West Bank

Abbas dismisses key security chief

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas fired the top West Bank security chief Saturday and said he would retire hundreds of senior officers, serving notice of a shakeup of security forces long demanded by the United States.

Abbas had been criticized for not moving fast enough to reform his flabby security apparatus, seen as largely ineffective in reining in Palestinian militants. Saturday’s decision sent the strongest signal since Abbas took office in January that he is serious about cleaning house. The Palestinian Authority has 45,000 to 50,000 security officers on its payroll.

“We will not allow anyone to take the law into his own hands and sabotage our situation,” Abbas said, criticizing the security services for not doing their job.

Brazil

Police detain two massacre suspects

Two police officers suspected in a shooting spree that left 30 people dead in Rio de Janeiro last week were detained Saturday after an intensive manhunt, authorities said.

State Gov. Rosinha Matheus also offered a $1,900 reward for information leading to the capture of the gunmen.

“We want this case to be rigorously investigated because it can’t go unpunished,” Matheus said Saturday on her weekly radio program.

Composite sketches and anonymous tips led police to officers Jose Augusto Moreira Felipe, 32, and Fabiano Goncalves Lopes, 30, police said. They were being interrogated but had not yet been charged, said Marcela Lobo, a spokeswoman for the Rio de Janeiro Public Safety Department.

The two officers, who worked in the district where the shootings occurred on Thursday, were taken into custody at their home, police said.

South Korea

N. Korea wants Japan to withdraw from talks

North Korea said Saturday it remains committed to international negotiations on ending its nuclear weapons program, but demanded Japan withdraw from the six-nation talks.

The comment came a day after the communist regime repeated that it would stay away from the stalled talks until the United States apologized for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calling North Korea one of the world’s “outposts of tyranny.”

International efforts to resume the negotiations gained urgency after North Korea claimed in February that it has nuclear weapons. The talks, which also involve China, Russia and South Korea, have been suspended since June after three rounds of inconclusive meetings.

On Saturday, North Korea said the Japanese government should not be a part of the talks because of what it called Japan’s “cunning and vulgar” intention to exploit the process for its self-interest.