iran expels Saudi TV bureau chief
DUBAI - Iran is expelling the bureau chief of Al Arabiya television in Tehran after accusing the Saudi-owned network of bias.
An official at Iran's culture and Islamic guidance ministry said Hassan Fahs had not been expelled but he had been declared "persona non grata" and would have to leave as soon as possible.
Arabiya carried a report last month about plans for an Egyptian film called Imam of Blood that would criticise Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic. The proposed film has sparked protests in Iran. - (Reuters)
Work suspended on cheapest car
MUMBAI - India's Tata Motors said violent protests had forced it to suspend all work at a plant in eastern India where it planned to make the Nano - billed as the world's cheapest car - and consider alternative sites.
The automaker said it cancelled work at the site in Singur, an hour's drive from West Bengal capital Kolkata, for the past five days due to threats from protesters, who have been led by a regional opposition party.
The dispute reflects a larger standoff between industry in India and farmers unwilling to part with land in a country where two-thirds of the billion-plus population depend on agriculture. - (Reuters)
Gadafy assault charge dropped
GENEVA - Two domestic workers who filed assault charges against Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy's son in Switzerland, sparking a diplomatic row, have withdrawn their complaint, their lawyer said.
"My clients have decided to withdraw the criminal complaint," Francois Membrez said. "Their interests were safeguarded in so far as they were correctly compensated. They were recognised as victims and their suffering was acknowledged."
Motassim Bilal Gadafy, known as Hannibal, and his wife Aline were charged with ill-treatment of their two employees in Geneva in July after staff at a luxury hotel alerted police to repeated arguments. - (Reuters)
German soldier investigated
BERLIN - German prosecutors are investigating a German soldier on suspicion of manslaughter after an Afghan woman and two children were shot dead at a checkpoint last week.
The three Afghan civilians were killed when security forces, including German troops, opened fire on a vehicle at the checkpoint near Kunduz. Germany's defence ministry has said two civilian vehicles had stopped at the checkpoint but the forces fired warning shots when one of the vehicles started moving. - (Reuters)