Munich - Fresh elements were added Saturday to the mysterious tale of a Lebanese-born German, Khaled el-Masri, who says he was kidnapped by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and held for five months until the Americans realized he was innocent. While Washington has not confirmed any part of the story, Berlin has implicitly confirmed his detention in a series of statements.

Chancellor Angela Merkel began the week saying Washington had admitted its mistake. Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier denied to parliament mid-week that federal security agencies 'provided any assistance in the abduction of German citizen el-Masri.' Berlin has not, however, squarely said that el-Masri was abducted. Most details circulating about the alleged abduction have come via news reports quoting 'sources' or from el-Masri himself.

During his alleged detention, el-Masri was offered a job as an informer, but refused it, according to his lawyer, as quoted Saturday by the German weekly magazine Focus. El-Masri says he was kidnapped at the end of 2003 and held part of the time in an Afghan prison. Focus, in a story to hit the streets on Monday, quoted the lawyer, Manfred Gnjidic, saying that his client had not been 'directly' offered a post as a spy, but was asked if he could imagine 'talks about his contacts' in Germany after his return.

By Gerry J. Gilmore AFPS, U.S. President Bush accused the Syrian government of looking the other way as suicide-bent insurgents flow across its border into Iraq to commit mayhem. "We expect Syria to do everything in her power to shut down the transshipment of suiciders and killers into Iraq. We expect Syria to be a good neighbor to Iraq," Bush said during a White House press conference that included outgoing Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. Poland has sent troops to support coalition efforts in Iraq.

Syria, which has a one-party Baathist government, also appears to be guilty of continued meddling in Lebanon, Bush said. This circumstance, he said, runs contrary to the opinion of responsible nations in the free world. "It's very important for Syria to understand that the free world respects Lebanese democracy and expects Syria to honor that democracy," Bush said. Bowing to international pressure, the Syrians recently removed their troops and intelligence services from Lebanese territory. However, an ongoing U.N. investigation, the Mehlis Report, points to possible Syrian involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafik Hariri.

Sunday December 18, 2005, The Observer, One of the world's most distinguished newspaper publishers came out of retirement last week at the age of 79. He had settled in France, a country he loved and which loved him back, only last week having bestowed on him the L