The remains of murdered Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl could soon be returned to his family after a Pakistani DNA test confirmed that a decapitated body found in the city of Karachi was his, a government official said today.

Three suspects arrested during a roundup of people with possible links to alleged shoe bomber Richard C Reid were placed under investigation today by a French anti-terrorism judge, judicial officials said.

Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was taken hostage by Islamic extremists in Pakistan, is now believed to be dead, the newspaper said in New York tonight.

The FBI is still investigating the true identity of the airline passenger accused of trying to ignite explosives in his shoes, as British officials said he was born in the UK.

The FBI has said the man who allegedly tried to blow up a transatlantic flight was carrying two workable bombs hidden in his shoes.