The World : Bid to Free French Halted

France’s unofficial mediator with the kidnapers of French hostages in Lebanon said he is abandoning his efforts after charges carried on French television that his mission had ruined the captives’ chances of release. Razah Raad, a Lebanese-born physician, had warned he would quit unless the French government cleared him of the accusations. Raad had sought to make contact with Islamic Jihad (Islamic Holy War), a terrorist group that says it is holding three Frenchman and has killed a fourth, Michel Seurat. Meantime, a driver for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, Zaki Hamadeh, was kidnaped in Beirut, the fifth abduction of an UNRWA employee this year, the U.N. body said.