Monday, 30 December, 2002, 03:08 GMT - Police have arrested a baggage handler at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport, after two automatic weapons, plastic explosives and a detonator were found in his car.

The man, who is reportedly of Algerian origin, was arrested late on Saturday after a tip-off from a member of the public who saw a weapon in a car boot at the airport.

Other members of the man's family have been taken in for questioning, and the man himself can be held for up to four days without charge.

Paris police have made several arrests in the past two weeks of suspected Islamic militants who, the authorities says, were planning an attack on the Russian embassy in the city.

Family arrests

The man is reportedly a 27-year-old of Algerian origin, who lives in the northern Parisian suburb of Bondy.

He has no criminal record, say police.

As a baggage handler, he has security clearance for several areas of Charles de Gaulle airport, one of Europe's busiest. Remainder

-- Anonymous, December 30, 2002