Egypt
German tourists kidnapped by guide
An Egyptian tour guide armed with a handgun took four German tourists hostage, refusing to release them unless his estranged wife brings the couple's children back from Germany, police and German officials said Tuesday.
Ibrahim Ali el-Sayyed Moussa, 45, kidnapped the four Monday in an area south of the ancient city of Luxor, police said. They said he was using a mobile phone to speak with authorities in Germany and was refusing to speak with local police.
Germany
U.S. soldier cleared in accidental shooting
A U.S. soldier burst into tears when a military panel cleared him Tuesday of the accidental shooting death of a 6-year-old boy in Kosovo, closing a trial that threatened to strain relations between U.S. troops and ethnic Albanians.
Pfc. Nicholas Young, who was 19 at the time of the July 10 shooting, was cleared of charges of negligent homicide and dereliction of duty. He had been serving as a peacekeeper in Kosovo.
A neuropsychologist testified that Young suffered from a severe learning disability providing what appeared to be the most convincing evidence that the soldier's superiors should not have allowed him to carry the automatic weapon he was given in Kosovo.
BERLIN
German industry slowly financing WWII fund
The German industry foundation set up to compensate Nazi-era slave laborers said Tuesday it has gathered its half of a $4.8 billion national fund, ending months of pleading to firms to fulfill their moral responsibility for Germany's past.
However, it wasn't clear when the estimated 1 million elderly survivors will be paid from the government-industry fund. The companies insist on the dismissal of class-action lawsuits in the United States which prompted the fund in the first place before they can transfer the money.
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