International briefs

Filmmaker sentenced

BEIJING: A Tibetan filmmaker who made a documentary that was highly critical of the Chinese government's policies in Tibet has been sentenced to six years in prison, a family friend said Thursday. Dhondup Wangchen, 35, was charged with trying to split the country and sentenced on December 28, said Wangpo Tethong. The family only recently found out about the punishment because court officials in the northwestern Chinese city of Xining have been withholding information from relatives, he said. Leaving Fear Behind features ordinary Tibetans and the filmmaker himself saying Beijing's policies in Tibet are threatening the region's traditional Buddhist culture.

Afghan guv hurt

KABUL: A bomb exploded in a garbage container outside the governor's compound in Afghanistan's restive Khost province on Thursday, slightly wounding the governor and five others, officials said. Gov Tahr Khan Sabari was cut by glass from windows shattered in the blast but not seriously injured, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary told The Associated Press.

Bail for stowaway

NEW DELHI: An Indian court granted bail on Thursday to a stowaway who sparked a security alert after hiding in the toilet of an airliner and travelling to the country from Saudi Arabia. Indian national Habib Hussain flew from the Saudi city of Medina to the western Indian city of Jaipur aboard an Air India flight in December with no ticket and no passport.

US envoys 'harassed'

ISLAMABAD: The US Embassy in Pakistan complained on Thursday that its diplomats are being harassed and detained as they travel around the country, illustrating heightened tensions between the allies as America expands its presence here. The rare public protest reflects the rising frustration among US officials over alleged Pakistani efforts to stymie Washington's moves to add hundreds more staff and more space to its embassy in Islamabad. It came as a contingent of US lawmakers, including senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman, arrived for a visit.