A round-up of today's other world news in brief ...
Five guilty of conspiring to kill US soldiers
CAMDEN - Five men were convicted yesterday of conspiracy to kill US soldiers in a planned attack on an army base in New Jersey that prosecutors described as a bid to wage Islamist holy war against the US.
The five foreign-born defendants were found not guilty on charges of attempted murder after an eight-week trial. - (Reuters)
Royal butler jailed for paedophilia
LONDON - A former royal butler was jailed for at least six years yesterday after being convicted of paedophilia. Paul Kidd (55), who was a senior footman to the queen mother between 1979 and 1984 and also worked for the queen, pleaded guilty to nine counts of indecent assault and six counts of sexual activity with a child. - (Reuters)
Hoard of ancient gold coins found
JERUSALEM - Excavations have unearthed a hoard of gold coins under a car park beside the ancient walls of Jerusalem.
Archaeologists said the 264 coins, in the ruins of a building dating to about the 7th century, was one of the largest hoards uncovered in Jerusalem. - (Reuters)
Life in jail for Tibet NGO worker
BEIJING - A Chinese court has jailed a Tibetan who worked for a non-governmental organisation for life for passing on information about the situation in the restless region to the outside world, according to the International Campaign for Tibet, a rights group. - (Reuters)
OSCE set to start Georgia pullout
VIENNA - The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said yesterday it would start shutting down its mission in Georgia on January 1st after Russia blocked a proposal to extend it in a standoff over the status of the breakaway South Ossetia region. - (Reuters)
Court protection for Kirsten Dunst
LOS ANGELES - Hollywood actor Kirsten Dunst yesterday won court protection from a man she says recently trespassed at her home. Judge Richard E Rico granted her request to order Christopher R Smith (25) to stay away from her, her personal assistant and any place they work. - (AP)
France stages attack exercise
PARIS - French security forces staged an exercise yesterday designed to test how they would respond to a series of co-ordinated attacks in several major cities, based on last month's attacks in Mumbai. The emergency services went through a scenario of seven attacks within 45 minutes of each other. - (Reuters)
Man joins 'lonely' polar bear
BERLIN - A man (37) climbed into the enclosure of Berlin's celebrity polar bear yesterday, but escaped unharmed when zookeepers distracted Knut the bear with a piece of meat, police said.
"The man said he thought the polar bear was sad and lonely, and he wanted to keep him company," said a police spokeswoman. - (Reuters)