TOKYO?Fear of suspicious powder sent firefighters racing to two embassies in Malaysia, halted mail service in Finland and forced evacuation of a high school and a government building in Japan on Monday.

Global jitters worsened after tests discovered traces of anthrax in white powder leaking from a letter at a Bahamas post office, and doctors diagnosed another new case of the deadly disease in the United States.

The Bahamas incident was the third case of anthrax in letters outside the United States. The two others were in Kenya and Argentina.

Hundreds of suspicious packets have been reported worldwide, and officials have little choice but to check each case.

?Our country absolutely can’t take this threat too lightly,? Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian said Monday, deciding to step up emergency drills and stockpile vaccines.