WORLD NEWS BRIEFS

NETHERLANDS / 12 held in terror probe

Dutch police have arrested 12 Somali men in the key port city of Rotterdam on suspicion of preparing a terrorist attack, the public prosecutor said Saturday. The men, aged 19 to 48, were detained Friday on a tip from the intelligence services that they were planning an attack shortly in the Netherlands. There was no immediate information on the alleged target, but Rotterdam is Europe's biggest port, with huge oil and gas storage facilities. No weapons or explosives were found Saturday. "It's uncertain whether we escaped from an attack. What we did is take away the threat that was formed by these people," senior prosecutor Gerrit van der Burg said on NOS television. The Dutch terror alert level was unchanged following the arrests.

FRANCE / Flights from Paris normal

Flight schedules returned to normal in Paris on Saturday, as emergency supplies of de-icing fluid arrived at Roissy Charles de Gaulle, the main Paris airport. But the chaos that grounded many Christmas travelers left many angry about repeated weather disruptions this month and raised questions about the inability of the air and rail industries to deal with snowy conditions. Airports operated largely normally in Britain, Belgium and Germany on Saturday, although there were some cancellations in Frankfurt and Zurich.

PANAMA / Wiretap report denied

President Ricardo Martinelli denied Saturday that he asked the United States to help wiretap his political opponents, but acknowledged a request for help against criminals and organized crime figures. According to a WikiLeaks post, a leaked U.S. diplomatic cable from Aug. 22, 2009, quotes then-U.S. Ambassador Barbara Stephenson as saying Martinelli asked for help with wiretaps. A Martinelli aide reportedly told a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official that the taps would be aimed at people targeted by anti-corruption or anti-drug campaigns. Spokesman Lawrence Payne said Saturday the DEA cannot comment about the WikiLeaks post.