World briefs 3/9/03

Another suicide attempt at Guantanamo Bay

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A terror suspect tried to commit suicide in U.S. detention at Guantanamo Bay, a military spokesman said Saturday.

It was the 21st suicide attempt at the camp since it was set up in January 2002. The detainee, who attempted suicide Friday, was treated at the base hospital and was under medical observation, spokesman Lt. Col. Barry Johnson said by telephone from the base.

There are about 650 detainees at the U.S. Naval base in Cuba, and all are accused of having links to Afghanistan's Taliban regime or al-Qaida, though none has been charged with a crime or allowed access to lawyers.

There have been 11 suicide attempts since the beginning of the year, including one in January that left a man with serious brain damage. Most prisoners have used bed sheets or pieces of clothing to try to hang themselves.

Rebels raid refinery, village in India, killing 3

GAUHATI, India -- In a series of pre-dawn raids Saturday, separatist rebels in northeastern Assam state shot and killed three laborers, ignited a huge fire at an oil refinery and used explosives to damage a pipeline.

Members of the separatist United Liberation Front of Asom claimed responsibility for the attacks in the oil-rich region as a show of strength to mark the group's upcoming annual "Soldier's Day," on March 16.

Separatists attacked the village of Rangjuli with automatic weapons, killing the three laborers and injuring four others. The victims were apparently targeted because they had come to work in the region from neighboring Bihar state.

No casualties were reported and 100 workers were evacuated.

Alleged pedophile ring linked to boy's death

FRANKFURT, Germany -- Media are calling it a crime unimaginable in postwar Germany, where citizens' trust in state institutions is rarely challenged.

Following the arrest of a foster mother and state-appointed juvenile court referee in connection to the disappearance of Pascal Zimmer, 5, authorities uncovered evidence of a possible pedophilia ring in the west German town of Saarbruecken.

Allegations that the woman, identified only as Christa W., 50, sexually abused other children and made them available to patrons of her bar came out after investigators found pornographic materials in her home.

Twelve other people, regulars at her bar, have since been arrested on suspicion they all sexually abused and murdered Zimmer. Two more have been arrested only on sex abuse charges.

Authorities believe the boy is buried in a gravel pit near the French border but have delayed a search until the ground has thawed.

Europe watches Malta in first EU referendum

VALLETTA, Malta -- Tiny, fiercely independent Malta voted Saturday on whether to join the European Union, the first such referendum among 10 nations invited to join the bloc next year.

The referendum coincides with growing skepticism across Europe about EU expansion, and -- true to Malta's hotly contested politics -- opinion polls before the vote showed the Maltese closely divided over membership.

Hand-counting of the ballots cast on the Mediterranean archipelago's three inhabited islands, where some 280,000 Maltese were eligible to vote, was expected to last until Sunday afternoon.

A recent rift between France and Eastern European candidate-nations over Washington's hard-line stance on Iraq has aggravated unease among smaller, less developed nations -- like Malta. They fear that once in the EU, they'll be dwarfed politically by the power players.

While new members will receive billions of dollars in aid, they'll also have to open their markets and conform to EU rules and regulations.

-- From wire reports