WORLD IN BRIEF : NICARAGUA : U.S. Judge Dismisses Suit Against Contras

A judge in Miami dismissed a $50-million damage suit accusing the U.S.-backed Contras of torturing and executing an American during the Nicaraguan civil war. U.S. District Judge Stanley Marcus said the case intruded into the diplomatic arena. Benjamin Linder, 27, of Portland, Ore., was shot to death in Nicaragua in 1987 when the rebels attacked the rural hydroelectric project he was helping to build. A year later, his family, with the backing of the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights, sued Miami-based Contra leaders Enrique Bermudez, Adolfo Calero and Aristides Sanchez.