US reopens Rome embassy

The United States has reopened its Rome embassy which was closed since Friday following a world-wide caution against possible threats.

The embassy said the decision to reopen was taken after a review of the security situation.

Despite the move, the Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has said she remains concerned by threats against United States installations in Italy.

But Mrs Albright refused to comment on reports that a dissident group linked to the Saudi Islamic fundamentalist, Osama Bin Laden, was planning an attack on the embassy. Over two-hundred people were killed in 1998 when two American embassies were bombed in Africa, while last October a US navy ship in Yemen was attacked by suicide bombers.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service