Briefly

GEORGIA

Rebel region poses challenge to capital

MOSCOW — The parliament in Georgia’s rebellious Adzhara region introduced a state of emergency and imposed a curfew yesterday in a new round of confrontation with the Tbilisi government.

Adzhara declared a nighttime curfew last month when tension with Tbilisi neared the brink of bloodshed after the rebel region refused to let in Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.

SPAIN

New prime minister seeks Moroccan help

CASABLANCA, Morocco — Spain’s new prime minister, Jose Luis Zapatero, arrived in the Moroccan port city of Casablanca yesterday on a visit aimed at improving bilateral cooperation, notably on immigration and fighting terrorism.

The Socialist prime minister was met at the airport by Prime Minister Driss Jettou and several other members of the Moroccan government. He is expected to meet during his visit to the North African country with King Mohammed VI.

DENMARK

Weapons flap results in new defense chief

COPENHAGEN — Soeren Gade was appointed Denmark’s new defense minister yesterday, a day after his predecessor resigned amid criticism that the military exaggerated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein to justify supporting the war in Iraq.

A little-known member of the governing Liberal Party, Mr. Gade, 41, a former army officer, replaced Svend Aage Jensby, who resigned Friday, saying he was the victim of a smear campaign by the Social Democratic-led opposition in parliament.

Weekly notes …

Foreign Minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner is seeking to become Austria’s first female head of state in the Central European country’s election today. Mrs. Ferrero-Waldner, a conservative lawyer, is already the first woman to run Austria’s Foreign Ministry and was the United Nations’ first female chief of protocol. … Paris would be prepared to train Iraqi security forces once sovereignty is returned to Iraq under U.N. control, French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said yesterday. She said France might provide help in “training police, gendarmes and the Iraqi army alongside a certain number of countries with which we are used to working, such as the Germans or the Japanese.” … Dutch Prince Johan Friso, the second son of Queen Beatrix, married human rights activist Mabel Wisse Smit yesterday without the approval of the Dutch government, giving up his claim to the throne for love. The government refused to endorse the marriage — required for any royal wedding — which meant Johan Friso could not remain a member of the House of Orange.