World briefs 1/225/06

Attackers rob Italian oil offices in Nigeria; 9 dead

LAGOS, Nigeria -- Officials of the Italian oil company Eni SpA said an armed assault on its offices left nine people dead Tuesday in Nigeria's petroleum-rich south, where four foreign oil workers also are being held hostage. Recent attacks and sabotage in the Niger Delta region have helped drive up international crude prices, although the Italian company said there was no evidence the latest violence was linked to those incidents. In the latest attack, nine people were killed in a shootout between an armed gang and local security forces at Eni SpA's offices in Port Harcourt, the Italian company said. The gunmen exchanged fire with local security forces and briefly occupied a bank near the base, leaving at about 3:30 p.m, about an hour after they showed up, Eni said.

Records shatter as arctic weather grips Europe

VIENNA, Austria -- Vienna's subway tracks cracked, German authorities shut a key canal to ships after it iced up, and a zoo moved its penguins indoors Tuesday as a deadly deep freeze tightened its arctic grip on much of Europe. The killer cold wave, which has been blamed for more than 50 deaths in Russia, claimed at least 13 lives in the past five days in the former Soviet republic of Moldova, where authorities said another 30 people -- many of them homeless -- were hospitalized with hypothermia. Romanian authorities reported 15 deaths in the past few days, five of them homeless people, after temperatures dropped as low as minus 22 degrees.

Unknown number still missing in Kenya collapse

NAIROBI, Kenya -- An unknown number of construction workers remained missing Tuesday in a building collapse in Kenya's capital as teams from the United States, Britain and Israel arrived to help rescuers struggling to reach those trapped inside. The death toll rose to 14 as rescuers cut into concrete slabs and iron rods with newly arrived power tools and pulled four survivors -- and more bodies -- from the rubble. "We want to pray the people still not recovered may be recovered," President Mwai Kibaki said after returning early from an African Union summit in neighboring Sudan. "It is too soon to say anything about what has happened, but we need courage and to work hard." An estimated 280 construction workers had been inside the building on Monday when it collapsed.

Bombs kill six in Tehran on day of presidential visit

TEHRAN, Iran -- Two bombs exploded in a bank and outside a government building Tuesday, killing six people and injuring 46 in a southwestern city with a history of violence involving members of Iran's Arab minority, the official news agency reported. The president had been expected to meet his Cabinet in the city on Tuesday but canceled the visit. Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi said the attacks in Ahvaz, the capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province which borders Iraq, were foreign-inspired and related to last year's bombings in the same city. The bombs targeted a bank and a state environmental agency building in the city, the Islamic Republic News Agency said.

Kuwaiti prime minister named emir to fill void

KUWAIT CITY -- The Cabinet moved swiftly Tuesday night to fill Kuwait's leadership void by naming the prime minister to take over as emir, just hours after the ailing ruler was ousted by parliament. In removing Sheik Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah as emir in an unanimous vote, parliament handed temporary power to the government of Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, the prime minister and half brother of the longtime ruler, who died Jan. 15. Justice Minister Ahmed Baqer said the Cabinet meeting to name the new emir took place in Sheik Sabah's residence. The appointment of Sheik Sabah, de facto leader of the oil-rich U.S. ally for several years, was widely expected and now goes to parliament for approval. He has broad support in the legislature, where the appointment needs only a simple majority vote.

Saddam trial postponed as judges sqabble

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Judges in the trial of Saddam Hussein tried to remove a newly appointed chief judge Tuesday, a dispute that forced an abrupt postponement of the proceedings and deepened the turmoil in what was supposed to be a landmark in Iraq's political progress. Saddam's attorneys were quick to capitalize on the disarray, saying the confusion provided fresh evidence the former leader could not get a fair trial in Iraq. Former U.S. attorney general Ramsey Clark, a member of the defense team, said the trial should be abandoned.

-- From wire reports