World Scene

BRITAIN

Israeli prime minister called war criminal

LONDON — The mayor of London called Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a “war criminal who should be in prison and not in office,” and said in a newspaper article published yesterday that Israel is guilty of ethnic cleansing.

Ken Livingstone, already mired in a scandal after comparing a Jewish journalist to a Nazi concentration camp guard, also accused Mr. Sharon of organizing terror against Palestinians and endangering Londoners by fueling worldwide anger.

In Israel, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the mayor’s comments “aren’t even worthy of an Israeli response.”

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ISRAEL

Militants clash with Palestinian police

NABLUS, West Bank — Tensions between Palestinian Authority police and militant groups erupted into violence yesterday as Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a police station, sparking a gunfight that left three persons wounded.

It was the second serious clash between Palestinian authorities and armed groups this week, underscoring the delicate task that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas faces as he tries to rein in militants and restore law and order in the West Bank.

In Gaza, an explosion rocked the Rafah refugee camp, wounding three persons — two 14-year-old boys and a 6-month-old baby — witnesses said.

SWITZERLAND

Five held for links to beheadings site

BERN — Swiss authorities said yesterday they have detained five Islamists suspected of using the Internet to show the killing of hostages — which reportedly included the beheading of an American — and to give bomb-making instructions.

It was not clear if any of the slayings took place in Iraq, where they have been blamed on the group led by Jordanian terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi. Video recordings of those killings have been posted on various Islamic Web sites.

CANADA

Killing of Mounties shocks nation

OTTAWA — Canadians were stunned yesterday by the deadliest attack on police officers in 120 years, the slayings of four Mounties while they were investigating an illegal marijuana farm in western Canada.

A government source told the Canadian Press that the gunman killed himself after shooting the officers. State-run Canadian Broadcasting Corp. TV identified the gunman as 46-year-old James Roszko and said he had a long police record, including the use of illegal firearms and sexual assault.

IRELAND

Sinn Fein suspends over stabbing

DUBLIN — Sinn Fein, political ally of the IRA, has suspended seven party members under mounting pressure over a brutal Belfast stabbing that has driven the party to one of the lowest ebbs in its 100-year history.

The Jan . 30 killing of Robert McCartney, 33, sparked unprecedented criticism of Sinn Fein and Irish Republican Army guerrillas from within one of their traditional heartlands.

NEPAL

King extends politicians’ detention

KATMANDU — Nepal has extended the detention of opposition leaders by two months, officials said yesterday, ignoring international pressure on King Gyanendra to restore democracy in the Himalayan kingdom.

Dozens of political activists, including the chiefs of mainstream political parties, have been in detention or under house arrest since King Gyanendra’s Feb. 1 power grab.

The move comes ahead of a plan by five key political parties to organize their first joint protest in the capital next week to press the king to rescind his proclamation of an emergency.

FRANCE

EU referendum set for May 29

PARIS — France will hold a referendum on the European Union constitution on May 29, President Jacques Chirac announced, calling an early vote to try to reduce the risk of voters rejecting the treaty.

From wire dispatches and staff reports