Los Angeles - Author Tony Hillerman, whose mystery novels shone a light on the clash between Navajo traditions and modern society, has died at aged 83 from pulmonary failure.

Hillerman died Sunday at the Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Born in Oklahoma in 1925, he grew up surrounded by Native Americans and their culture, and his work was characterized by intricate plots and fascinating accounts of tribal rituals.

Brussels - European Union businesses called Monday for a cut in interest rates amid predictions that the bloc's economic slowdown could lead to more than 1 million jobs being lost in 2009.

BusinessEurope, which groups national business federations from 34 European countries, also called on governments to ensure a continued flow of credit and to approve structural reforms aimed at improving the continent's competitiveness.

Maputo - The international financial crisis is unlikely to lead to a significant fall-off in foreign aid and investment in Mozambique because it is well-governed, a senior US diplomat told a press conference in the capital Maputo Monday.

Todd Chapman, business affairs officer at the US Embassy in Maputo said Mozambique stood to receive "much more financial support" because of its stable business environment and the commitment of President Armando Guebuza's government to reform.

Baghdad - An Iraqi soldier was killed Monday when a bomb went off inside his car in the northern Kurdish province of Salahaddin, while four civilians were killed and 
17, including a policeman, were wounded in a series of separate blasts across Baghdad, police sources said.

A bomb exploded inside the car of a soldier who was on his way to work in Tuzkhurmato district in Salahaddin province. The detonation killed the soldier, a police source told the Voices of Iraq (VOI) news agency. The source did not give further details.

Separately, four civilians were wounded in a blast near the al- Nahda area in eastern Baghdad. Police cordoned off the area and moved the wounded to a nearby hospital, a police source told VOI.

New York - The world is witnessing a nuclear power renaissance at a time when demands for fossil fuel-based energy and its prices have increased, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday.

But the expected increase in civilian nuclear power plants is accompanied by the risk of mounting nuclear material being converted into weapons, IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei told the UN General Assembly, which met to discuss the work of the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog.

"Nuclear power is undergoing something of a renaissance," ElBaradei said, comparing the situation to 10 years ago when nuclear power had stopped growing in developed countries because of security and safety risks.

Berlin - German business confidence plunged to its lowest level in more than five years in October, a key survey released Monday said, as the world financial crisis triggered panic selling on global stock markets and fears grew about a looming recession.

The closely watched Ifo business confidence index dropped more than expected to 90.2 points this month from 92.9 points in September, adding to the prospects of the European Central Bank (ECB) cutting rates again possibly as early as next meeting on November 6.

ECB chief Jean Claude Trichet signalled Monday that the bank's rate-setting council might deliver another cut in borrowing costs at its meeting next month.