A round-up of today's other world news, in brief ...
Abducted Germans freed in Yemen
SANAA - Yemeni tribesmen have released three Germans they had abducted earlier this week, a Yemeni government official said yesterday.
The three were handed over to government representatives, said the official without giving details.
The German foreign ministry in Berlin confirmed the release. "They are being looked after at the German Embassy in Sanaa," said German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in a statement. -(Reuters)
Release of Iraqi journalist sought
BAGHDAD - Muslim preachers from both sides of Iraq's once-bloody Sunni-Shia divide appealed to the government yesterday to release the journalist who threw his shoes at US President George Bush.
The family of TV reporter Muntazer al-Zaidi, meanwhile, protested at an entrance to the heavily-fortified Green Zone in Baghdad where they believe he is being held in a hospital after being badly injured during his arrest. -(Reuters)
Court acquits Turkish singer
ISTANBUL - A Turkish court has acquitted a popular Turkish transsexual singer over comments questioning a military campaign against Kurdish separatist guerrillas, state-run Anatolian news agency said.
Bulent Ersoy was tried on charges of "turning the people against military service" in a case that raised concerns about free speech in the European Union candidate. -(Reuters)
Germany to aid anti-pirate move
BERLIN - German deputies agreed yesterday to send up to 1,400 soldiers and a frigate to the Gulf of Aden as part of a European Union operation to fight pirates off the coast of Somalia.
The troops will take part in the first such naval operation organised by the EU, which aims to provide protection to ships delivering aid to Somalia and to civilian vessels. -(Reuters)
Woman left £7m to dog charities
Scotland - A dog-lover has left nearly all of her £7 million fortune to animal charities, it was revealed yesterday.
Retired pathologist Grace Smith divided her estate among several charities, with a reported £3.5 million going to the Dogs Trust. -(PA)
Czech cabinet rejects army plan
PRAGUE - Czech deputies rejected a plan to extend and expand the Czech military presence in Afghanistan yesterday, rebuffing US demands for Nato nations to do more to combat worsening insurgent violence there.
The cabinet fell two short of the 101 votes it needed in the 200-seat lower house of parliament. -(Reuters)
Multi-killer freed from German jail
STUTTGART - Christian Klar, a former member of the Red Army Faction, was released from jail yesterday after spending 26 years in prison for his part in a wave of killings that shook Germany in the 1970s.
Klar (56) was released on parole from Bruchsal prison in southern Germany, the relevant ministry said. He was convicted in 1985 of nine murders and 11 counts of attempted murder. -(Reuters)
Spain tightens immigration laws
MADRID - Spain proposed changes to immigration laws yesterday to limit an influx of foreigners as it faces recession and the highest unemployment rate in the European Union. -(Reuters)