Afghan officials say three Italians are among nine people arrested over an alleged plot to assassinate a provincial governor. They worked for a medical charity. Officials say they were detained along with six Afghans, following the discovery of suicide vests and weapons in a storeroom at a hospital ran by the charity in Helmand province. A spokesman for the charity described the allegations as grotesque.
Brazil's main opposition parties have endorsed the former Sao Paulo state governor Jose Serra as their presidential candidate for October's election. The Centralists PSDB, the Democrats and the popular Socialist Party declared their support for the 68-year-old economist at a ceremony in the capital Brasilia. Paulo Cabral reports from Sao Paulo.
Jose Serra will try for the second time to fulfill his lifelong ambition to become president of Brazil. Eight years ago, he was the runner-up in the election that brought President Lula da Silva to power. Decades before, in the 1970s, Lula and Serra were together in the left-wing position to the military dictatorship. Even though, he made a career as a respected economist. It was his status as minister of house in the late 1990s that gave him national recognition. His actions to curb bureaucracy and the launch of an internationally-acclaimed AIDS treatment program showed him as a tough and efficient manager.
The Bolivian government has condemned the decision by the United States and Denmark to suspend some aid after Bolivia opposed the adoption of the Copenhagen Accord to fight global warming. A Bolivian spokesman said that cutting aid was unfair. He said the country would not change its policies on climate change. The Accord has now been backed by around 120 countries.