World News: US and UK step up terror alert warning for travellers

The Foreign Office warned that there was a "high threat" of attacks in countries including France and Germany, rather than the "general threat" previously identified.

And the US State Department urged Americans to be vigilant when visiting Europe, highlighting the "potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure".

The heightened warnings came after British intelligence officials intercepted a credible al-Qaida-linked plot last week.

The planned attack would reportedly have been similar to the deadly commando-style raids in Mumbai, India, two years ago, with cities in France and Germany also targeted at the same time. Last Tuesday the Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated following a bomb threat called in from a telephone booth.

Home Secretary Theresa May urged the British public to report any suspicious activity to help police and security services disrupt the terrorists.

15 injured in grenade blast

Fifteen people, including a three-year-old, were injured in an explosion at a plaza in north-eastern Mexico that was blamed on drug cartels targeting the civilian population to cause chaos.

Police believe the attackers threw a grenade at the main square in the town of Guadalupe.

Death crash train driver held

Police in Indonesia have arrested the engineer of a train that slammed into another at a station, killing 36 people.

Halik Rudianto was driving the train when it crashed into the other train that had stopped at a station in Petarukan on Friday.

Militants hit oil tankers

Suspected militants attacked and set on fire at least 20 oil tankers in Pakistan that were on their way to Nato and US troops in Afghanistan.

The attack yesterday, near Islamabad, was the third since Friday.

One of the main routes used by Afghanistan-bound trucks has been closed for days after three Pakistani troops were killed in a helicopter strike by the military alliance in a border area. Three people died in yesterday's attack.

Run-off for presidential rivals

Brazil's leading presidential candidate Dilma Rousseff has been forced into a second-round run-off after failing narrowly to win outright.

Former Marxist guerrilla Ms Rousseff, 62, will face her centrist rival Jose Serra, 68, in the October 31 run-off.

Performers covered in body paint wander around the centre of Seoul as part of the Hi Seoul non-verbal performing arts festival.

Pope praises priest killed by the Mafia

Italy: Pope Benedict XVI hailed as a hero a murdered priest who dared to challenge the Mafia in its stronghold, and encouraged Sicilians not to resign themselves to deep-rooted evil at an outdoor mass in Palermo.

Father Giuseppe "Pino" Puglisi was murdered in Palermo in 1993.

United States: Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel announced he was preparing to run for mayor of Chicago, a position he has long desired.