Zimbabwe

U.S.-registered plane detained at airport

Zimbabwean authorities have seized a U.S.-registered cargo plane carrying 64 “suspected mercenaries” and military equipment, the Home Affairs minister said Monday.

The Boeing 727-100 was detained late Sunday at Harare’s main airport after its owners allegedly made “a false declaration of its cargo and crew,” Home Affairs Minister Kembo Mahadi said.

U.S. Embassy officials said they had not been informed of the incident and were trying to obtain details from Zimbabwe authorities.

President Robert Mugabe repeatedly has accused the United States and Britain of plotting to overthrow him.

Pakistan

Army denies capturing bin Laden aide’s son

Pakistan on Monday denied it had captured a son of al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri during a raid last month in the border region neighboring Afghanistan.

The army said none of the 24 suspects taken into custody was believed to be an important figure.

Several media reports since the Feb. 24 raid — some citing unnamed Pakistani intelligence officials — have said that Khalid al-Zawahri was among those captured.

But army spokesman Gen. Shaukat Sultan told The Associated Press on Monday that the information was bogus.

“No high-profile foreign terrorists were among them,” Sultan said. “Al-Zawahri’s son is not among the people who were arrested.”

Syria

Protesters arrested at human rights sit-in

Syrian authorities on Monday broke up a rare protest by human rights advocates demanding political and civil reforms on the 41st anniversary of the ruling party’s accession to power.

It was not clear how many of the approximately 20 advocates were arrested. Witnesses said several were seen taken away in buses by Syrian police.

The protest outside Parliament, organized by the Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria, would have been the first of its kind in a country where political activity is tightly controlled.

When the group of around 20 protesters arrived, they were told to disperse. One man raised a banner that read: “Freedom for Prisoners of Opinion and Conscience.” The banner was quickly torn up by security agents.

London

Five Britons to leave Guantanamo Bay

Five British prisoners at the U.S. jail for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be sent back to Britain within 24 hours, Home Secretary David Blunkett said Monday.

The five are among nine British citizens at the U.S. base in eastern Cuba. About 640 terror suspects are at Guantanamo Bay. The military has freed 88 and transferred a dozen to the custody of their home countries.

British officials say it will be up to prosecutors to decide whether the five to be released will face charges at home, but legal experts believe that unlikely they because any information gleaned from the men during interrogation would be inadmissible since they had no access to lawyers.

Families and lawyers of the five prisoners have insisted throughout their two-year-long detention that the men were mistakenly caught up in the U.S. war on terror.