Three suspected Al-Qaeda members were planning a bomb attack when they were arrested last Friday, German officials said yesterday.
Law enforcement officials said the trio had not selected a specific target, but were experimenting with bomb-making.
They told a news conference in Karlsruhe that one suspect mentioned that he wanted to “do a bus”.
They also said one of the suspects had trained in a militant camp in Waziristan, near the Afghan-Pakistan border, and returned to carry out the attack.
The suspects being held are a Moroccan, a German with Moroccan citizenship, and a German with Iranian citizenship.
Mugabe in Romefor beatification
Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has arrived in Rome, sidestepping a European Union travel ban because he is attending Pope John Paul II’s beatification, being held in Vatican City tomorrow.
Mr Mugabe’s government is accused of human rights violations.
In 2005, he was heavily criticised for attending the Pope’s funeral in St Peter’s Square. The EU ban does not apply to the Vatican.
On that occasion, the Prince of Wales shook Mr Mugabe’s hand, but later said he had been caught by surprise when the African leader leaned over to offer his hand.
Mr Mugabe’s flight arrived at Leonardo da Vinci airport today, where he then passed through the VIP lounge.
Since the Pope’s funeral, he has been to Rome for UN food summits in 2008 and 2009.
Mubarak ‘could face death penalty’
Ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak could face the death penalty if he is convicted of ordering the shooting of protesters during the uprisings which brought him down, the country’s justice minister said today.
Mohammed el-Guindi told the daily Al-Ahram newspaper that Mr Mubarak, his two sons and wife are also facing allegations of corruption.
He added that former first lady Suzanne Mubarak will be questioned for the first time in a few days over her illicit amassing of wealth.
Mr El-Guindi blamed Mr Mubarak for the country’s widespread corruption during his almost 30-year rule. Mr Mubarak, 82, stepped down in February and was placed under arrest in the Sharm el-Sheikh hospital due to heart problems. At least 846 protesters were killed during the uprising.
Probe after seven burned to death
Police in eastern India are investigating reports that villagers protesting against a noisy stone-crushing plant burned to death its three owners and four employees, authorities said today.
A clash broke out as the victims rallied to defend the plant against residents angry about blasting, dust and noise in Orissa state’s remote Bandaguda village, district police superintendent Nitinjit Singh said.
Police suspect the villagers set the seven on fire after locking them in a room near the crusher before midnight last night, Mr Singh said.
About 200 police officers were deployed to the area.
Protest rally against plans for Taiwan nuclear power plant
About 2,000 protesters are demanding that Taiwan scraps plans to operate a newly built nuclear power plant and turn the facility into a museum to highlight the dangers of nuclear power.
The $6.8 billion (€4.6 billion) power plant in northern Taiwan is scheduled to start running in 2012 after years of delay amid political disputes about its safety.
Organisers of yesterday’s protest say the recent nuclear disaster in Japan has cast renewed doubts on repeated government assurances of nuclear safety.
Organiser Liao Pen-chuan says densely populated Taiwan should opt for safer natural gas and renewable energy instead of nuclear power.
Taiwan’s government has promised not to install fuel rods into the plant until it meets all safety requirements.
Shuttle Endeavour launch delayed
The historic next-to-last space shuttle launch was cancelled because of mechanical problems, spoiling a visit from US president Barack Obama and dashing the hopes of the biggest crowd of spectators in years, including the mission commander’s wounded wife, Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
Nasa hopes to try again tomorrow to launch space shuttle Endeavour from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on its final voyage.
Shared wedding day
A Bolivian couple who could not afford a formal wedding reception got royal treatment when they shared their big day with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Nigel Baker, Britain’s ambassador to Bolivia, invited Fabianna Rivera, 24, and Alejandro Antezana, 29, to the embassy in La Paz for a champagne toast to honour the marriage rite the two had planned later that day in a Roman Catholic church.
The pair – she a secretary, he a video game parlour manager – were chosen from a number of Bolivian couples who planned marriages to coincide with the Westminster Abbey union.
The couple beamed as Mr Baker gave them a porcelain platter embossed with the intertwined initials of William and Kate.