Foreign Desk

Hezbollah Leader Demands Release of Prisoner Held Since 1979BEIRUT, Lebanon — Hezbollah’s leader said Tuesday that he accepts U.N. mediation with Israel on a possible prisoner swap and a special envoy will launch the talks next week. But in an interview with the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera channel, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah insisted that he will not to approve any prisoner exchange deal, unless it includes the release of Samir Kantar, a Lebanese prisoner that Israel has held longest. He insisted a prisoner swap would only be possible if it includes Mr. Kantar’s release. Mr. Kantar, one of three Lebanese that Hezbollah has long demanded released, is serving prison terms totaling 542 years for killing three Israelis during an attack in 1979. Israel and Hezbollah have had prisoner swaps in the past.— Associated PressSuspect in Damascus Embassy Attack DiesDAMASCUS, Syria — The only Islamic militant arrested in the attack on the American Embassy in Damascus has died from his wounds, and authorities were unable to question him, a Syrian official and the government press said yesterday.The man, who was shot as he fled an explosives-laden truck without detonating it, died in a hospital Tuesday, said an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists. The three other attackers were killed in Tuesday’s assault on the embassy. The attackers came in two cars, one of them an explosives-laden pickup truck. The first car pulled up in front of the embassy’s entrance, and three gunmen burst out. At the same time, the truck — filled with pipe bombs rigged to gas canisters — pulled up to another gate on the other side of the triangular compound. But when the shooting began, the driver ran away without detonating it. He was shot and arrested, and the truck did not explode.— Associated PressMoroccan Men Sentenced for Helping Write Computer VirusRABAT, Morocco — Two Moroccan men have been sentenced to prison terms for helping write the Zotob computer virus, which attacked major American networks last year, a court official said yesterday. Science student Farid Essebar, 19, and his friend Achraf Bahloul, were sentenced Tuesday at the court in Sale, court official Maria Regregui told the Associated Press. Messrs. Essebar and Bahloul were given jail sentences of two years and one year, respectively, the official MAP news agency reported. The Zotob worm, unleashed in August 2005, targeted computers that run Microsoft Corp. operating systems.— Associated PressAustralian Man Eyed For Sending E-Mail SpamSYDNEY, Australia — An Australian man is under investigation for sending more than 2 billion junk e-mails in one year to promote Viagra, an official said yesterday. The Australian Communications and Media Authority began investigating the man, whose identity was not immediately released, after receiving a tip from Dutch authorities last year. Its chairwoman, Lyn Maddock, said officials had searched the man’s home. She said more than 2 billion e-mails were sent to Internet users around the world.— Associated Press

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