WORLD IN BRIEF

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

IRAN

Detained U.S. Citizen Allowed to Leave Country

An Iranian American reporter who was barred from leaving Iran for months on suspicion of trying to stir up a revolution was allowed to leave the country Tuesday and return to the United States. Parnaz Azima was one of four Iranian Americans charged with endangering national security, an accusation they denied.

Azima was the second of the four U.S. citizens allowed to leave in recent weeks. She "left Iran today and is on her way to the United States," said Sania Winter, a spokeswoman for Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, where Azima works.

Azima's attorney, Mohammad Hossein Aghassi, said that charges against her had not been dropped but that she was allowed to leave after posting bail of about $450,000, using the deed to her mother's house.

RUSSIA

Defense Chief, Son-in-Law of Premier, Resigns

Russia's defense minister has resigned, the country's new prime minister said, announcing the departure of his son-in-law in the beginning of what is expected to be a cabinet-wide shake-up.

Viktor Zubkov, chosen last week by President Vladimir Putin to be prime minister, said he and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov agreed that their family ties were problematic. Serdyukov is married to Zubkov's daughter.

NEPAL

Maoists Quit Government, May Disrupt Election

Nepal's Maoist former rebels quit the interim government and vowed to disrupt preparations for historic elections in November unless the Himalayan nation's monarchy was abolished immediately.

The move is a major setback to last year's peace deal in which the rebels ended a decade-old insurgency and agreed on elections for a special assembly to decide the fate of the monarchy.

Maoist deputy leader Baburam Bhattarai told a rally in Kathmandu hours after the Maoists quit the government that the former rebels could take up arms again if their demands were ignored.

CAMBODIA

Former Khmer Rouge Leader Detained

Police detained the top surviving leader of the Khmer Rouge on Wednesday over his role in the notorious former government that caused the deaths of 1.7 million people in the late 1970s.

Police surrounded the house of Nuon Chea, 82, in Pailin in northwestern Cambodia near the Thai border and took him into custody on charges of crimes against humanity.

Nuon Chea was a chief deputy to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot and served as the movement's chief political ideologue during its rule, when it was blamed for mass deaths that resulted from hunger, disease, overwork and execution.

Nuon Chea has denied any responsibility for the brutality.

From News Services