World in brief: No early election, Brown says

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ruled out calling an early election Saturday, ending weeks of speculation that he would soon seek a stronger mandate from the electorate.

Brown said he wanted his government, which has been in office for just over 100 days, to have time to show voters how it would transform public services and the economy.

Opponents accused him of being afraid to face the public after a series of opinion polls suggested his electoral lead was evaporating.

Brown replaced Tony Blair as prime minister in June and does not have to call an election until May 2010. But there has been widespread speculation that he would call an early election to seek his own, five-year mandate.

Kabul, Afghanistan

American, Afghans die in suicide attack

A suicide car bomber attacked an American military convoy on the road to Kabul’s airport on Saturday, killing a U.S. soldier and four Afghans and sending flames shooting into the sky, officials said.

The bombing – on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan – threw several vehicles on their side. Four Afghans were killed and 12 wounded, the Health Ministry said.

The suicide bombing was the third major attack in Kabul in a week. On Sept. 29, a bomber targeted an Afghan army bus, killing 30 people. A similar attack Tuesday against a police bus killed 13.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Prisoners to get holiday leave

The Saudi Arabian government will temporarily release 55 prisoners recently transferred from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and will give each of them about $2,600 to celebrate the upcoming Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a newspaper reported Saturday.

Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz granted the temporary releases from detention centers in Saudi Arabia so the prisoners could spend time with their families during the holiday in mid-October, the Okaz newspaper reported.

They will return to police custody after the holiday.