– SANTIAGO, Chile
Judge releases Pakistani arrested at U.S. Embassy
A Pakistani man detained with suspicious chemical residues at the U.S. Embassy in Chile was charged with possessing explosives Saturday, then set free pending further investigation.
Mohammad Saif Ur Rehman Khan was ordered to stay in Chile and check in with authorities once a week. Prosecutors have three more months to develop their case, Judge Maria Carolina Herrera ruled.
Defense attorney Gabriel Carrion said the judge declined to charge Khan with associating with terrorists for lack of evidence.
Khan, who maintains his innocence, was called in to the embassy so that he could be told that his U.S. visa was revoked. A State Department spokesman in Washington said Khan had been added to a terrorism watch list after the U.S. government received information about him.
MEXICO CITY
Ex-presidential candidate, party power broker missing
A former Mexican presidential candidate who has remained a power broker in the ruling party was missing amid signs of violence, the federal Attorney General’s Office said Saturday.
Prosecutors said that the car of Diego Fernandez de Cevallos was found near his ranch in the central state of Queretaro. It said some of his belongings were found inside the car as well as unspecified “signs of violence.”
The Mexican newspaper El Universal reported that federal sources said Fernandez de Cevallos had been kidnapped, but a federal prosecutor’s spokeswoman said she could not confirm that.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia
Flight from Hong Kong escorted to Vancouver
Canadian fighter jets escorted a Cathay Pacific airliner incoming from Hong Kong to a safe landing in Vancouver International Airport on Saturday due to a potential security threat, a North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesperson said.
The Canadian Press news agency cited Canadian Defense department officials as saying there was a bomb threat aboard Flight CX838, but they could not provide details.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said the passengers were safely taken off the plane and no one was injured.
— From news service reports
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