RIYADH – The former South African president, Nelson Mandela, met Saudi crown prince and de facto ruler Abdullah Bin Abdel Aziz on Tuesday. Mandela then traveled to Tunis to attend a meeting of the Africa Infrastructure Board, of which he is chairman, and Iran, where authorities said he would be awarded the “highest honor bestowed upon an individual” by the Iranian government. EU’S BIG FIVE MEET ON TERRORISM

MADRID – The intelligence chiefs of the European Union’s five largest nations – Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France – met in Madrid on Monday to draw up a common strategy on fighting terrorism, following the March 11 bomb attacks on trains in the city. Discussions centered on existing measures such as the Europe-wide arrest warrant, as well as new measures such as cross-border investigations and closer controls over the circulation of weapons and explosives. RUSSIA NUCLEAR CHIEF DELAYS IRAN TRIP

MOSCOW – Russia’s nuclear energy chief has postponed by two months a trip to Iran to finalize contracts that would launch Iran’s first nuclear power station, which is being built by Moscow. Alexander Rumyantsev was originally due to travel to Iran at the end of March to sign the contracts. Russia has faced intense pressure over the Bushehr reactor from the United States, which fears Iran could use fuel from the reactor for a weapons program. RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT EXPELLED FROM QATAR

DOHA – Qatar has declared the first secretary at the Russian embassy persona non grata and given him 24 hours to leave, amid a spat over the murder of former Chechen president, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, last month. The announcement came shortly after the return to Doha of two Qatari nationals, who were detained in Moscow following the arrest of two Russian security agents in Doha on charges of assassinating the former Chechen leader. ARAB ISRAELIS CHARGED WITH TRYING TO KILL ISRAELI SOLDIERS

JERUSALEM – Two Arab Israeli youths have been charged with attempting to kill Israeli soldiers, and with membership of an enemy organization. Khaled Hamdouni and Ashraf Hassan, both 23, were arrested on March 2, but a gag order was placed over details of the case. They were charged at Haifa district court early on Wednesday. Police said the youths, who are students at the Shariya Islamiya college in the northern Arab Israeli town of Umm Al Fahm, admitted the charges against them. QATAR ARRESTED RUSSIANS WITH US HELP

MOSCOW – The United States helped Qatar arrest two Russian secret service agents on murder charges, according to a senior US diplomat. The two agents, arrested last month, have been charged with assassinating a leading Chechen rebel, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, in the Qatari capital of Doha on February 13. Russia denied the agents had anything to do with the murder of Yandarbiyev, who died when his car was blown up. ROMANIAN PRESIDENT VISITS ISRAEL AMID HOLOCAUST CONTROVERSY

BUCHAREST – Romanian President Ion Iliescu has paid a three-day official visit to Israel – his first since the Romanian government denied that the World War II pro-Nazi regime of Ion Antonescu had participated in the Holocaust. Antonescu deported 250,000 Jews to Nazi death camps. Iliescu later acknowledged Romania’s part in the extermination of Jews, appointing an international commission, led by Nobel peace prize laureate Elie Wiesel, “to determine the historical facts.” LIBYA ‘ACCURATE’ OVER CHEMICAL WEAPONS

THE HAGUE – The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has said Libya’s declaration of its chemical weapons stock was accurate, listing 23 tons of mustard gas and 1,300 tons of chemical precursors. Tripoli handed over a full declaration of its chemical weapons stocks to the OPCW on March 5. According to OPCW rules, Libya has to complete the destruction of its chemical weapons stock and its capacity for producing such weapons by April 29, 2007. IRANIAN HIJACKERS TO REMAIN IN NORWAY

OSLO – Two Iranian brothers who hijacked a Russian plane to Oslo in 1993 have been allowed to remain in Norway temporarily, but will not receive permanent resident permits. Farhad and Mansur Muhammadi Injeh were issued a one-year Norwegian residency permit in June 2002, on the grounds that they would face the death penalty if extradited to Iran. Their residency rights have now been extended for another year. EU URGES IRAN TO COME CLEAN ON NUCLEAR DRIVE   

BRUSSELS – European Union foreign ministers have urged Tehran to heed a tough resolution issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency on March 13, which criticized the country for hiding sensitive nuclear activities in an October report to the UN body. But the EU also said it welcomed Iran’s decision to extend the suspension of uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. The EU favors constructive engagement with Iran, while the United States claims Iran has tried to develop atomic weapons. FIVE TURKS STABBED TO DEATH IN GERMAN HOUSE

AUGSBURG, GERMANY – German police have launched a murder inquiry after four members of a Turkish family and a friend were found stabbed to death in a house in the southern city of Augsburg. The blood-soaked bodies of a 53-year-old woman, a son aged 25, a daughter aged 29, and her seven-year-old granddaughter were found, as well as that of a family friend aged 37. Detectives said they were looking for a 37-year-old man in connection with the attack.