¤ Germany added European weight to US displeasure with Iran's reply to proposals by world powers in a nuclear standoff, saying Tehran's insistence on enriching uranium hindered a negotiated solution. Two Iranian academics, one of whom has had close ties to the government, listed questions they said Iran had posed about what it saw as vagueness in an offer from six big powers of trade and technology incentives to stop nuclear fuel work.

¤ The top US general in the Middle East praised a major security clampdown in Baghdad and said Iraq was far from civil war. On a day when three car bombs and two roadside bombs killed four people and wounded 24 in the capital, General John Abizaid told reporters: "I think there has been great progress on the security front in Baghdad recently. We are very optimistic that the situation will stabilise."

¤ Adult women can buy a "morning-after" contraceptive without a prescription, US health officials said after a three-year political battle over wider access.

Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s Plan B must stay behind pharmacy counters, the Food and Drug Administration said. Women must show proof they are at least 18 to buy the emergency contraceptive pills without a prescription, and younger girls still need a doctor's order.

¤ British authorities charged a 12th suspect yesterday over a suspected plot to blow up US-bound airliners. Umair Hussain, 24, was charged with failing to give information that could have prevented a terrorist attack, police said.