World Scene

NIGERIA

Ex-President Aristide is offered exile

ABUJA — Nigeria offered former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide temporary exile yesterday at the request of some Caribbean countries.

Mr. Aristide fled Haiti for the Central African Republic on Feb. 29 amid demonstrations against his regime. He stayed there for two weeks and then traveled to Jamaica to be reunited with his children, the BBC reported.

It’s not clear whether Mr. Aristide would travel to Nigeria, how long he would stay or where he would go next.

POLAND

Two are arrested as terror suspects

WARSAW — The Czech Embassy in Poland went on high alert yesterday after Polish police detained two Pakistani terror suspects.

Czech radio reported that Polish police had searched the apartments of the two men and found maps with circles around the Czech Embassy, along with a leaflet from Italy’s Alitalia airline with two crosses marked on an airplane.

Poland has been America’s staunchest ally in the war in Iraq among the eight former communist countries due to join the European Union on May 1 along with Cyprus and Malta. Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary signed letters of support for the U.S. position in the run-up to the Iraq war.

IRELAND

Blair, Ahern to meet with Northern parties

BELFAST — British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern will meet Northern Ireland’s main political parties today in a drive to revive a flagging peace process.

Efforts to re-establish a power-sharing government between the majority Protestants and minority Roman Catholics in the British province were derailed by police allegations of Irish Republican Army involvement in a kidnapping attempt last month.