Russian police say a woman accused of stealing valuables took the items so she could remove curses from them.

UN peacekeepers today asked Israel’s army to pull down a new barbed-wire barrier that Lebanon said encroached on its territory, a UN spokesman said.

Italian soldiers began arriving today in Lebanon, part of the first large contingent of international troops dispatched to boost the UN peacekeeping force here since a truce between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas was agreed three weeks ago.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan visited UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon today, a day after Italy and Turkey moved to join the international force there.