Russian and Indian Abducted, U.N. SaysA Russian...

Russian and Indian Abducted, U.N. Says

A Russian and an Indian have been kidnapped in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, which has seen a surge in abductions for ransom, U.N. officials said.

“The Russian is a U.N. contractor who works with a civil aviation company, but not a member of the U.N. peacekeeping mission,” said Damian Onses-Cardona, a spokesman for the United Nations in Haiti.

He said the two were seized over the weekend.

Little was known about the Indian citizen.

Official Seeks to Delay Deportation of Two GIs

Two American soldiers accused of trafficking ammunition in Colombia were handed over to U.S. officials, but a top Colombian official tried to delay their deportation, saying a treaty granting them immunity might be invalid.

Inspector General Edgardo Jose Maya’s move reflects a widespread sentiment among Colombians that the soldiers should face trial in Colombia.

Maya said the 1974 treaty that gave them diplomatic immunity might be superseded by Colombia’s 1991 Constitution and other laws.

President Confirms That Voting Will Start May 29

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud issued a decree confirming that elections will start May 29, meeting international demands that they not be delayed.

No change was made to controversial poll rules that the Christian opposition sees as favoring Syrian allies.

Paper That Criticizes Leader Is Ordered Shut

Kazakhstan has ordered the closure of one of the Central Asian state’s few newspapers that criticize President Nursultan A. Nazarbayev.

Respublika, a weekly that supports the opposition, showed reporters a copy of an order from the Culture, Information and Sports Ministry that said the paper had been “liquidated” but did not give a reason.

Vietnam Avoids Penalty With Moves on Religion

The U.S. State Department said it would not impose sanctions on Vietnam for repressing religion after Hanoi freed some religious prisoners, reopened churches and banned forced renunciations of faith.

The United States last year placed Vietnam on a blacklist of “countries of particular concern” for abusing rights to worship, a status that can lead to political and economic sanctions.

U.S. officials said they had struck an agreement with Vietnam to hold off on the sanctions and to consider dropping the communist nation from the blacklist because of its actions to improve religious protections.