World briefs 3/25/04

U.S. embassies close after 'specific threat'

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- The U.S. Embassy in the Emirates closed Wednesday after a "specific threat" against it. Anti-American protests and fears of a terror attack prompted tighter security at other potential U.S. targets in the Mideast. The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, briefly closed Wednesday after rumors spread of an explosion. Security was tightened even further near the embassy in Cairo, Egypt, and protesters were chased away from the embassy in Bahrain.

Two more suspects jailed in Madrid bombing case

MADRID, Spain -- A Spanish judge on Wednesday charged two more suspects, including the first woman, in connection with the Madrid commuter train bombings. The charges bring to 11 the number of those accused in the March 11 attacks that killed at least 190 and wounded about 1,800. Judge Juan del Olmo charged and ordered jailed Moroccans Rafa Zuher and Naima Oulad Akcha after questioning them separately for more than six hours. They were arrested over the weekend. They face allegations of collaborating with a terrorist group. Court officials said both suspects condemned the March 11 railway bombings and denied they had any links to the attacks.

Officials discover bomb on French rail line

PARIS -- A French railroad worker found an explosive device buried in the bed of a passenger line between France and Switzerland on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said. Bomb disposal experts neutralized the device, which was half-buried under a track in the village of Montieramey, on a train line heading from Paris to Basel, Switzerland, about 105 miles southeast of Paris, the ministry said in a statement. It was discovered shortly after noon. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. France has been on a higher terror alert since the train bombings in Madrid.

Haitian Cabinet holds first session, discusses securityPORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Haiti's new government held its first Cabinet meeting Wednesday as leaders began tackling the multitude of troubles afflicting the impoverished country, first among them the large number of guns on the streets. The meeting in the National Palace was held as the last contingent of 450 Canadian soldiers prepared to join patrols in the still-volatile capital. A top aide to Interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue said a top government priority is to work with American and French troops to disarm militants.

List of 1.3 million victims of Stalinist purges released

MOSCOW -- Russia's leading human rights groups released a list Wednesday of more than a million people who fell victim to Josef Stalin's purges -- an attempt to draw public attention to the Soviet dictator's crimes in a society still divided over his legacy. The 1,345,796 names, compiled on a CD-ROM along with brief biographies of the victims, represent only a small portion of those who suffered in the purges, but are all the cases that activists have been able to document so far. Stalin came to power after the death of Soviet founder V.I. Lenin in 1924 and began a reign of terror that lasted nearly three decades, ending only with his death in 1953. An estimated 20 million people were executed, imprisoned or deported to other parts of the former Soviet Union. Altogether, 10 million are believed to have died.

Separatist militants kill 21 in ethnic clash in India

GAUHATI, India -- Heavily armed separatist militants killed 21 villagers from a rival ethnic group in three attacks in India's northeast, police said Wednesday. The victims, two of them children, were Karbis, an ethnic group that has long competed for land rights in hilly Assam state with the Kukis -- the ethnic group the attackers were said to belong to, said Inspector-General Khagen Sharma, the state's police chief. The attacks took place Tuesday night and early Wednesday in an area 220 miles south of the state capital, Gauhati.

Hamas: Militants are not targeting United States

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The militant group Hamas backed off its initial threats against the United States, saying Wednesday that it would focus on attacking Israel -- and try to kill Prime Minister Ariel Sharon -- in retaliation for the assassination of its founder in an Israeli missile strike. The Syrian-based leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, addressed mourners in a Gaza City soccer stadium by telephone hookup Wednesday, promising victory over Israel and appealing for Palestinian unity. "Who is America and who is this ugly world and who is Sharon and who is Mofaz?" Mashaal said in a show of contempt. Shaul Mofaz is Israel's defense minister.

-- From wire reports