World datelines

Afghanistan

KABUL — Taliban-linked militants threatened Saturday to execute three foreign U.N. workers kidnapped in Kabul unless British troops withdraw from Afghanistan and Afghan prisoners are freed from U.S. custody in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Armed men kidnapped the three — Annetta Flanigan of Northern Ireland, Filipino diplomat Angelito Nayan and Shqipe Habibi of Kosovo — in Kabul on Thursday, stirring fears that Afghan militants were copying the bloody tactics of their Iraqi counterparts.

Botswana

GABORONE — Botswana chose a parliament Saturday, with the ruling Democratic Party favored to keep the lock on power it has had for 38 years. Some voters said they feared the party's loss would undermine AIDS treatment programs in a country that has one of the world's highest HIV infection rates.

Cambodia

PHNOM PENH — King Norodom Sihamoni addressed his nation for the first time as Cambodia's new monarch Saturday, pledging to be a "faithful and loyal servant" of the people — many of whom knew little about him until two weeks ago.

Chechnya

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — A representative of Chechnya's rebel leadership called Saturday for an international administration that could govern the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya until a political solution is reached.

Italy

ROME — Under attack for calling homosexuality sinful, Christian Democrat and papal confidant Rocco Buttiglione said Saturday he was abandoning efforts to become European Union justice commissioner, a bid that had kept the new EU Commission from taking office. Buttiglione defended his religious beliefs, insisting, nevertheless, they would not affected his work for the EU.

Liberia

MONROVIA — Blue-helmeted peacekeepers in flak jackets patrolled the deserted streets of Liberia's capital on Saturday, firing in the air to enforce a round-the-clock curfew a day after Muslim-Christian violence reverberated through this seaside city.

Peru