World briefs 2/6/05

Saudi leader wants information-sharing center

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah called for the creation of a worldwide center to share intelligence on terrorism on Saturday at a conference on fighting al-Qaida and other groups, held by a country often accused of exporting militants. Saudi Arabia is already thought to exchange information with the United States, but the kingdom has been criticized for failing to openly disclose the steps it takes internally to uproot al-Qaida's structure in the kingdom. The desert kingdom is accused by some in the West of not doing enough to stop the departure of militants from Saudi Arabia to other countries, including Iraq. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told reporters the conference was meant to be a Saudi contribution to the anti-terrorism fight, not a public relations effort to brighten the country's image. Saudi Arabia is the the birthplace of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden and 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers.

Georgian officials probe death of prime minister

TBILISI, Georgia -- Mourners streamed into a cramped living room where Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania's body lay in a coffin Saturday, two days after the man widely credited as one of the country's most honorable politicians was found dead. Zhvania's death was officially attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning from an improperly ventilated gas space heater at the apartment of a friend who also died. Though such deaths are not uncommon in Georgia, where central heating systems went out of service a decade ago amid the post-Soviet economic collapse, doubts continued to swirl among Georgians. Georgia has a history of political intrigue that sometimes turns violent and the climate of mistrust of officials is strong.

Nine Japanese found dead in suspected group suicide

TOKYO -- Nine bodies were found in two cars in central Japan in what appeared to be the country's latest group suicides, police said Saturday. One group of six people was found on an isolated farm road south of Tokyo by a farmer who called police after noticing people slumped over and apparently dead in a vehicle. Investigators who searched the car found three men and two women in their twenties and one woman in her forties, said T. Morishita, an investigator from the Misaki police station in Kanagawa prefecture. The other car, with the bodies of one man and two women, was discovered in front of an empty vacation home in a resort area further west, said an official at the Shimoda police station. In both vehicles, charcoal stoves were found lying on the floorboards while the windows were sealed with tape from the inside. All nine appeared to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was not immediately clear if the two cases were related. The vehicles were found about 60 miles apart. Japan has been the scene of a slew of suicide pacts in recent months, many thought to have been plotted by people who met over the Internet.