News In Brief

Saudi sees two-week delay in Lebanese peace talks

Rafik Hariri, the Saudi mediator who negotiated Lebanon's current cease-fire, said Thursday talks aimed at ending Lebanon's civil war could be delayed for nearly two weeks.

Syria has delayed the opening of the talks by objecting to their being held in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, as planned. After separate talks with President Amin Gemayel and his father, Christian leader Pierre Gemayel, Mr. Hariri said there was still no agreed-upon site for the talks. He said, however, that a preparatory committee would be meeting soon to pave the way for the reconciliation talks and that matters were ''moving in the right direction.''

In southern Lebanon, Hussein Wahbe, an Israeli-backed militia commander, was assassinated in a car-bomb attack.