World briefs 01/27/03

Police charge man following mosque raid

LONDON -- A 29-year-old man arrested during a raid on a north London mosque was charged Sunday under terrorism legislation, police said.

Samir Asli, 29, was charged with possessing articles for terrorist purposes under the Terrorism Act 2000, London's Metropolitan Police said. He is scheduled to appear in court today.

Asli was one of seven arrested after police stormed Finsbury Park mosque on Jan. 20.

Police have since cleared five of the arrested of ties to terrorism. One man has been released without charge and four were being held Sunday in connection with alleged immigration offenses. A North African man is still being held under terrorism legislation.

Spanish judge jails 16 al-Qaida suspects

MADRID, Spain -- A Spanish judge Sunday jailed 16 suspected al-Qaida terrorists arrested in a nationwide sweep that found explosives, chemicals and other bomb-making materials.

Officials said the arrests Friday in Barcelona and other cities in northeast Spain were part of a French investigation into a 2001 foiled bomb plot against targets in the French city Strasbourg. U.S. officials have said the men may be linked to moves against terrorists in Britain as well, in a case where authorities found traces of the deadly poison ricin in a suspect's apartment.

The men -- 15 Algerians and one Moroccan -- were not charged. Court sources say they face possible extradition to France. All denied connections to Osama bin Laden's terror network.

Police arresting the men at their homes also seized false passports and other documents.

Report: Kuwait wants Saddam to step down

CAIRO, Egypt -- Kuwait wants President Saddam Hussein to step down so war can be averted in neighboring Iraq, Kuwait's foreign minister said in comments reported Sunday.

Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah said he believes an American-led military strike on Iraq is "inevitable" but hopes "a change will spare Iraqi people the evil of a military attack."

Sabah's comments were published in the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat and come as the United States and Britain deploy thousands of forces to Kuwait ahead of a possible war to topple Saddam and his regime over U.S.-British claims Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction. Baghdad denies it has such weapons.

Arab media outlets have been speculating that Mideast leaders are urging Saddam to step down and receive sanctuary in another country to prevent a new conflict breaking out and further destabilizing the already volatile region.

Taiwan flight to China may ease tensions

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's biggest airline completed the island's first commercial flight to China in more than five decades Sunday, a journey many hoped would build trust and ease tensions between the rivals split by civil war.

The purple and white China Airlines jumbo jet flew to Shanghai, by way of Hong Kong, to pick up 243 Taiwanese passengers returning home for the weeklong Chinese New Year -- the most important holiday for many Chinese people.

All six of Taiwan's major airlines have been allowed to fly the holiday charter flights several times a week through Feb. 9. But each flight must stop in Hong Kong or Macau on the way to and from China, according to Taiwanese regulations.

The flights are a rare sign of cooperation between rivals, who spend most of their time sniping and bickering over the minutiae of sovereignty issues.

U.N. workers among four dead in Afghan shootout

JALALABAD, Afghanistan -- Bandits ambushed two U.N. vehicles on a remote road in eastern Afghanistan Sunday, leading to a shootout with police that killed four people -- two of them Afghan U.N. employees.

The shootout started after bandits seized the vehicles and took the U.N. workers captive, apparently to rob them. Police arrived at the scene and exchanged fire with the bandits.

A police officer and a suspected bandit also were killed. Another suspected bandit was injured and arrested.

-- From wire reports