Nigeria

Nation won’t surrender ousted Liberian leader

Nigeria’s influential president set tough terms Tuesday for two African pariahs, pledging to “persuade” Charles Taylor, indicted for war crimes, to surrender for trial if Liberia asks and to bar Zimbabwe’s president from an international summit.

Olesugun Obasanjo has strongly resisted U.S. congressional pressure to turn ousted Liberian president Taylor over for prosecution on a U.N.-backed indictment for war crimes committed in Sierra Leone.

A former warlord blamed in much of the recent bloodshed in West Africa, Taylor has lived in exile in southern Nigeria since August, when he fled under international pressure and a rebel siege of Liberia’s capital, Monrovia.

The Liberian government that succeeded Taylor has not said it wants him for trial. However, if the Liberian government decides it wants him to face charges at home, “then I believe he will understand sufficiently the need to go home,” Obasanjo said.

Greece

Help from NATO sought for Olympic security

Greece will share more intelligence with NATO allies and seek help from Arab and Balkan nations to provide the best possible shield against al-Qaida and other terror groups during next year’s Olympic Games, officials said Tuesday.

Greece is spending a record of more than $750 million to protect the Aug. 13-29 Olympics, but security measures are being scrutinized after last week’s suicide bombings in neighboring Turkey killed 57 people.

Greece, which already is working with a seven-nation security advisory group, has asked NATO for surveillance planes and has started working with Arab and Balkan nations.

“The Olympic Games are an issue that involves the entire world and requires the cooperation of the best security and intelligence agencies,” said Col. Lefteris Ikonomou, spokesman for the Greek police.

Moscow

Missing safety features blamed for fire deaths

The lack of an alarm system and other basic safety precautions contributed to the high death toll in a residence hall fire that killed 36 foreign students and injured nearly 200, officials said Tuesday.

The students from Asia, Africa and Latin America, who were trapped by a fire that engulfed the residence hall of the People’s Friendship University before dawn Monday, jumped from the top floors of the five-story building when they found some exits locked, survivors said.

The hall lacked an alarm system and there was no evacuation plan for its residents, said Vladimir Rodin, a deputy chief of Russia’s fire service.

“The tragedy occurred because of bad organization and poor technical equipment,” said Eduard Vorobyov, a deputy minister of emergency situations. The ministry will urge the Cabinet to introduce stricter fire safety rules at schools and universities, he said.

Georgia

Parliament sets date for presidential election

Georgia’s parliament Tuesday called new presidential elections for Jan. 4, setting off a quick countdown to find a replacement for ousted President Eduard Shevardnadze.

The Caucasus nation of 4.9 million people now faces the challenge of mounting a fair and open ballot just weeks after a Nov. 2 parliamentary election widely labeled as fraudulent sparked massive protests, ending with Shevardnadze’s resignation Sunday.

In Washington, the State Department said Tuesday a U.S. delegation would head to Tbilisi, the Georgian capital, to help prepare for the elections.

Interim President Nino Burdzhanadze, meanwhile, repealed the state of emergency that Shevardnadze had declared after protesters stormed parliament Saturday.