Authorities drop extradition effort

BERLIN - German authorities confirmed yesterday that they have dropped their efforts to seek the extradition of 13 CIA operatives charged in the kidnapping of a German citizen in the Balkans four years ago. German Justice Ministry officials said they would not formally press the US government to hand over the agents after US officials made clear in recent weeks that they would not cooperate. The German officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing ministry policy. A court in Munich issued arrest warrants for the CIA operatives in January after prosecutors said they were wanted on suspicion of kidnapping and inflicting bodily harm on Khaled el-Masri, a German citizen of Lebanese descent.

(Washington Post)

HAVANA - Cuba published a photo yesterday of a standing, smiling Fidel Castro looking heavier but still gaunt as he met with Angola's president, the first head of state to see the ailing 81-year-old since June. The picture, which appeared on the front page of the Communist Party youth newspaper Juventud Rebelde, shows Castro in a tracksuit, athletic pants, and tennis shoes. The Cuban leader appears to have gained weight and wears a warm half-smile as he shakes hands with President José Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola. (AP)

NEW YORK - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said yesterday it was "very important" North Korea answer many open questions about its nuclear programs as regional players prepare for talks on the matter this week. Rice made the comment following media reports that a Sept. 6 Israeli air strike inside Syria may have been triggered by concerns that North Korea and Syria were cooperating on a nuclear facility. Speaking to reporters as she began a meeting in New York with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Rice made no reference to that air strike but stressed how much the United States wishes to know about North Korea's nuclear programs. (Reuters)

LAGOS - A powerful Nigerian armed group threatened in an e-mail to the media yesterday to resume attacks on oil facilities and kidnapping of foreigners, ending a four-month cease-fire. The threat to disrupt oil supplies from Africa's top producer follows the arrest of a factional leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), Henry Okah, in Angola on arms trafficking charges on Sept. 3. "With effect from 12 midnight today, Sunday Sept. 23, 2007, we will commence attacks on installations and abduction of expatriates," MEND said in an e-mailed statement. (Reuters)

ROME - Pope Benedict yesterday warned that unbridled capitalism is widening the gap between the world's rich and poor and threatening the future of the planet. Addressing the faithful at his weekly Angelus blessing at his summer residence outside Rome, Benedict said capitalism and a fair distribution of wealth were not contradictory, but the search for profit must not be allowed to go unchecked. (Reuters)