Strauss-Kahn gets his passport back

Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been given back his passport by prosecutors who dropped a high-profile sexual-assault case against him.

But it is unclear when he might put the passport to use. He has said he "can't wait to go back" to his native France but has other things to do first. The IMF says he may visit its headquarters in Washington, where he also has a home, as early as next week.

The 62-year-old economist has been in New York since a weekend trip turned into an arrest, nearly a week in jail and about three months in a hastily rented $50,000 (£31,000)-a-month town house, where he was initially under house arrest and had an armed guard.