World News: Bomb plotter found guilty in first US Guantanamo trial

The first Guantanamo Bay prisoner to be tried in a US civilian court has been found guilty on just one out of 286 terrorism charges related to the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Africa.

Ahmed Ghailani, 36, was found guilty of conspiring to damage or destroy US property with explosives.

The Tanzanian was cleared of many other counts including murder and murder conspiracy. The conviction did little to inch President Barack Obama closer to shutting the island prison, despite his election promise to do so.

Ghailani is the only person transferred from Guantanamo Bay for trial since the US began filling the military jail in Cuba in 2002.

Predictions of new terrorist attacks and huge police expenses surrounding the trial never materialized.

Ghailani now faces 20 years to life in prison, longer than three of the four sentences handed down by military tribunals at Guantanamo.

Despite the acquittals, which included murder counts for each of the 224 people killed in the bombings, the US Justice Department said it was pleased Ghailani faces up to life in prison and said it would seek that sentence.

I'd beat Obama, says Palin

Sarah Palin says she could defeat Barack Obama if she were to seek the US presidency in 2012.

In a TV interview, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee says she is considering a presidential run. When asked if she thought she could defeat Obama, she replied, "I believe so."

Volcano death toll hits 275

The number of people killed by a series of eruptions at Indonesia's most volatile volcano in recent weeks has risen to 275.

Officials said today that the toll climbed after more than a dozen victims succumbed to their injuries - mostly severe burns.

Mount Merapi began unleashing torrents of hot gas and rock late last month after years of dormancy.

The disaster agency said most of the 275 people were killed by searing gas clouds. Others died during panicked evacuations.

More flood bodies found

Vietnam's government said eight more bodies have been recovered after the latest round of flooding in the country's central region, raising the death toll from this week's flooding to 19.

It said that the floods have begun receding after submerging nearly 30,000 homes.

Up to 40 engines on Airbus superjumbos of the type that disintegrated in flight on a Qantas plane will need to be replaced, the Australian airline's chief said today.

Three airlines - Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa - fly A380s powered by Rolls-Royce engines - 20 planes with four engines each.

On November 4, one of the giant engines on a Qantas jet caught fire and blew apart shortly after take-off from Singapore.

Bird flu's back, says Hong Kong

Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of human bird flu in seven years.

Health secretary York Chow said a 59-year-old woman had tested positive for H5N1 bird flu after returning to Hong Kong from the Chinese mainland, and was in a serious condition in a local hospital.