World Briefs 11A

Aides say French secret service spying on Chirac

PARIS -- Aides to President Jacques Chirac have accused France's intelligence services of carrying out investigations aimed at compromising Chirac personally, the daily Le Monde reported.

In its Sunday edition, the newspaper said the Elysee presidential palace suspects the country's secret services -- at the behest of Chirac's Socialist rivals -- of investigating alleged business dealings by Chirac in Lebanon and Japan.

Le Monde said the president will shortly dismiss both Jean-Claude Cousseran, the head of France's spy agency, the DGSE, and his counterpart at the DST, the counter-espionage service, Jean-Jacques Pascal.

Germany returns Russian art seized in World War II

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Germany formally returned seven valuable czarist-era paintings that had been looted by Nazi troops during World War II.

The paintings, which went on display at Gatchina Palace near St. Petersburg, were turned over Saturday -- the 61st anniversary of the German invasion.

The seven returned pictures include a portrait of Peter I by an unknown artist as well as a portrait of George I of England, which had been purchased by Catherine II. The paintings had ended up in the Berlin Museum.

In its turn, Russia has handed back a number of pieces of art to Germany and is working to give back more, Shvydkoi said.

Two North Koreans seek asylum in embassy

BEIJING -- Two more North Korean women slipped past heavy Chinese security and got into the South Korean Embassy, joining 21 other asylum-seekers in Seoul's diplomatic offices in Beijing, a South Korean official said Saturday.

The two women, aged 27 and 30, entered the embassy Friday night, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. He would not say how they got past Chinese security, which includes barbed wire and armed guards around the embassy.

The official said the North Koreans might be allowed to leave "hopefully pretty soon," but he said talks with China were still going on.

Canada arrests man linked to Paris bomb plot

MONTREAL -- Canadian anti-terrorism police have arrested a man suspected of helping militants who were planning to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Paris.

Adel Tobbichi, 34, was arrested Friday in Montreal as the result of an extradition request from the Netherlands, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constable Richard Huard told the Associated Press. Police also searched his Montreal home.

Tobbichi, of Algerian origin, is alleged by Dutch police to have altered passports and other documents and provided them to militants planning to bomb the embassy. Huard said officials were unsure if he was a Canadian citizen.

Dutch authorities already are holding two French citizens they believe were involved in the bombing plot.-- From wire reports

Prosecutors in Rotterdam have said they have tapes of wiretaps linking the pair, Jerome Courtailler and Mohammed Berkous, both 27, to the designated suicide bomber, Nizar Trabelsi, who is under arrest in Belgium.

Courtailler and Berkous were arrested in the port city two days after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

The tapes prove that Courtailler and Berkous had spoken to Trabelsi about arranging passports and a safe house for him in the Netherlands, Dutch prosecutor Theo D'Anjou said earlier this month.

Tobbichi's arrest was made by Canada's Integrated National Security Enforcement Team, which was set up in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

-- From wire reports