Spain

Warrant says Tunisian was leader of bombing

A 35-year-old Tunisian is believed to have led the group suspected in the railway bombings in Madrid, according to the international warrant for his arrest released Thursday.

Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet is one of six people sought in warrants that a Spanish judge issued Wednesday but made public a day later. He allegedly helped arrange the rental of the house outside Madrid where investigators say the bombs were assembled for the March 11 attacks.

Four of the others had been at the house, their warrants said.

Fakhet’s warrant describes him as “leader and coordinator of the people allegedly implicated.” It does not suggest he was overall organizer of the attacks, which killed 191 people and injured over 1,800.

PARIS

Chirac reiterates need for economic reforms

French President Jacques Chirac vowed Thursday to press on with unpopular economic reforms that led to a stinging electoral defeat for his fellow conservatives, but assured disgruntled voters that he had heard their message and promised some changes.

Chirac laid out his priorities — creating jobs and economic growth — in a prime-time TV interview a day after announcing a broad shake-up of the government led by Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin.

The ministry reshuffle came after voters delivered conservatives a stunning defeat in regional elections Sunday. The results were seen as a rebuke of the government’s reform plans, though Raffarin kept his job — to the surprise of many. His new team will continue overseeing a raft of budget cuts and reforms, many designed to save France’s generous social services from collapse.

Brazil

Police: Caretaker killed Americans over slur

Police arrested a 20-year-old handyman Thursday in the beating deaths of an American Shell Oil executive and his wife, charging that the suspect attacked because he was upset about alleged racial slurs.

Police said Jociel Conceicao dos Santos confessed to using a crowbar in the Nov. 30 attack against Todd and Michelle Staheli, who were found dead in their bed in a high-security Rio de Janeiro condominium, said Renato Homen, a spokesman for Rio’s state police.

Dos Santos, who is black, told police he was upset after Todd Staheli insulted him because of his race. Homen did not say what Staheli allegedly said to the caretaker.

LONDON

Study: Asian suicide rates higher in women

Although suicide rates around the world are about three times higher for men than women, evidence is mounting that in developing countries in Asia, suicide is far more common among young women than men.

In a study this week in The Lancet medical journal, researchers give the first picture of suicide among young people in India. In a region near Vellore in southern India, more than twice as many young women aged 10 to 19 committed suicide as men in the same age group.

The study found the average suicide rate for women in that age group was 148 per 100,000, compared with 58 suicides per 100,000 men.

Globally, the suicide rate for men is about 24 per 100,000, and about 6.8 per 100,000 for women.

Argentina

100,000 Argentines protest rising crime

More than 100,000 people marched through the capital Thursday to protest crime, shouting “Justice! Justice!” in one of Argentina’s largest demonstrations in years.

Argentines lighted thousands of white candles outside Congress and held up photos of victims of the recent surge in ransom kidnappings, street holdups and robberies that has become an overriding concern in this South American nation of 36 million people.

Many left work early to join the protest, and thousands more turned out for smaller demonstrations in cities across Argentina.

Juan Carlos Blumberg, whose 23-year-old son, Axel, was killed last week after being seized by kidnappers demanding a ransom, led the large but peaceful protest.

Germany

Trains scrape after tractor falls onto tracks

A high-speed train hit a tractor, derailed and scraped an oncoming train in southern Germany on Thursday. The tractor driver was seriously injured, but no one on the trains was hurt.

The InterCityExpress was traveling only about 50 mph — one-third of its top speed — at the time of the accident near the Swiss border, said the Deutsche Bahn railroad.

A winegrower lost control of his tractor on a hill and crashed into the path of the train, said Helmut Mutter, a spokesman for the German border police. The winegrower was seriously injured, police said.

The northbound train was on a morning run from Basel, Switzerland, to Dortmund, Germany, with about 100 passengers, the railroad said.