World datelines

Austria: Archive fight

VIENNA — A dispute over access to an archive involving Vienna's Jewish community has prompted a group of academics to withdraw support for an Austrian Holocaust research center, saying independent research is no longer possible, according to a letter obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press. The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies began provisional operations in January. Its purpose is to give researchers access to roughly 8,000 files of the late Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal. But former officials at the institute say the Jewish Community Vienna is limiting access to the archive.

Peru: Spy arrest

LIMA — Peruvian officials said Tuesday that an air-force officer has confessed to passing national-security secrets to Chile, where President Michelle Bachelet denied the espionage allegations, calling them offensive. The spy arrest reported last week has created a diplomatic crisis between the neighboring South American nations, whose relations were already prickly due to disputes over sea rights.

Russia: Jail death

MOSCOW — A prominent Western investor who has clashed with Russian authorities said Tuesday that a lawyer who advised his fund died in a Moscow jail after being denied medical care. Russian attorney Sergei Magnitsky died Monday in the Matrosskaya Tishina pretrial detention center after developing pancreatitis that was not treated, said William Browder, CEO of London-based Hermitage Capital Management. Magnitsky's death is likely to deepen Western concerns about the risks faced by anyone who challenges the authorities in Russia.

Honduras: Delays

TEGUCIGALPA — Honduran lawmakers will not decide whether to restore ousted President Manuel Zelaya until after upcoming presidential elections, the congressional leader said Tuesday, a decision that could undermine international support for the vote. Congress will meet Dec. 2 — three days after the Nov. 29 election — to decide whether Zelaya should be returned the presidency to finish his constitutional term, which ends in January.

Switzerland: Polanski

BELLINZONA — Switzerland's highest criminal court is expected to decide in two or three weeks whether to release film director Roman Polanski on bail pending a decision on his extradition to the United States, a court official said Tuesday. U.S. authorities want Polanski to face justice in California for a sex case 32 years ago.

NATO: Slovak forces

LONDON — Slovakia pledged about 250 extra soldiers Tuesday to the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, the first of what British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said would be a series of international reinforcements. The central European country will double the size of its 246-strong contingent in Afghanistan, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said in a joint statement with Brown following talks in the British capital. Brown said more such announcements were on their way.

Israel: U.S. rebuke

The White House rebuked Israel with heavy criticism Tuesday after the Jerusalem city government moved toward the construction of 900 additional housing units in a Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians claim for the capital of their future state. President Barack Obama has made restarting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians a top foreign-policy goal. To that end, he has demanded that Israel cease building new or expanding existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Israel insists that East Jerusalem will never be surrendered to Arab rule.