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World in brief
Compiled from Times wires Officer gave aid to Hezbollah, Israel saysJERUSALEM -- Israel's security forces have arrested a high-ranking army officer and nine other people on suspicion of spying for the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas, the officer's lawyer said Wednesday. Hezbollah, backed by Iran, is a bitter enemy of Israel. During an 18-year guerrilla war that ended in May 2000 with Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory, Hezbollah often fired rockets at Israeli border villages. The officer, a lieutenant colonel, was arrested on suspicion of providing Hezbollah with information on troop deployments in exchange for money and drugs, said Amnon Zichroni, the officer's lawyer. He said his client, whose name and role in the army have been banned from publication, denied the allegations. Japan wants abductees' children to leave N. KoreaTOKYO -- In a reversal, the Japanese government said Wednesday that it would demand that North Korea allow the children of five abductees to be reunited with their parents in Japan, rather than force the parents to go back to North Korea. The Foreign Ministry agreed to delay the scheduled Monday return of the five Japanese after their parents demanded that the government get the abductees' children out of North Korea. The abductees' parents insist that their children cannot freely decide whether they want to remain in Japan as long as their families are essentially held hostage in North Korea. North Korean secret agents snatched the five during an espionage program nearly 25 years ago, and they returned to Japan for the first time Oct. 15 for what was to be a two-week visit. Americans warned about travel in the PhilippinesWASHINGTON -- Travel in the Philippines is risky and Americans should be cautious there, the State Department said Wednesday. The terrorist New People's Army operates throughout the country and recently issued threats against U.S. citizens and interests, the department said. Kidnappings of foreigners, bombings and other violence call for Americans to exercise caution, the statement said. Crocodile kills woman in Australian parkCANBERRA, Australia -- A 13-foot crocodile killed a German tourist who was swimming in an Australian national park, police said Wednesday. The 24-year-old woman, whose identity was not released, was in a waterhole in Kakadu National Park in northern Australia late Tuesday when she disappeared. Witnesses said they heard her scream and she vanished beneath the water. Park rangers retrieved the woman's body Wednesday after harpooning and killing a crocodile slightly more than a mile from the attack. Northern Territory police Cmdr. Max Pope said the woman's nine-member tour group ignored signs warning about the danger of crocodiles. Two Bernini sculptures restored to bare stateROME -- Italian restorers have unveiled two bare-breasted sculptures designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini that had their chests covered for modesty's sake for almost 150 years. The sculptures, representing the virtues of "Truth" and "Charity," were designed by the Baroque master in the 17th century for the chapel of a Portuguese aristocrat and friend, Roderigo de Sylva. They were completed in 1662-63 by a Bernini disciple. Two centuries later, religious leaders deemed the nudity offensive and attached a bronze "corset" over the statues' breasts, said Angela Negro of Rome's culture office. When the bronze covers were removed this year, restorers found the marble underneath the corset had not been touched. "Usually the parts which get covered also get chipped off," Negro said. "In this case the marble was perfectly preserved."
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
