4000 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  The United States said on Tuesday that it would still like Cuba to return Robert Vesco, the fugitive financier sentenced to 13 years in jail for economic crimes against the government of Fidel Castro.   "We remain interested in Vesco, in his return to face prosecution here.   He is a fugitive from justice in the United States," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.   Vesco, 60, has been wanted by U.S. authorities for nearly 25 years on charges he allegedly stole $224 million from a mutual fund.   He has also been indicted on cocaine trafficking and other charges.   On Monday, a Cuban court sentenced Vesco to 13 years in a Cuban prison for crimes against economic plans and labour regulations, fraud and illegal economic activity in the communist-ruled country.   The United States has requested Vesco's return in the past, but has no plans at this time to press the request with Havana on the assumption it would be rebuffed, Davies said.   He declined comment on Vesco's conviction in Cuba but said that as a general matter "Cuban law and trial practices do not, by our lights, meet international standards for fair public trials." 
4001 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States on Tuesday welcomed a deal aimed at resuming a troop withdrawal from the embattled Chechen capital, Grozny.   "That is a welcome development.   We urge both sides to continue their dialogue aimed at reaching a political settlement" of the 20-month conflict between Russian troops and Chechen rebels, State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.   The commander of Russian troops in Chechnya, Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, and Chechen rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Mashadov signed the deal under which the troop withdrawal is to resume on Wednesday. 
4002 !GCAT !GPRO  Actor Sylvester Stallone and his fiancee, model Jennifer Flavin, had a baby girl on Tuesday, Stallone's publicist said.   The 7-pound, 4-ounce (3.3 kg) girl, named Sophia Rose, was born shortly after midnight at South Miami Hospital, publicist Paul Bloch said.   "Both mother and baby are doing fine and are in wonderful health," he said, adding that it was the couple's first child.   He said Stallone, best known for the "Rocky" and "Rambo" movies, left the set of "Copland," which is filming in New York and New Jersey, to be with Flavin for the birth. 
4003 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  Loved by many who know her and reviled by conservative critics, Hillary Rodham Clinton is the most controversial U.S. first lady in modern history, and one of the most complex figures in American public life.   A lawyer by training and temperment who also delights in being a mom, she enters her husband's re-election campaign struggling to overcome a perception that she has something to hide from the Whitewater financial affair.   The latest CBS/New York Times poll shows that 35 percent of the public have a positive impression of Mrs. Clinton, 37 percent a negative one.   By comparison, 39 percent of the American people have a favorable impression of Elizabeth Dole while only 10 percent are suspicious of her.   Mrs. Clinton has tried to recast her image by presenting herself as a goodwill ambassador abroad, by promoting her book on the nurturing of children called "It Takes a Village," and by largely limiting her speeches to Democratic Party faithful.   But she was a lightning rod at the Republican Convention in San Diego earlier this month, where Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole implied that her child-rearing views reflected the philosophy of big government,   In an interview with reporters who accompanied her to Eastern Europe last month, Mrs. Clinton shrugged off the battering she has taken, saying attacks on her were just "part of American politics."   "I love campaigning.   I have always loved campaigning," she said.   "When I go out on behalf of my husband and talk about issues he cares about, I'm also talking about issues I care about."   She got a chance to do that Tuesday when she was given the prime speaking part on the Democratic Convention's second day.   Mrs. Clinton's credibility suffered its biggest jolt in January when an aide turned over long-missing documents sought by investigators into the Whitewater affair, which involves a failed real estate investment and other tangled financial dealings involving the Clintons when the president was governor of Arkansas in the 1980s.   The documents included records of work Mrs. Clinton did for a bank as a lawyer in Litte Rock and bore upon questions of how intimately she was involved in that aspect of Whitewater.   The aide said she had found the papers months earlier in a White House room accessible only the Clintons and a few others.   The Clintons denied having anything to do with the records, but the incident compelled Mrs. Clinton to testify before a federal grand jury in January, the first time the wife of a sitting U.S. president had ever done so.   She said afterward that she told the grand jury "everything I know" and that she had no idea where the documents had been or why they turned up where they did.   Mrs. Clinton has also been blamed for the controversial purge of the White House travel office and the hiring of former White House Security Chief Craig Livingstone, who has been accused of improperly collecting FBI background files on prominent Republicans.   She has denied responsibility in either of these cases.   Democratic strategists know Mrs. Clinton's independent style makes some voters see red.   But they also see her as an asset with loyal Democrats, especially women, who consider her a strong female voice in an administration dominated by males.   Upon entering the White House in 1993, Mrs. Clinton quickly staked out a place in Washington's power politics and made it known she has a mind of her own -- and a personal agenda.   At the start of his presidency, Bill Clinton handed her the responsibility for his most far-reaching domestic program, the reform of the costly, hodge-podge American health system.   The appointment to head the health care task force made her a first lady with real political power.   The health care reform plan that she helped produce, however, died in Congress in 1994 when the Democrats still held control of Capitol Hill. 
4004 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  By Rich Miller, Economics Correspondent   U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin seemed a bit taken aback on Tuesday by the rousing welcome he received at a breakfast meeting of the Florida delegation to the Democratic Party convention.   But he did not let it faze him.   Rubin, a self-effacing millionaire who spent much of his career out of the political limelight, steadfastly set out the reasons why President Clinton deserves a second term.   The president, Rubin told the applauding delegates, had the "guts" to take the tough decisions needed to slash the federal budget deficit.   He lambasted Republican presidential challenger Bob Dole's tax-cutting plan, charging it would balloon the deficit, push up interest rates and hurt the economy.   A former investment banker who spent 26 years on Wall Street, Rubin is a man who seems more comfortable plotting international monetary strategy behind closed doors than giving a public speech aimed at pumping up the party faithful.   The Treasury chief acknowledged there was a difference between the two -- his fellow finance ministers do not applaud his performance at meetings of rich industrial nations.   Rubin's low-key style won the admiration of at least one delegate from Florida, a state where the New York-born Treasury chief spent most of his youth.   "Rubin is good," said Vivian Biagini, who has watched Rubin's televised appearances before Congress.   "He always manages to stay cool."   Rubin, 58, is no stranger to politics.   He has been active in raising funds for the Democrats for more than two decades and was head of the host committee at the party's 1992 convention in New York.   Sometimes his political sense serves him well, but not always.   He won laughter from Florida delegates when he quipped, "I don't know why the right-hand microphone is better than the left-hand microphone.   But I'm going to speak from the center."   But when he tried to repeat that success before the arguably more liberal New York delegation, the joke fell flat.   Rubin gently warned both delegations not to become complacent -- Clinton is comfortably ahead of Dole in the opinion polls -- and to keep working hard in the run-up to the November 5 election.   For his part, the Treasury chief did not seem truly energized until after he left the delegation meetings and attended a policy forum to discuss ways to help the inner cities.   Known for his compassion for the poor as well as his grasp of high finance, Rubin has been a strong voice within the administration on the need to tackle America's social ills, especially those of its inner cities.   The Treasury chief has shied away from saying whether he plans to stay on the job if Clinton wins in November, although administration insiders are betting that he would. 
4005 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh, keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday, may be a younger copy of another governor who went on to bigger things -- Bill Clinton.   "He's the Indiana version of a young Bill Clinton.   By selecting him as keynote speaker, Clinton is in essence passing the torch," said James McCann a political science professor at Purdue University.   Bayh, the only child of former three-term senator and one-time presidential hopeful Birch Bayh, is one of the country's most successful governors.   Elected at age 32 and now in his second term in a state that generally likes Republicans more than Democrats, Bayh takes credit for turning it into a fiscal star.   Indiana ended its business year on June 30 in the black by $1.68 billion.   Only Alaska among the 50 states recorded a bigger surplus.   "In Indiana, we have shown that sound fiscal management, tough yet sensible cuts in government spending, holding the line on taxes, and balancing our budget lead to economic strength," Bayh said last month when the record balance was announced.   In handing out the state's annual report card earlier in the year Bayh said there had been no tax increases in eight years, more jobs were created than at any time in the state's history and that a "lean government" had created a common ground to improve everyone's lives.   Indiana has also removed more people from welfare rolls than any other state,   The Wall Street Journal has called Bayh "a genuinely fiscally conservative Democrat."   Bayh and his wife Susan are the parents of 9-month-old twins, Birch Evans IV and Nicholas Harrison.   Bayh was educated at St. Alban's prep school in Washington and Indiana University and has a law degree from the University of Virginia.   One of his first ventures into politics was as campaign manager in 1980 for his father's unsuccessful attempt to win a fourth term.   The elder Bayh lost to a then little-known congressman, Dan Quayle.   Bayh may not seek a third consecutive term under Indiana law but he wants to run for the Senate two years from now against Republican Dan Coats. 
4006 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer said this week he is hopeful that Democrats can reclaim the Michigan House and stem state legislative moves directed at his city.   In an interview with Reuters, Archer, Detroit's mayor since 1994, acknowledged an anti-Detroit bias in Michigan.   "I don't think there is any question there is an anti-bias of what has been seen in the past as being favorable to the city of Detroit," Archer said.   With a Republican controlled Michigan Legislature and a Republican governor, Detroit has increasingly seen an ebbing in its support from Lansing, the state capital.   Archer said he was hopeful that the November election would eliminate the Republicans' two-vote majority in the Michigan House.   "If we can take back the House on the Democratic side, then I think there will be a more balanced discussion," he said.   And that would mean "less of a chance for a perception if not a reality of an anti one or another," he added.   Archer traced the roots of the anti-Detroit bias to the western part of Michigan, where he said some people have been pushing for legislation that could land up costing the city financially.   For example, some lawmakers during the last legislative session cited Grand Rapids, the largest city in western Michigan, as being a loser compared to Detroit when it came to state revenue sharing.   They said Detroit, with 11 percent of the state's population got 26 percent of revenue sharing dollars because of its high taxes, while Grand Rapids, with 5 percent of the population got 1.7 percent of state dollars.   The result was a change in the revenue sharing formula that allocates any growth in state revenues to local governments on a per capita basis only, guarenteeing Detroit a smaller share of those funds.   Earlier this summer, Gov. John Engler signed into law a bill that phases out state support for local courts in Detroit and Pontiac.   For Detroit, the loss of state funding could cost the city $11 million a year to maintain its Recorders Court.   The new law has led the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and the Detroit chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to consider a lawsuit challenging the law.   Archer called the new law "clearly wrong" and "off-base."   "The legislature wiped out a court that has been in existence for over 150 years with absolutely no legitimate reason to do so," he said.   Other measures are lurking as well.   Lawmakers are expected to take up a bill this fall that would prohibit Detroit and 20 other cities from collecting income taxes from non-resident workers.   For Detroit, the bill would cost the city $90 million a year.   Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson has said he would push for the introduction of a bill this fall that would allow his county and two others to remove their revenue support from $167 million of bonds Detroit sold to expand its Cobo Hall convention center.   While revenues from a state-wide liquor tax would stay intact for the bonds, the move was seen as a retaliatory measure for the announced move by the Detroit Lions football team out of the Pontiac Silverdome in Oakland County for a new domed stadium in downtown Detroit.   Archer said he looks forward to the day he could thank the state for its support of Detroit and say "now that our tax base is such we no longer have to ask for additional assistance and indeed what we're looking for is to reduce taxes."   --Karen Pierog, 312-408-8647 
4007 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  By Gail Appleson, U.S. Law Correspondent   The alleged mastermind of a plot to bomb U.S. passenger jets told a jury on Tuesday he was the victim of a conspiracy by Pakistan and the Philippines aimed at winning favour with the United States.   Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, representing himself with the help of a legal adviser, told the Manhattan federal jury in a heavy Arab accent that evidence had been fabricated by the two governments so they could turn him over to U.S. authorities.   "The Philippines government and Pakistani government used this crime to build a case against Mr. Yousef, and what better way to gain the favour of the U.S. government than to give them someone to blame," he said in closing arguments at his trial.   Yousef was one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was arrested in February 1995 in Islamabad, Pakistan and returned to New York.   If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.   Federal prosecutors have accused him of being the architect of a hideous scheme to murder some 4,000 airline passengers over a 48-hour period as they returned to the United States from the Far East last year.   Yousef is also charged with placing a bomb on a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo on Dec. 11, 1994, as a trial run.   The bomb exploded under the seat of a Japanese passenger, killing him and injuring 10 other people.   He will also be tried this year for allegedly masterminding the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing that killed six and injured more than 1,000 people.   Prosecutors allege the purpose of these attacks is to punish the United States for its support of Israel.   Yousef appeared humble as he spoke softly to the jury and thanked them, the judge and his legal adviser for their patience and understanding.   Wearing a tan suit slightly too big for his slender frame, the 28-year-old defendant read from a spiral notebook as he walked the jury through the 47 government witnesses who appeared during the three-month trial and tried to discredit their testimony.   The airline bombing case against Yousef and two other defendants, Abdul Hakim Murad and Wali Khan Amin Shah, was developed after a January 1995 fire broke out in an apartment shared by Yousef and Murad in Manila.   Yousef allegedly fled to Pakistan after the bombing.   The Philippine National Police found in the apartment bomb-making equipment and manuals, explosives and a Toshiba laptop computer containing flight schedules for Delta, Northwest and United flights and detonation times.   Yousef told the jury the police had fabricated and altered evidence found at the scene.   He focused on testimony by two officers who said police reports contained false information about evidence and where it had been found.   "I ask you to recognise Mr. Yousef as a human being," he told the jury.   "As a human being the only way he can be convicted is if the evidence proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt, but the evidence came from the Philippine government and you know what that means.   You don't want your brother or any relatives convicted on evidence like this ... to be convicted on lies and false testimony."   Yousef, who is also known by 11 other names, holds an Iraqi passport but claims Pakistani and Palestinian heritage.   In statements released through his legal adviser last year, he called Israel an illegal state and accused its government of systematic murder and torture of Palestinians.   He also said Palestinians have the right to attack U.S. targets because of American support of Israel. 
4008 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  An ABC News poll released on Tuesday showed President Bill Clinton's lead over Republican challenger Bob Dole stretching to 15 points in advance of the Nov. 5 election.   The poll, taken on Sunday and Monday as the president engaged in a whistle-stop train trip to the Democratic Convention in Chicago, put Clinton at 51 percent, Dole at 36 percent and Ross Perot of the Reform Party at 8 percent.   A similar poll conducted on Saturday and Sunday had showed a nine point lead for Clinton, ahead by 47-38 percent.   Dole, down by around 20 points in early August in ABC polls, had closed to within four percentage points immediately after the Republican convention in San Diego earlier in August.   Other polls also showed a strong Dole bounce after San Diego but Clinton then rebuilding his lead.   Tuesday's poll involved 1,002 registered voters and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.   ABC said a parallel poll of 824 likely voters showed the president ahead by 11 points, with Clinton at 50 percent, Dole at 39 percent and Perot at 6 percent.   The poll of registered voters showed a shift in favor of the Democrats in the elections for House of Representatives, with 51 percent saying that if the vote were today they would go for a Democrat and 41 percent opting for a Republican.   That compared with the previous poll's 48-43 lead for the Democrats.   The poll gave Clinton a 53 percent to 39 percent lead over Dole if Perot were not in the race.   The poll indicated a fall in the number of people who believed Dole would be able to fulfil his promise to cut the federal budget deficit and cut income taxes by 15 percent at the same time.   It showed 23 percent believed it possible compared to 70 who believed it wasn't.   That compared to 26-57 in the previous poll. 
4009 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  The United States supports the allied decision to postpone the municipal part of Bosnian elections due next month, the chief U.S. negotiator on Bosnia said on Tuesday.   "We think, in fact, it's a very clear and a very decisive step by the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe)...to demonstrate that there are clear rules for holding these elections and that violation of them in their letter, or, in this case, in their spirit will not be tolerated; and that the elections must be held under the appropriate conditions," U.S. negotiator John Kornblum told reporters at the State Department.    Earlier in the day in Sarajevo, Robert Frowick, the U.S. diplomat who heads the OSCE, said he had made a chairman's decision to put off the polls, citing alleged irregularities in Serb voter registration. 
4010 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, saying he will return to Libya to accept a $250,000 prize, has applied to the U.S. government for permission to receive a much larger $1 billion gift from Muammar Gaddafi.   In a statement, the Chicago-based Nation of Islam said the church would answer questions about the charitable gift application to the Treasury Department.   Treasury Department officials would not explicitly confirm Farrakhan's application to the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.   Permission is needed because of U.S. travel and trade restrictions to Libya, imposed in 1986 because of Libya's alleged sponsorship of international terrorism.   Gaddafi made the offer to Farrakhan earlier this year when the controversial black leader visited Libya and other Middle East and African nations that have strained diplomatic ties with the United States.   The State Department rebuked Farrakhan for his choice of destinations.   At the time, Farrakhan said Gaddafi promised him $1 billion to help develop black communities in the United States.   Farrakhan, who organised last October's Million Man March that brought thousands of black men to Washington, has said he would use the money to build schools and businesses in black communities.   The church's statement said Farrakhan planned to travel to Tripoli to receive a $250,000 humanitarian award that Gaddafi gives annually.   Previous winners have included South African President Nelson Mandela, the children of the Intifada (Palestinian uprising), and Native American Indians, the statement said. 
4011 !GCAT !GDIS  A fire broke out on the fifth floor of the Old Executive Office Building near the White House on Tuesday, and the building was briefly evacuated before the flames were put out, a White House spokeswoman said.   The building, inside the White House complex about 50 yards (metres) from the president's home, contains the offices of many top officials, including the director of the Office of Management and Budget.   President Bill Clinton was in Ohio on a whistlestop campaign train trip on his way to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.   His daughter Chelsea was travelling with him and his wife Hillary was already in Chicago.   White House spokeswoman Mary Ellen Glynn said the fire occurred before 8 a.m.   EDT (1200 GMT), bringing District of Columbia firefighters to the scene and prompting a half-hour evacuation of the building.   "We believe it was generated by a construction project," Glynn said.   "It has been extinguished."   Witnesses said that a hook and ladder fire truck was positioned beside the building and hoses were connected to hydrants on the street.   Firefighters walked in the front door and did not spray water at the building, they said.   The Treasury Department, on the opposite side of the White House, suffered a severe fire in late June that forced a long evacuation and substantial repairs. 
4012 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT  Support has grown among Americans for public funding of private or church-related education but a majority still reject it, a poll released Tuesday said.   The poll commissioned by an education fraternity also showed respondents by more than two-to-one felt President Clinton has done more to improve public education than the Republican-led Congress.   The annual poll from Phi Delta Kappa International, conducted by the Gallup organization, said 61 percent rejected the idea of allowing students to attend private schools at public expense while 36 percent supported it.   The group said 65 percent opposed the proposal in 1995 and 74 percent in 1993.   Asked whether they would support letting parents choose public, private or church-related schools with government vouchers paying part or all of tuition, 54 percent opposed the idea.   "The public believes they should support public schools, but support is growing for vouchers," Jack Jennings, director of the Center on National Education Policy, said at a briefing on the poll.   Results indicated the nation must move quickly to improve public schools to keep support from eroding, Jennings said.   Responding to an election year question, 44 percent said they felt Democrats were more interested in improving public schools, while 27 percent said Republicans were.   Forty-nine percent said Clinton had done more to improve public schools versus 23 percent for the Republican Congress.   At the briefing, Phi Delta Kappa officials said the timing of the poll's release, which coincided with the Democratic national convention in Chicago, was inadvertent.   While the poll showed modest support for the public school system, with only 21 percent giving it "A" or "B" grades, local public schools got more backing with 43 percent giving their community public schools an "A" or "B."   If cost were not a factor, 63 percent of parents said they would keep their children in public schools, and 55 percent would send their child to the same public school.   The results from a telephone sample of 1,329 adults conducted in May had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. 
4013 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bulgaria's American-born Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski on Tuesday disputed a refusal by Bulgaria's election commission to register him as a candidate in that country's Oct. 27 presidential election.   Pirinski told a news conference during a visit to Washington that the Central Election Commission (CEC) had incorrectly ruled that he did not qualify as a candidate because he was not born in Bulgaria.   "The constitution adopted in 1991 is very clear that I am (a Bulgarian citizen)," said Pirinski, who was born in New York in 1948 of a Bulgarian father and an American mother.   He moved to Bulgaria in 1951.   The foreign minister, who speaks flawless English, said a law that was in force in 1948 would have barred him from Bulgarian citizenship by birth because he became a U.S. citizen under American law on his birth in New York.   But that Bulgarian law was repealed in 1968, he said.   The CEC announced in Sofia on Tuesday that it had refused to register the presidential candidates of the ruling Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the anti-communist opposition because of legal inconsistancies.   CEC officials said Pirinski, the BSP's candidate, lacked a document showing how he obtained Bulgarian citizenship.   They also said there were inaccuracies in some of the documents of opposition candidate Petar Stoyanov and the panel rejected a proposal to give the opposition time to correct the errors.   "Clearly, any decision by the electoral committee is a serious issue," Pirinski told reporters in Washington.   But he said "the documentation by the coalition which has offered my candidacy is in full compliance with all the requirements of the electoral law."   Stoyanov, a lawyer who beat incumbent President Zhelyu Zhelev in Europe's first primary election in June, belongs to the main opposition Union of Democratic Forces.   The coalitions of both candidates said they would appeal the CEC decision to the Supreme Court.   "The final decision will be taken by the Supreme Court," CEC chairman Baicho Panev told reporters in Sofia. 
4014 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  It is going to be harder than changing a hair-do.   Hillary Rodham Clinton takes center stage at the Democratic convention on Tuesday night eager for Americans to take second look at her after a tumultuous four years as first lady that saw her become the most villified woman in American politics.   Famed for frequently changing her hair style and currently sporting a helmet-like bob, Mrs. Clinton faced a daunting task in her prime-time 15-minute speech at the convention -- achieving a political makeover to convince millions of Americans that she is not the domineering radical her enemies have painted her in relentless critiques.   Her speech was expected to be about children, families and middle class values.   Advance reports said she will be accompanied to the stage by more than 20 children as she explains what she meant when she titled her book about society's responsibility for raising children, "It Takes A Village."   Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole derided her at his party's convention two weeks ago, claiming that she meant the state should raise children not families, something she was at pains, in a whirlwind set of Monday speeches, to refute.   Dole's was just one jibe among many that have hurled at her over the years and the Republicans are currently and carefully presenting Dole's wife Elizabeth as a preferred alternate to what they picture as a strident Mrs. Clinton.   Certainly Mrs. Dole was a star at the Republican convention as she took a microphone and walked among delegates to regale them, in her soft Southern accent, with tales about "the man I love."   Critics hailed her nationally televised appearance as a masterpiece of performance art that went a long way towards humanizing her husband, a dour political performer.   Polls claim that Mrs. Clinton is the most unpopular first lady in modern times, although Eleanor Roosevelt had many enemies in her day.   The Clintons have long ago given up their pretense of a "his and her" presidency and Mrs. Clinton, in her appearances on Monday, was at pains to talk of "my" husband and what "he" planned to do in his second term.   She also talked of the criticism that has been hurled at her -- although she avoided specifics and never once mentioned the Whitewater real estate scandal that frequently dominates her White House days with allegations that she tried to cover up details of the deal.   "It does take courage to be in public life today," she said at one point as she praised the the early 20th century social activist Jane Addams on Monday, adding, "She had more than her share of critics, it goes with the territory."   And later, her comments about the criticisms directed at Mrs. Roosevelt, who defended minority groups and the poor, was twinged with the personal.   "I won't say that they paled in comparision with what is said today, but they didn't have as wide circulation," she said.   That referred to an age of mass media in which the Clintons and their marriage are analyzed and debated, often in an unflattering manner, on radio talk shows, newspapers and television.   As the campaign gears up, a motley collection of anti-Clinton books are appearing, each with seemingly new allegations about the First Couple.   Democratic Party co-chairman Christopher Dodd was one of many Democrats who raced to Mrs. Clinton's defense.   telling a meeting of the Connecticut delegation:   "Hillary Rodham Clinton has more decency, more honor and more integrity than all of her self-appointed critics combined," he said.   "People believe we are fighting on behalf of their interests and no one articulates this better than Hillary Rodham Clinton."   Many prominent women figures in the Democratic party agree and see that attacks on Mrs. Clinton as an attack on the movement that has drawn more and more women into national politics, giving it a more liberal cast, especially on social welfare issues.   "Pundits can say what they want to say, but I know of no woman in America who is more of a role model for younger women than Hillary Rodman Clinton ... I am so proud of her, she has held her head up high," said California Sen. Dianne Feinstein. 
4015 !GCAT !GHEA !GODD  A two-year old Puerto Rican girl began surgical treatment on Tuesday for a rare condition that has left half of her face covered with a hairy, dark-brown patch of skin.   The girl, Abyss DeJesus, suffers from a "hairy nevus" on the right side of her face, a condition that has only been reported a few times in medical journals, the St. Christopher Children's Hospital said.   In addition to social ostracism, the condition also carries a high risk of cancer.   It will be corrected by gradually expanding healthy skin with a surgical balloon, then transplanting that skin to the afflicted side of her face.   "She is doing well," hospital spokeswoman Carol Norris said.   "The surgery is under way."   Norris said Tuesday's surgery involved placing five balloons in DeJesus's forehead, shoulders and the back of her neck and partially filling them with a saline solution.   More saline solution will be inserted in 16 weekly treatments.   The girl, who was accompanied to Philadelphia by her parents, will need more surgery later to correct the condition on her chest, back and legs, the hospital said. 
4016 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A senior U.S. official on Tuesday rejected an Iranian charge that the United States was stirring conflict among Kurds in northern Iraq to counter Iran's influence.   "We are there to try to bring about the reconciliation of the parties," said the official, who asked not to be identified.   He said the United States had no interest in creating problems in the area "and it's manifest to anybody who's familiar with the issues."   Iranian state radio accused the United States of provoking inter-Kurdish fighting to thwart a ceasefire reached by the two groups after Iranian-sponsored talks in Tehran in October.   "America is trying to cause new clashes in northern Iraq to pave the way for its presence in this region under the guise of mediation," state-run Tehran radio said.   Guerrillas of Kurdish warlord Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have been fighting rebels of Massoud Barzani of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   Washington brokered a ceasefire on Friday and persuaded the two factions to attend peace talks next month in London, hosted by Britain.   But fighting was reported over the weekend.   The United States said on Monday it saw no useful role for Iran in northern Iraq after Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati said only Tehran could bring peace to the area.   The State Department called on both sides to fulfil their commitments to implement an immediate ceasefire and return their forces to positions held before Aug. 17.   Iraq has accused both Washington and Tehran of meddling in the affairs of its Kurdish minority.   More than 100 people have been killed in the latest flareup of fighting and hundreds of families have been made homeless, a United Nations official said on Monday. 
4017 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Southern California Edison Co (SoCal Edison) shut two 5,000 kilovolt (KV) transmission lines Monday because of a wildfire burning near Los Angeles, the company said Tuesday.   "We had some limitations to our transmission system but nothing that is affecting our ability to serve," said company spokesman Steve Conway, referring to the effect of the shutdown of those power lines.   The lines, which are part of the Pacific Intertie that moves hydroelectricity to California from the U.S. Northwest, were carrying 300 megawatts (MW) of power to SoCal Edison.   Conroy said he did not have a schedule when the KV lines would resume service.   SoCal Edison dispatched repair crews to clean the portions of lines covered with smoke and soot, he said, adding the fire-related residues could cause the lines to short circuit.   The utility increased internal power production to compensate for the loss of the transmission lines, he said.   SoCal Edison is a subsidiary of Edison International.   --R Leong, New York Power Desk +1 212 859 1622 
4018 !GCAT !GCRIM  President Clinton had no immediate comment on a plea for his intervention from the mother of alleged Olympic bomb suspect Richard Jewell, White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Tuesday.   Jewell's mother Barbara, in a tearful news conference Monday, asked Clinton to clear her son's name to allow him to resume a normal life free from media surveillance.   "We well understand the anguish of the mother in that position, but an investigation is under way and we must refrain from any direct comment," McCurry said in Toledo, where Clinton was campaigning in advance of his appearance at the Democratic Convention in Chicago.   Asked if Clinton was aware of Mrs. Jewell's appeal, McCurry replied, "He has been made aware of her appeal."   Jewell, a former security guard, has maintained his innocence since he was named by the Atlanta Journal as a suspect in the July 27 bombing at Centennial Olympic Park that killed two people and injured 111 others. 
4019 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Fires raging in the U.S. Northwest were having little impact on electricity movements within and from the area, a spokesman for the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) said.   "As far as the fires are concerned I'm not aware of any major effect on electricity movements," BPA spokesman Perry Gruber said Tuesday.   Gruber said some power transmission lines have been temporarily closed for brief periods to allow firefighters access to blaze areas.   "We have had to de-energize some lines to allow access to fire areas, but there weren't any long-term curtailments," Gruber said.   BPA controls electricity production and movements through much of the U.S. Northwest, which provides a significant amount of power to northern California.   Fires have been reported through northern California and Oregon, with many believed to have been started by lightning strikes Sunday and Monday.   One of the largest new fires was said to be covering 300 acres in Siskiyou County, on the California-Oregon border.   -- Chris Reese, New York Power Desk 212-859-1627 
4020 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  To voters who turn out to cheer Bob Dole on the campaign trail, the Republican presidential candidate's pledge to hand out billions of dollars in tax cuts while balancing the budget is a simple matter of common sense and discipline.   "Sure he can do it, absolutely," said Annette, a mother of three college-age children in Tampa, Florida.   "All he has to do it get rid of that waste in Washington."   But hard-core loyalists who brave the summer sun at Dole rallies or squeal when they spot him on the streets as he vacations this week in Santa Barbara are not the ones who will ultimately decide who occupies the White House come January.   That decision will rest with swing voters, the undecideds like Phyllis Kindsvogel, an elderly woman from North Dakota, who fretted after Dole spoke to the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kentucky last week.   "I don't know if he can follow through.   They've been working on that for years now.   It's awfully tough," she said.   Dole's campaign promise, which contradicts much of what he argued as a deficit hawk during 35 years in Washington, is to slash personal income taxes by 15 percent, cut capital gains taxes in half, grant child tax credits and expand long-term savings incentives.   That adds up to $548 billion in tax cuts by 2002 but Dole says cutting taxes will not add to the deficit.   In a conversion to supply-side economic theories favoured by his running mate Jack Kemp and first tested by President Ronald Reagan, with mixed results, Dole says tax cuts will stimulate faster growth that will offset revenue losses.   He and some of the aides with him on Tuesday to fine tune their plan say faster growth combined with cuts in wasteful government spending will allow the budget to be balanced without having to cut Medicare, defence, or Social Security.   "In a growing economy, we won't have to cut any of our vital programmes to balance the budget.   All we do need to do is restrain the rate of spending increases," a campaign paper says.   Tom Carsen, an engineer from an affluent Chicago suburb, agrees: "Reagan cut taxes -- but the Democrats in Congress wouldn't let him cut spending.   Dole will have a Republican Congress, he'll have the line item veto, he can do it all."   Liberal Democrats naturally scoff at the Dole plan, but even some conservative economists -- academics or Wall Streeters who may support Dole but are not in his inner circle -- have reservations.   "I'm a conditional supporter of the Dole plan.   The condition is that he balances the budget," said Bill Niskanen of the libertarion Cato Institute in Washington "If he cuts taxes and he balances the budget we're all better off."   But Niskanen doubts that Dole can meet those dual pledges without cutting defence, Medicare, Social Security, veterans benefits or other areas Dole says are "off the table."   Ben Bernanke, chairman of Princeton's economics department, says there are good reasons for both tax and spending cuts, but he predicts Dole will face pressure to downsize military spending and entitlement programmes like Medicare and Social Security.   Dole does have some prominent and respected economists on his side such as Nobel prize winner Gary Becker of the University of Chicago and John Taylor of Stanford.   "This is the kind of tax reduction we should have, and the growth effect is very modest," Taylor told Reuters.   Unlike the most ardent supply-siders, he said, the Dole team is adding spending cuts to the mix and not relying solely on growth.   But Alan Blinder, a Princeton economist who was vice chairman of the Federal Reserve for a time under Clinton, says the Dole plan "has two distinct credibility problems."   "I don't see anything in this plan that could raise the long-term growth rate to 3.5 percent a year.   And on the budget numbers, we've heard this before," Blinder said, recalling the "record deficits" of the Reagan years.   Some voters may decide Dole is promising too much but vote for him anyway.   "I voted for Clinton last time but I'm awfully tired of him," a retired teacher named Eileen said at a rally in Portland, Oregon last weekend.   "I don't know if Dole can do everything he says -- with the taxes and the budget.   But I sure know Clinton can't." 
4021 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  U.S. Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, architect of the controversial law requiring sanctions on non-U.S. companies that invest in oil and gas projects in Iran or Libya, on Tuesday renewed a call to President Bill Clinton to start applying penalties.   In the three weeks since Clinton signed the law, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan have sealed deals with Iran that challenge the spirit of the law, which was designed to economically isolate Iran and Libya.    "All together, these deals clearly violate the letter and intent of the law and merit sanctioning by the United States," the New York Republican said in an Aug 27 letter to Clinton.   "I urge you in the strongest of terms to apply the law you signed, before we face even more challenges that will only embolden Iran and Libya," D'Amato said.   Administration officials have yet to decide whether the law applies to any of the deals, and do not expect to issue any guidelines until early September.    Malaysian state oil company Petronas' investment to help develop the Sirri field off Iran would be the most obvious target, but if the deal was actually signed before August 5, when the U.S. law came into force, Petronas might escape sanctions.   Industry officials have said they would be surprised if Turkey or Pakistan were punished under the law, since their deals did not call for direct investments in Iran.   Turkey signed a 23-year multibillion dollar deal to buy natural gas from Iran, which would entail building a new pipeline on Turkish soil.    Iran signed an agreement to build a new refinery in Pakistan to be supplied with Iranian oil, and the two countries agreed to study the feasibility of building a gas pipeline from Iran to Pakistan and India. 
4022 !C12 !C13 !C16 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  New York's insurance regulator will move to seize Lloyd's of London's U.S. trust fund assets only if British regulators declare Lloyd's insolvent, an insurance department spokesman said on Tuesday.   The New York insurance department was closely watching Lloyd's battle in a U.S. court in Baltimore on Tuesday to win a stay of an injunction that threatens its reorganization plan.   But a department spokesman said New York would not immediately freeze the trust fund assets, which are used to pay policyholder claims, if the court ruled against Lloyd's.    Instead, it will wait for the U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, which regulates Lloyd's in Britain, to determine whether Lloyd's is solvent.   If the British regulators decide Lloyd's is solvent and that the reorganization plan will work, then New York will not need to take action, the insurance department spokesman said.   Lloyd's has argued that the reorganization plan is critical to its survival and that investors worldwide, known as Names, must decide by Wednesday whether to accept or reject the plan.    Under the plan, the 300-year-old insurance market plans to reinsure its massive liabilities into a new company called Equitas.   Lloyd's has said it is not possible to exclude American Names, or even some of them, from reinsuring into Equitas.   Lloyd's currently maintains about $12 billion in trust funds to support all its U.S. business.   The trust funds, held in Citibank, are subject to the regulatory oversight of the New York insurance department.   The trust funds are used to pay U.S. policy claims.    "We will have to wait and see what Lloyd's decides to do after today and what the DTI (U.K. Department of Trade and Industry) decides to do," said insurance department spokesman John Calagna.   "Once they make those decisions, then we'll make ours," he said.   However, Calagna noted that the insurance department's position is not new and that it has maintained for some time that it will protect the funds used to pay policyholder claims.   "If we need to take action and go to court and seize that trust fund in New York to make sure the money is there for the policyholders claims we'll do so.   But that has been our game plan all along," Calagna said.   -- Patricia Vowinkel 212-859-1716 
4023 !C13 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Amoco Corp said Tuesday a University of Alabama team is beginning a two-year study to investigate causes of a high number of brain tumors affecting employees who worked at an Amoco research center.   It said 10 employees were found to have had such tumors since 1986.   As a precaution, the company earlier this month closed a third-floor laboratory at the suburban Naperville, Ill. site, used for product development and application testing.    Earlier research efforts by Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minn. and the University of Illinois in Chicago did not uncover any link betwewen the labs and the various kinds of tumors.   "We're not going to take any chances.   We'll continue to monitor (the situation) and offer medical screenings," an Amoco spokesman said.   Four different tumors were diagnosed, some benign and others potentially lethal.   Of four employees diagnosed with glioma, one died in 1994.   Benign tumors known as Schwannomas were detected in three workers, and there were two cases of meningioma, which affects the brain's inner lining.   In addition, abenign pituitary adenoma was diagnosed in a tenth employee.   About 1,000 people work at the research center, down form 2,000 in 1990 because of job reductions and relocations.   -- Chicago newsdesk 312 408 8787 
4024 !GCAT !GDIS !GPRO  Actor Jan-Michael Vincent, best known for his role in the television series "Airwolf," was in a hospital in critical condition with a broken neck on Tuesday after a car accident, police said.   Sheriff's Lt. Rich Paddock said Vincent, 51, was apparently following his girlfriend, Michelle Wallace, to her mother's home in Mission Viejo on Monday when his car struck the rear of hers, spun out of control and hit a traffic signal.   Wallace and her two sons, age five and six, who were in the car with her, were not hurt in the accident, which occurred about 40 miles (65 km) southeast of Los Angeles.   "Airwolf" ran on CBS from 1984 to 1986. 
4025 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  At least three people were injured when an Amtrak passenger train slammed into an empty logging truck and derailed Tuesday, officials said.   The Vermonter, which runs between St. Albans, Vermont, near the Canadian border and Washington, D.C., collided with the truck at 7:51 a.m.   EDT near the rural town of Roxbury some 15 miles southeast of the state capital Montpelier, Amtrak spokeswoman Maureen Garrity said.   Vermont Central Hospital spokesman Dan Pudvah said two of the injured were treated there -- the truck driver, who was suffering from multiple trauma injuries, and a passenger.   Pudvah said he understood other people with minor injuries were being treated at the scene.   Garrity said a train conductor was also injured.   The train's engine and its six cars derailed but were still standing, state police said.   The exact number of passangers on the train was not known.   "We had 70 reservations for the train, but that doesn't mean there were 70 passengers aboard," Garrity said.   Uninjured passengers were to be taken by bus to Springfield, Massachusetts, where they will be put aboard another train to continue their journey to New York City and Washington, Garrity said.   She said the train was travelling at 54 mph when it crashed into the truck, which was crossing the tracks onto a dirt road in the rural area bordering the Northfield Mountains. 
4026 !GCAT !GCRIM  Darkness and rain forced Belgian police to suspend excavations late on Tuesday at a house owned by suspected Belgian child sex gang leader Marc Dutroux and last occupied by an accomplice he admits to murdering.   Belgian media speculated about the possibility of five bodies at the site, including those of An Marchal and Eefje Lamrbecks who Dutroux says he kidnapped a year ago from the port of Ostend and who are still missing.   The teenagers were aged 19 and 17 respectively at the time of their disappearance   Searches have extended so far to Slovakia and the Czech Republic.   "For technical reasons and the possibility of destroying evidence, we have decided to stop digging...So far nothing has been found.   We will start again at 9 a.m. (0700 GMT) tomorrow," Gendarmerie spokesman Jean-Marie Boudin told reporters.   Foreign experts assisted in the excavations on Tuesday after Dutroux, 39, a convicted multiple child rapist, was taken to the house in handcuffs and suggested sites to dig.   Boudin said police had excavated to a depth of two metres (6-1/2 feet) at one of four locations indicated by specially trained dogs inside the property, and six metres at one location in the garden.   Superintendent John Bennett, a British police officer who supervised excavations in the "House of Horrors" murder case in England two years ago which involved the use of sophisticated radar imaging equipment.   He was brought in last week to help.   Reporters allowed briefly on to the scene saw several holes in the ground, covered with blue plastic to shield them from the rain, which hindered the work.   The house was cordoned off.   The house was formerly inhabited by Dutroux' accomplice, Frenchman Bernard Weinstein, whom Dutroux has admitted killing.   Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and of Weinstein 10 days ago.   They were buried in the garden of one of Dutroux' five other houses in and around the city of Charleroi.   Dutroux told police the two girls starved to death earlier this year, nine months after they were kidnapped in June 1995.   He admits paying Weinstein and accomplice Michel Lelievre 40,000 Belgian francs ($1,300 at current rates) to kidnap them.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of Dutroux' houses.   Dutroux has also admitted kidnapping teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks a year ago.   Police are still searching for them.   Meanwhile, the national and international hunt for other missing Belgian children continues.   A Brussels police official told Reuters police were looking for at least three other Belgian girls who disappeared in the last five years.   It was not known if Dutroux was involved.   Earlier on Tuesday Slovak police said they were cooperating with Belgian collegues in the search for An and Eefje.   They said Dutroux visited Slovakia a number of times and that about 10 young Slovak women went to Belgium at his invitation.   Separately, a court in Neufchateau on Tuesday confirmed the charges of criminal association against Michel Diakostavrianos and Claude Thirault, two men arrested in the Dutroux affair last week.   In total 10 people have now been arrested in the case. 
4027 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, who is mediating in the Burundi crisis, arrived in Rome on Tuesday night amid speculation that a Catholic group was willing to sponsor talks to promote peace in the country.   The Tanzanian embassy in Rome said that Nyerere, Africa's elder statesman and an internationally-backed mediator on Burundi, would stay in Italy until next Monday but did not give a reason for his visit.   Nyerere's staff in Dar-Es-Salaam said he would attend "an international forum".   Officials said Nyerere had left instructions no statement should be made about the visit.   Diplomatic sources said that during his stay in Italy, the former president was due to have contacts with the Sant' Egidio Community, a Roman Catholic peace organisation which has been following the Burundi situation closely.   The group, which sponsors dialogue to end conflicts, hosted successful mediation to end the civil war in Mozambique and has brought Algerian opposition leaders together.   A Sant' Egidio spokesman said the group, which has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, did not foresee any formal talks on the Burundi conflict "in the next few days".   But one diplomatic source said "a lot of people are coming and going" and that Sant' Egidio hoped that "within the next couple of weeks something interesting might happen".   The source added: "The reality is that Sant' Egidio has been working on Burundi and there is some hope that something could eventually gel".   Burundi's Tutsi President Pierre Buyoya, his country under tough sanctions from its African neighbours following a military coup last month, met Nyerere in Tanzania on Sunday.   In Burundi, presidential spokesman Jean-Luc Ndizeye dismissed speculation of secret deals.   "There is no one in Rome negotiating on our behalf.   There are no secret behind-the-scenes attempts to broker any deals," he said, adding that Buyoya's government however remained willing to talk to the Hutu rebels as long as they renounced genocide and laid down their arms.   They have refused to do so.   Rebel leader Leonard Nyangoma, head of the Hutu National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), visited Rome earlier this month and had contacts with Sant' Egidio   CNDD officials in the Kenyan capital Nairobi said despite rumours of imminent contacts with Buyoya's regime, their movement would refuse to meet any Burundi envoys and had vowed to topple Buyoya.   Regional states imposed sanctions against Burundi following the July 25 coup by the Tutsi-dominated army.   Sanctions have hit the landlocked country hard, forcing the rationing of petrol and diesel and dramatically increasing prices of imported food and goods.   The fuel shortage has pushed up the cost of food grown in the interior.   Regional states demand a return to constitutional government and unconditional talks between all parties including the army and rebels.   Both sides reject unconditional negotiations.   Ousted Hutu President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who says he is still legal head of state, has remained holed up in the U.S. ambassador's residence in Bujumbura for more than a month.   Around 150,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have died in Burundi since 1993, when the country's first democratically elected Hutu president was killed in an attempted army coup. 
4028 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police prepared to use high-tech radar equipment as they searched late on Tuesday at a house owned by suspected Belgian child sex gang leader Marc Dutroux and last occupied by an accomplice he admits murdering.   The paedophile sex, porn and killings scandal has triggered an international debate on child sex abuse and prompted calls for the death sentence to be reinstated in Belgium.   Foreign experts assisted in the excavations on Tuesday after Dutroux, a convicted multiple child rapist, was brought to the house in handcuffs late on Monday and gave investigators hints on where to dig.   "Nothing has been found so far.   But the Bennett system will be deployed and we hope it will lead to discoveries," police captain Alain Bal told reporters outside the house.   Superintendent John Bennett is a British police officer who supervised excavations in the "House of Horrors" murder case in England two years ago which involved the use of sophisticated radar imaging equipment.   He was brought in last week to help.   Police also brought in Harry Jongen, a Dutch airforce lieutenant who is able to find bodies with his extraordinary sense of smell.   "Harry the Nose" -- who has most recently put his skill to work in Bosnia -- pushes iron rods in the soil to trace bodies.   "I smell the iron to see if there are human remains in the neighbourhood," Jongen told reporters in Jumet, a small village in the south of Belgium.   Bal said that Tuesday's operation was focused mainly on clearing debris from the house -- a run-down building in an old industrial neighbourhood -- in order to ready the house and its garden for the high-tech search equipment.   Reporters allowed briefly onto the scene saw several holes in the ground, covered with blue plastic to shield them from the rain, which hindered the work.   The house ws cordoned off.   The house was formerly inhabited by Dutroux' accomplice, Frenchman Bernard Weinstein, whom Dutroux has admitted killing.   Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and of Weinstein 10 days ago.   They were buried in the garden of one of Dutroux' five other houses in and around the city of Charleroi.   Dutroux told police the two girls starved to death earlier this year, nine months after they were kidnapped in June 1995.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a dungeon in another of Dutroux' houses.   Dutroux has also admitted kidnapping teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks a year ago.   Police are still searching for them.   "Dutroux is cooperating in the investigation, but I have the impression that he is making us go around in circles," public prosecutor Michel Bourlet told Reuters by telephone.   Meanwhile, the national and international hunt for other missing Belgian children continues.   A Brussels police official told Reuters police were looking for at least three other Belgian girls who disappeared in the last five years.   It was not known if Dutroux was involved.   Earlier on Tuesday Slovak police said they were cooperating with Belgian collegues in the search for An and Eefje.   They said Dutroux visited Slovakia a number of times and that about 10 young Slovak women went to Belgium at his invitation.   Separately, a court in Neufchateau on Tuesday confirmed the charges of criminal association against Michel Diakostavrianos and Claude Thirault, two men arrested in the Dutroux affair last week.   In total 10 people have now been arrested in the case. 
4029 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  France, shaken by immigrant protests including a hunger strike, chided African states on Tuesday for not helping stem the flow of people chasing a mirage of wealth only to end up as poor illegal residents.   Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, in a clear jibe at France's former African colonies, told RTL radio they were not doing enough to tackle the problem.   "There are countries which get considerable French aid and do not always give the impression of doing all they could to prevent these unfortunate individuals from ending up adrift in France, and once they are here, to take them back," he said.   French police last week stormed a Paris church to evict some 300 African immigrant protesters demanding residence permits, 10 of whom were on a hunger strike.   Exposing differences within the cabinet, Xavier Emmanuelli, secretary of state for emergency humanitarian action, said he regretted that the two-month occupation of the Saint-Bernard church had ended in police action rather than negotiations.   "I would have preferred that it happen otherwise, but it was inevitable," Emmanuelli told the French daily Le Parisien.   Four days after police burst into the church, the Africans were still holding firm on their demands, and the affair kept fuelling a fierce political debate on illegal immigration and government policy.   The opposition Left and labour unions have accused the government of harshly cracking down on helpless immigrants snared by confusing 1993 reforms to France's immigration laws.   The far-right National Front, on the other hand, said that the post-raid confusion and release of most of the Africans shows the government is incapable of dealing with the problem.   "Nothing is settled, as just four individuals have been expelled and the search for the others has been abandoned," Front deputy leader Bruno Megret told a party conference.   "Things are clear.   (French President) Mr (Jacques) Chirac has given the signal.   The doors are open," Megret said.   Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre was quoted as saying that France had so far decided to grant residence permits to 49 of the immigrants.   Jean Kahn, head of the consultative human rights commission, said after meeting Debre that up to 40 percent of the total number of immigrants were expected to be allowed to stay.   Separately, courts were drawn deeply into the controversy as judges tried to sort out a legal tangle posed by many cases.   By late Tuesday, the Paris administrative tribunal had upheld expulsion orders against 61 of 89 Africans involved in the church protest while throwing out 15 such orders.   Four were deported on a military plane on Saturday along with dozens of other illegal African immigrants.   The Paris appeals court ordered the release on technical grounds of six of 13 immigrants still in custody since Friday's raid, but upheld detention of the remaining seven.   The court was still hearing appeals on another 40 Africans ordered freed by a lower court on Sunday but who still may ultimately end up being expelled.   It said the hunger strikers, who ended a 52-day fast on Sunday, were too weak to be deported.   The Africans have called for a protest on September 18 in front of the headquarters of the Council of Europe in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. 
4030 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  French Industry Minister Franck Borotra said in an interview appearing on Wednesday that state subsidies to industry were only one element of the competition policy the European Commission has the job of applying.   "All forms of unfair competition must be fought against in the European single market.   I'm referring in particular to competitive (currency) devaluations and counterfeit, but also the use of certain Community (European Union) aid," Borotra said in an interview to appear in Wednesday's edition of Le Figaro.    "Talking of competition and overlooking the consequences of competitive devaluation is talking about subsidiary issues at the expense of the essential one," Borotra was quoted as saying in the newspaper interview.   France has been campaigning against the price advantage that companies gain in European Union countries that allow their currencies to depreciate against those of other EU countries in what it calls "competitive devaluation."   An advance copy of Borotra's interview was supplied to Reuters.   Borotra said France was below the average in the European Union in giving state subsidies to industry.    He said in what appeared to be a clear signal to the European Commission about state subsidy control: "I believe that in the area of employment, we must abandon an overly administrative approach and adopt a more economic and socially based one."   On wider policy between the EU and beyond, Borotra said: "We must apply a less naive trade policy vis-a-vis the outside.   It must be based on reciprocity.   If necessary, we should use the trade defences at Europe's disposal when European companies are threatened by unfair competition."    This was particularly relevent in shipbuilding and access to Asian car markets.   On the European Commission's job of reviewing corporate mergers, Borotra was not convinced by proposals from European Competition Commisioner Karel Van Miert that the Commission be given more say by lowering the threshold at which the Commission assesses mergers instead of national governments.   "To me, the need for lowering the thresholds is not proven.   We are more in favour of a solution which would allow for cases to be referred to the Commission on the basis of derogation where there are several notifications," Borotra said.   European Commission jurisdiction for vetting mergers on competition grounds is triggered once the companies concerned pass specific size thresholds based on turnover.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
4031 !GCAT !GDIS  Some 750 people were evacuated on Tuesday near Metz in eastern France after a container carrying 50 tonnes of a highly-inflammable gas derailed at a station, officials said.   Authorities said the locals were evacuated while experts emptied a wagon of its cargo of propylene after it went off the rails following a shunting error at Montigny-Les-Metz south of Metz city.   Officials said there was no gas leak and the locals were being housed temporarily in a school and a cultural centre. 
4032 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Finland must still decide whether or not to link the markka to Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), central bank governor Sirkka Hamalainen said on Tuesday.   Asked at a news conference to comment on Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's recent remarks about the decision on a link, Hamalainen said Lipponen had said "very explicitly that in a relatively near future the decision will be made on whether or not Finland will join ERM."   She did not mention a time frame for the decision, but her response focused rather on the decision itself.   Hamalainen said the situation had changed since the spring when problems relating to an ERM link were centered on Finland.   But now the focus was more on Europe, mainly Germany and France, the Finnish news agency STT reported.   Speculation a decision to link may be imminent was recently intensified on financial markets by Lipponen's reported remarks that an ERM decision would come "in the fairly near future."   Comments by other government officials have suggested Finland may opt for a link.   The markka has been floating since September 1992.   -- Helsinki newsroom +358 0 6805 0247 
4033 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iraq's deputy U.N. ambassador said on Tuesday the United States was hindering the implementation of an oil-for-food deal by insisting on too many monitors to supervise the plan.   But Saeed Hasan, in comments to reporters, did not say if these objections would jeopardise the plan, expected to be implemented early next month.   U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa, asked about implementation of the oil-for-food deal, said: "We are chugging along nicely.   We expect the secretary-general to be able to report soon."   Before the plan can go ahead, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali must issue a report giving the green light.   At issue is a May 20 agreement allowing Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil to purchase badly needed food, medicine and other supplies to ease the impact of sanctions that have been in force since August 1990 after Baghdad invaded Kuwait.   About one third of the $2 billion is to be deducted for reparations and U.N. costs.   "We appeal to the United States to stop its intervention, which is unneeded, not fruitful, rather harmful and not constructive, to stop hindering the process of implementation of the memorandum of understanding," Hasan said.   "They are interfering and pressing to augment the number of international staff and this is not legal and not justified," he said, adding that the number of monitors was up to the U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) in consultation with Iraq.   "The number proposed now would use from the budget of humanitarian programmes an amount which supasses the money to be allocated for five-man humanitarian sectors -- electricity, water sewage, education and agriculture," he said.   Security Council president Tono Eitel of Germany, in answer to a query, said Iraq had not protested to him.   "It is more efficient to complain to you," he said.   DHA, at the insistence of Washington, called this month for about 260 monitors to supervise the export of oil and the import and distribution of humanitarian supplies, including the northern areas not under Baghdad's control.   About 151 monitors are to be scattered throughout the rest of the country, the main point of contention with Baghdad.   Yasushi Akashi, undersecretary-general for DHA, has said the monitors, to be paid for by Iraq, would cost less than 3 percent of the $1.3 billion Iraq can spend on supplies from the oil deal over six months.   The United States was instrumental several weeks ago in delaying acceptance of an Iraqi food distribution plan until enough monitors were appointed.   Last April it proposed last-minute amendments to the oil-for-food deal.   The United Nations wants the deal to be implemented soon as oil flows must begin before food is imported and Iraq has not objected to the oil monitors.   But the diplomats said if Iraq refuses to let the monitors into the country the Security Council's sanctions committee can block the importation of food at any stage in the process.   In Baghdad, the United Nations' new relief coordinator, Gualtiero Fulcheri of Italy, took up his post, replacing Mohamed Zejjari of Morocco.   Diplomats in the Iraq capital said the number of U.N. monitors was bound to be a problem. 
4034 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The General Workers Union (UGT), traditionally close to the ruling Socialists, said the government's inflation target for next year was unrealistic and it would be demanding that wages rose more than prices.   The government is drawing up its 1997 budget plans on the basis of an average 2.5 percent inflation rate next year, down from some 3.8 percent at present.   "I think it is a very bad idea for the government to talk of inflation of two to 2.5 percent," UGT Secretary-General Joao Proenca told a news conference.   Any attempt to drive inflation down too far, too quickly would hurt jobs and would be opposed (by the UGT), he said.   Public sector employees should have a wage rise next year in excess of inflation.   Proenca said that government's budget plan, which is due to be presented to parliament by October 15, must serve to create jobs by boosting investment.   He said the union was resigned to the fact that the 1996 target laid down in a three-way accord between the government, unions and employees for a one percent cut in the unemployment rate -- currently around 7.2 percent -- would not be reached.   The best that the union could hope for was to stabilise the jobless rate at its current high level, he said.   --Lisbon bureau 3511-3150035 
4035 !GCAT !GCRIM  The daughter and 14-year-old nephew of a Mafia boss were shot dead in a Sicilian cemetery on Tuesday in a Mob vendetta, police said.   Santa Puglisi, 22, was shot in the back and the head as she knelt praying by the tomb of her husband, Matteo Romeo, who was himself gunned down in an ambush last year.   Police said a gunman armed with a pistol shot Puglisi and her cousin Salvatore Botta from close range before slipping out of the cemetery.   Another cousin, a girl of 12, escaped unhurt.   "They were certainly victims of a dreadful Mafia vendetta," assistant magistrate Mario Amato told reporters.   "Never have we reached such levels of degradation and atrocity in Catania.   Now we've hit bottom."   Puglisi's father Antonino, head of the Savasta Mafia clan, is in jail charged with several murders and association with the Mob.   A group of wailing women gathered near the Savasta vault where Puglisi went to lay flowers and pray at the graveside every day.   She had taken her young cousins along for company.   Police set up roadblocks in the eastern Sicilian city and were preparing to question the girl who was under police protection and being treated for shock. 
4036 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A French judge has begun investigating allegations that the ruling RPR party's unofficial treasurer ordered a building firm to put two party members on its payroll, the weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported on Tuesday.   The satirical newspaper said Yves Bot, public prosecutor in Nanterre near Paris, opened the probe in July into former Rally For the Republic official Louise-Yvonne Casetta.   It quoted two former heads of construction company Charpentiers de Paris as testifying that Casetta had told them to put two party secretaries on its payroll for several years.   There was no immediate reaction from Casetta or the RPR.   Former Paris housing authority officials have alleged that commissions paid by companies bidding for city contracts were channelled to the RPR created and long led by President Jacques Chirac, then Paris mayor.   France has been racked for the past few years by a series of scandals over illegal funding of political parties by firms seeking public works contracts from the country's main cities. 
4037 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Cash from assets confiscated from drug traffickers will be used for the first time by an international organisation to help fight the illicit trade in narcotics, the United Nations said on Tuesday.   Luxembourg has become the first country to contribute funds derived from drug dealers' assets to the U.N.'s Vienna-based drug control agency.   The money will be used by the United Nations International Drugs Control Programme to help train drug control officials, including police, prosecutors and customs officers, in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, the U.N. said.   The agency's executive director Giorgio Giacomelli said Luxembourg's contribution marked the first time a country had transferred funds to an international body to fight drug trafficking.   Luxembourg's provision of $200,000, although modest, was considered an important step in attempts to persuade other nations to follow suit.   The idea of using seized assets was enshrined in a 1988 international convention against illicit traffic in drugs.   "This is a radical breakthrough in the convention.   The climate was such in 1988 that many thought that such transfers were just pie in the sky," U.N. spokeswoman Nancy Borman told Reuters.   "It makes sense to have the fund and cross-border cooperation...drugs can come from one country, traffickers from another and the proceeds from drugs laundered in yet another country," she added.   Funds set up in several countries containing cash from drugs proceeds or from the sale of seized property bought with drugs money are estimated to total hundreds of millions of dollars.   The U.N. drugs body said it was encouraged by a new commitment among many states to legislate against money laundering, cutting off a major lifeline for traffickers.   Broad new anti-money laundering laws have recently been adopted in such countries as Australia, the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada and Japan.   South Africa's ruling African National Congress said on Monday parliament would soon study new legislation against money laundering that puts the onus on banks and other institutions to report suspicious transactions.   Ironically, Austria, the home of the drugs agency and other U.N. organisations, has come under fire this year from the United States, which said Vienna condoned a secretive banking system that made the Alpine republic a harbour for dirty money.   Washington last year ranked Austria alongside Colombia, Venezuela and Thailand in a league table of countries that tolerate money laundering.   The European Commission has ordered Vienna to start taking steps to outlaw anonymous bank accounts, in which huge amounts of dirty money, in particular from Eastern Europe, are believed to be deposited.   Austria, the only EU country which permits nameless accounts, has ignored the Commission's demands, arguing that the accounts were part of tradition and a symbol of personal liberty. 
4038 !C17 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  Ferdinand Piech, management board chairman of Volkswagen AG, on Tuesday defended the decision by the Saxony government to pay out subsidies to the company in defiance of a European Union ban.   "We believe that the decision by the Premier of Saxony to grant subsidies to Volkswagen is a decision for the people and for jobs in Saxony.   This is also how we view our decision to invest in this location," Piech told journalists.    Saxony and the European Commission locked horns in June when the Commission approved only 540 million marks ($365.5 million) of a proposed 780 million marks in subsidies for VW to build two plants in the formerly communist east German state of Saxony.   Saxony premier Kurt Biedenkopf however decided to hand over all the money anyway, saying 23,000 jobs depended on it.   "Volkswagen has created jobs with a future in Saxony, a step that leads the way for the entire region," Piech said.   He added the subsidies, which Volkswagen will use for expansion at plants in the region, will create around 3000 new jobs.   Already investment in Saxony had already resulted in the creation of some 20,000 jobs, Piech said, adding Volkswagen has been the leading private investor in the new German states.   By the end of 1997 VW will have invested the entire scheduled investment volume of 3.5 billion marks, Piech said.   --John Gilardi, Frankfurt Newsroom, +49 69 756525 
4039 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said on Tuesday the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's decision to postpone Bosnian municipal elections was correct and sent the right signal to Bosnians living in Germany.   The OSCE said it was postponing the municipal polls set for September 14 because of alleged irregularities in Serb voter registrations but would press on with other elections scheduled for the same date.   "It would have been ideal to hold the differenent elections on the same day but today's decision sends the right signal," Kinkel said in a statement.   "The OSCE remains committed to holding free and democratic elections.   It will act decisively in cases of clear abuse and manipulation," he said.   Germany has taken in around 320,000 Bonsnian refugees -- more than any other country outside former Yugoslavia.   "Their readiness to return home depends not least upon being able to rely on the stability of the political situation," Kinkel said. 
4040 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland on Tuesday discounted environmentalist criticism of Norway's oil and gas industry, saying the responsibility for dealing with climatic change lay with the international community.   Norway would remain a large energy exporter while continuing to strive for environmental excellence, she said.   "Some critics argue Norway is a serious part of the (environmental) problem since we produce oil and gas.   And the hard core of our critics even argue that we stand on a weak footing, exactly because we produce oil and gas," Brundtland told delegates at the opening of the 1996 Offshore Northern Seas conference.   "The threat of climate change has been known to the world for 10 years, and still we have not yet worked out legally binding commitments, procedures, time tables and targets that work."   Harsh measures to reduce emissions in some countries would be nullified if other nations pursued laissez-faire policies.   "This is the intrinsic global nature of the climate threat," Brundtland said.   International pressure to implement a partial solution in which developed nations agreed to make equal percentage reductions in emissions did not take into consideration measures already introduced in some countries, such as Norway which has already imposed duties on the use of fossil fuels, she added.   "If we agree now on equal percentage reductions, those of us who have done a lot will be penalised, while those who have done little so far will look real good," she said.   Norway produces around 3.2 million barrels per day of oil, making it the world's second largest crude exporter after Saudi Arabia.   It will become among the top five gas suppliers to continental Europe from October when it opens the giant Troll gas field.   Brundtland said per capita emissions in Norway amounted to 8.2 tonnes per year, lower than the European Union average.   "An agreement based on equal percentage reductions among developed countries would require us to take measures that other countries would not dream of, such as restricting the use of cars, or closing down competitive and comparably clean industries," she added.   Emissions from the offshore sector made up about 22 percent of the national total.   In Britain and the United States, the discharge of climatic gas per unit of oil produced was around three to 12 times respectively that of Norwegian emissions, she said.   If Norway reduced exports of gas the gap would be filled by Russia or some other country, increasing global emissions by a factor of eight or nine, Brundtland said. 
4041 !GCAT !GCRIM  The following is a chronology of the main events in an unfolding child sex scandal which came to light when the bodies of two young girls were discovered in the garden of a convicted sex offender.   June 1995: Eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo disappear while on a short walk near their home in Grace-Hollogne, eastern Belgium.   They were last seen by a motorway bridge, waving at passing cars.   August 1995: An Marchal, 19, and Eefje Lambrecks 17, disappear in the Belgian port town of Ostend while on holiday, after attending a hypnotist's show.   The teenagers were last seen getting off a tram.   December 1995: Marc Dutroux is arrested on charges of car theft and related crimes, and spends almost four months in prison.   Dutroux had been released for good behaviour from jail in 1992 after serving only three years of a 13-year sentence for multiple child rape.   February/March 1996: Around this time Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune, held captive in one of Dutroux' houses in southern Belgium, die of starvation while he is in jail.   August 13, 1996: Dutroux, 39, arrested, charged along with accomplice Michel Lelievre with abduction and illegal imprisonment of children.   Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin, a key witness in the case, is arrested and charged with being an accomplice.   August 15: Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, discovered alive in a makeshift dungeon at Dutroux' house in Marcinelle.   Both girls had been sexually abused.   Delhez had been missing for a week, Dardenne had disappeared nearly three months previously.   August 17: Dutroux leads police to bodies of Julie and Melissa, buried in the garden of another of his houses, in Sars-La-Bussiere along with body of his accomplice Bernard Weinstein.   Dutroux admits killing Weinstein, saying he had given him money to keep the girls fed in his absence.   Police start programme of searches at Dutroux' five other houses.   August 20: Brussels businessman Jean-Michel Nihoul, a contact of Dutroux, is charged with criminal association.   August 22: Michael Diakostavrianos, of Greek origin, arrested, charged with criminal associaton.   Two of his houses are searched.   August 23: Claude Thirault, a friend of Dutroux, arrested and charged with criminal association.   August 25: Detectives looking at the sex scandal arrest Chief Detective Georges Zicot - specialist in tackling vehicle theft - for truck theft, insurance fraud and document forgery.   Two others, Gerard Pinon and Thierry Dehaan also arrested in connection with the vehicle theft ring. 
4042 !C42 !CCAT !E13 !E131 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Italy's inflation rate is set to decline further in coming months but rising wage costs make a sustained drop below three percent unlikely, U.S. investment Salomon Brothers said on Tuesday.   "Rising economic slack -- following a sharper-than-expected economic slowdown -- will keep inflation on a downward trend in the coming months," said the bank in an international market roundup.   "However, accelerating unit labour costs render unlikely a sustained drop of inflation below three percent -- the Bank of Italy's target for next year," the survey added.   Salomon said adoption of a tight 1997 budget would allow the Bank of Italy to ease interest rates again later this year but added "any easing will remain moderate."   Forecasts based on preliminary cpi data from 10 Italian cities show August inflation rising by 3.3 to 3.4 percent.   Wage negotiations in the engineering sector were delaying the impact of accelerating unit labour costs on domestic inflation, Salomon said.   "With annual productivity growth averaging two percent over the past decade, the rise of employee compensation probably would need to slow by at least one percentage point from the projected six percent pace in 1996 in order to sustain an inflation rate of three percent or less over the medium term," Salomon added.   "It remains to be seen whether unions will accept new wage restraint," it added.   Milan newsroom 392-66102321 
4043 !GCAT !GPOL  Conflicting opinion polls on Tuesday showed the popularity of French President Jacques Chirac rising sharply or falling to its worst level in eight months.   A survey by the polling institute BVA said 46 percent of voters had a good opinion of Chirac, up from 40 percent in July.   The survey to be published on Thursday in the weekly Paris Match saw a similar surge in the popularity of Prime Minister Alain Juppe to 37 percent compared with 30 percent last month.   A CSA survey for the weekly La Vie said Chirac's popularity slipped to 41 percent -- the lowest level since last January -- from 43 percent last month.   It said Juppe's standing dropped to 33 percent from 35 percent.   There was no explanation for the discrepancy.   CSA said last week's police storming of a church occupied by African imigrants demanding residence permits and prospects of social protests against planned budget cuts were weighing on the standing of the conservative government. 
4044 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iraq's deputy U.N. ambassador said on Tuesday that the United States was hindering the implementation of an oil-for-food deal by insisting on too many monitors to supervise the plan.   But Saeed Hasan, in comments to reporters, did not say if the U.S. insistence would jeopardize the plan, expected to be implemented sometime next month.   As he spoke chief U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa said: "We are chugging along nicely.   we expect the secretary-General to be able to report soon" on implementing the oil-for-food deal.    "We appeal to the United States to stop its intervention, which is unneeded, not fruitful, rather harmful and not constructive, to stop hindering the process of implementation of the memorandum of understanding," Hasan said.   "They are interfering and pressing to augment the number of international staff and this is not legal and not justified," he said, adding that the number of monitors were up to the U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) in consultation with Iraq.    "The number proposed now would use from the budget of humanitarian programmes an amount which supasses the money to be allocated for five man humanitarian sectors -- electricity, water sewage, education and agriculture," he said.   At issue is a May 20 deal between Iraq and the United Nations that allows Baghdad to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months to purchase humanitarian goods for its people suffering under sanctions since August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait.    DHA, at the insistence of the United States, earlier this month, called for about 260 monitors to supervise the export of oil and the import and distribution of humanitarian supplies.   Yasushi Akashi, the undersecretary-general for DHA has said the cost for the monitors is less than 3 percent of the $1.3 billion Iraq can spend on supplies from the oil deal over six months, after costs for war reparations and other matters are deducted.   The United States was instrumental several weeks ago in delaying acceptance of an Iraqi food distribution plan until enough monitors were appointed.   It also came in with last minute amendments to the oil for food deal, delaying its signature for about a month.   Unclear is what Iraq's objections mean.   The United Nations has insisted implementation of the deal can go ahead soon as oil flows must begin before food is imported and Iraq has not objected to the oil monitors.   But diplomats say if Iraq baulks at the monitors, the Security Council's sanctions committee can block the importation of food at any stage in the process. 
4045 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Canada reitereated complaints about the European Union's grain import tariff system during talks on Tuesday between European Commission and Canadian Wheat Board officials, a Canadian diplomat said.   The system, which involved conversion of import quotas and variable levies into fixed tariffs which will be gradually reduced over six years, was introduced in July 1995 to comply with the WTO world trade agreement.   "Our fundamental concern is that duties are based on U.S. reference prices and grades," the official said.   It means that imports of Canadian wheat, which commands a premium over U.S. wheat, could exceed the intervention price plus-55-percent ceiling set by the WTO agreement.   High world prices had made the issue academic during the past year but this was likely to change as markets fall, the official added.   Durum wheat and high quality common wheat are currently imported duty free into the EU.   Canada supplies about two-thirds of EU annual 1.2 million tonnes imports of durum and high quality soft wheat compared with only 25 percent from the United States.   Canada believes an increase in the special rebate on imports of high quality common wheat to 14 Ecus a tonne, from eight Ecus, from January 1, 1996, was inadequate.   It is also unhappy that the EU raised the quality standard for durum wheat to 73 percent vitreous grain content, from 60 percent, from July 1.   The move is in expectation of a bigger EU durum wheat crop after last season's drought-induced shortage.   But it means that Canadian durum wheat would now be classified as lower quality common wheat and subject to higher duties.   "It hinders our ability to supply the Italian market," the diplomat said.   European Commission and Canadian grain officials are due to meet again in October when the supply situation on both sides of the Atlantic will be clearer.   Commission officials were not available for comment. 
4046 !C13 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Washington's policy of using trade sanctions as a political weapon is penalising close trading partners and threatening the future development of the oil industry, the chairman and CEO of U.S. oil giant Mobil Corp said on Tuesday.   Lucio Noto said the future success of the international oil industry depending on creating and sustaining global alliances but the development of such partnerships may be threatened by the increasing use of punitive trade sanctions.   "I am very concerned about the growing propensity by a U.S. administration and congress to impose unilateral trade sanctions that have the effect of alienating and penalising its trading partners -- like the EU," Noto told delegates at the 1996 Offshore Northern Seas conference in Stavanger.   "Sanctions are not the way to make global trade work...they just have the effect of antagonising and alienating our trading partners," he added.   Noto said oil companies could play a positive role to stabilise economies and help growth in poor and politically turbulent countries.   "Forcing us to leave accomplishes nothing," he said.   "If you really want to affect change it has to be through a process of constructive engagement."   He did not mention any countries but he was referring to a new U.S. law penalising countries or firms doing business with Iran or Libya, both of them major oil-producing countries.   Noto said the oil industry had to concentrate harder on developing relationships with political decision-makers "who might try to force decisions on us that would be bad."   New partnerships between oil companies will also be an important feature of the oil industry in coming years, Noto said.   "There is nothing new about oil companies working together to discover and develop oil and gas reserves...but the future of the industry is such that there will also be common ground as we stroll downstream."   Strategic alliances such as the planned tie-up of Mobil's and British Petroleum's European downstream operations will become more common, Noto said.   "This trend of strange bedfellows will continue as we look for mutual interests and improved returns." 
4047 !GCAT !GPOL  Prime Minister Alain Juppe on Tuesday hailed handicapped athletes who took part in Atlanta's Paralympic Games as an example for gloom-stricken France.   "What we hear every morning is gloom, resignation and scepticism...You are the opposite," Juppe told a successful French team at Paris airport as he welcomed them back from the games which followed the July-August Olympics.   "If you had been struck...by the disease of scepticism, gloom and resignation, you would not be here.   You are a true example for the nation," he said.   The French team won 95 medals in Atlanta, 35 of them gold.   Opinion polls consistently show French voters pessimistic and fed up as the economy stagnates and unemployement lingers at near-record levels. 
4048 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Wide-scale civil war could break out in Burundi and spread to neighbouring states if the country's military leader failed to open talks with his opponents, Former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere was quoted on Tuesday as saying.   "I hope talks will begin, because otherwise I foresee a generalised civil war that could destabilise the Great Lakes region," Nyerere, Africa's elder statesman, told the French daily Le Monde in an interview.   Nyerere said that, barring talks, Burundi's Hutu rebels could link up with the Hutu leaders of Rwanda's 1994 genocide.   "This will drag Rwanda into the conflict, and perhaps also neighbouring countries where both camps could find support," said Nyerere, an internationally backed mediator on Burundi.   He was due in Rome on Tuesday amid speculation that the Catholic group Sant' Egidio was willing to sponsor talks to promote peace in Burundi.   Around 150,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have died in Burundi since 1993, when the country's first democratically elected Hutu president was killed in an attempted army coup.   In an interview with the French daily La Croix, the head of Burundi's Frodebu party which was ousted in Tutsi President Pierre Buyoya's coup, threatened force to regain power and called for international military intervention in Burundi.   "The junta must return power to the civilians willy-nilly ...If it stays in power we'll use force," Jean Minani said.   Asked what he expected from the international community, he said: "That it reinforce sanctions by an armed intervention.   When peace is restored, we shall be able to negotiate."   Landlocked Burundi is under tough sanctions from its African neighbours following a military coup last month.   Nyerere said he hoped the sanctions would help Buyoya find a settlement as they helped former South African president F. De Klerk dismantle apartheid.   "(Like De Klerk) Buyoya must be in a position to tell his most hardline supporters: 'What is the alternative if we don't negotiate?'  ," he said.   Nyerere said he had been surprised by the West' lukewarm attitude to the sanctions.   "I would like western countries which pushed Africa to democracy to support the stand of the African heads of state," he said. 
4049 !C13 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Ninety-one percent of European banks believe their computer information systems will be ready for the introduction of the Euro, the single currency to be used under European Monetary Union (EMU), a study released on Tuesday said.   But 54 percent have not completed drawing up their strategies to this end and only 15 percent say they have earmarked money.   Monetary union is due to come into effect on January 1, 1999.   The survey of 205 banks in 15 countries was conducted by Cap Gemini, the largest European computer services company, and market research group International Data Corp (IDC).   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
4050 !GCAT !GCRIM  While a global child sex conference in Sweden and a Belgian paedophilia scandal grab headlines, a trial in Germany entered its 234th day on Tuesday, highlighting the legal nightmare of child abuse cases.   The three linked court cases in the city of Mainz are also making history as judges test the limits of legal practice in an attempt to solve Germany's biggest child abuse case.   Twenty four adults from two extended families in nearby Worms are variously charged with raping or sadistically torturing the two families' children, or hiring them out for others to abuse.   Many acts are alleged to have been filmed.   The first case began in November 1994 and the others in April 1995.   So far, with all the accused remaining silent and the court having to deal with all the legal obstacles and emotional trauma that go with pitting abused children against adults or parents, there is no sign when they will end.   "The main problem is the whole issue of questioning children in court," said a spokesman for the Mainz prosecutor's office.   "You put a child in front of a panel of black-robed judges in a forbidding court room, and it's frightened," he said.   "Then there are arguments between the lawyers about the evidence, and the child is even more uncomfortable."   In Worms, some children were only six months old at the time of the alleged abuse.   Others refused to speak in court, even though parents and relatives accused of mistreating them were kept outside.   In addition, children's testimony may not be as reliable or lucid as that of adults, and leaves huge scope for defence and prosecution to bring in experts to evaluate it at length.   But in the absence of other evidence, convictions look impossible without testimony from the 16 children believed to have been abused in over 200 cases.   One 10-year-old boy who gave evidence in one of the cases was faced with doing it all over again in a parallel trial.   German law requires testimony in court to be "direct".   But faced with inflicting so much trauma on the boy again, the court agreed a new interpretation of the term.   The judge questioned him in an adjoining room, filled with children's toys.   For the first time in German history, witness testimony was relayed to the courtroom by video.   The move, already common in some other countries, means there will almost certainly be an appeal to a higher court if convictions are secured.   But it has also galvanised German authorities to seek new ways of hearing evidence from children.   "We are working on a number of concrete ideas to change the way children give evidence," said a justice ministry spokeswoman.   "The Mainz solution is not perfect as it doesn't allow the judge to see the reaction of the accused."   Other suggestions involve recording testimony and admitting it in other cases to avoid repeat questioning.   Investigation and questioning techniques are also changing to face the specific pitfalls of child abuse cases.   Three or four years ago, public awareness of child abuse prompted almost half of divorced couples contesting custody of their children to accuse partners of incest, said Siegfried Willutzki, chairman of the Family Judges' Association.   But the increased use of specially trained investigators and judges produced a sharp drop in such accusations, he said. 
4051 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  The sexual exploitation of children is a booming business in rich and poor countries alike, an international conference was told on Tuesday.   A global conference on sexual abuse of children opened in the Swedish capital as horrifying cases of alleged abuse were reported from Albania, Australia and Belgium.   "Built on greed and the abuse of power, the commercial sexual exploitation of children has become a global, multi-billion dollar industry," said Carol Bellamy, Executive director of UNICEF.   "This abhorrent practice takes place in virtually every country.   Indeed, the business of child sexual exploitation appears to be booming and the richest countries are no exception," she told the opening session of the international conference organised to tackle the issue.   The Stockholm meeting, the first to bring governmental and non-governmental organisations together to discuss the subject, opened as a paedophile scandal unfolded in Belgium and an elderly Australian man was charged with 850 child sex crimes.   A Briton was arrested in Albania on Sunday and charged with sexually abusing two boys.   In Stockholm, more than 1,000 delegates will spend the next five days discussing measures to control the exploitation of children for sex, child pornography and sex tourism.   The conference is jointly organised by the Swedish government, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), pressure group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism) and the NGO group on the rights of the child.   ECPAT chief Ron O'Grady told the conference that children were becoming casualties in the move towards globalisation.   "When global values are determined by television and commercial market forces, children and young women end up becoming commodities to be bought and sold at whim," he told delegates.   "It is hard to know which is the greater evil.   The fact that so many children are used in commercial sex or the fact that so many male adults are willing to abuse them," he said.   More than one million children worldwide are reportedly forced into child prostitution, trafficked and sold for sexual purposes and used in the production of child pornography, according to UNICEF figures.   Growing awareness of AIDS had motivated some brothel visitors to seek younger prostitutes falsely believing that they had less chance of infecting them with HIV, O'Grady said.   In fact, children are more susceptible to infection due to their physical size and because they are less likely to insist on the use of condoms, he added.   UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador British actor Roger Moore told Reuters that poverty was often a factor in the sexual exploitation of children -- but not the cause.   "I do not think being poor is a reason for selling your child into prostitution because there are many poor people who do not sell their bodies or their children's bodies," he said.   "Laws can be changed.   Do not wait, do it now," he said.   Lisbet Palme, chairman of the Swedish UNICEF committee and widow of assassinated Prime Minister Olof Palme, said the horrific disclosures in Belgium had proved the importance of openness in combatting child sex abuse.   "The most important thing is to be able to talk about the problem.   Take a look at the recent tragedy in Belgium, we saw grown men crying in rage and frustration," she said.   Belgian police investigating Marc Dutroux, suspected of running a paedophile ring, said on Monday they had arrested a 10th suspect.   In the rapidly-widening child sex abuse scandal, two kidnapped eight-year-old girls have been found dead, two other girls rescued and police are hunting at least two more girls who have been missing for a year.   A 15-strong delegation from Belgium, including Foreign Affairs Minister Erik Derycke, is attending the conference. 
4052 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Bangladesh's main opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia on Tuesday accused the Speaker of parliament of being partisan and the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of plotting to eliminate opponents.   "They are killing our people everywhere and forcing our supporters to run for life," Khaleda told a news conference.   "Such an administration and one-sided parliament cannot serve interest of the country and its people."   Khaleda threatened to boycott parliament unless the ruling Awami League stopped "persecution" of the members and supporters of her Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).   Khaleda, who served as prime minister for five years until Hasina replaced her in a June general election, asked her followers to prepare for a "movement" against repression and misrule by Hasina's government.   "We will not tolerate any injustice," said Khaleda, the current opposition leader in parliament.   Khaleda issued the first warning to boycott parliament on Monday, telling a public rally in the northern district of Bogra that her followers might boycott assembly sessions chaired by the "partisan" speaker.   "The ruling Awami league is making parliament ineffective and the speaker is contributing to that by not allowing the opposition MPs enough time to speak," she said.   She blamed the recent violence in Bogra, where four people have been killed by police, on the government, describing it as a "pre-planned attack".   Hasina, speaking to a group of engineers in Dhaka on Monday, accused Khaleda's BNP of resorting to "terrorism" as part of its plan to create instability and chaos in the country.   "This is not desireable...and we will deal with such designs sternly," the prime minister said.   Speaker Humayun Rasheed Choudhury said he had received death threats from anonymous callers after opposition parties threatened to boycott proceedings chaired by him.   He told the Bengali newspaper Banglabazar Patrika that such threats were possibly coming from "those who want to push the country into chaos and unrest".   The callers said his life could be cut short, the newspaper said.   The speaker was not immediately available for comment.   Choudhury, a former foreign minister and veteran diplomat, was appointed speaker of the 330-member parliament on July 13, a month after general elections returned the Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power after 21 years.   Choudhury also was president of the 41st session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1986-87.   Awami legislators in parliament described the threat as a "grave threat to democracy" and urged all to remain alert against any move to thwart peace and stability. 
4053 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  Mother Teresa, the renowned Roman Catholic missionary, spoke for the first time since her week-old illness on Tuesday, expressing concern about her hospital bills and a charity home she runs, doctors said.   "I want to go home," Dr Dinamani Banerjee, one of six doctors treating her, quoted Mother Teresa as saying on Tuesday, her 86th birthday.   "I am anxious who is going to pay the hospital bill."   Doctors have removed Mother Teresa's respirator but left a tube by which to feed her, Banerjee said.   "We are keeping a close watch on her," he said.   "We will monitor her condition when she sleeps in the night.   Only then, in the morning we can say whether she is out of danger or not."   Banerjee said doctors planned to monitor Mother Teresa's condition in intensive care for another three to four days before moving her to a private room.   "She was concerned about her work at the Missionaries of Charity," he said, referring to the religious order Mother Teresa founded 47 years ago to care for the needy and destitute.   Her colleagues, gathered at Calcutta's Woodlands Nursing Home, were overjoyed at Mother Teresa's recovery.   "God has answered our prayers, it is a miracle," said one nun.   They said they wanted the 1979 Nobel peace laureate to spend more time in hospital to recuperate fully.   "If she returns to the Home she will be back to her usual hectic schedule," one nun said.   "She will again be up at four in the morning."   Dr Sukumar Mukherjee, another doctor attending Mother Teresa, said she wanted to leave hospital on Wednesday.   "She is a very positive lady.   She has shown a tremendous response to the whole treatment," he said.   "Mother Teresa has been without the respirator for over 12 hours.   We hope we will maintain that."   Mother Teresa was taken to hospital on August 20 with high fever and severe vomiting and later suffered heart failure.   She was also diagnosed as having malaria.   Her fever has since abated and her heart beat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   Over the past few days, Mother Teresa has breathed intermittently without a respirator.   On Tuesday she was able to breathe entirely on her own for the first time, doctors said.   Dr S.K. Sen, medical director of the hospital, said that when he asked her in the morning how she was feeling, Mother Teresa scribbled on a piece of paper: "I have got a pacemaker."   Mother Teresa, unable to speak because of the respiratory tube, was fitted with the heart-regulating device in 1989.   The nun's birthday prompted greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent her get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   "Ask for a miracle.   Happy Birthday to our Dearest Mother," read a placard at the Shishu Bhavan children's home in central Calcutta run by Mother Teresa's order.   On Monday, both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery.   Prayers continued in Calcutta, one of the world's poorest cities, where the Missionaries of Charity run several homes for the poor and destitute. 
4054 !GCAT !GDIS !GREL  Indian search parties on Tuesday recovered more dead bodies of Hindu pilgrims along the route to a holy cave in the Himalayas, taking the death toll to at least 161, the government of Jammu and Kashmir state said.   "With the recovery of more dead bodies by the police patrol parties on the track, the death toll of the Amarnath tragedy has risen to 161," the government said in a statement.   Last week, bitter winds and heavy downpours lashed a 48-km (30-mile) Himalayan pilgrimage route, stranding almost 70,000 people in freezing tempratures on the mountainside for three days before help could be sent to them.   There were many naked "sadhus", or Hindu holy men who smear their bodies with ash, among the dead, the authorities said.   Some 112,000 Hindus came to Kashmir for this year's trek to the 3,880-metre-high (12,725 feet) Amarnath cave, where devotees worship an ice stalagmite believed to be a manifestation of the "lingam", or phallus, of the Hindu God Shiva.   "The patrol parties are searching the tracks to eliminate the chances of dead bodies of any pilgrims remaining there," the government's statement said.   Soldiers and military helicopters were pressed in to rescue the pilgrims.   Helicopters plucked about 3,000 people off the slopes and dropped food, blankets and medicines for others.   Soldiers escorted many of the rest down.   The federal government said it would order an inquiry into the deaths after deputies belonging to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party stormed out of parliament, accusing the government of incompetence, news agencies said.   The federal government has maintained direct rule over the state's affairs since a separatist rebellion erupted in 1990.   Hospital sources and police say more than 20,000 people have been killed in the rebellion.   Home (Interior) Minister Indrajit Gupta said the government would launch an inquiry into the deaths.   "It may not be a judicial inquiry," he said.   "The government will decide what kind of inquiry and its terms of reference."   More than 60,000 people were stranded at Pahalgam, the base camp, after their ordeal, because roads to the town had been made impassable by floods.   The floodwaters receded on Tuesday.   The town, cradled in lush green pine-forests, looked dirty with heaps of garbage and dirt littering the roads.   Hundreds of relaxed pilgrims were bathing and washing in the river Lidder, which runs through the nearby valley.   Others lay exhausted on the bank and on the pavements.   Hundreds of buses full of pilgrims left Pahalgam as soon as the water levels fell, officials said.   Dozens of others queued wearily at bus terminals.   "This is the happiest moment of my life," 25-year-old Rajesh Kumra, from New Delhi, said, as he boarded a bus.   Om Prakash, a jeweller from Bombay, said: "I know nothing about my two friends who were with me when rains and a snowstorm caught us near Panchtarni."   Security was tight around Pahalgam on Tuesday after a bomb explosion at Chandanwadi, 15 kms (nine miles) away.   No one was killed or injured, but authorities were vigilant.   At Khannabal, 54 kms (33.5 miles) from Srinagar, about 9,000 pilgrims were being sheltered in an army camp. 
4055 !GCAT !GDIS !GREL  Indian rescue teams on Tuesday found more bodies of Hindu pilgrims along the trail to a holy ice-cave in the Himalayas, raising the deathtoll from 128 to at least 161.   The government of Jammu and Kashmir state said in a statement: "With the recovery of more dead bodies by the police patrol parties on the track, the death toll of the Amrnath tragedy has risen to 161."    "The patrol parties are searching the tracks to eliminate the chances of dead bodies of any pilgrims remaining there," the statement added.   Last week, bitter winds and heavy downpours lashed a 48-km (30-mile) Himalayan pilgrimage route, stranding almost 70,000 people on the mountainside for three days before help could be sent to them.   Some 112,000 Hindus came to Kashmir for this year's pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high (12,725 feet) Amarnath cave, where devotees worship an ice stalagmite believed to be a manifestation of the "lingam", or phallus, of the Hindu God Shiva.   Soldiers and military helicopters were pressed into the rescue operation.   Later, almost 60,000 people were stranded at Pahalgam, the base camp, after their ordeal because roads to the town were made impassable by floods.   The floodwaters receded on Tuesday. 
4056 !GCAT !GPRO  Mother Teresa's health improved significantly on Tuesday, her 86th birthday, and doctors said they were increasingly confident the legendary missionary would survive her battle against malaria and heart trouble.   "Mother Teresa continues to show slow and steady improvement," Dr S.K. Sen, medical director of Calcutta's Woodlands Nursing Home, told reporters.   Sen, who is part of a six-member team of doctors treating the Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Mother Teresa had been taken off respiratory support for 14 hours on Tuesday -- a key step on the road to recovery.   "She is fully conscious and alert and there is no further need to reconnect the respirator during the day," he said.   The Roman Catholic nun was taken to hospital on August 20 with high fever and severe vomiting.   Later she suffered heart failure and was diagnosed with malaria.   Her fever has since abated and her heart beat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   But doctors have been keen to wean Mother Teresa from the respirator to speed her recovery.   Over the past several days, Mother Teresa had breathed intermittently without the respirator but on Tuesday she was able to breathe entirely on her own for the first time, doctors said.   "We cannot say she is totally out of danger, but we are feeling much more optimistic," Sen had said earlier on Tuesday.   Sen said that when he asked her in the morning how she was feeling, Mother Teresa scribbled on a piece of paper: "I have got a pacemaker."   Mother Teresa, who has been unable to speak because of the respiratory tube, was fitted with the heart-regulating device in 1989.   The nun's birthday prompted greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent her get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   "Ask for a miracle.   Happy Birthday to our Dearest Mother," read a placard at the Shishu Bhavan children's home in central Calcutta run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.   On Monday, both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery from her illness.   Prayers continued in Calcutta, one of the world's poorest cities, where Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity runs several homes for the poor and destitute.   Street children, some of them born to prostitutes, held prayers on the street.   "All of us know about her.   She is like a goddess," said Raju, 8.   Tarak Das, 70, was picked up from a Calcutta footpath a week ago by passers-by who took pity on him and brought him to Nirmal Hriday (Immaculate Home).   "I do not know who she is.   I have never seen her, but I can only bless her for what she has done for people like me," Das told The Statesman newspaper. 
4057 !GCAT !GDIS !GREL  Weary Hindus packed into hundreds of buses left a Himalayan town on Tuesday and headed home from a grim pilgrimage in which 128 people died.   But thousands lay exhausted in tents in meadows around Pahalgam, the base-camp for an arduous trek to a holy cave 3,880 metres (12,725 feet) high.   Authorities in India's Jammu and Kashmir state said 128 pilgrims making the trek to the Amarnath cave died in freezing cold that followed ferocious rains and snow last week.   Other sources including the Press Trust of India put the death toll at 160.   Some 112,000 Hindus came to Kashmir for this year's pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave, where devotees worship an ice stalagmite believed to be a manifestation of the "lingam", or phallus, of the Hindu God Shiva.   Many naked "sadhus", or Hindu holy men who smear their bodies with ash, were among the dead.   The federal government said on Tuesday it would order an inquiry into the deaths of the pilgrims after deputies belonging to the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party stormed out of parliament, accusing the government of incompetence, news agencies said.   Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP leader, led the walkout after Home (Interior) Minister Indrajit Gupta told the lower house of parliament that arrangements for the annual Hindu pilgrimage had been largely adequate.   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda said incessant rain on the pilgrims' route starting on August 21 made it humanly impossible to launch immediate relief and rescue operations.   Gupta said the government would launch an inquiry into the deaths.   "It may not be a judicial inquiry," he said.   "The government will decide what kind of inquiry and its terms of reference."   About 65,000 pilgrims were marooned in Pahalgam for up to three days after heavy rains cut off roads.   On Tuesday as the flood water receded, they started driving out.   "About 700 buses filled with pilgrims have left Pahalgam for Jammu," K.B. Jandial, spokesman for Jammu and Kashmir state, told Reuters in the state's summer capital Srinagar.   The federal government has maintained direct rule over the state's affairs since a separatist rebellion in which hospital sources and police say more than 20,000 people have been killed erupted in 1990.   Military helicopters plucked more than 2,000 pilgrims from the mountainside on Sunday after the weather cleared for the first time in four days.   On Monday the helicopters dropped food, medicine and blankets to help some 300 people in a thickly forested part of the route near the frozen Sheshnag lake on the route.   "Now there is no one left on the higher reaches of the trek," an official said.   The authorities cremated about 40 unclaimed bodies, officials said.   Ninety were claimed by relatives.   Last year the pilgrims were threatened by Moslem separatist guerrillas, who staged two bomb attacks on the heavily guarded pilgrims.   A state civil servant was killed in one of the blasts.   This year the guerrillas issued no ban on the pilgrimage.   Instead, bad weather plagued the pilgrims. 
4058 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  Mother Teresa's health improved significantly on Tuesday, her 86th birthday, and doctors said they were increasingly confident the legendary missionary would survive her battle against malaria and heart trouble.   "In comparison to the suffering she had, we can certainly say that she is significantly better," Dr S.K. Sen, medical director of Calcutta's Woodlands Nursing Home, told reporters.   "We cannot say she is totally out of danger, but we are feeling much more optimistic."   Sen, who is part of a six-member team of doctors treating the Nobel Peace Prize winner, said Mother Teresa had been taken off respiratory support for six hours on Tuesday -- a key step on the road to recovery.   "Her general spirit is very high," the doctor said.   The Roman Catholic nun was taken to hospital on August 20 with high fever and severe vomiting.   Later she suffered heart failure and was diagnosed with malaria.   Her fever has since abated and her heart beat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   But doctors have been keen to wean Mother Teresa from the respirator to speed her recovery.   Over the past several days, Mother Teresa had breathed intermittently without the respirator but the six-hour stretch on Tuesday was by far the longest, doctors said.   Sen said the respiratory tube which delivers oxygen to the body through the throat would be removed within 24 hours provided there were no complications.   "Mother Teresa is maintaining her improvement since yesterday," the doctor said.   "We are trying to be sure that everything is absolutely OK before we disconnect the support."   Sen said that when he asked her in the morning how she was feeling, Mother Teresa scribbled on a piece of paper: "I have got a pacemaker."   Mother Teresa, who has been unable to speak because of the respiratory tube, was fitted with the heart-regulating device in 1989.   The nun's birthday prompted greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent her get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   "Ask for a miracle.   Happy Birthday to our Dearest Mother," read a placard at the Shishu Bhavan children's home in central Calcutta run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.   On Monday, both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery from her illness.   Prayers continued in Calcutta, one of the world's poorest cities, where Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity runs several homes for the poor and destitute.   Street children, some of them born to prostitutes, held prayers on the street.   "All of us know about her.   She is like a goddess," said Raju, 8.   Tarak Das, 70, was picked up from a Calcutta footpath a week ago by passers-by who took pity on him and brought him to Nirmal Hriday (Immaculate Home).   "I do not know who she is.   I have never seen her, but I can only bless her for what she has done for people like me," Das told The Statesman newspaper. 
4059 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Tuesday's Pakistani newspapers:   DAWN   - The first shipment of US arms released by Washington reached Karachi on Monday.   - The government has decided to import an additional 50,000 tonnes of sugar by September 30.   - A conference on Pakistan's private power policy and projects will be held in Washington on September 23-24.   - The state-run Oil and Gas Development Corporation has appointed Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation as financial adviser for the proposed sale of 49 percent of its equity.   - The Karachi Stock Exchange will introduce a recomposed 100-share index from September 10.   - Nineteen more people were killed due to floods in rivers in Punjab province.   - Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said by-elections would be held for any seats vacated by resigning opposition members.   BUSINESS RECORDER   - The International Monetary Fund is angry about changes in taxation plans, sources in the Ministry of Finance said.   - Following the refusal of the IMF mission to visit Pakistan, another matter of concern is that talks between the World Bank and the government have been postponed indefinitely.   FINANCIAL POST   - Exporters have demanded zero-rated sales tax to boost exports.   THE NEWS   - State (central) Bank of Pakistan warns North West Frontier Province against over-borrowing.   - Afghan Taleban militia captures another base from Hezb-i-Islami party of Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.   -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757 
4060 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Tuesday's Sri Lankan newspapers:   ---   VEERAKESARI   Bomb blast in TELO office in Trincomalee kills one, wounds six.   One officer and a soldier killed in accidental clash between two groups of soldiers near Chavakachcheri in Jaffna.   Army sentries thought a group of soldiers approaching them were Tamil rebels and opened fire.   ---   THINAKARAN   TULF leader M. Sivasiththamparam says it is meaningless to talk to UNP about peace package and that the government should submit peace plan to parliament very soon.   ---   DAILY NEWS   Bread and flour prices have been raised with immediate effect but government will provide relief to underpriviledged sections of society.   ---   THE ISLAND   Excise Commissioner W.N.F. Chandraratne denies allegations that new guidelines in issue of liquor licences are aimed at forcing large number of liquor licence holders out of business for political reasons.   ---   LANKADEEPA   Tamil Tiger rebels have sent 12 female suicide bombers to stage simultaneous attacks on President Chandrika Kumaratunga's motorcade in Colombo.   ---   DIVAINA   Cultural Ministry planning to spend large sum of money to buy silver crown believed to have been worn by ancient king and now in Australia.   ---   DINAMINA   Government closes Ruhunu University indefinitely after big clash between two groups of students in which eight were wounded and hospitalised.   --Colombo newsroom tel 941-434319 
4061 !GCAT !GPRO  Mother Teresa spent her 86th birthday in a Calcutta hospital bed on Tuesday as tributes to the legendary missionary poured in from around the world.   Doctors said that later in the day they would try to wean the Nobel Peace Prize laureate from the respirator that has aided her breathing for the past six days.   "Her condition seems to be better, but the danger remains as long as she is on respirator," an official at Woodlands Nursing Home said.   "She is conscious but her breathing is irregular."   The revered Roman Catholic nun was admitted to the Calcutta hospital a week ago with high fever and severe vomiting.   She later suffered heart failure and was diagnosed with malaria.   Her fever has since abated and the heart failure has been brought under control, but her heart continues to beat irregularly, doctors said.   "Unless she breathes on her own, I would advise you to keep your fingers crossed," said a doctor who was familiar with her case but not part of the six-member team treating Mother Teresa.   The nun's birthday prompted greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent her get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   "Ask for a miracle.   Happy Birthday to our Dearest Mother," read a placard at the Shishu Bhavan children's home in central Calcutta run by Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.   On Monday, both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery from her illness.   Prayers continued in Calcutta, one of the world's poorest cities, where Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity runs several homes for the poor and destitute.   Street children, some of them born to prostitutes, held prayers on the street.   "All of us know about her.   She is like a goddess," said Raju, 8, who has a mother but no father.   The Statesman newspaper quoted 40-year-old Mangala Das, paralysed from her waist down and a resident of the Prem Dan (Gift of Love) home for the destitute, as saying she and her friends had been praying incessantly for Mother Teresa's recovery.   Tarak Das, 70, was picked up from a Calcutta footpath a week ago by passers-by who took pity on him and brought him to Nirmal Hriday (Immaculate Home).   "I do not know who she is.   I have never seen her, but I can only bless her for what she has done for people like me," Das told The Statesman.   Mother Teresa's condition improved on Sunday as her fever abated, and on Monday she was able to scribble notes to doctors and nuns.   Thousands in Calcutta, where she founded her Missionaries of Charity religious order in 1949, prayed for her recovery.   Ministers of the communist government of West Bengal state and people of different religions joined Catholics to pray for Mother Teresa's recovery at Mother House.   "We joined the prayer to express our solidarity with her work for the cause of the poor and downtrodden," said Nanda Gopal Bhattacharya, a communist minister in West Bengal. 
4062 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Indian business and political stories in leading newspapers prepared for Reuters by Business News and Information Services Pvt Ltd, New Delhi.   Telephone: 11-3324842, 11-3761233; Fax: 91-11-3351006 Internet : biznis.  news@forums.  sprintrpg.  sprint.  com    -------oo0oo-------    TOP STORIES   Hindustan Times   GOVERNMENT ACCUSED OVER PILGRIMS   India's United Front government faced embarrassment in parliament when it was accused of dereliction of duty over the deaths of 121 Hindu pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir.   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's statement blaming the weather and natural conditions for the tragedy failed to convince members, including some in the ruling coalition.   The newspaper said the death toll in the Himalayas totalled 168.   A government spokesman in Srinagar put the toll at 128.   ----   Indian Express   HOME MINISTER HINTS AT THREE-WAY SPLIT OF KASHMIR   Home Minister Indrajit Gupta said the government was considering the possibility of dividing Jammu and Kashmir into three separate regions after next month's Assembly elections.   Ladakh would get the status of a Union Territory under the plan.   ----   Economic Times   GOVERNMENT PLANS INCENTIVES ON POWER TRANSMISSION   The government is introducing a series of incentives to make power transmission more attractive for private Indian and foreign companies.   The government plans to amend the 1948 Central Electricity Act to facilitate this process.   Under the new power transmission policy, potential investors would be wooed with a host of incentives, including dollar denominated returns and attractive depreciation and tariff rates.   These rates would be decided by an independent commission.   ENRON MAY PULL OUT IF CASE DRAGS ON   The Enron Development Corporation is unlikely to pursue the $2.5 billion Dabhol Power Project if the case challenging the validity of the power purchase agreement continues to drag on.   Enron counsel K. Venugopal has told the Bombay High Court that any further delay in disposing of the case might be company's refusal to pursue the power project.   ALPIC FINANCE SIGNS MOU WITH AUSTRALIA COMPANY   Alpic Finance Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding with FAI Insurance Ltd of Australia for a joint venture general insurance company.   Angus MacIver, a director with FAI Insurance, said the focus of the company would be on personal indemnity products for professionals.   ----   Financial Express   JAPAN TO GIVE $1.52 BLN AID TO INDIA   Japan, India's largest donor, has agreed to provide $1.52 billion in bilateral aid for fiscal 1996/97 (April-March).   This is an increase of about five percent over last year's aid commitment of $1.44 billion.   Japan has agreed to provide $0.5 billion in this year's aid programme as assistance to six new public sector power projects.   They are the two 1,000 mw power projects at Anpara and Simhadi, besides transmission and hydro-electricity power stations in the North East.   BOMBAY STOCK EXCHANGE TURNS SOMBRE   Business volume on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has dipped to 450 million rupees from around 900 million rupees in two months.   Daily traded scrips on the BSE have dropped to 3,200 from 4,000, indicating increasing investor apathy.   The sustained drop in prices has scared away some investors.   ----   Business Standard   ERICSSON SAID TO FLOAT WHOLLY OWNED ARM   Swedish telecommunications' company Ericsson plans to restructure its operations in India, with the formation of a 100 percent subsidiary.   Andres Igel, president, Ericsson Telecom AB, said company operations in India would be organised into two structures, based on its manufacturing and service business.   The 100 percent subsidiary, Ericsson Communications, has got approval for equity of $45 million.   MAHINDRA FORD FLAGS OFF ESCORT   Ford Motor Company of the U.S. will introduce a range of six models in the Indian market in the next 10 years through its joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford chairman Alex Trotman said.   The six models could include Ford's popular F-Series pickups and trucks, besides other car models.   He said the company might also explore the possibility of launching its trucks in India.   Trotman also hinted at the likelihood of making its much talked about Asia car in India apart from China.   FOREIGN MAJORS VIE FOR LARSEN & TOUBRO'S ORISSA FORAY   Aluminium Perchiney of France, the world's largest aluminium company, is in the fray to replace America's Aloca as a likely partner for Larsen & Toubro's (L&T) alumina project in Orissa.   Kaiser Aluminium is also seen in the picure for the project.   Kaiser, eager to get a foothold in India, has shown interest in L&T's alumina project after failing to be chosen as the fourth equity partner in Utkal Alumina, a joint venture between Indian Aluminium, Tata Industries, Norsk Hydro and Alcan.   GLOBALSTAR PLANS INDIA VENTURE FOR SATPHONE SERVICES   Globalstar, a 48-satellite communications system, announced the formation of a joint venture company to provide satellite based telephony services in India.   Partners in the new company, Globalstar India Satellite Service Ltd, are Crompton Greaves and Pertech Computers on the indian side and a Korean consortium of Hyundai companies and DACOM.   Crompton Greaves and Pertech computers will together own 51 percent while the Korean partners will hold 49 percent.   ----   The Observer   100 PCT FREE SALE QUOTA FOR COFFEE GROWERS MOOTED   The draft Indian coffee policy for fiscal 1996/97 (April-March) proposes to depool the coffee marketing and introduce 100 percent free sale quota for all coffee growers.   The policy is likely to go to the Cabinet soon for final approval.   Commerce ministry sources said the Coffee Board would not be disbanded after this.   It would, instead, function as the market intervention agency to keep coffee prices in reasonable bands. 
4063 !GCAT !GPRO  Doctors treating Mother Teresa say the condition of the 86-year-old nun is improving and that she wants to go home to resume her work among the poor and destitute.   "I want to go home," Dinamani Banerjee, one of six doctors treating her at Calcutta's Woodlands Nursing Home, quoted the renowned Roman Catholic missionary as saying.   Mother Teresa spoke on Tuesday, her 86th birthday, for the first time in a week.   She was taken to hospital on August 20 with high fever and severe vomiting and later suffered heart failure.   She was also diagnosed as having malaria.   Her fever has since abated and her heartbeat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   "She was concerned about her work at the Missionaries of Charity," Banerjee said, referring to the order Mother Teresa founded 47 years ago to minister to the poor and needy.   "I am anxious (about) who is going to pay the hospital bill," Banerjee quoted Mother Teresa, winner of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize, as saying.   Another doctor, Sukumar Mukherjee, said she wanted to leave hospital on Wednesday.   Doctors said her condition improved as her dependence on an artificial respirator ended on Tuesday.   "We will monitor her condition when she sleeps in the night.   Only then in the morning we can say whether she is out of danger or not", Banerjee said.   Banerjee said the doctors planned to monitor Mother Teresa's condition in intensive care for another three to four days before moving her to a private room.   Her collegues, gathered at the nursing home, were overjoyed at Mother Teresa's recovery.   "God has answered our prayers, it is a miracle," said one nun.   They said they wanted her to spend more time in hospital to recuperate fully.   "If she returns to the Home she will be back to her usual hectic schedule," another nun said.   "She will again be up at four in the morning".   "She is not a lady who will listen," said a college professor who is a close friend of Mother Teresa.   "She will be back at her homes moving around and looking at everything.   Mukherjee described Mother Teresa as "a very positive lady".   He said she had managed to breathe without the respirator for more than 12 hours.   "She has shown a tremendous response to the whole treatment," he said.   "We hope we will maintain that."   Dr S.K. Sen, medical director of the hospital, said that when he asked Mother Teresa early on Tuesday how she was feeling, she scribbled on a piece of paper: "I have got a pacemaker."   Mother Teresa was fitted with the heart-regulating device in 1989.   Her birthday prompted greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   "Ask for a miracle.   Happy Birthday to our Dearest Mother," read a placard at the Shishu Bhavan children's home in central Calcutta run by Mother Teresa's order.   On Monday, both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery. 
4064 !GCAT !GDIP  British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday that his government would only take action against a planned conference of Islamist groups in London if British law was broken.   "People who wish to hold conferences of course don't need to seek permission from the government in Britain," Rifkind, in Pakistan for a visit, told Reuters.   "As long as they obey our laws then that is not something the government would normally interfere with."   The Islamist conference, due to be held in London on September 8, has caused concern in countries such as Algeria and Egypt, which are fighting armed Islamic militants.   British Jewish groups have also protested because they say members of Algeria's Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) and the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas are on the guest list.   Rifkind said it was for the home secretary (interior minister) to act by denying visas to participants if he felt there was reason to believe that they might break the law.   "Our policy has to be fundamentally based on respect for the rule of law and insistence that it be observed," he said.   Rifkind was in Pakistan at the start of an Asian tour that will also take him to India, Sri Lanka, Japan and Mongolia. 
4065 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  An Indian court jailed 93 people on Tuesday for their role in anti-Sikh riots 12 years ago in which more than 3,000 people died, the Press Trust of India said.   It said lower court Judge S.N. Dhingra sentenced all 93 to five years imprisonment for burning down and blowing up houses with explosives, two years for rioting and six months for violating curfew orders.   The sentences would run concurrently.   It was the first verdict in the case involving some members of India's Congress Party, accused of leading anti-Sikh mobs in the wake of then prime minister Indira Gandhi's assassination on October 31, 1984.   Human rights groups have accused several Congress leaders, including government ministers and parliamentary deputies, of leading a lynching spree in Delhi to revenge Gandhi's killing.   Gandhi was killed by two Sikh bodyguards four months after ordering Indian troops into the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Sikhs' holiest shrine, in the northern state of Punjab.   About 1,000 people were killed in an operation to root out separatist Sikh militants using the temple as a headquarters. 
4066 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Afghan government military chief Ahmad Shah Masood briefed visiting U.S. Congressman Dana Rohrabacher on Tuesday on a peace plan for his wartorn country.   A spokesman for Masood said he had told the California Republican at a meeting in northern Kabul that President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government favoured talks with all Afghan factions to set up an interim government.   The factions should agree to appoint a transitional leader, draft a new constitution, collect heavy weapons, create a national army and hold free elections in which the transitional leader would be barred from standing, he added.   Rohrabacher flew into Bagram military airbase north of Kabul in a Red Cross plane on Tuesday after meeting northern opposition militia leader General Abdul Rashid Dostum.   Masood's spokesman Amrollah (one name) said Rohrabacher had recently visited Italy, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as part of a mission to promote peace in Afghanistan.   "We are certainly serious more than before to find a solution to the Afghan problem and support every U.N. plan," Amrollah quoted Rohrabacher as saying.   However, a spokesman for Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a long-time rival of Masood, expressed concern at signs of renewed U.S. interest in Afghanistan.   "America wants to block the establishment of a strong Islamic government in Afghanistan and the U.S. intends to neutralise the Afghan peace process initiated by the Afghans themselves," said the spokesman, Hamid Ibrahimi.   "A great game has been started in Afghanistan as America feels that Tehran and Moscow have got stronger in the Afghan picture -- something Washington wants to change," he said.   Rohrabacher was expected to visit neutral faction leaders in the eastern city of Jalalabad and meet leaders of the rebel Islamic Taleban militia in the southern city of Kandahar.   Afghan guerrilla factions have been locked in a bloody power struggle since the fall of the communist government in April 1992.   Hekmatyar, once Rabbani's main rival, made a peace pact with him and rejoined the government as prime minister in June. 
4067 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Visiting British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind urged threshold nuclear powers India and Pakistan on Tuesday to sign the global test ban treaty.   "There has been huge progress on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).   We are very close to agreement.   We, like other countries, regret India's decision not to sign.   We hope that India will reconsider that," he told Reuters in an interview.   Rifkind, on the first leg of a five-nation Asian tour, held talks in Islamabad with President Farooq Leghari, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Foreign Minister Assef Ahmad Ali.   India blocked adoption of the draft test ban treaty at negotiations in Geneva this month, saying the five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -- should agree to a timetable for nuclear disarmament.   "We hope that both Pakistan and India will endorse the draft treaty," the British minister said.   Rifkind, due to fly to New Delhi on Wednesday, said the treaty would now go to the United Nations and appealed to India to join "a very great international consensus" on the issue.   "Other countries, not only nuclear powers, but other potential nuclear countries, all expressed their willingness to cease nuclear testing and we hope that India, after proper reflection, will agree that it's highly desirable for the international community to take a major step forward," he said.   Pakistan said on Tuesday it backed the aims of the treaty, but would not sign unless India does so.   "Pakistan supports the objectives of the CTBT, but it has taken a principled position not to sign it unilaterally," a foreign ministry statement said.   India and Pakistan deny possessing nuclear arms, but Western officials believe they could quickly assemble them.   Rifkind called on the two regional rivals, at bitter odds over disputed Kashmir, to resolve their differences.   "We believe that the best interest of the region, of South Asia as a whole, lies in political dialogue and reconciliation between Pakistan and India," he said.   "Together the region has a huge potential for economic and social progress, but that will only happen if there is progress on some of the outstanding issues."   He said next month's planned elections in Indian-held Kashmir would be welcome if they were free and genuine.   "Elections would normally be seen as a desirable and attractive step forward," he said.   "But if they are to be respected and welcomed, they have to be genuine, free elections.   Otherwise they will not command public support."   India plans to hold state assembly elections next month in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the first such polls there since a Moslem separatist revolt erupted in 1990.   Islamabad has bitterly criticised the plan, saying such polls cannot substitute for a U.N.-mandated plebiscite to allow Kashmiris to choose whether to join India or Pakistan.   India controls two-thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan the rest.   Rifkind said Britain had no word on the fate of four Westerners abducted in Indian-ruled Kashmir in July 1995.   "There have been various claims and various counter-claims and sometimes reports of sightings," he told a news conference.   "I regret to say that at this moment in time we have no hard evidence as to the welfare of the hostages.   "We will continue doing all within our power to continue searching for them until either they are released or their fate is established beyond doubt," he added.   Two Britons, Keith Mangam and Paul Wells, are among four Western tourists still missing more than year after they were kidnapped in the mountainous Himalayan region. 
4068 !GCAT !GVIO  British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said after talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Tuesday that Britain had no word on the fate of four Westerners abducted in Kashmir more than a year ago.   "There have been various claims and various counter-claims and sometimes reports of sightings," he told a news conference in Islamabad.   "I regret to say that at this moment in time we have no hard evidence as to the welfare of the hostages."   "We will continue doing all within our power to continue searching for them until either they are released or their fate is established beyond doubt," said Rifkind on the first day of a two-day visit to Pakistan.   He travels to India on Wednesday.   Two Britons, Keith Mangan and Paul Wells, are among four Western tourists still missing more than year after they were kidnapped in the Indian-ruled part of Kashmir.   American Donald Hutchings and German Dirk Hasert are the other two hostages.   A fifth hostage, Norwegian Hans Christian Ostroe, was found beheaded in a Kashmiri forest last August. 
4069 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Visiting British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday that planned elections in Indian-held Kashmir would be welcome if they were free and genuine.   "Elections would normally be seen as a desirable and attractive step forward," he told Reuters in an interview.   "Whether that will be so in this case will depend of course on whether they are free elections, the choice available for people who participate in the elections, whether they are able to express their choice in an unrestrained way," he said.   "If the answers to these questions is positive, then of course we welcome elections of that kind.   But if they are to be respected and welcomed, they have to be genuine, free elections.   Otherwise they will not command public support," he said.   Rifkind, due in India on Wednesday, was speaking after talks with Pakistan's President Farooq Leghari, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Foreign Minister Assef Ahmad Ali.   India plans to hold state assembly elections next month in the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the first such polls there since 1987.   The region was clamped under direct rule of New Delhi after a Moslem separatist revolt erupted in 1990.   India controls two-thirds of Kashmir and Pakistan the rest.   Islamabad has bitterly criticised the election plan, saying it cannot substitute for a U.N.-mandated plebiscite to allow Kashmiris to choose whether to join India or Pakistan.   India and Pakistan have fought two of their three wars over the trouble region since independence from Britain in 1947.   Indian Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's centre-left government hopes the elections will restory normalcy and democratic rule in Jammu and Kashmir, where polioce and hospital sources say more than 20,000 people have died in insurgency-related violence since 1990.   Over a dozen militant groups are fighting New Delhi's rule in the state. 
4070 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday that a U.S. law aimed at punishing Iran's alleged support of terrorism by penalising countries or firms investing there was wrong and unworkable.   "We've made it clear that while we share the American view as to the unacceptability of Iran's behaviour, we do not believe it is sensible for the U.S. Congress to be trying to impose penalties on America's friends and allies and to apply that on an extra-territorial basis," he told Reuters in an interview.   "It's wrong in principle and unlikely to work in practice," said Rifkind on the first day of a two-day visit to Pakistan.   U.S. President Bill Clinton signed a new law early this month to penalise non-U.S. firms that invest $40 million or more a year in the oil and gas sectors of Iran or Libya.   Pakistan and Iran are discussing construction of a pipeline to bring Iranian natural gas to Pakistan and possibly India.   U.S. Senator Alfonse D'Amato, an architect of the new sanctions legislation, has warned foreign firms against getting involved in the pipeline project. 
4071 !GCAT !GVIO  The rebel Islamic Taleban militia said on Tuesday it had consolidated its grip on an important district held by the pro-government Hezb-i-Islami faction in the eastern Afghan province of Paktiya.   The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) quoted a Taleban spokesman in northwestern Pakistani town of Peshawar as saying that Taleban had taken over most of Jaji Maidan district after pro-government forces surrendered on Monday.   It said Hezb-i-Islami commander Arman and 500 fighters surrendered without any resistance and handed over the tanks and weapons to the invading Taleban.   Two other pro-government commanders also gave up their command without putting up a fight, it added.   Hezb-e-Islami officials could not immediately be contacted and no independent account of the incident was available.   Hezb-i-Islami leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, once a main opponent of Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, rejoined the Kabul government in June as Prime Minister.   The Taleban movement has sworn to oust Rabbani and install a purist Islamic order throughout Afghanistan. 
4072 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Visiting British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind urged India on Tuesday to drop its opposition to a global nuclear test ban treaty.   "There has been huge progress on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.   We are very close to agreement.   We, like other countries, regret India's decision not to sign.   We hope that India will reconsider that," he told Reuters in an interview.    "The matter does now go to the United Nations and we hope that that will be an occasion for an agreement that will be acceptable to all the countries concerned," he said.   Rifkind, due to fly to India on Wednesday after a two-day stay in Pakistan, said Britain understood India's concerns and respected its point of view, but did not agree with it.   "There is a very great international consensus on this issue," he said.   "Other countries, not only nuclear powers, but other potential nuclear countries, all expressed their willingness to cease nuclear testing and we hope that India, after proper reflection, will agree that it's highly desirable for the international community to take a major step forward."   India and Pakistan are both viewed as threshold nuclear powers, though both deny they already possess nuclear arms.   India blocked adoption of the draft test ban treaty at negotiations in Geneva last week, saying the five declared nuclear powers -- the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain -- should agree to a timetable for nuclear disarmament. 
4073 !GCAT !GDIS !GPOL  India's Hindu nationalist opposition party stormed out of parliament on Tuesday, accusing the government of incompetence over the deaths of 128 pilgrims in the Himalayas, local news agencies said.   The leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Atal Bihari Vajpayee, led the walkout after Home Minister Indrajit Gupta told the lower house of parliament that arrangements for the annual Hindu pilgrimage had been largely adequate, they said.   Authorities said the Hindu pilgrims died late last week when heavy rain and snow struck the annual trek to a mountain cave shrine in the Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir.   Gupta told the lower house, the Lok Sabha, that "the arrangements made for the yatra (pilgrimage) by and large were satisfactory and could have been adequate had the weather not been unusually harsh".   The BJP's deputy leader, Jaswant Singh, accused the government of trying to protect the "insensitive and incompetent administration".   The federal government has maintained direct rule over the state's affairs since a separatist rebellion in which more than 20,000 people have been killed erupted in 1990.   Singh said the state governor and chief secretary were in New Delhi for three days when the deaths occurred.   Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda accused the opposition of "all types of gimmicks" ahead of local assembly polls set for Jammu and Kashmir next month.   Deve Gowda said incessant rain on the pilgrims' route starting on August 21 made it humanly impossible to launch immediate relief and rescue operations.   "We also have some basic knowledge about how to govern," he said.   Gupta said the government would launch an inquiry into the deaths.   "It may not be a judicial inquiry.   The government will decide what kind of inquiry and its terms of reference," he said.   Earlier, house speaker P.A. Sangma rejected a motion by the BJP to adjourn the house over the issue. 
4074 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Pakistan, stung by a new U.S. report that China is helping it build a missile plant, feels Washington should be even-handed in its bid to halt missile and nuclear proliferation in South Asia, analysts said on Tuesday.   The latest row is another bump in the road towards a better U.S.-Pakistani relationship, a key objective for Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's 34-month-old government.   The Washington Post said on Sunday that U.S. intelligence officials believed Pakistan was secretly building a medium-range missile plant in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, with Chinese help.   China and Pakistan have both denied the report, the latest of many allegations over the years that Beijing has aided alleged clandestine Pakistani nuclear and missile programmes.   Islamabad insists it has no nuclear bombs and says it has received only short-range missiles from China that do not break limits set by an international agreement known as the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).   Foreign Minister Assef Ahmad Ali, describing the Post story as a "figment of its unlimited imagination", said Pakistan would do whatever it felt necessary for its self-defence.   "Let me clearly put it on record that Pakistan reserves the right to develop anything for its defence with its own resources," he told reporters on Monday.   U.S. officials believe both Pakistan and India could assemble nuclear arms quickly if they have not already done so.   Pakistan reluctantly endorsed a draft global nuclear test ban treaty at talks in Geneva earlier this month, but said it would only sign if India did so, too.   India drew criticism by blocking the adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.   Many Pakistanis feel that the United States, obsessed by the old spectre of an "Islamic bomb", is too ready to punish their country and turn a blind eye to India's military expansion.   "At the centre of the whole controversy lie the lopsided MTCR provisions which only penalise technology transfers but condone indigenous production of the deadly weapon by any state," wrote the English-language daily The Frontier Post.   Conversely, Indian opinion is convinced that U.S. policy is biased towards Washington's once-close Cold War ally Pakistan.   The Hindustan Times published from New Delhi said on Tuesday the United States was pressing India not to deploy its short-range Prithvi missile.   "It, however, seems comfortable with the conclusion that Pakistan acquired nuclear capability because India forced it to, and will now argue that Islamabad will produce M-11 missiles at the Rawalpindi factory to meet the Indian threat from Prithvi.   "It is futile to expect a fair and impartial attitude from the Clinton Administration.   Worse, the tilt in favour of Pakistan seems to absolve even China of responsibility of supplying nuclear and missile technology to Pakistan."   Washington views South Asia as a potential nuclear flashpoint, blaming India and Pakistan for failing to fully implement bilateral agreements aimed at reducing tension.   "While the likelihood of a fourth war between India and Pakistan is small, the possibility of a war in the region going nuclear (is) perhaps higher than anywhere else in the world," the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency said this month.   The agency said China and Pakistan had accepted the idea of a regional security dialogue, but India had rejected it.   "Regional instability, and therefore proliferation, continue to be driven by Indo-Pakistan tensions, particularly over Kashmir, and by underlying issues of status-seeking and the Indian desire to be viewed as a major world power," it said.   Former Pakistani foreign minister Abdul Sattar said it was no secret that Pakistan was developing short-range Hataf missiles.   But he said Beijing had in the past modified missiles sent to Pakistan to ensure they were within MTCR limits.   "I would be extremely hesitant to believe that China was now breaching its MTCR commitments," Sattar told Reuters.   The U.S. administration has not confirmed the Washington Post story but says it takes such reports seriously.   The United States has twice imposed limited economic sanctions against China for selling M-11 missile launchers and finished missile components to Pakistan, but withdrew the curbs after Beijing promised to stop such deliveries.   Washington halted aid to Pakistan in 1990 over suspicion of its nuclear programme.   It eased sanctions this year, deciding to deliver $368 million worth of blocked military equipment, but not 28 F-16 fighter planes Islamabad had also paid for.   The first batch of released equipment reached Karachi on Monday. 
4075 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Nepal's centre-right coalition government has offered to meet the country's hardline Maoist communists for talks in a bid to end an insurgency in Nepal's western districts, officials said on Tuesday.   The Maoists oppose multi-party democracy and want to establish a communist state.   But the Nepali government said the insurgents must give up violence before it negotiates with them.   "They (the insurgents) should first give up their violent activities," Home (Interior) Minister Khum Bahadur Khadga said.   About 54 people have died in Maoist insurgent activity and in police action against them since February, officials said.   Nepali opposition parties have accused the police of having killed more people than the insurgents.   Some human rights groups have criticised the government's handling of the situation.   In a speech in parliament on Tuesday, Khadga challenged the Maoist communists to "win the people's confidence" and win election to parliament.   On Monday, he had offered to talk to leaders of the United People's Front Nepal (Bhattarai), the Maoist faction which leads the insurgency.   "The government is ready to guarantee security of the Maoist representatives who want to take part in peaceful dialogue," Khadga said.   A multi-party democracy was set up in Nepal six years ago, after a popular movement by the centrist Nepali Congress party jointly with the Communist United Marxist-Leninist (UML) party.   The Nepali Congress leads the three-party coalition government while the UML is the main opposition party. 
4076 !GCAT !GDIS !GREL  Weary Hindus packed into hundreds of buses left a Himalayan town on Tuesday and headed home from a grim pilgrimage on which 128 people died.   But thousands lay exhausted in tents in meadows around Pahalgam, the base-camp for an arduous trek to a holy cave 3,880 metres (12,725 feet) high.   Authorities in India's Jammu and Kashmir state said 128 pilgrims making the trek to the Amarnath cave died in freezing cold that followed ferocious rains and snow last week.   Other sources including the Press Trust of India put the toll at 160.   About 65,000 pilgrims were marooned in Pahalgam for up to three days after heavy rains cut off roads.   On Tuesday as the flood water receded, they started driving out.   "About 700 buses filled with pilgrims have left Pahalgam for Jammu," K.B. Jandial, spokesman for Jammu and Kashmir state, told Reuters in the state's summer capital Srinagar.   Some 112,000 Hindus came to Kashmir for this year's pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave, where devotees worship an ice stalagmite believed to be a manifestation of the "lingam", or phallus, of the Hindu God Shiva.   Naked "sadhus", or Hindu holy men who smear their bodies with ash, were among the dead.   Military helicopters plucked more than 2,000 pilgrims from the mountainside on Sunday after the weather cleared for the first time in four days.   On Monday the helicopters dropped food, medicine and blankets to help some 300 people in a thickly forested part of the route near the frozen Sheshnag lake.   The lake is about 15 km (nine miles) south of Amarnath and normally the third stage of a five-day trek to the cave.   "Now there is no one left on the higher reaches of the trek," officials said.   The authorities cremated about 40 unclaimed bodies, officials said.   Ninety were claimed by relatives.   A group of sadhus carrying the "charri mubarak" or holy maces -- two six-foot-long silver staffs representing Lord Shiva and his consort -- were flown to Panchtarni, 69 kms (43 miles) from Srinagar and close to the Amarnath cave, officials said.   The bad weather delayed the traditional procession of the maces, originally scheduled to arrive at the cave on Wednesday.   The holy men who carry the maces insisted on continuing with the procession despite last week's deaths.   "It is a big tragedy, but we will not stop the yatra (journey)," Deependra Giri, an ascetic who carries the maces, said on Monday.   "I will prefer to trek."   Last year the pilgrims were threatened by Moslem separatist guerrillas, who staged two bomb attacks on the heavily guarded pilgrims.   A state civil servant was killed in one of the blasts.   This year the guerrillas issued no ban on the pilgrimage.   Instead, bad weather plagued the pilgrims. 
4077 !GCAT !GCRIM  Indian customs officials on Tuesday questioned four women who flew in from Kazakhstan carrying 31.50 kg (69.4 lb) of undeclared gold, officials said.   The women arrived on a chartered flight on Monday, carrying the gold in cloth belts around their waists, officials said.   "Investigations are on," Customs Commissioner N. Raja told Reuters.   "We will produce them in court in due course."   Raja said the gold valued at 16.5 million rupees ($461,668), was the largest seizure in seven years at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.   Customs officials made the seizure after receiving information that a Russian syndicate would attempt to smuggle in gold from Kazakhstan, an official statement said.   Chartered flights do not operate to a schedule, so customs officers kept a two-day vigil for the women before the seizure.   Raja said smuggling syndicates had started operating from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) shortly after the break-up of the Soviet Union.   "The case has assumed further importance, particularly in view of the movement of chartered flights which are suspected to be financed by Russian mafia/syndicates," the statement said. 
4078 !GCAT !GCRIM  Indian customs officials on Tuesday questioned four women who flew in from Kazakhstan carrying 31.50 kg (69.4 lb) of undeclared gold, officials said.   The women arrived on a chartered flight on Monday, carrying the gold in cloth belts around their waists, officials said.   "Investigations are on," Customs Commissioner N. Raja told Reuters.   "We will produce them in court in due course."   Raja said the gold valued at 16.5 million rupees ($461,668), was the largest seizure in seven years at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.   Customs officials made the seizure after receiving information that a Russian syndicate would attempt to smuggle in gold from Kazakhstan, an official statement said.   Chartered flights do not operate to a schedule, so customs officers kept a two-day vigil for the women before the seizure.   Raja said smuggling syndicates had started operating from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) shortly after the break-up of the Soviet Union.   "The case has assumed further importance, particularly in view of the movement of chartered flights which are suspected to be financed by Russian mafia/syndicates," the statement said. 
4079 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  A formal ban on Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels, under consideration in Colombo, appears aimed at prodding the West to crack down on rebel activity, but analysts on Tuesday wondered how effective it could be.   The government has not outlawed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) because it wanted to leave open the option of resuming talks with the rebels to end the 13-year-old war in which the government says more than 50,000 people have died.   But Dharmalingam Siddharthan, head of the pro-government Democratic People's Liberation Front, said government ministers had asked his party for an opinion on outlawing the LTTE, which is fighting for a homeland in the north and east.   "We said we don't see any benefit since the ground reality will remain the same whether they are banned or not," he told Reuters.   "The government will also show that it is no longer interested in peace talks."   Government officials and ruling People's Alliance members of parliament said hardliners in the government and military were pushing for the ban hoping it would curb the rebels' international propaganda and funding.   Hardliners noted that Western governments had told Sri Lanka they could not crack down on rebel activities on their soil as long as the LTTE did not break their law and remained a legal organisation in Sri Lanka.   The LTTE has been described as a multinational corporation with offices in many Western capitals.   President Chandrika Kumaratunga summoned a special cabinet meeting to discuss banning the group last week but put off making a decision, government officials said.   Siddharthan, whose party promotes the interest of minority Tamils but in cooperation with the largely Sinhalese government, said a ban would have little impact on the LTTE's military strength or its overseas activities.   The Tigers were difficult to identify as they worked mainly through front organisations, he said.   Attorney-General Sarath Silva told Reuters the LTTE could be outlawed under 1978 legislation, which banned the group for one year, or under emergency regulations, but denied reports the government had consulted him on the matter.   The Tigers broke off peace talks in April last year, refusing to look at a government peace plan which offers Tamils extensive autonomy.   A British High Commission spokesman said he did not believe that banning the LTTE would result in Britain closing down the group's London office used as the rebels' propaganda base.   "We haven't been contacted by the Sri Lankan government about banning the LTTE," he told Reuters.   "It is unlikely we could close down the LTTE's London office as long as they don't violate British law."   Sri Lanka was likely to raise the issue with British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind when he visits the island for talks on Friday, he said.   The proposal to ban the LTTE comes as some Western governments take an increasingly critical view of the rebels.   The U.S. State Department's coordinator for counter terrorism, Philip Wilcox, said last week Washington sympathised with the predicament that Colombo faced.   He promised that Washington would "do all within its prevailing legal framework to prevent the use of American soil to perpetrate violence against" the Sri Lankan government. 
4080 !GCAT !GENT  For the first time, India will host the prestigious Miss World contest in November 1996 with contestants from more than 90 countries, organisers said on Tuesday.   India also has the rights to the 1997 and 1998 contests.   "This is an opportunity to expose our culture to the world," said Amitabh Bachchan, chairman and managing director of Indian media conglomerate Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited (ABCL).   "We expect the event to be a major boost to tourism in India," he told reporters at a late-night news briefing in Bangalore, capital of the south Indian state of Karnataka.   Bachchan, also one of India's superstar actors, said ABCL had also clinched the rights to stage Miss World contests in 1997 and 1998 as well.   "The cost of staging the 1996 event is expected to be between 70 million ($1.96 million) and 80 million rupees," he said.   The gala November event is expected to be seen on television by more than two billion people in about 115 countries, ABCL officials said.   ABCL would sell the television, advertising and marketing rights, Bachchan said.   "We are also looking at a list of corporates for sponsoring the event," he said.   Bachchan was a judge at last year's Miss World contest in Sun City in South Africa.   India's Aishwarya Rai was crowned Miss World in 1994.   Karnataka chief minister J.H. Patel told the same news conference the event provided an opportunity to both the state and India to showcase the diversity and richness of Indian culture.   "It would also go a long way in adding to Bangalore's status as a conference and tourism centre," he said.   Bangalore, known as India's Silicon Valley, is one of the country's fastest growing cities.   An ABCL statement said the Miss World contest, which started in 1951, had been held 39 times in London, once each in Hong Kong and Atlanta and four times in Sun City and to date had raised more than $150 million for charity.   Proceeds from the India show would go to the Spastic Society of India, based in Bangalore, the statement said.   (One $ =35.73 rupees) 
4081 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  India's decision to block a global treaty banning nuclear tests has spurred domestic demands to go nuclear and defy heavy international pressure to accede to the pact, analysts said on Tuesday.   Last week India blocked the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in Geneva, saying it opposed a clause that would require New Delhi to ratify the pact for it to come into force.   India says the provision would infringe on its sovereignty.   "There will be growing domestic pressures resulting from international isolation and maneouvres against India to make it ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and these will drive India to weaponise," said Brahma Chellaney, security affairs analyst at New Delhi's Centre for Policy Research.   New Delhi says the CTBT is flawed and discriminatory because it allows the five declared nuclear powers -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- to refine their arsenals through laboratory tests.   Last week Australia said it would sponsor a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly in September seeking support for the test ban treaty.   The pact could then be opened for signature over the next three years.   But Western and Indian analysts said Canberra's move could actually undermine the treaty, allowing an array of nations to demand amendments to the carefully negotiated treaty text.   Former Indian foreign secretary A.P. Venkateswaran said China and Russia were likely to grumble about the decision to circumvent the Geneva conference, saying it could set a dangerous precedent for arms control negotiations.   Strategic affairs analyst C. Raja Mohan said India could use the next three years to declare itself a nuclear power, conduct tests and then announce a moratorium on testing.   "For the next three years, every Tom, Dick and Harry who passes through Delhi will be asking us to sign it.   The question, then, is what can we get out of it.   The game has just begun," Raja Mohan said.   Indian diplomats said they were unperturbed by the threat of international isolation for single-handedly blocking the pact.   "Even the U.S. has assured us that their investments will not stop because of our CTBT stance -- we're a market of 930 million people.   Plus, we have the quiet support of dozens of developing countries," one diplomat said.   Wedged between nuclear-armed China and nuclear-capable Pakistan, India conducted a nuclear test in 1974.   It says it has no nuclear weapons programme and does not plan a second test.   But Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has pledged to retain the option to build nuclear arms if national security demands -- a decision backed by all major political parties and public opinion polls.   Angered by a U.S.-backed decision to agree to China's demands on the CTBT while ignoring New Delhi's, Indians have recently stepped up calls to exercise the nuclear option.   "We cannot allow the second largest democracy on earth to take the largest democracy on earth for a ride.   Either the P-5 should de-nuclearise or India nuclearise," said a letter to the Indian Express daily from the southern city of Madras.   The P-5 refers to the five declared nuclear powers.   "A sword hanging over India's head that its ratification is essential for the treaty to become international law will generate such forces in India that weaponisation of the nuclear option will become inevitable," Chellaney said.   "It is unrealistic to think of India as being able to play a meaningful role in disarmament unless it is seen as a deterrent power.   An unarmed India will not be respected and its sovereignty will not be given due concern," defence analyst K. Subrahmanyam said.   Said Venkateswaran: "If you are incapable and boast of virtue, it is like a eunuch in a seraglio bragging about his virtue." 
4082 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind visits India this week amid simmering bitterness over London's stance at global talks to ban nuclear test blasts.   Gaping differences dividing India and Britain at recent failed negotiations in Geneva were expected to feature prominently during Rifkind's two-day visit due to start late on Wednesday, diplomats said.   Rifkind will be the first member of Prime Minister John Major's cabinet to visit India since Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda's centre-left government took office in June.   Rifkind, due in New Delhi late on Wednesday from Pakistan, was set to meet Deve Gowda, Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and other Indian leaders on Thursday and Friday before flying to Colombo.   The next stops on his five-nation Asian tour will be Japan and Mongolia.   Last week in Geneva, India blocked adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) over the objections of Britain and the four other declared nuclear powers -- China, France, Russia and the United States.   India wanted the pact to commit the nuclear powers to a nuclear disarmament timetable and claimed the treaty would impinge on New Delhi's sovereignty.   In June, some frank comments by Britain's envoy to the talks, quoted as saying New Delhi had found itself "wriggling on a hook" at the talks, set off a storm of protest in India.   New Delhi summoned Britain's high commissoioner to convey concern over his compatriot's "offensive statement".   In a biting editorial, the Times of India said on Tuesday that "with one uncivilised tongue-lashing, an uncouth diplomat in Geneva has done grievous harm to an undoubtedly mutually beneficial friendship."   A British diplomat said the two sides would spell out their divergent views, but predicted there would be no rancour.   "We see the issue completely differently and each side will try to persuade the other.   But we do not expect any acrimony in any way," the envoy said.   "While we don't agree, we respect the Indian position."   The Times of India urged Indian leaders to tell Rifkind bilateral ties could be harmed unless Britain revised its stance towards a provision of the treaty which would require India to sign the pact before it could become international law.   The newspaper said "if push comes to shove, we can easily turn our attention to other developed industrial economies and end our obsession with history".   But Gujral told parliament that disagreement over the CTBT would not necessarily harm bilateral ties with any country.   Rifkind was also expected to discuss the case of four Westerners, including two Britons, taken hostage by separatist guerrillas in Kashmir more than a year ago, diplomats said.   Additionally, the two nations might sign agreements permitting the transfer of prisoners and offering 45 million sterling (S65.5 million) to Orissa state for power sector restructuring, diplomats said. 
4083 !GCAT !GVIO  Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels hurled hand grenades at a police vehicle in a crowded market in the army-controlled northern town of Vavuniya on Tuesday, killing at least two policemen, police said.   At least 16 people, including several police who were working undercover, were wounded.   Sporadic gunfire was heard after the attack, the first in daylight in five years by the separatist rebels in heavily guarded Vavuniya, 215 km (134 miles) north of Colombo.   "We have declared a red alert," a police officer in Vavuniya told Reuters by telephone.   "The military have taken up positions."   People fled in panic and shops pulled down shutters, residents said.   Vavuniya is just south of the northern mainland area controlled by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels who are fighting for independence for minority Tamils in the island's north and east.   It is also the entry point for thousands of refugees displaced by recent fighting between government troops and the rebels near the northern town of Kilinochchi, 70 km (44 miles) north of Vavuniya.   The Tigers set up base in Kilinochchi after the army ousted them from their stronghold in the northern Jaffna peninsula in April.   Military officials said rebel infiltrators stage almost daily attacks in Jaffna despite the heavy army presence.   Navy patrols fired at three suspected rebel boats trying to cross the Jaffna lagoon separating the peninsula from the mainland on Monday night, a military spokesman said.   "Two boats escaped while one was found abandoned," he said.   The government says more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year. 
4084 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The Speaker of Bangladesh's parliament, Humayun Rasheed Choudhury, said he had received death threats from anonymous callers after opposition parties threatened to boycott proceedings chaired by him.   He told the Bengali newspaper Banglabazar Patrika on Tuesday that such threats were possibly coming from "those who want to push the country into chaos and unrest."   The callers said his life could be cut short, the newspaper said.   The speaker was not immediately available for comment.   Choudhury, a former foreign minister and veteran diplomat, was appointed speaker of the 330-member parliament on July 13, a month after general elections returned the Awami League of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to power after 21 years.   Choudhury also was president of the 41st session of the U.N. General Assembly in 1986-87.   Former prime minister Begum Khaleda Zia, now the opposition leader in parliament and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), said her followers might boycott assemby sessions chaired by the "partisan" speaker.   "The ruling Awami league is making parliament ineffective and the speaker is contributing to that by not allowing the opposition MPs enough time to speak," she told a rally in northern district of Bogra on Monday.   Hasina, speaking to a group of engineers in Dhaka on Monday, accused the BNP of resorting to "terrorism" as part of its plan to create instability and chaos in the country.   "This is not desireable...and we will deal with such designs sternly," the prime minister said. 
4085 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  A doctor treating Mother Teresa in a Calcutta hospital said on Tuesday that the Roman Catholic missionary was significantly better and her physicians were much more confident she would overcome her illness.   Dr S.K. Sen, medical director of Woodlands Nursing Home, told reporters that Mother Teresa had been taken off respiratory support for six hours and her health continued to improve.    "In comparison to the suffering she had, we can certainly say that she is significantly better," Sen said.   "We cannot say she is totally out of danger, but we are feeling much more optimistic."   Sen is part of a six-member team of doctors who had said they hoped on Tuesday to withdraw respiratory support from Mother Teresa, who was taken to hospital a week ago and marked her 86th birthday on Tuesday.   Over the past several days, Mother Teresa had breathed intermittently without the respirator but the six-hour stretch on Tuesday was by far the longest, doctors said.   She has been diagnosed with malaria, and had a chest infection and an irregular heart beat.   Sen said the respiratory tube which delivers oxygen to the body through the throat would be removed within 24 hours provided there were no complications. 
4086 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind began talks in Pakistan on Tuesday expected to cover efforts to clinch a global nuclear test ban treaty, the Kashmir dispute and bilateral issues.   Trade and investment, and efforts to combat drug smuggling, were also likely to be on his agenda, a British diplomat said.   Rifkind was due to meet President Farooq Leghari, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and Foreign Minister Assef Ahmad Ali in Islamabad on Tuesday and visit Karachi on Wednesday.   Rifkind, making his first trip to the sub-continent since he took office last year, is on a five-nation tour that will also take him to India, Sri Lanka, Japan and Mongolia. 
4087 !GCAT !GPRO  Mother Teresa, spending her 86th birthday in a Calcutta hospital, continued to gain strength on Tuesday but she remained on a respirator in the intensive care unit.   "Her condition seems to be better, but the danger remains as long as she is on respirator," an official at Woodlands Nursing Home said.   "She is conscious but her breathing is irregular."   The renowned Roman Catholic missionary was admitted to the Calcutta hospital a week ago with high fever and severe vomiting.   She later suffered heart failure and was diagnosed as having malaria.   Her fever has since abated and the heart failure has been brought under control, although her heart continues to beat irregularly and she has yet to be weaned from the respirator, doctors said.   "Unless she breathes on her own, I would advise you to keep your fingers crossed," said a doctor who was familiar with her case but not part of the six-member team treating her.   Doctors have been trying gradually to withdraw the respirator, which is considered a type of life support system. 
4088 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Alexandre Lamfalussy, president of the European Monetary Institute, said on Tuesday a stability pact for long-term compliance with budget and debt criteria in Europe's planned currency union was a good idea.   "In this field the view is simple.   A stability pact would be very useful," Lamfalussy said, adding it would be needed in the long run.   Lamfalussy said the European Monetary Institute would not give specific advice to nations' finance ministers but that it does extend its general blessing to such a pact.   "The finance ministers are the ones who have to produce it (the stability pact)," he said.   --Frankfurt Newsroom + 49 69 756525 
4089 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT  For John and his new wife, they should have been the golden years.   They both had good jobs, no debt and 14 years to save before he would retire from his job in the federal government.   The trouble was, John could not stay away from the racetrack.   A compulsive gambler who goes by his first name as is customary in Gamblers Anonymous, he reckons he blew at least $100,000 Canadian ($70,000 U.S.) over seven years and nearly destroyed his marriage.   He piled up debt, separated from his wife, sold his house and gambled away the money.   Eventually he and his wife got back together and worked to rebuild their lives, their futures and their bank balances.   "It was very hard to get the trust back," he said penitently, recalling the years of turmoil.   He has not placed a bet for nine years, but his story puts a human face on the gambling fever sweeping Canada even faster than the United States.   Provincial governments across the country are promoting gambling in virtually every form imaginable, relying on the revenue to plug budgetary gaps or fund tax cuts.   "Governments should go to Gamblers Anonymous.   They have become addicted to gambling," said Tibor Barsony, executive director of the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling.   Here in Hull, across the Ottawa River from Canada's capital, the Quebec government in March opened a flashy casino that has already drawn 1.5 million visitors, rivaling Parliament for as region's premier attraction.   More than 10,000 people a day sit at row upon row of slot machines with names like "Rich and Famous" and "Jackpot Jewel" where you can drop $100 or $500 a shot.   Most are older men and women, none looking too rich, who seem fixated by the spinning wheels, the ringing bells and the clattering coins.   Some keep three machines whirring at once, stopping only to withdraw more money from automatic teller machines.   At the gaming tables, players plunk down as much as $2,000 a hand at blackjack or play the whole table for $10,000.   Ads on buses for the Casino de Hull show a young couple delightedly hugging as they watch a roulette wheel spin.   Bettors lost more than $10 billion Canadian ($7.3 billion U.S.) in a year on all forms of gambling in Canada, including casinos, lotteries and bingo halls, according to Ivan Sack, editor of Canadian Casino News.   That averaged about $1,000 per household ($730 U.S.) and may have risen to as high as $1,200 per household as casinos and video lottery terminals sprouted around Canada.   Since many do not gamble, such figures mean some households are losing a lot more each year.   Americans, in comparison, lost about $500 per household last year.   Seven of Canada's 10 provinces have casinos, most started in the last few years, and eight have video lottery terminals -- a video version of the one-armed-bandit slot machines.   Ontario's Conservative government has plans to flood the province with 20,000 video lottery terminals.   "In three years, Ontario will have gone from very little gaming to saturation gaming," Sack said.   The gambling business had a net profit of $3.3 billion Canadian ($2.4 billion U.S.) in 1994-95, provincial governments using much of it for things like health care.   For governments gambling can raise money without increasing economic distortions from hiking tax rates -- though economists view it as a regressive "voluntary" tax since the poorer and less educated tend to bet more.   Big casinos like the one in Hull or one opening soon at Niagara Falls provide between 1,000 and 3,000 jobs.   But the gaming boom may also cause a rise in gambling addiction.   "The more exposure there is, the more people are going to get hooked," said John of Gamblers Anonymous.   Ontario's Addiction Research Foundation estimates one percent of Ontario adults are pathological gamblers and gambling causes problems for 10 percent.   One in nine Ontarians surveyed said they had a family member with a gambling problem, and the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling has found teens four times as likely to have problems as adults.   Studies have found gambling leads to divorce, job loss, fraud, bankruptcy and suicide, to say nothing of depriving families of their grocery money.   Yet many politicians and businessmen argue that some people are simply prey to addictions and in communities like Ottawa they promote their own gambling interests to counter the drain to neighboring jurisdictions like Quebec.   "What we have is the casino on the north side of the river with any financial benefits and Ottawa on the south side of the river with the social problems if any," said Ottawa Mayor Jacquelin Holzman, advocating an up-market casino.   Some businessmen and academics say that in addition to the social costs of addictions, gambling may in some cases just drain money from other parts of the economy.   In this case other industries risked being cannibalized, said University of Winnipeg economist Phil Cyrenne.   "You're just shuffling the spending around." 
4090 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Northwestern Steel and Wire Co and the United Steelworkers of America said Tuesday that a four-year labor agreement was ratified, covering workers in Sterling and Rock Falls, Ill., and Houston, Texas.   A tentative agreement was reached on July 31, 1996.   The four-year contract runs through July 31, 2000.   --Chicago newsdesk, 312-408-8787 
4091 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Immunomedics Inc said on Tuesday it has filed a complaint against Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc in an arbitration proceeding alleging breach of contract and fiduciary duty in connection with a development and licensing agreement between the two companies.    The company said it seeks total damages of $60 million, not including punitive damages.   Immunomedics said the agreement was originally entered into in 1991 with the Adria Laboratories Division of a company that was subsequently acquired by Pharmacia AB, which then merged with Upjohn Co.   The agreement, which was terminated in July 1995, provided for exclusive distribution rights to Pharmacia in the United States and Canada for certain Immunomedics' cancer imaging products.    In exchange, according to Immunomedics, Pharmacia was to pay specified license fees and milestone payments, provide support for certain of Immunomedic's research and development, and provide marketing planning and assistance, all for the same cancer imaging products.   The complaint alleges that Adria and its various corporate parents, including Pharmacia, failed to fulfill their obligations, including those of making certain milestone payments and providing marketing assistance for Immunomedics' colorectal cancer imaging product.    It further alleges that the defendents breached their fiduciary duty to Immunomedics by "the manner in which they conducted themselves".   Immunomedics's CEA-Scan diagnostic imaging agent for colorectal cancer was recently approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.   Officials at Pharmacia & Upjohn could not immediately be reached for comment. 
4092 !C18 !C181 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Circon Corp, the target of a hostile tender offer by U.S. Surgical Corp, said Tuesday it was offering 300 "key" employees special incentives to remain with the company.   It was not immediately known how much the package could cost the company, said Judith Wilkinson, a spokeswoman for the company.   The company is offering the extra benefits to employees who remain with Circon, and unspecified severance benefits payable upon involuntary termination of employment should control over the company change hands.    Circon is the subject of a hostile tender offer by U.S. Surgical that is set to expire Thursday.   Circon's board of directors has recommended that its stockholders reject the bid.   U.S. Surgical Corp, based in Norwalk, Conn., said last week that the federal government has raised no objections about its $18 cash tender offer for all Circon outstanding common shares. 
4093 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Boeing Co said it will increase the production rate for its new 777 jet transport to seven airplanes per month from five airplanes in July 1997.   Boeing also said on Tuesday it increased its 1996 employment forecast by about 5,000 to an expected year-end total of about 118,350.   The hike in Boeing employees is in addition to an increase of 8,200 announced earlier this year.   Total Boeing employment on January 1, 1996 was 105,180, the company said.    "Today's announced production rate increase is in response to continued strong market demand for the 777, and the employment increase reflects today's rate change as well as staffing requirements for product development activities," said president and chief executive Phil Condit in a statement.   Boeing said employment would grow by about 9,800 in Washington state, about 3,300 in Wichita, Kansas, and by about 400 in other Boeing locations.   It said employment would fall by about 300 for the year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
4094 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Entergy Corp said a settlement had been reached among the Entergy unit Entergy Gulf States Inc, the trustee in the Cajun Electric Power Cooperative bankruptcy and representatives of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS).   The company said in a statement late on Monday that U.S. District Court Judge Frank J. Polozola approved the settlement in Baton Rouge, La., on Monday.    The settlement gives the RUS several options for disposing of Cajun's 30 percent ownership of the River Bend nuclear unit.   It also commits Cajun to fund its full share of the estimated decommissioning obligation for River Bend by setting aside the sum of $125 million in a decommissioning trust fund, regardless of the option the RUS chooses.   RUS may seek a buyer of Cajun's 30 percent interest in River Bend, take title to Cajun's interest in its own name, or relinquish Cajun's interest at no cost to Entergy Gulf States, which owns the other 70 percent.    Under all of these options, Cajun will be released from its unpaid liability for River Bend costs and expenses.   The settlement also lets Entergy Gulf States recover all funds previously paid by it into the registry of the court.   These funds have been accumulating from payments made by Entergy Gulf States for its share of operations and maintenance expenses associated with its 42 percent share of the Big Cajun 2, Unit 3, coal-fired generating facilities, of which Cajun is the majority owner and operator.   Other provisions involve the forgiveness of several hundred million dollars of claims among the parties.   All litigation between Cajun and Entergy Gulf States will be dismissed, and a small portion of Cajun's transmission assets will be transferred to Entergy Gulf States.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4095 !GCAT  Silver King Communications Inc says it plans to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Home Shopping Network Inc in a deal that Wall Street analysts valued at $1.4 billion, Daily Variety reported on Tuesday.   The newspaper also reported:   * Capital Cities/ABC Inc's ABC network has won the battle for Arsenio Hall's comedy services, signing a 13-episode deal with DreamWorks for the as-yet untitled romantic situation comedy that will get a midseason berth.   According to sources familiar with the pact, ABC will pay a license fee to DreamWorks of about $900,000 per episode.   * What most viewers see of political conventions is a three-hour TV presentation.   But the most fun, of course, is off-camera.   Those serious, issue-oriented speeches each night at the Democratic National Convention give very little indication that these gatherings are basically four days of goofy hoopla.   * Refusing to be undersold by direct broadcast satellite competitor EchoStar Communications Corp, DirecTV on Monday followed EchoStar's lead two weeks ago by announcing that, as of Thursday, it will begin offering a cash-back incentive that brings the price of its dish hardware down to $199.   DirecTV is a unit of Hughes Electronic Corp.   * MCA Music Entertainment Group has tapped industry vets Henry Droz and Jim Urie to guide its Uni Distribution arm.   * During the first six months of 1996, Time Warner Inc spent at least $1.5 million to influence the decision-making process in Washington, according to financial disclosure reports filed recently with Congress.   The National Association of Broadcasters spent $2.3 million, Westinghouse Electric Corp's CBS spent $560,000 and ABC spent $420,000.   * Ticket sales remained lackluster over the final full weekend of August, despite a raft of new releases.   Receipts for the top 60 films came to $72.3 million, down about two percent for the previous weekend, and off three percent from the Aug 25-27, 1995 period.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4096 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Coleman Co Inc said it would try to overturn or reduce a $3.7 million jury verdict awarded Black & Decker Corp in a patent infringement case.   The company said in a statement late on Monday that the decision was returned Friday in Alexandria, Va., in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.   The verdict involved claims that a prior discontinued Coleman battery-powered light infringed patents held by Black & Decker.   Larry Sanford, an executive vice president of Coleman and its chief legal counsel said, "We have a strong case to set aside this mistaken and excessive verdict."   He added, "The trial court had previously held as a matter of law that Coleman's current product does not directly infringe any Black & Decker patent.   In light of that ruling, we believe that a retrial of the matter will result in the complete vindication of Coleman's current product.   We are exploring all available options to achieve that objective."   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4097 !GCAT !GWEA  Typhoon Orson is nearly stationary well southeast of Japan near 26.5n/151.0e. Top winds are near 105 mph and are expected to increase to near 125 mph during the next 24-36 hours as the storm begins to drift slowly to the north.   Orson is not a threat to land but is a major threat to shipping.    Powerful Hurricane Edouard has top winds near 140 mph with little change in strength expected during the next 24 hours.   The storm is centered about 400 miles east northeast of the Leeward Islands, moving west northwest about 15 mph.   This general motion is expected to continue during the next 24 hours.   Edouard is a major threat to shipping.   The current forecast track beyond 24 hours takes the storm to the northeast of the Caribbean islands, but this storm will have to be very closely watched.    There are no further statements at this time. 
4098 !GCAT !GPOL  U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin Monday shied away from saying whether he would stay on the job if President Clinton wins a second term in November.   "At the moment, what I'm going to do is focus on what I have to do between now and the end of the year," he told CNN television.   "There's plenty of time to make that decision.   "I tell you this, though," Rubin quickly added.   "It has really been very exciting to be involved with the president.   He's made a very lot of tough decisions, good decisions for the American people."    Administration officials are betting that Rubin will opt to remain Treasury chief in a second Clinton term.   Commerce Chief Mickey Kantor also shied away from saying whether he would stay in his post after the November election.   "November 5th is all I care about and after that we all await to hear from the president," Kantor told CNN.   Kantor is rumored to have his eye on the Attorney General job, if Janet Reno, who has Parkinson's Disease, decides not to stay on for a second term.    In the joint interview on CNN, which was also joined by Housing Secretary Henry Cisneros and Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala, Rubin sharply criticized Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's economic plan.   Dole, who trails Clinton in opinion polls, has called for $548 billion in tax cuts and a balanced budget over six years.   Rubin charged that the Dole plan would bloat the deficit, push up interest rates and hurt the economy.   "The across-the-board tax cuts that Dole has proposed will explode the deficit...will cause interest rates to go back up (and) undermine the economy,' the Treasury chief said.   "This plan cannot work.   This plan cannot provide the tax cuts he's proposed and also balance the budget." 
4099 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Chrysler Corp chief executive Robert Eaton said he expects the United Auto Workers will choose a strike target, but he was uncertain as to timing.   At a joint Chrysler-UAW reception here on Monday in conjunction with the Democratic Convention, Eaton said in an interview, "I expect that they will ultimately pick a target to try to complete an agreement with, but at this point in time it's entirely up to them when and if they do it."   Jack Sizemore, a regional director for the union, said, "We'll choose a strike target.   It's just a matter of time."    Contracts covering more than 400,000 UAW hourly workers employed by the Big Three U.S. auto manufacturers are due to expire September 14.   The union customarily chooses one automaker to serve as a pattern for contract bargaining to follow with the other two.   But last week the union did not choose a strike target as had been expected and said it may try to hammer out new labor contracts simultaneously with all three companies.   "Negotiations are continuing at Chrysler and, as I understand it, at the other auto companies as well," Eaton said.    He said he met with UAW president Stephen Yokich last week.   "We just talked about what had gone on at his press conference and that negotiations were going to continue with the three companies, and that was it," Eaton said.   He added there has been discussion about the possibility of a contract lasting longer than the usual three years, but he said he had no idea if such a contract would be agreed upon.   Attending the reception along with numerous other UAW and Chrysler officials, Sizemore said of the negotiations, "Right now they're all talking relatively well."   Auto industry analysts had speculated that Chrysler would be the target for this year's contract negotiations, but Eaton declined to comment on the likelihood of his company winning that status, which is widely sought by the automakers. 
4100 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton has shied away from proposing a targeted capital gains tax cut, despite initial interest in such a plan, officials said on Monday.   "There was a lot of interest on the part of the president," said one administration official, who declined to be named.   "But that now seems to have sunk from view."   Officials said Clinton's enthusiasm for a targeted capital gains tax cut, perhaps aimed at new investment by small businesses, waned after his Republican rival Bob Dole proposed a broad-based tax reduction on investment.   Dole, who trails Clinton in the opinion polls with about 2-1/2 months to go until the November 5 election, has called for a halving of the maximum capital gains tax rate, to 14 percent.   "Suddenly, when Dole came out with his proposal, it   just would have looked too much like pandering, too much like me-tooism, if we had come out with our own plan," the administration official said. 
4101 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The Alaska Supreme Court handed a victory to the state's commercial fishermen Monday, blocking a salmon-allocation initiative from the November ballot.   The initiative, promoted by a sport-fishing group called Fairness in Salmon Harvest (FISH), would violate the state constitution by stripping state experts of their ability to allocate salmon between competing users, the court ruled.   The FISH initiative resulted from clashes between sport and commercial fishermen, particularly over salmon runs on southcentral Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.   The area is world famous for its huge king salmon and runs of sockeye salmon.   The initiative seeks to guarantee a specific allocation of salmon to sport and personal-use fishermen.   If it becomes law, it could eliminate entire commercial harvests in times of salmon shortages, the state Supreme Court said.   Monday's decision was prompted by an appeal filed by United Fishermen of Alaska, the state's largest commercial fishing group.   It reversed a lower-court ruling that held the ballot initiative to be constititional. 
4102 !C13 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Tuesday it had cleared British Airways' plan to buy all of TAT European Airlines.   BA now owns the airline, which provides services mainly within France, jointly with French partner TAT SA.   BA bought 49.9 percent of the company in 1993 and announced in July this year it was exercising an option to buy the remaining 50.1 percent.   The Commission said it had examined the impact of the deal on competition, especially on the London-Paris and London-Lyon routes, where both BA and TAT European Airlines were active.   "...the Commission has decided not to oppose the concentration and to declare it compatible with the Common Market...," the Commission said in a statement.   It said BA had played a leading role in the management of the joint venture and that Tat European Airlines' international routes had been largely operated in coordination with BA's equivalent services and under the direction of BA. 
4103 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Alexandre Lamfalussy, president of the European Monetary Institute said on Tuesday he believed it was likely that Europe's planned currency union will begin on time on January 1, 1999.   The EMI president "sees a realistic chance that the third stage of the currency union wil begin on January 1, 1999," Lamfalussy said, according to a summary of a speech to be delivered to a luncheon in Frankfurt.   Lamfalussy said the reason for his optimism lay in the fact that many nations were showing the political will to realise an economic and currency union.    He pointed especially to nations' efforts to consolidate public finances.   According to the summary, Lamfalussy said that no decision had been reached on whether the future European central bank would use minimum reserves or have a rediscount facility, as used in Germany.   "Additionally it is being discussed whether to introduce upper and lower limits for money market interest rates," Lamfalussy was quoted as saying.   One of the tasks of the European Monetary Institute, forerunner of the European Central Bank which will conduct monetary policy after EMU starts, is to draw up a blueprint of the instruments the bank will use to implement policy.   Lamfalussy said the future ECB planned to tailor its instruments to make them appropriate to the market, referring especially to securities repurchase agreements.   On progress towards EMU, Lamfalussy said the convergence process was making headway and the EMI had stuck to the timetable in its preparation for currency union.   Lamfalussy noted most EU nations were having difficulties meeting the criteria on public finances.   "Germany too missed the deficit target of three percent of GDP in 1995," he said.   But he added that it was favourable that the planned timetable for entry into the third stage of currency union was putting nations under time pressure to conduct the necessary consolidation of their public budgets. 
4104 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  French teachers' unions were due to meet on Tuesday to decide what action to take in protest against job cuts expected in the centre-right government's austerity budget for 1997.   The two leading teachers unions, SE-FEN and FSU, as well as the education branches of the national unions CFDT and FO, will meet at 1300 GMT at the SE-FEN headquarters in central Paris, an SE-FEN spokeswoman told Reuters.   Tuesday's meeting kicks off a series of union gatherings opposing Prime Minister Alain Juppe's budget, which is expected to axe between 2,000 and 2,500 teachers' jobs as part of a plan to shed 6,500-7,000 civil service posts.   Monique Vuaillet, Secretary General of the National Union of Secondary Teachers (SNES), has said she fears the government plans to shed 2,300 education posts in the first teaching cuts for 15 years.   Juppe has said the 1997 budget will freeze spending at 1996 levels, implying a spending cut of 60 billion francs, and is a key step to reducing the core deficit to three percent of gross domestic product, to meet the Maastricht treaty on joining a single European currency.   Communist Party leader Robert Hue warned on Monday the spirit of last year's public sector strikes, which brought France to a virtual standstill, was "still alive in the hearts and minds" of the French people.   The Communist-led CGT union will hold a news conference on Wednesday on its plans to mobilise opposition to the budget, which is due to be discussed in cabinet around September 10, along with proposals for tax and social security reform.   The executive committee of the Force Ouvriere union will meet on September 3 and is expected to draw up its oppostion plans, a spokesman said.   Union leaders have said conditions are ripe to revive the unrest that paralysed Frace for 24 days in November and December last year.   Juppe is also under fire from unions and social welfare groups for capping "back to school" payments for low-income families that help meet the cost of equipping children for the new academic year. 
4105 !E21 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Germany's opposition Social Democrats (SPD) on Monday rejected a large chunk of Bonn's austerity package in a meeting of an arbitration committee of both houses of parliament.   But the government said it could, and would, override almost all the rejections next month in the lower house of parliament, using its so-called "Chancellor Majority."   It said it was determined to implement its austerity package as soon as possible and accused the SPD of cheap delaying tactics.   The SPD had signalled it would use its majority in the committee to reject proposed reductions in sick pay and workers' protection from firing and a raise in the pensionable age of women even though its objections could be overriden.   SPD parliamentary whip Peter Struck said he hoped the government would not be able to get a majority in the lower house on September 13 because some of its own members were opposed to some of the austerity measures.   Heribert Blens, chairman of the arbitration committee and a member of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats (CDU), said there was no danger of this happening.   In the run-up to the meeting, the government and SPD had disagreed over the austerity package.   CDU General Secretary Peter Hintze said: "(SPD leader) Oskar Lafontaine should use his energies not in these delaying tactics but should work constructively with us."   Kohl unveiled the austerity plan in April.   He aims to slash public spending by 50 billion marks ($33.84 billion) and social security spending by 20 billion next year to ensure Germany meets the entry requirements for the single European currency.   Of the 70 billion marks, well over half has been agreed on including the parts Bonn is currently pushing through despite SPD protest.   Around 15 billion marks alone was saved through a moderate public sector wage deal.   While the SPD-dominated upper house of parliament, or Bundesrat, must be consulted on much of the package, it can only in reality block the parts related to tax and welfare changes which affect federal states' budgets directly.   SPD chief Lafontaine said just before the meeting: "We are against attacks on sick pay, on workers' protection from firing and on pensions."   "We have the support of a majority of the population in this.   The austerity package is an affront to employees and damages social cohesiveness," he said.   He said the SPD would ensure a rise in child benefit would go ahead as planned in 1997.   Kohl's government hopes to save three billion marks by delaying the hike by a year but the move requires upper house approval.   The arbitration committee rejected the delay and one side or the other will now have to call the committee again in about a month's time.   This coincides with the start of haggling over the 1997 tax bill which also requires upper house approval and where the SPD is determined to make a last stand against the austerity plans.   The lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, will hold a special session this Thursday where it will reject the conclusions of the arbitration committee, Blens said. 
4106 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Tuesday morning's German newspapers:   FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG   - Parliamentary arbitration committee rejects government savings package as expected   - EU Commissioner Van Miert sayd there will be no exception for VW in row over state subsidies   - Cigarette smuggling costs Germany billions of marks in lost duty   - Study says strong currency creates jobs   HANDELSBLATT   - SKW Trostberg takeover of Sandoz's SANZ.  Z MBT creates new giant in construction chemicals sector   - Saxony and VW remain firm in subsidies row with EU   - Parliamentary arbitration committee rejects government savings package as expected   - SPD state premier Heide Simonis does not expect government to introduce major income tax reform as promised   - Import prices fall in July   - Economic council of ruling CDU calls for tax cuts as part of reform to give Germany more competitive tax structure   - Study done for DIHT federation of chambers of commerce says high pay rises are costing jobs   - Bertelsmann prepares to take stake in Deutsche Telekom's T-Online   SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG   - Government and opposition stick to their guns; no compromise over government savings package   - Tehran says Banisadr testimony in Berlin court could damage relations with Germany   - State premiers at odds over how soon Bosnian refugees should be forced to return home   - DIHT federation of chambers of commerce says advantages of strong mark outweigh disadvantages   - West German retail prices fall slightly in August   - IWH research institute says East German economy will pick up in 1997   - 25,000 firms seen going bankrupt in 1996   DIE WELT   - Smuggling costs Germany billions of marks in lost duty   - Federal states try to put more pressure on companies to create training posts for school leavers   - Crime statistics show above-average number of foreigners, especially asylum seekers, involved in serious crime   - Saxony state insists on going to European court in row over subsidies for VW   - President of BDI industry federation Hans-Olaf Henkel under pressure   -- Bonn Newsroom +49 228 2609760 
4107 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Armed Iraqis who hijacked a Sudanese aircraft carrying 199 passengers and crew on Tuesday released all their hostages at Stansted airport near London.   Police said the hijack drama ended peacefully and six of the hostage takers had been arrested.   Police officers boarded the plane to make a thorough search.   "Six men have been arrested.   It may well be that there may be others involved," said police chief John Burrow.   "We understand that they are Iraqi nationals.   There may have been up to eight."   Burrow told a news conference the hostage takers had apprently been seeking political asylum.   Hundreds of armed police were deployed at Stansted airport, where the Sudanese Airways Airbus, orginally routed from Khartoum to Amman, landed in the early hours after being forced to divert to Cyprus for refueling.   At Larnaca the hijackers had at one point threatened to blow up the jet.   Some police stood as close as 50 metres (yards) from the aircraft, while dozens of police vans waited about 1.5 miles (two km) across the tarmac along with firefighters and ambulances.   Meanwhile, negotiations were conducted by radio after an Iraqi exile group said the hostage-takers wanted to contact one of its members.   The hijackers, who said they want to seek asylum in Britain, were believed to have been armed with grenades and possibly other explosives, according to police.   An official at the Iraqi Community Association said they believed the hijackers were trying to contact an Iraqi named Sadik Sadah.   Sadah is a former member of the Association's executive committee who now works as a volunteer.   It was unclear whether Sadah made contact with the hijackers.   Police were unable to comment on speculation that the Iraqis were diplomats based in Khartoum who were seeking to defect rather than return to Baghdad.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   The hijackers started to release captives about two hours after the Airbus 310 airliner arrived at Stansted from Larnaca, where it was refuelled, at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT).   Police said the passengers who disembarked, led by the elderly and mothers with small children, were very calm despite their ordeal.   Two sick passengers were taken away in ambulances, but police said their illnesses were not related to the way they had been treated by the hijackers.   Sanctions imposed on the government of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein mean international flights do not land in Baghdad.   Travellers fly to Amman and proceed overland.   Members of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's family defected to Jordan last year.   Iraqi news media reported in February that the two top-level defectors, who were Saddam's sons-in-law, were murdered by relatives days after returning home to a pardon from the Iraqi leader.   During the stop in Cyprus, the hijackers told police they wanted to claim political asylum in Britain and would release the passengers once they landed in London.   Specially trained British negotiators established telephone contact via the airliner's captain within an hour of the aircraft touching down at Stansted, London's third airport, 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital.   Most of the passengers were Sudanese with an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   The Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and said only: "I will blow the plane up."   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4108 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   EVENING STANDARD   HIJACKED JET UNDER SIEGE AT STANSTED   Before dawn today a hijacked Sudanese airline with 199 passengers and crew landed at Stansted airport after armed Middle Eastern terrorists had threatened to blow up the plane unless it was allowed to come to Britain.   An early breakthrough was made in negotiations as at least 40 people left the plane via a mobile staircase shortly after 6.30am.   BUYBACKS DRIVING SHARES TO NEW HIGHS   The strong performance of FT-SE 100 index of leading shares has been aided by a massive 2.5 billion stg share buyback by major companies over the past four months.   Since 21st April large corporations have instigated share repurchases with Safeway buying back 210mn stg worth of shares and Natwest 450mn stg.   JAPANESE RECOVERY HOPES FUEL RATE FEARS   A long awaited recovery in the Japanese economy is fuelling fears of a worldwide rise in interest rates.   Tomorrow's Tankan survey is expected to show Japan's businessmen regaining their confidence in the country's economy.   LLOYD'S BID TO OVERTURN US THREAT   Lloyd's of London is hoping for a quick decision as it goes back to court in a desperate bid to overturn an American legal ruling that the 300 year old insurance market says is a threat to its reorganisation plan.   ---For a full range of news monitoring services, phone BMC on   -- BMC +44 71 377 1742 
4109 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Green Rate Ref Period 1 Day 3 Day Forecast Current    26 Aug  21-26 Aug 26 Aug G.Rate rate in    AMR  RMG RMG  RMG 31 Aug effect   BFr 39.5239 39.2137 0.785 0.851 n/a unch 24.06.95   Dmk 1.91639 1.90389 0.652 0.704 n/a unch 07.07.96   DFl 2.14934 2.13487 0.673 0.756 n/a unch 07.07.96   UK 0.833821 0.825795 0.963 0.767 n/a unch 17.06.96   DKr 7.49997 7.35539 1.928 2.005 n/a unch 24.07.95   FFr 6.61023 6.50057 1.659 1.621 n/a unch 01.02.95   Lit 2030.40 1942.86 4.311 4.253 n/a unch 26.04.96   IR 0.829498 0.794821 4.180 4.078 n/a unch 26.03.95   Dra 311.761 303.997 2.490 2.494 n/a unch 01.01.96   Pta 165.198 160.905 2.599 2.619 n/a unch 24.07.95   Esc 198.202 195.297 1.466 1.517 n/a unch 01.02.95   Skr 8.64446 8.46596 2.065 1.880 n/a unch 07.07.96   Os 13.4875 13.3968 0.672 0.724 n/a unch 07.07.96   Fmk 6.02811 5.76800 4.315 4.295 n/a unch 06.05.96   AMR = Agricultural Market Rate.   RMG = Real Monetary Gap.   On the basis of exchange rates from 21-26 August, the average Finnish RMG is below +5 percent.   If it remains so at the end of the period the Finnish markka will not enter a second confirmation period on 31 August and its green rate would therefore remain unchanged.   All other green rates are also currently forecast to remain unchanged from 31 August.   During confirmation periods, the three-day (6 percent) rule is suspended. 
4110 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Shares in tobacco to insurance firm B.A.T Industries Plc opened six pence higher in pre-market trade at 432 pence by 0718 GMT after a favourable U.S. court ruling, analysts said.   In the verdict the U.S. Marion County Superior Court found for four tobacco companies, including the American Tobacco Co, a unit of B.A.T., in a suit filed by a family of a smoker who died of lung cancer. 
4111 !C13 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Abbott Laboratories Inc said on Tuesday it had won European marketing approval for Ritonavir, one of a new class of drugs aimed at stopping the replication of the HIV virus in patients with AIDS.    A spokeswoman for Chicago-based Abbott told Reuters the European Agency for Evaluation of Medicinal Products, which supervises drug approvals for the 15-member European Union, backed the use of Ritonavir in combination with other anti-HIV therapies.   Ritonavir, a protease inhibitor which is marketed under the brand name Norvir, has already been approved for use in the U.S. and Switzerland.   The spokeswoman said Ritonavir helps to prolong the life of HIV-infected patients and reduce the incidence of HIV-related infections.    Clinical trials into the treatment of HIV have found greatest success with a cocktail of older anti-HIV drugs known as trancsriptase inhibitors (RTI), together with new-generation protease inhibitors.   Abbott said trials using Ritonavir found combination therapy boosted the level of patients' CD4 cell counts, one of the key measures of the body's ability to fight disease.   London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
4112 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Prince Charles' divorce from Princess Diana becomes final on Wednesday and, legally, he will be free to marry the "love of his life", Camilla Parker Bowles.   But far from any sense of release at ending his disastrous 15-year marriage, Charles is under fire from church leaders, politicians and the public over his love life.   Any suggestion he may marry the divorced Parker Bowles provokes outrage from some.   Polls of readers of two tabloid newspapers on Tuesday showed nearly 90 percent of those who telephoned opposed the idea of the heir-to-the-throne marrying the woman he loved when Diana was still a child.   "Now Charles must choose between Camilla and the throne," said the Daily Mirror.   The Mirror and the other tabloid, The Sun, have long plied readers with cutting criticism of the relationship.   Some Britons are mystified by Charles' preference for the dowdy, horse-loving mother of two over his stylish, beautiful wife.   A recording of an alleged telephone conversation between Charles and Parker Bowles published in 1993, revealed her to be an earthy woman and their relationship to be deeply intimate.   Charles, 47, said he wanted to be reincarnated as a tampon and to live in Parker Bowles' trousers.   When Charles began divorce proceedings from Diana he said he had no plans to remarry.   But he has shown no sign of ending the 26-year affair with Parker Bowles, whom many people blame for the breakdown of his marriage to Diana, now 35.   Sneaked photographs published on Sunday showed Charles and Parker Bowles sharing a weekend holiday in Wales and the couple have attended private functions together in recent months.   Royal watchers believe the royal family is hoping that time will soften public hostility towards the couple.   But for all the romance of their enduring love, there are few signs of forgiveness for Charles and Parker Bowles.   Church leaders have said it would be inappropriate for a confessed adulterer to become monarch and politicians say he has brought shame on the royal family, already struggling to win back public favour after a string of scandals.   Charles can best convince his future subjects of his fitness to be king "by being dutiful, modest and uncontroversial", said the Daily Telegraph newspaper in an editorial on Tuesday.   "This will require, among other things, that he is not seen with Camilla Parker Bowles, let alone married to her.   For Prince Charles, the next decade will have to be an expiation of the past one."   The affair has brought worrying echoes in Britain of the 1936 abdication of King Edward VIII, who gave up his throne for the love of American divorcee Wallis Simpson.   If the prince were to abdicate, his 14-year-old son Prince William would be next in line to take over the throne from Queen Elizabeth, who is 70 but in good health.   Charles has been groomed since birth to take over the throne and has been indoctrinated with the deep sense of duty that royal watchers say persuaded him to marry Diana in the first place.   Unlike Parker Bowles, Diana was a naive virgin who had no romantic history to embarrass the royal family.   Charles was under pressure to produce an heir.   Charles confessed to adultery in a 1994 interview, but said he only renewed his relationship with Parker Bowles when his marriage had broken down. 
4113 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Following is a chronology of the events surrounding the hijack of a Jordan- bound Sudanese Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board that was diverted to London (all times GMT):   ---   MONDAY Aug 26, 1996 --   KHARTOUM - Sudan Airways Airbus 310 Flight 150 leaves Khartoum airport with 186 passengers and 13 crew on board, bound for Amman in Jordan.   CAIRO - Twenty minutes after takeoff, Cairo air traffic controllers are informed that plane has been hijacked and is now heading for Cyprus.   LARNACA, Cyprus - 2000 GMT - Plane lands at Larnaca airport in Cyprus where it is allowed to refuel.   Hijackers refuse Cypriot request to allow women and children off the plane and say will blow up the plane.   2245 GMT - Plane takes off from Larnaca after refuelling and heads for London where hijackers intend to surrender and seek political asylum.   ---   TUESDAY, Aug 27 1996 --   STANSTED, England - 0330 GMT -- Plane lands at London's Stansted airport.   0430 GMT -- Police begin negotiations with hijackers.   Police say there are six or seven hijackers on board armed with grenades and possibly other explosives.   0530 GMT -- First group of hostages allowed to leave plane, mostly women and children.   1100 GMT - Hostages released in "controlled batches" of 10 at a time throughout morning.   By 1100 GMT, 160 of 199 passengers and crew released.   Police say some of hijackers, who have asked to speak to an Iraqi exile in London, Sadiq Sadah, may be Iraqi nationals seeking asylum in Britain.   1220 GMT - Hijack ends peacefully.   All hostages are released.   Six Iraqi nationals, are arrested. 
4114 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Six people, understood to be Iraqis, have been arrested following the peaceful ending of a hijack of a Sudanese airliner at Stansted airport, north of London, police said on Tuesday.   "Six men have been arrested.   It may well be that there may be others involved.   We understand that they are Iraqi nationals," a police spokesman said.   "We have received no direct demands from them ourselves."   He said most of the negotiations over six hours at Stansted were between the pilot and the hijackers.   "There was some indication they were looking for political asylum," he said.   "There are no threats they would blow up the aircraft or show violence to passengers in Stansted."   The passengers were released in batches during the course of the morning after the Airbus A310 landed at Stansted, having been diverted from Cyprus.   The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Khartoum to Amman by six or seven men, who police earlier said might be Iraqis. 
4115 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Lloyd's of London was to resume an 11th hour legal struggle in the United States on Tuesday, as it emerged New York regulators may freeze the insurance market's assets, rasing fresh fears for the success of its recovery plan.   Lloyd's was to begin appealing at 1300 GMT against a court ruling made in the United States last week, which has threatened to throw the recovery plan off track, by giving American investors more time to think over a 3.2 billion pounds ($5 billion) settlement offer.   With just one day to go until the deadline for its 34,000 investors worldwide -- called Names -- to accept or reject the proposals, Lloyd's is hoping that the support shown by Names will be enough to declare the plan unconditional when its ruling council meets on Thursday.   But the injunction granted by a judge in Virginia late on Friday granting all 2,700 U.S. Names extra time to consider the plan, under which they would help pay to reinsure billions of pounds of liabilities into a new company called Equitas, means success is less than certain.   In addition, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Tuesday that New York's insurance regulator was poised to take action, if necessary, to freeze Lloyd's assets in the U.S.   It cited a spokesman for New York state's insurance commissioner, Edward Muhl, saying that the regulators had not taken any action which would affect $12 billion in Lloyd's trust funds at Citibank in New York to support U.S. underwriting.   However, the report added that the commission's lawyers were weighing whether any action was necessary after the injunction served against Lloyd's by U.S. district judge Robert Payne.   A Lloyd's spokesman declined to comment on whether the funds might be frozen.   He said the insurance market was in constant contact with the New York Insurance Department and was keeping it fully informed of developments.   On Monday, its lawyers were preparing for the appeal in Baltimore, Maryland, which could run to Wednesday.   The acceptance deadline passes at noon London time (1100 GMT) on Wednesday and Lloyd's will know shortly afterwards if it has enough "yes" votes to declare the recovery plan unconditional.   The insurance market's leaders have constantly emphasised that the August 28 settlement deadline is immutable, because Lloyd's must shortly afterwards pass annual solvency tests both in Britain and the United States.   Chairman David Rowland is hoping the 75 percent support for the plan announced on Sunday will swell to the critical mass of settling litigants and major debtors needed to push it through.   But some form of limited extension should not necessarily be ruled out.   Lloyd's said over 80 percent of Names have accepted in Britain, which accounts for four fifths of the market's membership.   However, it has yet to say anything of the level of acceptance in the United States, except that it is substantial.   The number of U.S. Names electing to wait while the judge's order remains in force is likely to be a key factor in whether Lloyd's can implement the recovery proposals as planned.   Under the terms of the injunction, which Lloyd's hopes to overthrow, U.S. Names are not barred from accepting the plan.   But Payne has said Lloyd's should provide them with more information by September 23.   They have until September 30 to pay funds into an escrow account, after which there remains another month in which to accede finally or not.   Even if the insurance market does succeed in overturning the judge's order, further litigation is still a possibility.   A top legal official in Colorado, which signed an agreement along with 37 other U.S. states in July ending action against Lloyd's in return for extra financial assistance for U.S. Names, said last week that it was working on a new claim.   ($1=.6415 Pound) 
4116 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  The hijack of a Sudanese Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew has ended peacefully at London's Stansted airport, police said on Tuesday.    The Chief of the Essex police force handling the hijack drama said all passengers were now off the plane.   "The hijack of this airliner has ended," Chief Constable John Burrow told a news conference.   "All the hostages have been released."   The passengers were released in batches during the course of the morning after the Airbus A310 landed at Stansted, having been diverted from Cyprus.   The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Khartoum to Amman by six or seven men, who police earlier said may be Iraqis. 
4117 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  All passengers held hostage aboard a hijacked Sudanese Airways plane diverted to London's Stansted airport carrying 199 passengers and crew have been freed, an airport spokeswoman said on Tuesday.   Eyewitnesses said six crew members had also been allowed to leave the aircraft.    Airport spokeswoman Rona Young confirmed that all the passengers had left the aircraft.   Police said a number of crew members had left the aircraft and said details would be given at a news conference expected to be held in the next few minutes by the local police chief.   The passengers were released in batches during the course of the morning after the Airbus A310 landed at Stansted, having been diverted from Cyprus.   The aircraft was hijacked on a flight from Khartoum to Amman by six or seven men, who police say may be Iraqis.   -- London Newsroom + 00--44-171-542-7947 
4118 !C12 !C13 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Britain's key markets regulator took further disciplinary action against former Barings directors on Tuesday as it prepares to react to critics of its regulatory regime with proposals to overhaul its rules.   Singapore-based trader Nick Leeson broke British merchant bank Barings in Febuary 1995 after running up almost $1.4 billion of losses in unauthorised derivatives trades.   Barings was later rescued by Dutch financial giant Internationale Nederlanden Groep.   The Barings debacle led to criticism of Britain's regulators, focusing on the Securities and Futures Authority (SFA) which was seen as being too soft on the two men at the top of the bank.   In March, when the SFA said it was beginning disciplinary action against an unspecified number of unnamed individuals, the regulator said chairman Peter Baring and his deputy Andrew Tuckey were not responsible for the bank's collapse.   Yet it sought "assurances" from them that they would not seek top management jobs in financial firms again.   Critics wondered how the most senior managers of Barings could not be responsible for its collapse and harangued the regulator for failing to name the other former Barings executives being investigated.   On Tuesday, the SFA said it was just weeks away from issuing a consultative paper which would propose changes to its rules, making its disciplinary process more transparent and revamping the responsibilities of senior executives at regulated firms.   Under its current regime the SFA can only name individuals once they have been found guilty.   On Tuesday it announced action against George Maclean, head of the banking group of Baring Investment Bank, Anthony Hawes, group treasurer of Baring Investment Bank and Anthony Gamby, director of settlements for Baring Investment Bank.   This adds to action against Peter Norris, chief executive of the failed bank, and the ex-head of group finance at Baring Investment Bank Geoffrey Broadhurst, both whom were banned for three years from the SFA's register of directors in May.   Sources say the SFA is also taking action against Ron Baker, former head of Barings financial products group, Ian Hopkins, head of group treasury and risk, Mary Walz, head of equity derivatives and James Bax, regional manager of south east Asia.   Baker has said he is fighting the SFA, which grants the licences vital to do business in London's financial district.   It can revoke those licences and issue fines as penalties.   Of the three men disciplined on Tuesday the harshest penalty was taken against Hawes, who was removed from the SFA's register of directors and managers and required to pay 10,000 pounds ($15,590) towards costs.   Any application for Hawes' registration as a director or manager will not be considered for three years, the SFA said, effectively barring him from being a manager at any financial firm for that period of time.   Maclean, who did not file a defence with the SFA, was reprimanded and his registration as a director suspended for two-years.   He was ordered to pay 10,000 pounds in costs.   Settlements director Gamby was reprimanded and his registration as a director suspended for one year from March 15, 1996, the SFA said.   It said he was also required to pay 5,000 pounds towards its costs.   ($1=.6415 Pound) 
4119 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  The aircraft hijack drama being played out at Stansted Airport near London on Tuesday is a grim reminder for Western nations of a problem which has largely dropped out of public concern in recent years.   A Sudan Airways plane on a flight from Khartoum to Amman was diverted to Britain by armed hijackers, some believed to be Iraqis, who freed most of the 199 passengers and crew.   Experts in Britain said aircraft hijacks have moved from one of the principal methods used by violent guerrilla groups to a relatively rare tactic, especially in the developed world.   "They have proved to be not a terribly successful way for terrorists to achieve their aims," said Dr Richard Clutterbuck, a writer and researcher on guerrilla methods.   "And all the while airport security has been improved."   Figures from the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Projected Violence at Scotland's St Andrews University show that aircraft hijacks accounted for 32 percent of what it classifies as terrorist incidents in the late 1960s.   But in the the 1980s and so far this decade, the figure is down to four percent.   "It is far more difficult for terrorists to hijack an airliner than it was 20-30 years ago," said the centre's director Dr Bruce Hoffman.   Clutterbuck said there was an immediate 50 percent cut in hijack incidents after passenger searches at boarding gates were introduced in the United States and elsewhere in 1971.   Hoffman noted that between 1969 and 1973, 3.5 aircraft in every 100,000 leaving U.S. airports were hijacked.   But when metal detectors were introduced, the rate fell to one in 100,000.   But in some cases guerrillas have resorted to the much more drastic method of simply bombing planes.   A bomb aboard a PanAm airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 killed 270 people, and another is suspected to have caused the explosion last month aboard a Paris-bound TWA flight off the New York coast, in which 230 people died.   Aircraft hijackings were recorded before World War Two, but the problem grew in the 1960s with what Yardley described as "the "Take me to Cuba' syndrome in the United States".   The method then became a favourite with groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, frustrated by the failure of Arab states to defeat Israel in war.   "Modern international terrorism really dates from that time," said Michael Yardley, a British psychologist and writer.   "But a number of the organisations involved directly or indirectly later decided to become respectable."   He said the problem has dropped further from public consciousness in the West because recent major hijackings tended to have taken place in areas not of great interest to Western media such as remote parts of the former Soviet Union.   Clutterbuck said the hijack-free record of the Israeli state airline El Al suggests that more could be done to tackle the problem.   But he said it had come at the cost of heavy subsidies from the Israeli government and a three-hour check-in period.   "It's now probably the safest way to fly to the Middle East, and passengers seem ready to accept it," he said. 
4120 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Shares in Lloyds Chemists Plc rose on Tuesday after the firm announced it had secured heads of terms agreements on a number of disposals that analysts said cleared the way for a renewed bidding war for the firm.   Lloyds' shares were up 6-1/2 pence to 497-1/2p at 0930GMT.   "I am not surprised by this.   We were being lined up for a renewal of bidding, maybe as early as this week," said one analyst, who declined to be named.    Lloyds was the target of bids from Germany's Gehe AG and British rival UniChem Plc.   But the offers lapsed after the British referred them to the UK's Monopolies and Mergers Commission.   The government said bids by either UniChem or Gehe for Lloyds could go ahead if certain Lloyds assets were sold off and now LLoyds has secured numerous offers from prospective purchasers of some of its wholesale businesses.   Lloyds Chemists said it had forwarded signed heads of terms to UniChem and Gehe to assist them in satisfying the conditions laid down by the UK Secretary of State.    "This clears the decks now," another analyst said.   Analysts said they expected both firms to come back with new bids, but that they could well be lower than the original bids due to a profit warning from Lloyds.   When the bidding process was stopped Gehe had renewed its last bid with a new 620 million stg offer.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
4121 !C17 !C174 !CCAT !E21 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Standard & Poor's said in a statement released on Monday it assigned its BB long-term and B short-term foreign currency ratings to the Republic of El Salvador.   The outlook is positive, S&P said.   "In addition, Standard & Poor's has assigned its BBB plus long-term and A2 short-term local currency ratings to the republic.   The outlook on the local currency rating is stable."   S&P said the ratings were supported by the country's --   -- broad-based popular support for the economic reform programme which, underpinned by a smooth transition to democracy after a 12-year civil war, augers well for political stability and deepening reforms going forward,   -- prudent fiscal policies, which have contained public sector deficits to an average three percent of GDP since 1992 despite the high cost associated with the peace accords,   -- modest net public external debt burden which, at an estimated 36 percent of exports in 1996, is well below the average for BB-rated sovereigns, and a correspondingly low debt service ratio of 17 percent of exports, and   -- extensive economic liberalisation, notably the elimination of price, interest rate, and capital controls which, combined with a sound banking sector, improve the prospects for a sustained, private sector-led, economic expansion.   S&P said creditworthiness was constrained by --   -- still precarious social conditions which, aggravated by great infrastructure deficiencies, are likely to exert pressure on public finances,   -- vulnerable balance of payments position,   -- narrow productive base, constrained by low, although increasing, savings rates (17 percent of GDP) and investment rates (20 percent) in 1995,   "The outlook reflects Standard & Poor's expectations that the pace of economic reform will be maintained, resulting in a tangible improvement of social conditions in the country.   "Longer term, improvements in creditstanding will depend on the government's ability to maintain fiscal and monetary discipline, as well as the momentum of its liberalisation programme, through the course of a business and electoral cycle," the S&P statement said.   --International Bonds Unit +44 171 542 6784 
4122 !C13 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britain's key markets regulator the Securities and Futures Authority (SFA) said on Tuesday it had displined three more former directors of Barings, the British merchant bank which collapsed in February 1995.   In a statement the SFA said the three -- George Maclean, head of the banking group of Baring Investment Bank, Anthony Hawes, group treasurer of Baring Investment Bank and Anthony Gamby, director of settlements for Baring Investment Bank -- had failed to act with due skill, care and dilgence in breach of the Securities and Investments Board (SIB) principle 2.    In March the SFA, which grants the licences vital to do business in London's financial district, said it had started disciplinary action against an unspecified number of unnamed individuals.   In May it banned Peter Norris, former chief executive of the failed bank, and former head of group finance at Baring Investment Bank Geoffrey Broadhurst.   The regulator was criticised, though, for failing to take tough action against the two men at the top of Barings -- chairman Peter Baring and his deputy Andrew Tuckey.   On Tuesday the SFA said Maclean had not filed a defence.    Maclean, as he had not made proposals for settlement either, has been reprimanded and his SFA registration as a director suspended for two years, the regulator said.   He is also ordered to pay 10,000 stg towards the SFA's costs, the regulator said.   SIMEX, the Singapore exchange at which ex-Barings trader Nick Leeson was stacking up many of the losses which broke the bank, had raised queries about the business of Leeson's employer Barings (Futures) Singapore on January 27, 1995, the SFA said.   It said Maclean had given reassurances to SIMEX, on February 10, 1995, which were without any "reasonable foundation".    The SFA took tougher action against ex-treasurer Hawes, removing him from its registers of directors and managers and requiring him to pay 10,000 stg towards costs.   Any application for Hawes' registration as a director or manager will not be considered for three years, the SFA said.   It said Hawes was aware of a "top-up" margin sent by Barings Securities Ltd to Baring (Futures) Singapore on daily basis and failed to properly understand, control and reconcile this margin for the period between April 1993 and February 24, 1995.   On the face of it the margin was the advance of funding to clients, the SFA said.    In reality the "top-up" was supporting Leeson's unauthorised trading, the SFA said.   Leeson is in jail in Singapore.   The SFA said Hawes failed to ensure the "top-up" was adequately addressed in an internal audit of Baring Futures Singapore in July and August 1994.   Neither did Hawes raise the lack of reconcilation at ALCO -- the asset and liability committee of Barings Investment Bank which monitored risk and capital, the SFA said.   Hawes was also responsible for giving the assurances to SIMEX in the February 10 letter, the SFA said, which was based on assumptions which were without foundation.    Settlements director Gamby has been reprimanded and his registration as an director suspended for one year from March 15, 1996, the SFA said.   He has also been required to pay 5,000 stg towards its costs.   Gamby failed to ensure the settlements department understood, controlled and reconciled the "top-up" margin between February 9 and 24, 1995, the SFA said.   It said it had no evidence to indicate he was personally aware of any unreconciled balances but said Gamby accepted that he was responsible for ensuring proper procedures existed.   Barings was rescued by Dutch financial services group ING after its collapse.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 5113 
4123 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  New York's insurance regulator has said it is poised to take action, if necessary, to freeze Lloyd's of London's assets in the United States, the Financial Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.   Lloyd's today launches an appeal against a court ruling in the United States last week, which has threatened at the last minute to throw the insurance market's recovery plan off track.   The FT cited a spokesman for New York state's insurance commissioner, Edward Muhl, saying that the regulators had not taken any action which would affect $12 billion in Lloyd's trust funds at Citibank in New York to support U.S. underwriting.    It said the commission's lawyers were weighing whether any action was necessary following the injunction served by U.S. district court judge Robert Payne late on Friday granting all U.S. Names extra time to think over the Lloyd's recovery plan.   A spokesman for the insurance market told Reuters Lloyd's was in constant contact with the New York Insurance Department and is keeping it fully informed of developments.   He declined to comment on whether Lloyd's assets could be frozen.    With just one day to go until the deadline for its 34,000 investors worldwide -- called Names -- to agree to the proposals, Lloyd's is hoping the broad support shown by Names will be enough to declare the recovery plan unconditional when its ruling council meets on Thursday.   Under the recovery proposals, it hopes Names will help pay to reinsure billion of pounds of liabilities into a new company called Equitas.   -- London Newsroom, +44 171 542 7717 
4124 !GCAT  The following are top headlines from selected Canadian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE GLOBE AND MAIL:   - Mobs thriving in Canada: Study says crime syndicates cross national boundaries, infiltrate business.   - Child porn flood swells: High-tech era creates nightmare.   - Abuses threaten elections in Bosnia: Local votes likely to be cancelled.   - Avoid the technical talk, scientists told: To get funding, researchers must explain projects in everyday language.   - Clinton casts himself in moderate role: Heading into Democratic convention, U.S. President cites importance of mainstream values.   Report on Business Section:   - Rogers Communications Inc loses key executive: Chief financial officer Graham Savage second high-level departure from communications empire.   - U.S. feared Friedland asset shift: Promoter kept in dark about suit.   The United States moved secretly through Canadian and Colorado courts to freeze US$152-million of Robert Friedland's Inco Ltd stock last week because of concerns that the mining promoter was relocating assets outside the government's reach.   - Netscape navigates future: The software maker's spinoff is in a race to make the Internet accessible to everyone in future -- computer or not.   - Bid made for parent of Mac's stores: Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc goes after Silcorp Ltd.   THE FINANCIAL POST:   - Silcorp draws C$68.5-million bid: But surprise offer from Quebec's Alimentation Couche-Tard may not be sweet enough to win convenience store chain.   - Rogers stung as CFO Graham Savage quits: Rogers Communications Inc took a hit in the stock market yesterday as Graham Savage, the communications company's highly regarded chief financial officer, announced his resignation.    -- Reuters Toronto Bureau   416 941-8100 
4125 !GCAT !GDIP  Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said after talks with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday that Syria was ready to resume peace talks with Israel in Washington.   "I can convey to you Syria's full determination to march on the way of peace within the framework of commitments and principles which were agreed upon," Moussa said, referring to the principle that Israel return occcupied Arab land in exchange for peace with its neighbours.   "Within this framework Syria is ready to resume the peace process and the meetings in Washington and to continue the negotiations," the Egyptian minister told reporters at Damascus airport.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-wing government came to power in May elections, has rejected the principle of returning Arab land.   The previous Israeli government under Labour leader Shimon Peres suspended peace talks with Syria after a wave of suicide bombings by Islamic militants in Israel in February and March.   Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara, who was at the airport to see Moussa off, agreed with the Egyptian minister's remarks and said Syria was ready for negotiations with Israel.   "The negotiations should restart from the point where from they stopped," Shara said.   He said that some progress was made in the negotiations with the former Israeli government under Peres and the negotiations should begin again from that point.   Israeli-Syrian peace talks, brokered by Washington, have been deadlocked for years over Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights, captured from Syria in the 1967 Middle East War, and the state of future relations.   The last round of talks in Washington were believed to be focusing on Israeli security concerns on the Golan in the event of an Israeli withdrawal.   Netanyahu has since said Israel will not return the strategic plateau to Syria.   Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy will visit Egypt on Sunday to discuss the fate of the peace negotiations. 
4126 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel hoisted a bulldozer over the walls of Jerusalem's Old City at dawn on Tuesday and destroyed an Arab building, reigniting the battle for land between Arab and Jew.   Palestinians called a two-hour general strike and marched in protest against the demolition of the incomplete building, intended as a centre for the handicapped, and which the Israeli Municipality of Jerusalem said was being constructed without a permit.   "This building was intended to serve Palestinians in the Old City and posed no threat to the Israelis," Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed Hashem Zighayer told Reuters.   "This is a war that has been declared on us and we want our people to come and see the site where they declared the war," he said.   Arab residents said Israeli police closed off the area of Burj al-Laqlaq neighbourhood as a crane lifted a bulldozer over the city walls when most people were still asleep.   The bulldozer, which was too big to have entered through the city's gates, flattened the building.   Palestinian lawmakers said the demolition was the latest sign of a tougher Israeli policy towards the city's 165,000 Arabs since the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won office in May.   "It is clear that the policy of the Likud government is to kill the peace process.   The demolition of this building today is but an example of this policy," Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed al-Batsh said at the scene.   Palestinian President Yasser Arafat summoned foreign diplomats to convey what the Palestinian News Agency WAFA said was his deep concern over Israel's practices in Jerusalem.   "These attempts and measures are a part of a premeditated policy to Judaise Arab Jerusalem, to empty... its inhabitants and to encourage settlement building inside Jerusalem's neighbourhoods," WAFA quoted Arafat as saying.   Palestinian cabinet members Hanan Ashrawi and Hassan Tahboub and Legislative Council President Ahmed Korei led a march of about 100 people from the demolition site through the Old City.   Korei, better known as Abu Alaa, who negotiated the 1993 Israel-PLO self-rule deal said Palestinians wanted to know "if this is peace or a cover for continuing the occupation...This is peace by a bulldozer and by a tank."   The demolition came a day after the PLO bowed to Netanyahu's demand to close Palestinian offices in Jerusalem.   Netanyahu made the closure of the three offices a condition for resuming peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).   Palestinians accuse Netanyahu of delaying the implementation of the self-rule accord with Arafat's Palestinian Authority in order to secure better terms on sensitive issues such the Jewish presence in Hebron and East Jerusalem.   "The building destroyed in the Old City was unoccupied.   It was destroyed because it was built without a permit just as all buildings built without a permit are," a municipality spokeswoman said.   Israeli police said the building was funded by the Palestinian Authority for use as a social club.   Hayel Sandouka, president of the al-Laqlaq Tower Centre, a charitable organisation helping Palestinians in the Old City, denied this.   He said building was funded by private charities including organisations from Canada and Sweden.   He said the 150 square metre (1,600 square feet) building was part of a large project that would include a handicapped centre, a home for the elderly and a kindergarten.   Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.   The fate of Jerusalem is to be negotiated during talks on the final status of Arab lands Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. 
4127 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  A Sudanese aircraft on a flight from Khartoum to Amman was hijacked to London on Tuesday where armed hostage-takers, believed to be from the Middle East, released some 160 of 199 passengers and crew.   Hundreds of armed police were deployed at Stansted airport, where the Sudanese Airways Airbus landed in the early hours after being forced to divert to Cyprus for refueling.   At Larnaca the hijackers had at one point threatened to blow up the jet.   Some police stood as close as 50 metres from the aircraft, while dozens of police vans waited about 1.5 miles (two km) across the tarmac along with firefighters and ambulances.   Meanwile, negotiations were conducted by radio.   Police said some of the hijackers may be Iraqi nationals.   An Iraqi exile group said the hostage-takers wanted to contact one of its members.   They said over 160 hostages had been released in batches of 10 and expressed the hope others would soon be freed.   The six or seven hijackers, who have said they want to seek asylum in Britain, are believed to be armed with grenades and possibly other explosives, according to police.   "All I can say is, negotiations are going on between themselves (the hijackers) and members of the Iraqi Community Association," said police spokeswoman Kim White.   An official at the Iraqi Community Association said they believed the hijackers were trying to contact an Iraqi named Sadik Sadah.   Sadah is a former member of the Association's executive committee who now works as a volunteer.   The official was unable to say whether Sadah had made contact with the hijackers.   Police were unable to comment on speculation that the Iraqis were diplomats based in Khartoum who were seeking to defect rather than return to Baghdad.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   The hijackers started to release captives about two hours after the Airbus 310 airliner arrived at Stansted from Larnaca in Cyprus, where it was refuelled, at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT).   Police said the passengers who disembarked, led by the elderly and mothers with small children, were very calm and collected despite their ordeal.   Two sick passengers were taken away in ambulances, but police said their illnesses were not related to the way they had been treated by the hijackers.   Sanctions imposed on the government of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein mean international flights do not land in Baghdad.   Travellers can fly to Amman and proceed overland.   Members of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's family defected to Jordan last year.   Iraqi news media reported in February that the two top-level defectors, who were Saddam's sons-in-law, were murdered by relatives days after returning home to a pardon from the Iraqi leader.   During the stop in Cyprus, the hijackers told police they wanted to claim political asylum in Britain and would release the passengers once they landed in London.   Those who were released were being interviewed by police who were attempting to gather information about the hijackers.   Specially trained British negotiators established telephone contact via the airliner's captain within an hour of the aircraft touching down at Stansted, which is about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital.   The plane was parked at a remote part of the airport two miles (three km) from the main terminal.   White said that most of the passengers were Sudanese but that there were also an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   The Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and said only: "I will blow the plane up."   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4128 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel, in a move sure to enrage Palestinians, said on Tuesday it had approved the building of a new neighbourhood at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank.   "The neighbourhood in question is within Kiryat Sefer settlement.   The building plan was approved in the past by the previous government and it was frozen and now it has been approved anew according to the government's decisions," a defence ministry spokeswoman said.   Israel's Maariv newspaper said the neighbourhood comprised 1,806 housing units but only 900 would be built in the first stage of the plan.   The defence ministry spokeswoman did not have specifics but said she would check the report.   The move announced on Tuesday was the first approval of a building plan under the new government.   Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has the responsibility of approving any building in the occupied territories.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, lifted a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza Strip imposed by the previous government in 1992.   Palestinians, who in 1993 struck a historic interim peace deal with Israel's previous dovish government providing limited self-rule in the areas, have warned renewed settlement building will destroy the Middle East peace process.   Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.   Some 130,000 Jews have settled amidst the nearly two million Palestinians in the territories since Israel captured them in the 1967 Middle East war.   Israel's Housing Ministry on August 20 said that it was drafting a plan to approve construction of 5,000 new homes in the West Bank.   It was not immediately clear if the Kiryat Sefer project was part of that plan.   Housing ministry officials were not available to comment.   Kiryat Sefer is located west of Ramallah and just east of Israel's pre-1967 Middle East war border with the West Bank.   While the previous government froze new settlement building and some large projects, it did allow building in West Bank settlements around Jerusalem and along the old border -- areas it hoped to keep in a final peace deal with the Palestinians.   There has been building all along in Kiryat Sefer, located in an area the previous government hoped to retain.   Shay Peled, who monitors settlement building for Israel's largest peace group Peace Now, said of the approval: "It's nothing new, really.   They built all along in Kiryat Sefer."   Netanyahu has said Jews have the right to settle anywhere in the occupied territories.   He has yet to renew final status peace talks with the Palestinians where settlements are up for negotiation.   He opposes their goal of a state. 
4129 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Beirut magistrate has charged former Christian warlord Samir Geagea with the 1987 murder of then prime minister Rachid Karami, judicial officials said on Tuesday.   Judge Georges Ghantous summoned Geagea last Wednesday and told him of the charges.   Geagea refused to be questioned without his lawyers, who are expected to accompany him at an interrogation set for next Wednesday, the sources said.   Karami, a Sunni Moslem, was killed by a remote-controlled bomb which blew up his helicopter off the Lebanese coast during the 1975-90 civil war.   Geagea is the first person known to have been accused of the killing.   However, judicial sources said an army brigadier-general and several members of Geagea's Lebanese Forces (LF), the most powerful Christian militia during the war, had been detained a few weeks ago in connection with Karami's death.   Geagea is already serving two life sentences for the October 1990 murders of Christian politician Dani Chamoun and his family and the murder of Dr Elias az-Zayek, a former LF member.   A court acquitted Geagea in July of a 1994 church bombing that killed 11 people, but sentenced him to 10 years jail for establishing a military faction after the government outlawed all civil war militias in 1991.   The government ordered a general amnesty when the civil war ended but postwar crimes and certain high-profile killings like the Karami killing which had already been referred to the Judicial Council were excluded. 
4130 !GCAT !GDIP  Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said after talks with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in Damascus on Tuesday that Syria was ready to resume peace talks with Israel in Washington.   "I can convey to you Syria's full determination to march on the way of peace within the framework of commitments and principles which were agreed upon," Moussa said, referring to the principle that Israel return occcupied Arab land in exchange for peace with its neighbours.   "Within this framework Syria is ready to resume the peace process and the meetings in Washington and to continue the negotiations," the Egyptian minister told reporters at Damascus airport.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose right-wing government came to power in May elections, has rejected the principle of returning Arab land.   The previous Israeli government under Labour leader Shimon Peres suspended peace talks with Syria after a wave of suicide bombings by Islamic militants in Israel in February and March. 
4131 !GCAT !GPOL  Israelis, still shocked by the killing of their prime minister by a fellow Jew, rallied on Tuesday to the defence of Israel's top judge, branded a "dangerous enemy" by ultraorthodox Jews.   An article in the Yated Neeman newspaper on Monday blasted Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak and said God would help religious Jews overcome him.   "We are a nation of law and the Supreme Court is a corner stone...We won't allow harm to come to this important central establishment," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in remarks broadcast on Israel's army radio.   The wife of slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin said Barak should "fear for his life."   Leah Rabin had blamed Netanyahu and the right-wing for creating a climate of incitement that she said led to the assassination of her husband last November by a religious Jew opposed to Middle East peace moves.   The assassination shocked most Israelis who refused to believe a Jew would kill the leader of the Jewish state.   Security around Barak has been heightened in recent days.   Barak was slammed in the article over a Supreme Court decision earlier this month to keep open on the Jewish sabbath a Jerusalem street that runs through an ultraorthodox neighbourhood.   Devout Jews have also assailed Barak over his rulings recognising gay and women's rights and curbing the powers of the religious establishment.   "A simple look at the events that transpired here over the past weeks shows that the religious and orthodox public has a dangerous enemy...he is called Aharon Barak," the article said.   The attack on Barak dominated Israel's media throughout Tuesday with leaders from across the Jewish state expressing shock and condemnation.   "It is a system of grave incitement and I don't recall anything like it.   Not only is it aimed at hurting people...but it is an attempt to shake the foundations of the rules of the game of Israeli society," Finance Minister Dan Meridor told Israel radio.   Meridor's statements echoed those made earlier by left-wing legislators.   "As we learned, only a thin line divides festering incitement and the person who draws the obvious conclusions," Meretz member of parliament Dedi Zucker told Israel Radio.   "It could lead to killing and murder."   Barak convened an emergency meeting of the Supreme Court justices on Monday, asking them not to get involved in the matter.   Leaders of the religious community denounced violence but maintained their criticism of the Supreme Court, saying it does not represent them. 
4132 !GCAT !GDIP  Iraqi and United Nations arms officials held more closed-door meetings on Tuesday but it was not clear whether progress was made on outstanding differences, U.N. and Iraqi sources said.   U.N. senior arms envoy Rolf Ekeus arrived in Baghdad on Monday for talks on the controversial issue of U.N. occess to inspect Iraqi sites and on banned materials his inspectors suspect Iraq is still hiding.   Days before Ekeus's arrival, the U.N. Security Council demanded Iraq stop blocking searches by his inspectors for concealed weapons.   Iraq did not hide its anger at the accusations.   The government newspaper al-Jumhouriya said on Tuesday the council's request was unnecessary and accused Ekeus, who chairs the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM), of politicising his mission in Iraq.   "He has immersed himself in a political ploy against Iraq, masterminded by America for known political reasons," the paper said.   It said Ekeus adopted "practices and activities hostile to Iraq", in reference to UNSCOM's persistent efforts to gain access to sites which Iraq deems vital to its national security.   Ekeus was not available for comment.   U.N. sources said the Iraqis, fearing for his safety kept him under tight security.   Jumhouriya ridiculed such security concerns which it said were being used by Ekeus and his commission as a means "to incite the U.N. Security Council" against Iraq.   The two sides reached agreement last June on how to inspect facilities which Baghdad regards as symbols of its sovereignty.   But the arrangements did not work out, as Iraq balked at several attempts by UNSOM experts to enter such places.   Iraq accuses Ekeus of exceeding the authority given to him under the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire terms, compelling Baghdad to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction.   The ban on Iraqi oil exports, except for the limited sales allowed under a deal Baghdad signed with U.N. last June, will not be lifted until Ekeus certifies that Iraq has fully complied with Gulf War weapons demands.   Ekeus, in remarks made last week, said Baghdad had not yet met its disarmament obligations and charged that the Iraqis were obstructing missions by his inspectors.   Jumhouriya described his remarks as "poisonous...meant only to prolong the unfair sanctions on Iraq."   UNSCOM says it still believes Iraq hides about a dozen of its long-range ballistic missiles and has not yet provided it with all documents and probably materials concerning its past weapons programmes. 
4133 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  An Iraqi Kurdish group on Tuesday called for the northern Iraqi administration to be strengthened as a way of achieving a comprehensive peace settlement in a region shaken in recent days by renewed inter-Kurdish fighting.   The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) has sustained the conflict in the area by "plundering" revenues of $250,000 a day.   The KDP administers the Turkish-Iraqi border region, where it controls the illicit oil trade from Iraq into Turkey.   "It is vital that the Kurdistan Regional Government and Parliament assume their responsibilities for the administration of the whole of Iraqi Kurdistan region," the PUK said in a statement.   A power-sharing parliament was established in the region in 1992, with the PUK and the KDP having 50 deputies each in the 105-seat assembly.   The other five belong to other parties.   The assembly's mandate was extended earlier this year, but its activities remain paralysed by inter-faction fighting.   The KDP said on Monday the PUK had broken a U.S.-brokered ceasefire, prompting heavy fighting in which dozens of people were reportedly killed.   The fighting has threatened a U.S.-led peace plan to unite the mountainous Kurdish region in northern Iraq against President Saddam Hussein.   On Tuesday the PUK made a call for peace.   "The conflict has gone on far too long and the interests of the Kurdish people demand an end to this situation of no peace no war," the PUK said.   A U.S.-led air force has protected Iraq's Kurds against attack from the Baghdad government since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991. 
4134 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV  Cairo airport officials foiled attempts by two Gulf Arab passengers to take a snake and two hawks on to their EgyptAir flight on Tuesday, airport sources said.   They said security officials found the snake in a bottle of mineral water which one of the passengers was hiding in the pocket of his loose robe.   Customs officials detected the hawks while the other man's luggage was being scanned by an x-ray machine.   The unnamed passengers said they were taking the snake and birds back to Kuwait, to give as a present and hunt with respectively.   Airport authorities confiscated the animals. 
4135 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  An Egyptian military court sentenced a member of parliament to six months in jail with hard labour on Tuesday for forging his birth certificate to evade military service, security sources said.   They said Reda Abdel Wahhab, who represents the Toukh constituency some 25 km (16 miles) north of Cairo, was convicted of wiping the names of his two brothers off his birth certificate to qualify for an exemption.   Military service is mandatory in Egypt for males above the age of 18 but an only son is exempt.   Parliament had already waived Abdel Wahhab's parliamentary immunity.   When it reconvenes, it will probably annul his membership of parliament and call a by-election. 
4136 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara on Tuesday denied an Israeli newspaper report that Damascus wanted a radical Palestinian guerrilla leader to leave Syria.   Israel's English-language newspaper Jerusalem Post reported on Monday that Syrian President Hafez al-Assad had asked Ahmed Jibril of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General-Command (PFLP-GC) to leave Syria and go to Iran.   "These are baseless and unrealistic reports.   No Palestinian could be expelled from Syria.   The presence of the Palestinians here in Syria among their brothers is caused by their expulsion from their main homeland in Palestine," Shara said.   "The Palestinians in Syria leave only by their own well and to their homeland," Shara said.   "If those Palestinians are expelled from Syria and Arab states where should they go?"   asked Shara.   The PFLP-GC had already denied the report in an official statement issued on Monday.   Syria hosts over 500,000 Palestinian refugees, including leaders of a 10-member radical Palestinian alliance which opposes peace with Israel and calls for military struggle against the Jewish state.   Syria had rejected demands by Israel and the United States to expel the Palestinian leaders whose groups claimed several attacks in which socres of Israelis were killed.   The United States keeps Syria on a list of countries which allegedly sponsor international terrorism.   Shara said the presence of Syria's name on the list was political and because of the Israeli pressure on Washington.   "We challenged the United States to give us a single proof of any Syrian involvement in international terrorism and there was nothing.   The only reason for the existence of Syria's name there is because we host the Palestinians," Shara said.   Shara also rejected Israeli displeasure over reports that Syria possessed long-range missles capable of bombing Israeli targets.   "The whole world knows that Israel possesses the biggest military conventional and non-conventional arsenal in the region.   Israel with this arsenal challenges the whole Arab military capabilities," shara said.   Israeli television reported that Damascus had recently test-fired a Scud C missile able to hit most cities in the Jewish state. 
4137 !GCAT !GDIP  Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said on Tuesday Israel's so-called "Lebanon first" proposal for opening negotiations with Syria has been rejected by Arabs and no longer exists.   Syrian presidential spokesman Joubran Kourieh said that Moussa, who arrived in Damascus earlier in the day to discuss how to reactivate the Syrian-Israeli peace talks, opened talks with President Hafez al-Assad.   He said that Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara was present at the meeting at the presidential palace in the Syrian capital.   Speaking to reporters before seeing Assad, Moussa said Israel's proposal to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in exchange for a halt to guerrilla operations against Israel could not succeed.   "Israel's 'Lebanon first' proposal is finished.   It no longer exists because it was rejected by Lebanon and Syria.   This is also the position of Egypt and Arabs," Moussa said.   Assad spurned the Israeli proposal while on a visit to Egypt in early August.   He said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not seriously seeking peace with his "Lebanon first" offer.   Moussa said negotiations should resume on the basis of the land-for-peace principle agreed on when the peace process started in 1991.   Netanyahu, who was elected in May, has dismayed Arabs by rejecting the principle of trading the occupied Arab lands for peace.   He has said that Israel will not return to Syria the Golan Heights which it captured in the 1967 Middle East war.   Moussa said he would deliver to Assad a message from President Mubarak dealing with the peace process.   He said he would discuss several issues on Israel's peace negotiations with Arabs when Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy visits Cairo on Sunday.   "We are looking forward to this visit as we have a lot of issues which we need to discuss.   We also want to affirm that we as Arabs are committed to the peace option," Moussa said.   Syria's Shara, answering questions as he welcomed Moussa, condemned Netanyahu's policies and said Syria would not change its policies on peace.   "We are surprised how Netanyahu talks about peace while at the same time he rejects withdrawal from the Golan and the occupied Arab lands," Shara said.   He said Syria believed that no security or peace could be reached in the region without the achievement of a just and comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.   "This solution should be based on Israel's full withdrawal from all the occupied Arab lands.   Anything else would not stem from good intentions," Shara said.   Israel broke off the last round of talks with Syria and pulled out its peace team from Washington in March after a wave of suicide bombings by Islamic militants that killed 59 people in Israel. 
4138 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Tunisian Transport Minister Sadok Rabeh is to lead a business delegation which will visit Baghdad during the next few days for talks with Iraqi officials, Tunisian officials said on Tuesday.   The visit is aimed at boosting ties between the two countries as part of efforts to consolidate cooperation with Arab countries, the officials added.   They said that Rabeh on Tuesday discussed the visit with Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali who expressed his interest in developing cooperation with Arab countries in order to boost their solidarity.   Iraq has been hit by stringent U.N. sanctions since its August 1990 invasion of Kuwait.   But under a partial oil sales deal with U.N. it can sell oil worth $2 billion every six months to raise funds to buy food and medicines and other humanitarian needs. 
4139 !GCAT !GVIO  Kurdish guerrillas killed two people and took three hostage after stopping two intercity buses at a roadblock in eastern Turkey, security officials said on Tuesday.   They told reporters a group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas stopped the buses at a roadblock on the road linking the eastern provinces of Erzincan and Sivas on Monday night and forced the passengers to get out.   The rebels killed one of the drivers and a passenger after checking the identities of the passengers, they said.   The officials said the rebels set ablaze two buses and released all but three passengers.   More than 20,000 people have been killed in the 12-year-old conflict between Turkish troops and PKK guerrillas fighting for autonomy or independence from Turkey. 
4140 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iranian state radio accused the United States on Tuesday of provoking inter-Kurdish fighting in northern Iraq to counter Iran's influence in the area.   "In view of America's concern over Iran's role among Iraqi Kurdish groups...any move to provoke Kurdish groups to start fighting is attributed to the White House," state-run Tehran radio said in a commentary.   Guerrillas of Kurdish warlord Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have been fighting rebels of Massoud Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   The radio said the United States was trying to provoke the fighting to thwart a ceasefire reached by the two groups after Iranian-sponsored talks in Tehran in October.   "America is trying to cause new clashes in northern Iraq to pave the way for its presence in this region under the guise of mediation," the radio added.   Washington brokered a ceasefire on Friday and persuaded the two factions to attend peace talks next month in London, hosted by Britain.   But fighting reportedly flared over the weekend.   The United States said on Monday it saw no useful role for Iran in northern Iraq after Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati said only Tehran could bring peace to the area.   The State Department called on both sides to fulfil their commitments to implement an immediate ceasefire and return their forces to positions held before August 17.   "In our view, continued fighting between the Kurds would only set back their interests," Glyn Davies, the department's acting chief spokesman said.   He said such fighting also cleared the way for outside forces to pursue their own agendas.   Iranian radio said U.S. mediation would fail because Kurdish groups did not trust Washington and regional states opposed interference by outside powers.   Iraq has accused both Washington and Tehran of meddling in the affairs of its Kurdish minority.   The KDP has accused Iran of backing the PUK while the PUK has accused Baghdad's forces of shelling its positions.   More than 100 people have been killed in the fighting and hundreds of families have been made homeless, a United Nations official in the region said on Monday. 
4141 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Turkey's coalition government on Tuesday submitted to parliament a new draft law envisaging the lifting of emergency rule in some southeastern provinces, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.   Parliament is scheduled to debate the new draft bill in an extraordinary session this week.   Emergency rule has been in force in 10 mainly Kurdish provinces in the southeast since 1987 to help counter a Kurdish separatist revolt.   Over 20,000 people have died in the conflict between the state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).   The new law aims to increase inter-province coordination of operations against the PKK and create a mechanism for seeking neighbouring countries' permission when pursuing rebels in cross-border operations.   Security forces will have the right to fire on suspected guerrillas if they do not heed orders to surrender or if they open fire. 
4142 !GCAT !GPOL  Israeli police hoisted a bulldozer over the walls of Jerusalem's Old City at dawn on Tuesday and destroyed an Arab building, reigniting the battle for land between Arab and Jew.   Palestinians called a two-hour general strike and marched in protest against the demolition of the incomplete building which the Jerusalem Municipality said was being constructed without a permit.   "This building was intended to serve Palestinians in the Old City and posed no threat to the Israelis," Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed Hashem Zighayer told Reuters.   "This is a war that has been declared on us and we want our people to come and see the site where they declared the war," he said.   Arab residents said a crane lifted a bulldozer over the city walls when most people were still asleep.   The bulldozer, which could not have entered through the city's gates, flattened the building which was intended as a centre for the handicapped.   Palestinian lawmakers said the demolition was the latest sign of a tougher Israeli policy towards the city's 165,000 Arabs since the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won office in May.   "It is clear that the policy of the Likud government is to kill the peace process.   The demolition of this building today is but an example of this policy," Palestinian Legislative Council member Ahmed al-Batsh said at the scene.   Palestinian legislators Hanan Ashrawi and Ahmed Korei led a march of about 100 people from the demolition site.   Korei, better known as Abu Alaa, said Palestinians wanted to know: "if this is peace or a cover for continuing the occupation...This is peace by a bulldozer and by a tank."   The demolition came a day after PLO officials said they had bowed to Netanyahu's demand to close their offices in Jerusalem.   Netanyahu made the closure of the three offices a condition for resuming peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).   Palestinians accuse Netanyahu of delaying the implementation of the self-rule accord with Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority in order to secure better terms on sensitive issues such the Jewish presence in Hebron and East Jerusalem.   "The building destroyed in the Old City was unoccupied.   It was destroyed because it was built without a permit just as all buildings built without a permit are," a Municipality spokeswoman said.   Israeli police said the building was funded by the Palestinian Authority for use as a social club.   Hayel Sandouka, president of the al-Laqlaq Tower Centre, a charitable organisation helping Palestinians in the Old City, denied this.   He said building was funded by private charities including organisations from Canada and Sweden.   He said the the 150 square metre (1,600 square feet) building was part of a large project that would include a handicapped centre, a home for the elderly and a kindergarten.   Palestinians said they feared the demolition was part of an attempt to seize a large plot of land owned by the charity.   Palestinians say Israel is trying to settle Jews inside the predominantly Arab Old City to tighten its grip the area which contains sites holy to Jews, Moslems and Christians.   Palestinians regard East Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.   The fate of Jerusalem is up for negotiation during talks on the final status of the Arab territories Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. 
4143 !GCAT !GVIO  Suspected Moslem militants on Tuesday shot dead a farmer they thought was a police informer in southern Egypt, security sources said.   They said the gunmen, believed to be members of the violent Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), shot Nabil Abdullah Sayed in the stomach and arm early on Tuesday.   He died instantly and the gunmen ran into the fields of Ataka village, near the southern town of Mallawi, which has been a hotbed of militant violence.   Gama'a members, seeking to overthrow the government and replace it by a strict Islamist state, have targeted security personnel, their civilian aides, tourists, Christians and informers in their four-year-old armed struggle.   On Sunday and Monday suspected militants killed six people including three Christians in separate incidents in the south.   About 1,000 people, mainly militants and policemen, have been killed in political violence in Egypt since 1992. 
4144 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Egypt has banned and confiscated 10,000 copies of the Cyprus-based Arabic monthly newspaper al-Tadamun because of an editorial suggesting mental health tests for Arab leaders, the editor-in-chief said on Tuesday.   Mohamed Abu Liwaya, said Information Ministry censors had told him to send all the copies of the August edition back to Cyprus at his own expense.   He told Reuters the reason was his own front-page editorial, entitled "A Chronic Mental Illness" in which he attacks compliant Arab leaders for serving U.S. and Israeli interests.   "The Arabs demand that our Arab leaders undergo a compulsory examination by a team of psychiatrists to see how sound their mental capacities are," the editorial said.   "Because our leaders have started to behave with extreme hostility towards the interests of their peoples to court the goodwill of the Americans and the Zionists," he added.   The censorship office denied they had confiscated the newspapers but declined to say when they could go on sale. 
4145 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  For five years, the guns have lain silent in the vast Western Sahara.   But failure to find a political answer to the territory's future -- made clear in a report sent to the Security Council -- now threatens even the ceasefire that ended some 17 years of war.   Morocco claims the former Spanish colony of more than 250,000 square km (over 100,000 sq miles) and which has huge phosphate mines and rich Atlantic fishing grounds.   Its claim is disputed by the Polisario Front which seeks independence for the people there, and the man-in-the-middle -- the United Nations -- is trying to hold a referendum to decide on its future.   Efforts to identify voters have, however, collapsed and in a report to the Security Council last week, U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said:   "Given the current situations of the two parties, it is unlikely that the identification process will be resumed any time soon."   He appealed to the two sides to show flexibility -- which each has accused the other of demonstrably lacking.   Finding some solace, Boutros-Ghali said: "I should like to express my satisfaction that the ceasefire is holding."   But patience is wearing thin in the Polisario ranks.   Last month, Front leader Mohamed Abdelaziz threatened to resume war unless the U.N. implemented the deadlocked peace plan.   "If it turns out that the Security Council and the secretary-general fail to assume their responsibilities and fail to enforce observance of the U.N. peace plan in the Moroccan part of Western Sahara, then the only course of action that remains for Saharans is to resume the fight to defend their right to self-determination and independence," he said.   Earlier the same month, King Hassan said Morocco would remain in the Western Sahara with or without a U.N. referendum.   Registration operations of potential voters were suspended in December 1995 after persistent disagreements between Morocco and the Front, over who should be eligible.   Polisario, formed in 1973 with Algeria's backing, accuses Morocco of trying to pack the electoral rolls with supporters having only tenous links with the territory, whose inhabitant include many nomads.   The Saharan population is concentrated in four main towns, including the capital Laayoun with more than 100,000 people.   Tens of thousands more are based in camps in Tindouf, south western Algeria, waiting for the referendum.   In recent weeks, Erik Jensen, chairman of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), has toured Algiers, Nouakchott, Rabat and Tindouf in a new attempt to resolve the dilemma of voters lists.   But U.N. officials have already closed nine registration offices in the Western Sahara because of the impasse.   "Polisario is the main obstacle which hinders the follow-up and achievement of the identification process...we want all people of Saharan origin to vote in the referendum and nobody should be excluded," a Moroccan official said.   Morocco has had an estimated 100,000 troops in the region, of which it controls four-fifths.   Sand walls have made much of it impregnable and its air force controls the skies.   But the Polisario has a political weapon in its Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).   If militarily it faces overwhelming odds, recognition of the SADR, which the front says comes from over 70 countries, is an embarrassment to Rabat.   Earlier this year South Africa's President Nelson Mandela showed he wanted formally to recognise the republic.   "Morocco has invested more than $3.0 billion in (Western) Sahara infrastructure to upgrade its economy...Military expenses for the defence of the territory are not included in this amount," a former Moroccan finance minister said.   Meanwhile, according to the International Red Cross, about 2,000 Moroccan servicemen languish as prisoners of the Polisario, awaiting a political solution which the U.N. Security Council is to try to look for this week. 
4146 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel has approved the building of a new neighbourhood at a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, Israel's Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.   "The neighbourhood in question is within Kiryat Sefer settlement.   The building plan was approved in the past by the previous government and it was frozen and now it has been approved anew according to the government's decisions," a defence ministry spokeswoman said.    Israel's Maariv newspaper said the neighbourhood comprised 1,806 housing units but only 900 would be built in the first stage of the plan.   The defence ministry spokeswoman did not have specifics but said she would check the report.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, lifted a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza Strip imposed by the previous government in 1992.   Palestinians warn settlement building will destroy the Middle East peace process.   The move announced on Tuesday was the first approval of a building plan under the new government.   Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has the responsibility of approving any building in the occupied territories. 
4147 !GCAT !GDIP  Three Afghan guards brought to the United Arab Emirates earlier this month by Russian hostages who escaped from the Taleban militia left the United Arab Emirates for Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, officials said.   "They have left from Sharjah and flew to Kandahar," an official at the Afghanistan embassy in Abu Dhabi said.   "They left this morning at around six o'clock (0200 GMT) on an Antonov-12 chartered by a company here," a Sharjah airport source said.   The three Islamic Taleban guards were overpowered by seven Russian airmen who escaped to UAE member Sharjah on August 16 on board their own aircraft after a year in the captivity of Taleban in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.   Kandahar is the headquarters of Taleban, which is fighting to overthrow President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government.   "They are leaving upon there own request and with coordination with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)," a UAE official said on Monday.   The Russians were taken hostage after a Taleban MiG-19 fighter forced their plane to land in August 1995.   Taleban said the plane's shipment of ammunition from Albania was evidence of Russian military support for Rabbani's government.   Moscow said their nationality was coincidental.   The Russians later left the UAE for home. 
4148 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Islamists lost in the second round of Lebanon's parliamentary elections in north Lebanon while several supporters of Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri won seats, according to unofficial results released on Tuesday.   Almost all the 28 winning candidates in Sunday's vote were friends of Syria, whose 35,000 troops give it a powerful say in Lebanese affairs.   The traditional political leaders of the north were re-elected but failed to secure a sweeping victory as Hariri's supporters advanced in what newspapers have dubbed the most confusing phase of Lebanon's five-stage elections.   Official results are expected either on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, official sources said.   Former prime minister Omar Karami, a Sunni Moslem, and Sleiman Franjieh, a local Maronite Christian chieftain, were re-elected on a joint ticket.   But only 16 other members of their list were returned compared with 25 in 1992.   Both men are critics of Hariri although they are close friends of Syria which supports his government.   Partly due to Syrian influence, Karami and Franjieh included three Hariri supporters on their list.   All three, including Information Minsiter Farid Makari and State Minster Qabalan Issa al-Khouri, were elected.   Two other government ministers won on another list.   However, several well-known pro-Syrians on the ticket including Abdallah al-Chahhal, secretary-general of the pro-Syrian Baath party, were defeated.   Georges Saade, head of the once-powerful rightwing Christian Falangist party who engineered its rapprochement with Syria in recent years, was also defeated.   A ticket headed by Karami's cousin Ahmed Karami, an ally of Hariri, won eight seats.   But three candidates on the ticket of the fundamentalist Sunni Moslem Gama'a Islamiyeh (Moslem Group), including two of its three deputies in parliament, were defeated.   The Gama'a, which has a single candidate in next Sunday's election in Beirut, opposes Hariri and is allied in parliament with the pro-Iranian Shi'ite Moslem Hizbollah (Party of God) which also lost a seat in the first round of the election in Mount Lebanon.   Hariri has said the elections are a clash between moderates and extremists and appears intent on reducing the political influence of the fundamentalists.   Boutros Harb, a former MP and prominent Christian opposed to Syrian influence in Lebanon scored a big win.   However, Mikhail Daher, a Christian deputy opposed to Hariri, was defeated.   Newspapers said Syrian security forces in his northernmost Akkar region had called in local village leaders and instructed them not to vote for Daher.   Three more rounds of voting will be held on the next three Sundays in Beirut, south Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley. 
4149 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Boistrous, cheering U.S. Democrats met in a vast basketball arena on Monday and promised to score a political slam-dunk: re-electing President Bill Clinton and retaking both houses of Congress as well.   The opening of a four-day convention that will formally nominate Clinton for a second term also had more sober moments when delegates were addressed by two of America's most prominent disabled citizens -- former White House Press Secretary James Brady and film star Christopher Reeve.   Brady, crippled by a gunshot wound, and Reeve, paralysed in an equestrian accident, put a memorably touching gloss on an otherwise noisy evening as they urged Democrats to back tighter gun controls and more medical research.   Theirs were rare non-partisan voices as Democratic party leaders launched their political pep rally with bold vows of a long-shot triple triumph -- White House, Senate and House of Representatives -- in the November 5 elections.   Clinton himself was hundreds of miles (km) away, chugging through the Midwest by train on an old-fashioned "whistle-stop" journey from Washington, hoping to rekindle the "give 'em Hell" political verve of the late President Harry Truman.   But he briefly joined the Chicago festivities electronically, greeting the delegates by television images beamed to giant screens above the podium.   "We're bringing the 21st Century Express to Chicago because America's back on track ... We're coming right at you!"   he said from a stopover in Toledo, Ohio.   The Democrats met in the United Centre, home of the basketball champion Chicago Bulls and their legendary star Michael Jordan.   The gathering contrasted starkly with the perfectly scripted, smoothly organised Republican version of two weeks ago in San Diego, which nominated Bob Dole and Jack Kemp to battle Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.   Delegates interrupted speakers with pro-Clinton chants of "Four more years!"  , did a new Latino dance craze called the "Macarena" and booed every mention of the Republican who many speakers singled out as their prize villain: House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich.   There were also surprise visits from Gore -- mobbed like a rock star -- and Hillary Rodham Clinton, who welcomed the delegates from outside the hall, standing next to a statue of Jordan frozen in a classic leap.   After her image was beamed to the crowd by camera, she came inside to wave.   The serious business was whipping the delegates into fighting fettle for the campaign.   Speaker after speaker promised the Democrats would not only hold the White House but regain the congressional majorities Republicans snatched away in 1994 for the first time in 40 years.   House Democratic Minority Leader Richard Gephardt held up the convention gavel and told the crowd: "I hope you won't mind my saying how much I look forward to taking up another gavel next January when the House of Representatives once again becomes the peoples' house and Newt Gingrich is no longer sitting in the speaker's chair."   Senate Democratic Minority Leader Tom Daschle delivered a similar fighting speech on behalf of his chamber, and Democratic Party Leader Don Fowler topped it off with a call to arms: "We are ready to defeat the Dole-Kemp-Gingrich ticket."   The red-meat rhetoric gave way only when gun-control campaigner Sarah Brady led her husband Jim -- crippled by the gunman who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 -- haltingly to the podium near the end of the evening.   They thanked Clinton for signing a major federal gun-control law known as the Brady bill, after it was opposed by Republican President George Bush and the gun lobby.   The Bradys are lifelong Republicans -- he was Reagan's press secretary at the time of the attack -- and Mrs. Brady gave the crowd a big lift with an ad-libbed opening crack.   "Jim, we must have taken a wrong turn.   This isn't San Diego," she said.   The audience howled with laughter.   Brady, a once-burly man known to friends as "Bear," seconded his wife's thanks to Clinton, raising his fist and saluting him with "a big Bear thumbs up."   Then Reeve, the Hollywood star who was paralysed from the neck down in an equestrian accident last year, was wheeled to the podium for a moving appeal for continued spending on research into treatment of spinal injuries like his own. 
4150 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  President Clinton Monday rolled out a proposal to deny handguns to "wife beaters and child abusers" as his flag-waving campaign train rolled toward Chicago, and made a brief electronic visit to the opening session of the Democratic Convention.   "Hello Chicago, can you hear us?   This is Toledo and we say thank you ... Stay with us and we'll ve there," Clinton said in a satellite television transmission to the delegates from a rally in Ohio.   "I want you to watch our convention.   We're going to have a good time," the 50-year-old Democrat told his Toledo supporters.   In a veiled jibe at the Republican convention, Clinton added that his party's nominating session would "be a little different."   "We're not going to hide our leaders.   We're going to put them out on the stage and say we're proud of them.   And I have read our platform.   We're all proud of it and glad to run on it," he said.   Energized by large, friendly crowds along a whistlestop route that took him across Ohio, a battleground in his Nov. 5 election fight with Republican Bob Dole that he carried in 1992, Clinton had spent the day boasting of his domestic achievements and hammering Dole's tax cut plan.   "It's a whole lot bigger than the tax cut I'm promising," he said at a rally in rural Arlington.   "There's a big difference between what I'm promising and what they are -- we can pay for mine."   Clinton, who arrives in Chicago late Wednesday to accept nomination for a second term, said he would "not propose anything in my speech Thursday night to the American people, or in my campaign, that cannot be paid for as we balance the budget."   His face sunburned and his shirt soaked with sweat, Clinton shouted that his stance would pay off for voters in the form of lower home mortgage and credit card interest payments.   After his speech, Clinton found 98-year-old Retta Lafaun Plott, who was celebrating her birthday and had almost fainted from the heat.   He escorted her gently to the podium and led the crowd in singing "Happy Birthday."   "It's been a long time since I've made a girl faint," he said.   The main emphasis of the day came in Columbus, Ohio's capital, where Clinton started the second leg of his four-day trip earlier on Monday (corrects day from Tuesday).   Speaking at the Columbus Police Academy with lines of police as his backdrop, Clinton said public safety should not be a partisan issue but "an American issue," and proposed a tightening of the Brady Bill, which requires a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases.   "Under the current law, thousands of people who are wife beaters or child abusers ... can still buy handguns with potentially deadly consequences," Clinton said.   "I believe strongly in the right of Americans to own guns.   I have used them as a hunter with great joy."   "But make no mistake: those who threaten the safety of others do not deserve our trust," he said.   A White House statement said there were 88,500 incidents of domestic violence in 1994 where a firearm was present.   Over a 10-year period ending that year, it said 65 law enforcement officers were killed when responding to family quarrels.   Clinton also recycled his oft-made call for the outlawing of "cop killer" bullets, powerful bullets that can penetrate material that is otherwise bulletproof.   "If a bullet can slice through a bulletproof vest like a hot knife through butter, it should be against the law," he said.   Clinton, accompanied by his daughter Chelsea, 16, while his wife Hillary conducted a separate schedule in her Chicago hometown, planned to try to grab headlines with a new proposal every day of his train trip.   Tuesday's was to concern education; Wednesday's, the environment. 
4151 !GCAT !GDEF  The first four women to take The Citadel's oath in the school's 153-year history were sworn in on Monday after being blasted out of bed by at dawn and getting closely cropped haircuts.   Wearing gray duty uniforms and black caps, the Class of 2000 marched onto the school's parade grounds as every other class at the school had done to take the oath.   But this time, the class list included women's names, breaking the long male-only tradition the school fought until a Supreme Court decision ended the legal battle in June.   The four women joined 572 men at the ceremony, held in a light rain before parents, school officials and residents.   "It's the law now.   If any place can make it work, this place can," said Floyd Hiott of Charleston, South Carolina, whose son is a cadet.   "This whole thing is a real great place and everyone, if they apply themselves, should do well here," said A.T. McArdle of Sanford, Florida, whose grandson was sworn in.   Although The Citadel was forced by court order to admit Shannon Faulkner last year, she became ill and missed the swearing-in ceremony.   She stayed in the infirmary for several days and quit the school in less than a week, overcome by stress and isolation.   News of her resignation last year prompted the Corps of Cadets to dance in the rain.   On Monday, however, they seemed resigned to the change.   "I think the cadet corp already had an appreciation for these four women before they arrived mainly because of the stated reasons that they want to be in the cadet corp," said Brig.   Gen. Clifton Poole, acting president.   "They also come here in a non-adversarial environment."   Three of the women are in separate squadrons of "E" Company while one, Nancy Mace, who plays the clarinet, is in "Band" Company.   The class of new recruits started the day at 5:20 a.m.   EDT with reveille.   By noon they were addressed by the commandant and regimental commander and had visited the cadet store, tailor and barber shop.   "You can make it here no matter how tough it gets.   Rely on each other," Regimental Commander Butler Bryant told the class.   "You've got to stay fired up, motivated.   It's all a state of mind."   Known as the fourth class, or knobs for the way their heads look after shearing, the new cadets learned military posture, facing movements and the proper way to address upperclassmen.   The Citadel Board of Visitors voted June 28 to drop the all-male admissions policy, two days after the Supreme Court ordered Virginia Military Institute (VMI), the only other all-male state-supported military college in the nation, to either admit women or give up public financing.   VMI, which began its "rat line" last week, has a year either to raise $300 million to take the school private or make women a part of the 1997 class.   The women -- Mace, from Goose Creek, South Carolina; Petra Lovetinska, a Czech national from the Washington, D.C. area; Jeanie Mentavlos, from Charlotte, North Carolina; and Kim Messer, of Clover, South Carolina -- were treated equally throughout, including the first-day haircut.   Bit it was a different cut than that given to the men, whose hair is shaved.   It was similar to a man's crew cut, left about an inch long.   "The basic standards of the haircut is off the face, off the shoulders, off the collar," Poole said.   The rigour of the miltary college and the berating of Hell Week -- whereby upperclassmen seek to strip away individuality and replace it with comraderie -- was due to intensify.   Some of it started earlier when recruits were awakened by heavy metal band AC/DC's "Hell's Bells," stood at attention on the red and white checkered barracks quadrangle for about a half hour and had to reach some three feet to sign in without touching the table. 
4152 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV !GWEA  Thousands of lightning strikes sparked wildfires in northern California and Oregon, stretching resources on Monday as weary crews battled fast-moving blazes in several Western states.   More than 4,200 lightning strikes have been reported in northern California, Oregon and southwest Idaho since early on Monday, according to Carol Connolly with the Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Centre.   In central Oregon, lightning sparked some 21 small fires, but the fires were being put out quickly, Connolly said.   In northern California more than 500 lightning strikes late on Sunday and early on Monday sparked 25 to 30 fires, most of them small, in remote areas.   The largest of these new fires grew quickly to 300 acres (121.4 hectares) in Siskiyou County, on the California-Oregon border, fire officials said.   "We were anticipating the lightning, but not this quantity.   This particular assault caught everyone by surprise," said Harry Martin, an information officer with the California Department of Forestry.   "It was a dramatic show."   Firefighters were sent in to battle some of the new northern California blazes as an updated NASA plane was sent to monitor the fire activity from the air.   Earlier on Monday, the National Interagency Fire Centre based in Boise, Idaho, said that 20 large fires were burning on about 238,000 acres (96,320 hectares).   More than 17,650 firefighters were battling the blazes with support from 137 helicopters and 40 airtankers.   The fire center's figures did not include newly sparked blazes.   "Resources are spread thin.   There are only so many firefighters and so much equipment and we have so many fires," said Wendell Peacock, information officer for the fire centre.   In central Oregon, close to 3,000 reinforcements had arrived on Monday to help protect homes and animal habitats threatened by several fast-moving wildfires, said fire information officer T.J. Johannsen.   Many of the reinforcements were brought in to bolster weary crews battling the so-called Skeleton complex blaze, which has charred 20,200 acres (8,175 hectares) near Bend, Oregon.   The Skeleton fire spread to a subdivision near Bend on Saturday, destroying 19 homes, 13 other structures and three travel trailers.   Firefighters were able to save an estimated 225 houses in the area of the fire, authorities said.   The fire, while still expanding, was no longer an immediate threat to residents, Johannsen said.   An evacuation order for the Conastoga Hills subdivision near the Skeleton blaze was lifted late on Sunday, but the Sundance subdivision remained closed on Monday.   To help those displaced by the fire, the Red Cross has set up an evacuation centre at a local high school.   In northern Washington, the Timberline complex fires had consumed 10,000 acres (4,000 hectares) of timber and brush.   Fires were also reported on Monday scorching wilderness areas in Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.   In California, crews continued to battle a major fire burning within Yosemite National Park and the Stanislaus National Forest.   The fire has scorched 37,200 acres (15,050 hectares) and was 45 percent contained on Monday.   So far $10.5 million has been spent fighting the blaze.   "We're slowly getting the upper hand on this fire," David Witt, fire information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said of the Yosemite fire. 
4153 !GCAT !GCRIM  Nearly half of all eleventh grade students in California have experimented with drugs in recent months, a sharp increase over usage four years ago, according to a statewide survey released on Monday.   "Over the past four years, we have witnessed a dramatic increase in drug use among students -- back to the levels that rival peaks 10 years ago," California Attorney General Dan Lungren said.   His office co-sponsored the survey.   More than one in four seventh graders have experimented with drugs in the last six months.   More than 40 percent of ninth graders and almost half of eleventh graders have experimented with drugs in the past six months, Lungren said.   "Those are shocking statistics," Lungren said.   Nearly 43 percent of eleventh grade students said they used marijuana in the last six months, compared to 29.4 percent four years ago, according to the survey.   Nearly 11 percent of ninth graders used amphetamines in recent months versus 3.3 percent four years ago.   The use of heroin, LSD and cocaine also increased.   Lungren, who held a news conference in Sacramento to announce the results of the survey, criticised companies that use "emaciated, pale models with dark circles under their eyes, known as the 'Heroin Chic' look, to sell clothing."   He said the advertisements glamorized heroin.   The California survey tracked a recent federal study that found that drug use among teenagers more than doubled from 1992 to 1995, prompting Republican charges that the Clinton administration was to blame.   "This is a warning to everyone -- parents, teachers, government, the media and communities," California's Republican Gov. Pete Wilson said of the state survey.   "Leadership on the war on drugs must come from the top.   Looking at the frightening growth in drug use and acceptance, it appears the president decided to dodge the fight."   The California survey polled public school students in grades 7, 9 and 11.   The survey, which began in 1985, was co-sponsored by the Office of the Attorney General, the state Department of Education, the Department of Alcohol and Drug Programmes and the Department of Health Services. 
4154 !GCAT !GODD  New York City is going to the dogs.   Parks Commissioner Henry Stern is spending the dog days of summer trying to get his golden retriever Boomer into the Guinness Book of World Records as the most petted canine ever.   "You're No. 577, and you're No. 578," Stern said to two visitors to his office in Central Park this week, counting as they patted the dog's silky head.   He is doggedly keeping track with the help of a small pocket counter and his staff, who are enlisted to hold the dog during the commissioner's frequent public appearances.   That has some fur flying.   Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger accused the commissioner of wasting taxpayers' money and city employees' time.   Grooming Boomer for the record book is especially offensive at a time when the city is facing "billions upon billions of dollars in budget gaps," Messinger wrote in a biting letter to Stern.   His critics are barking up the wrong tree, Stern said.   Aides who would accompany him in any case hold his dog just a few minutes a day, never taking the dog on walks and never at the expense of their duties, he said.   Messinger, often cited as a likely Democratic challenger to Republican Mayor Rudolph Giuliani next year, likes to hound him humourlessly about his dog, Stern complained.   "She arches her back, her hair stands on end and she spits out a press release," he said.   The mayor has gone on record defending Boomer, calling him a good friend of his own Labrador retriever, Goalie.   Giuliani even carried Boomer's clicker himself recently, Stern said.   Other city politicos, like former Mayor Ed Koch, have suggested Messinger is better off letting sleeping dogs lie.   "You don't run for office by attacking a dog," said Stern, who just thinks his 5-year-old dog should have his day.   The commissioner likes to ask unsuspecting tourists in Central Park if they want to pet Boomer.   Often startled that this outlandish request comes from the man who runs the city's more than 1,200 parks, they generally comply.   "I feel sorry for the dog," said Angelo Lauria, of Buffalo, New York, after patting the dog.   "He's getting hit on the head so much."   Faced with news that an upcoming edition of the Guinness record book is supposed to list a dog petted 408,127 times since October 1989, Stern did a few quick calculations.   "At this rate, it will take 16 years.   I think we'll have to step up the pace," he said, starting to think out loud.   "Maybe I should take him to a large public place.   Maybe Yankee Stadium," he mused.   "We'll get an enormous head start." 
4155 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The latest National Weather Service maps show cooler weather entering the U.S. Midwest by the middle of next week, which meteorologists said was the first hint a cool pattern may be emerging.   However, no frost threat was seen in the new forecasts and meteorologists said subsequent maps were needed to confirm that a cool pattern was developing.   "It is a cooler pattern but it is too early to verify," said Joel Burgio, agriculture meteorologist for Weather Services Corp.    Until next week, the Midwest should be warm and mostly dry, with light scattered showers likely Tuesday in Indiana and Ohio.   Above normal temperatures were forecast for the spring wheat areas of the Dakotas this week and early next week, with a few light showers likely in South Dakota Friday, meteorologists said.   Next week, below-normal temperatures were forecast for the Midwest and the Dakotas if the cool system shown in the latest maps continues to develop.    "It is showing cooler conditions coming into the cornbelt after the (September) sixth," said Fred Gesser, meteorologist with Weather Express Inc. "My 11- to 15-day (forecast) is substantially colder than my six to 10."   Weather Services' Burgio said the change to cooler forecasts for next week is the result of a high pressure system in the Pacific Northwest that may block warm ocean air from entering the Midwest.   This also would allow cooler Canadian air to move south.   Meteorologists continue to watch Hurricane Edouard, which early Tuesday was 325 miles east-northeast of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea.   Weather Express' Gesser said it was too early to estimate Edouard's path, but weather patterns suggest it may turn north either toward the U.S. East Coast, or even back out into the Atlantic.   --Chicago newsdesk 312-408-8720-- 
4156 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  An Amtrak train struck a logging truck early on Tuesday and derailed, Vermont state police said.   A state police spokeswoman said there were reports of minor injuries as a result of the derailment near Roxbury, a small town on the edge of the Northfield Mountains some 15 miles southwest of Montpelier, the state capital.   Further details were not immediately available. 
4157 !GCAT !GPOL  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   President Bill Clinton has not even arrived at the Democratic convention in Chicago yet, but he is still the only game in town.   Clinton is dominating the airwaves through all four days of the convention, turning the proceedings there into a sideshow as he barnstorms through the Midwest on a train.   "Clinton is the Democratic Party right now.   Nobody else comes close.   It's Bill Clinton and then you pretty much fall off the table," said Allan Lichtman, a political scientist with the American University in Washington DC.   At a time when the Democrats are short on thrilling orators and larger-than-life personalities, Clinton more than fills the vacuum himself.   While a succession of little-known politicians files to the podium at the Chicago convention centre, Clinton will ensure that he is the top headline every day.   "When I, as a 32-year-old consultant, take a look around, I have to admit the Republicans have more exciting emerging figures," said Jennifer Laszlo, a political consultant who has represented candidates from both parties.   Daniel Hallin, a communications professor at the University of California, San Diego agreed the Democrats could boast few rising stars.   "Clinton will be the story every day this week.   He has that American populist touch that is so special," he said.   Clinton's trip evokes memories of former President Harry Truman's 1948 train journey, in which he assailed a "do-nothing" Republican Congress.   At the same time, it displays Clinton's youthful vigour and "people skills" to best effect.   "The train trip metaphor has real historical resonance but it wouldn't work if he wasn't getting great crowds and generating genuine enthusiasm," said Lichtman.   Republican candidate Bob Dole, who at 73 is 23 years Clinton's senior, prefers making carefully controlled appearances, generally before friendly audiences.   Wayne Fields, a historian who has written a book about presidential speeches, said Clinton's train trip was "a cunning mixture of nostalgia and gimmickry.   "No question, Clinton is the Democrats' most effective weapon right now.   Although some distrust him, many people like him.   They like being in his presence, they like listening to him," he said.   "I guess we can expect to be 'Clintoned' continuously from here until November 5 (polling day)," said Fields.   The Republican convention in San Diego earlier this month took a different tack.   Dole stayed in the background until his acceptance speech on the final evening, while the party showcased an impressive lineup of young, attractive speakers.   Democrats, usually an unruly bunch, are meekly going along with Clinton's unquestioned domination because they feel they have little choice.   Clinton may be the only thing keeping the Democrats in the political game.   "There are members of the party with divergent views but they've decided they will do better to subordinate their beliefs to Clinton's in order to survive," said Robert Holsworth, a political scientist with Virginia Commonwealth University.   Democrats are hoping the president's coat-tails are long enough for the party to recapture control of one or both houses of Congress from the Republicans.   There is also a sense of Democratic politicians preparing themselves for a future struggle over the party's direction and leadership once Clinton passes from the scene.   Vice President Al Gore is clearly readying himself to take up the mantle in the year 2000 but he is certain to face opposition for the presidential nomination.   "It's all Clinton now but there's going to a major scramble next time around," said Hallin. 
4158 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Bubbling with optimism, Democrats revisit their liberal past and preview their more centrist future on Tuesday on the second day of a convention designed to propel President Bill Clinton towards a November election triumph.   Thousands of cheering, chanting, dancing party faithful are meeting in the basketball home of superstar Michael Jordan in buoyant mood, confident that Clinton is set for re-election over Republican Bob Dole on November 5.   Many are even talking about a triple play that would restore Democratic majorities in the Senate and the House of Representatives at the same time as holding the White House, although the odds of that happening are considerably slimmer.   "We'll be campaigning for the whole ticket -- our congressional candidates as well as, of course, for President Clinton," said Vice President Al Gore in an NBC interview.   The made-for-TV opening night on Monday was heavy on sentiment as well as political rhetoric.   It failed to match the slick efficiency of the Republican convention in San Diego earlier this month, but still managed to deliver a hefty emotional punch.   A highlight was the moving appearance by former White House press secretary James Brady, stricken by an assassin's bullet aimed at President Ronald Reagan in 1981.   Supported by his wife Sarah and a cane, Brady, painfully edged his way with tiny, halting steps towards the podium where the lifelong Republican gave a thumbs up for Clinton, who signed a law named after him to institute a five-day waiting period for hand guns.   "We quickly learned the value of having a president who is really committed to putting an end to gun violence," said Sarah Brady to rapturous applause.   "And four years ago the American people elected just such a president," she said.   The convention also heard from Chicago police officer Mike Robbins, hit by 11 bullets in a confrontation with armed criminals.   He still has three lodged in his body.   "I can't change that but I can help others by standing up and fighting with the president," he said.   A Chrysler assembly plant worker thanked Clinton for his job and a Hispanic woman thanked him for her education.   The climax came with the appearance of actor Christopher Reeve, best known for his portrayal of Superman, now paralysed from the neck down after a horse riding accident.   Speaking in a slow breathless monotone that lent his words greater moral weight, Reeve said: "I believe -- and so does this administration ... America does not let its needy citizens fend for themselves.   America is stronger when all of us take care of all of us."   Beaming down on the gathering at one point was Clinton himself, who is barnstorming across the Midwest by train in a conscious attempt to evoke memories of Harry Truman, the Democratic president who defied a "do-nothing" Republican Congress in 1948 and scored an upset victory.   Clinton's larger-than-life image, displayed on huge video screens, was a perfect illustration of how the president is dominating the proceedings even in his absence.   The speakers list on day two features civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, the dynamic black trailblazer who twice ran unsuccessfully for president in the 1980s and kept the party faithful to its liberal heritage.   But Jackson, who electrified the Democratic faithful at each of the past three conventions, has become a spent political force, still capable of stirring rhetoric but not of changing the Democratic drift to the centre.   Democrats will be looking more to a future represented by their keynote speaker, Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, a centrist, tax-cutting chief executive seen as a possible heir to Clinton.   Also on the agenda on Tuesday is First Lady Hillary Clinton, controversial and often unpopular outside the party but beloved within it as a symbol of a proud, accomplished, independent woman.   Early speakers were quick on Monday to sound one of the central themes of their convention -- that Dole is a stalking horse for their real enemy, House Speaker Newt Gingrich.   Several speakers virtually ignored Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp in their remarks and took dead aim at Gingrich.   Some sought to link the three.   Polls have consistently identified Gingrich as the most unpopular leading Republican. 
4159 !GCAT  Electricity broker New Energy Ventures Inc plans to announce it has agreed to buy up to $500 million of power from the federal Bonneville Power Administration, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.   The pact is expected to be announced on Tuesday.   It is the first major transaction under California's sweeping December 1995 restructuring of its $20 billion power market.   The newspaper also reported:   * WorldCom Inc to buy MFS Communications Inc in a stock deal worth about $12 billion.   * Conseco Inc to buy American Travellers Corp and Capitol American Financial Corp for a total of $1.7 billion.   * The National Association of Securities Dealers will accuse more than two dozen fledgling brokers of having impostors take their licensing examinations for them.   * The Dow Jones Industrial Average loses 28.85 to close at 5,693.89.   * Chancellor Broadcasting Co agrees to buy 12 radio stations from Colfax Communications Inc for $365 million.   * Consolidated Freightways Inc will spin off its CF MotorFreight unit and several Canadian businesses.   * Columbus McKinnon Corp will buy Yale International Inc, formerly known as Spreckels Industries Inc, for about $240 million.   * Morrison Knudsen Corp gets its bankruptcy reorganization plan approved in court.   * An OfficeMax Inc executive drops a sex discrimination charge against the company.   * AccuStaff Inc to buy Career Horizons Inc in a $1 billion stock swap.   * Silver King Communications Inc to buy Home Shopping Network Inc in a stock swap worth $1.27 billion.   * MCI Communications Corp and Nextwave Telecom Inc in wireless deal.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4160 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  No damaging cold is foreseen in Brazil's coffee regions, private forecaster Weather Services Corporation said on Tuesday.   Temperatures are expected to be above normal today and Wednesday. 
4161 !GCAT !GPOL  Drawing big crowds on his whistle-stop train tour to Chicago, President Clinton was planning on Tuesday to propose a $2.5 billion program to launch a national literacy campaign for American children.   During a train stop in Wyandotte, Mich., up the rail line from Toledo, Clinton was to announce the latest in a series of policy intiatives aimed at generating some enthusiasm as he made his way to the Chicago Democratic National Convention.   His plan, as outlined by a senior White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity, envisioned the hiring of reading specialists and the placement of them at 20,000 sites across the country to establish after-school programs to ensure that children by the third grade, or about age eight, are able to read independently.   "The overall goal is to raise standards for the 21st century by making reading a basic goal for every young person," the official said.   The plan would cost $2.5 billion over five years, and would be paid for by cuts elsewhere in the national budget, including elimination of some corporate subsidies.   About $1 billion of the total would expand Clinton's national service program, Americorps, to help create a pool of reading specialists.   Republicans fought hard last year to kill Americorps but failed.   The senior official said about six million children, or about 40 percent of American third-graders, cannot read independently.   The announcement was to come on the third day of Clinton's four-day whistle-stop tour on his re-election campaign's "21st Century Express," which was to carry him on Tuesday across the battleground state of Michigan.   He planned to arrive in Chicago on Wednesday.   Clinton rolled across Ohio on Monday and drew large crowds, the biggest ones in Bowling Green and in Toledo where thousands cheered enthusiastically.   On a moonlit evening, Clinton spoke at a rally on the bank of the Maumee River in Toledo.   The campaign wanted to connect Clinton live to Chicago by satellite hookup so the convention delegates could see him on large television screens.   But he had to wait until actor Christopher Reeve finished his convention speech, so Clinton had to stretch out his remarks, not normally a difficult task for him.   As Clinton talked on, an assistant gave him hand signals below the podium to direct him to keep going.   His voice increasingly raspy, Clinton finally got the signal that the Chicago connection had been made.   "Hello Chicago!"   he said.   "Can you hear us?"   Once the cheers settled down, he told the delegates: "We are proud.   We are bringing the 21st Century Express to Chicago, because America is back on track and we are on the right track for the 21st century.   We are coming right at you."   Clinton's main theme on the tour was that the U.S. economy was performing well under his tutelage, that many social problems were improving, such as the crime rate, and that he offered a better choice for the future.   "We're better off than we were four years ago," he said.   Clinton did not directly mention his election opponent, Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole, making only indirect slaps at him and members of "the other party."   In Toledo he took a backhanded swipe at the San Diego convention two weeks ago where Republican leaders anxious to avoid internecine warfare over contentious issues like abortion insisted they had not read the party platform.   "I have read our platform and I'm proud of it," he said.   "We're not running away from it."   And in an apparent reference to the fact that the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, played a backseat role in San Diego, Clinton said, "We're not going to hide our leaders.   We're going to cart them out on stage and say we're proud of them." 
4162 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following business stories on Tuesday:   * WorldCom Inc to buy MFS Communications Inc in a stock deal worth about $12 billion.   * Conseco Inc to buy American Travellers Corp and Capitol American Financial Corp for a total of $1.7 billion.   * General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co said to be first on the United Auto Workers' contract negotiation list. 
4163 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Tuesday:   * Democratic Party convention starts with few issues to disagree over.   * President Clinton's train trip to the convention draws more attention than the convention.   * California child molesters face "chemical castration."   * WorldCom Inc to buy MFS Communications Co Inc for $12 billion in latest merger to roil telecommunications industry.   * Hindus saved from Himalayan blizzard recall "pilgrimage to hell."   * The cost of the inquiry into the crash of Trans World Airlines Flight 800 is approaching $10 million.   * Mets baseball team changes managers.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4164 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL !GPRO  Actor Christopher Reeve, confined to a wheelchair by a riding accident that left him paralysed from the neck down, urged U.S. Democrats on Monday not to leave the chronically ill and disabled behind.   "Sure, we've got to balance the budget.   And we will ... but we've also got to take care of our family -- and not slash programmes people need," he told the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.   "We should be enabling, healing, curing.   One of the smartest things we can do about disability is invest in research that will protect us from disease and lead to cures," he said.   Reeve, who starred in the "Superman" movies, was left a quadraplegic after a horse riding accident.   But operations allowed him to sit upright and through rehabilitation he regained his power of speech.   Sitting at the Democratic Convention centre stage, Reeve in a clear, steady voice, won repeated applause from a dewy-eyed crowd as he said one in five Americans had a disability.   He said about a quarter of a million people in the United States suffered from spinal cord injuries like his but only $40 million a year is spent on research compared to more than $8 billion in care costs.   "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable," he said.   "If we can conquer outer space, we should be able to conquer inner space, too," he added.   "The frontier of the brain, the central nervous system, and all the afflictions of the body that destroy so many lives and rob our country of so much potential."   He cited President Franklin Roosevelt, a "man who could barely lift himself out of a wheelchair (but) could still lift a nation out of despair."   "And I believe -- and so does this administration -- in the most important principle FDR taught us: America does not let its needy citizens fend for thsmselves.   America is stronger when all of us take care of all of us," he said.   "Giving new life to that ideal is the challenge before us tonight," Reeve said. 
4165 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following stories on its front page on Aug 27:   ---   CHICAGO - Their sights set on reelecting President Clinton and regaining control of Congress, Democrats opened their convention with a prime-time hour of programming long on emotion and short on politicians.   ---   CHICAGO - When Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers her 15-minute address to Democratic delegates and a nationwide television audience, it will be a turning point for the first lady, who has been less visible over the past two years.   ---   ARLINGTON, Ohio - President Clinton was greeted with waving flags, outstretched hands and big Democratic crowds as the "21st Century Express" chugged slowly toward Chicago.   ---   WASHINGTON - D.C. school superintendent Franklin Smith said he would not fight a move to replace him so long as his successor got more resources.   ---   SEOUL - A South Korean court hands down a two-year jail sentence for bribery against Kim Woo-choong, founder and chairman of the Daewoo Group.   ---   WASHINGTON - Two little-known communications companies, WorldCom Inc and MFS Communications Co., announce a $14 billion merger to create a global communications powerhouse.   --- 
4166 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following major business stories on Aug. 27, 1996.   - - - -   WASHINGTON - Confronted with rising losses on credit cards and more customers declaring bankruptcy, the nation's banks are tightening up on consumer credit, the Federal Reserve reported.   - - - -   WASHINGTON - WTEM-AM sports radio and two other local stations are among 12 bought from Colfax Communications Inc. by Chancellor Broadcasting Co. of Dallas for $375 million.   - - - -   WASHINGTON - The National Association of Realtors' board of directors voted to move the organization's troubled on-line service to the Internet and to negotiate a contract for an outside firm to manage the operations.   - - - -   WASHINGTON - Energy companies have been merging at a dizzying rate in recent months as they prepare for retail electricity competition, and the pace of consolidation isn't expected to slow soon. 
4167 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Sarah Brady, whose Republican husband was severely disabled in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, took centre stage at the Democratic National convention on Monday night to praise President Bill Clinton's gun control efforts.   With her husband James sitting in a wheelchair to the side of the podium, Mrs. Brady called the handgun control bill that a Democratic Congress passed and Clinton signed in 1994 a major step in controlling firearm violence in the United States.   But she said more had to be done.   The Bradys walked on to the stage, he on her arm and with the aid of a cane, to a rousing reception from the convention.   Their teenaged son sat in a VIP box with first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and watched as his father returned to his wheelchair.   "Jim, we must have made a wrong turn.   This isn't San Diego (site of the Republican convention)," Mrs. Brady joked to her husband, who was serving as Reagan's press secretary when he was shot.   "Sarah, I told you this is the Democratic convention," he responded to his wife, who before the shooting had worked for two Republican congressmen and the Republican national party.   "Since the Brady Law went into effect on February 28, 1994 (it) has stopped more than 100,000 convicted felons and other prohibited purchasers from buying a handgun.   Today, and every day, the Brady Law is stopping an estimated 85 felons from buying a handgun," Mrs. Brady said.   She added, "But we need to do more.   We should, as President Clinton proposed today, stop people convicted of domestic violence from buying a handgun.   Jim and I join with you tonight in saluting the great job that President Clinton has done in fighting crime and gun violence."   "He's a hunter and a sportsman, but he understands the difference between a Remington rifle and an AK47.   And he knows that you don't go hunting with an Uzi.   Mr. President you deserve our thanks."    Jim Brady then gave a big thumbs to the audience.   Brady   was shot in the head in 1981 by gunman John Hinckley, who tried to kill Reagan in a deranged bid to impress Jodie Foster, an actress he never met but with whom he was obsessed.   The Brady bill, calling for a waiting period before someone could buy a gun so a background check could be made, was first introduced in Congress in 1987 but it took seven years to pass because of opposition from the National Rifle Association gun lobby. 
4168 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  O.J. Simpson's attorneys filed a battery of motions Monday asking the judge in his civil wrongful deaths lawsuit to bar evidence ranging from spousal abuse to the former football hero's financial worth.   Simpson, found not guilty by a criminal jury last October of the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in June 1994, is being sued for damages by the families of the victims, who allege he was responsible for their deaths.   Among the two-foot stack of motions filed by Monday's deadline was one by the family of Nicole Brown to bar any mention of stories they sold about the criminal proceedings to tabloid newspapers.   Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki is set to rule on the motions from all parties when the trial gets under way Sept. 17.   Jury selection is expected to take at least a month, after which testimony will begin with Simpson expected to take the witness stand in his own defence at some point.   He did not testify in the criminal trial.   The motions filed on behalf of Simpson by his lead attorney, Robert Baker, sought to prevent the jury from hearing:   -- All evidence of domestic discord, including Simpson's plea of no contest to spousal abuse during their marriage stemming from a police emergency call made by Nicole Brown.   -- Any characterisation of Nicole Brown as a battered wife.   -- Any evidence of drug use or marital infidelity by Simpson.   -- Any evidence of Simpson's financial worth.   -- Any opinions from witnesses of Simpson's guilt or innocence.   -- Any statements made by Nicole Brown to friends or family expressing fear of Simpson.   Simpson also asked that the jury be shown his mansion in the upscale Brentwood area of Los Angeles as well as the murder scene outside Nicole Brown's luxury townhouse two miles away.   In his motions, Baker stressed, "The defence in this case is simply that Mr. Simpson did not kill the victims of this double homicide."   Any evidence of prior physical confrontations between the couple would be prejudicial to Simpson's case, he added.   The Brown family, in motions filed by their attorney, John Kelly, also asked Fujisaki to ban any reference to "generosity and benevolence" and financial support to the Browns by Simpson during the time of his relationship with Nicole Brown.   They also asked that the jury not hear any reference to the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation, set up by Denise Brown in the wake of her younger sister's murder to aid battered women.   Motions filed by the Goldman family were expected to be released Tuesday. 
4169 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican House Speaker Newt Ginrich and not presidential nominee Bob Dole emerged on Monday as chief bogeyman on the first night of the Democratic convention.   Several speakers virtually ignored Dole and his running mate Jack Kemp in their remarks and took dead aim at Gingrich.   Some sought to link the three.   "Yes, we are ready to defeat the Dole-Kemp-Gingrich ticket," said Democratic chairman Don Fowler, conveniently ignoring the fact that Gingrich is not on the ticket.   Polls have consistently identified Gingrich as the most unpopular leading Republican.   For that reason, he adopted an uncharacteristically low profile at the Republican convention in San Diego earlier this month.   He made one brief appearance on the podium in which he avoided harsh jabs at the opposition and puzzled many by praising the growth of the sport of beach volleyball as the embodiment of American free enterprise.   For the same reason that Republicans kept Gingrich in the background, Democrats are pushing him into the limelight.   "To do what's right, Bill Clinton faced down the Gingrich-Dole Congress to stop the Medicare cuts, the student loan cuts, the cuts in school lunches and the environment," said House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt.   Gephardt recalled the January day in 1995 that Gingrich took over control of the House of Representatives for the Republicans as the worst in his life.   The very first speaker on the podium lost no time in linking Dole with Gingrich.   "The Republican Party's leaders have been re-inventing the truth.   They want to force the Gingrich-Dole agenda on our parents, our children, our families," said Bill Purcell, a Democratic state representative from Tennessee.   Anne Mackenzie, co-chair of the Democratic Rules Committee, made the message even plainer.   "Yo Newt, get a heart, get a soul, get another job in Georgia," she said.   Texas Representative Martin Frost also joined the assault, accusing Gingrich of trying to take school lunches out of the mouths of American children. 
4170 !GCAT !GENT  No movie of "Madame Butterfly," Puccini's beloved operatic warhorse, could soar, much less fly, without a cinematic Cio-Cio-San.   Cavernous opera houses may be forgiving of overweight fortysomething sopranos as the heroine of Giacomo Puccini's durable tragedy, but the movie camera is not.   After all, Butterfly is a 15-year-old Japanese virgin whose arranged marriage to Pinkerton, an American naval officer temporarily stationed in Nagasaki, is seen as a sham by everyone but her.   Although abandoned, Cio-Cio-San never loses hope Pinkerton will return one day as she raises the son he never knew.   More than 200 Asian singers were auditioned in Paris to star in a cinematic adaptation by Frederic Mitterrand, a nephew of France's late president.   The winner was the last to be seen: Ying Huang, a petite, moon-faced Chinese soprano.   A 1992 graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Huang, 26, was introduced to "Western popular songs, art songs, by a good voice teacher in Shanghai.   I felt very close to it."   As a child, she saw some opera movies such as "Carmen" and "La Traviata," she said.   "I really liked that, even if I didn't understand the text.   The spirit was very close to me."   Huang studied English, "but I couldn't speak when I came to the West two years ago."   Now she manages interviews in lightly accented English, without the benefit of a translator.   She credits her "little computer" and a desire to be understood as she makes her way in the West.   "A year ago, I couldn't have done this.   But I was determined to learn English," she said.   She is also determined to have an international operatic career, a rarity for a Chinese singer.   "For me, it's unusual.   My government knows that and is proud of me; they support me very much.   It's good for China too."   But she first had to convince the film's music conductor, James Conlon of the Paris Opera, that her "light" coloratura soprano would be adequate for the demands of this "heavy" soprano role.   "I looked young, which was what they really wanted," Huang said.   "Our producer, Daniel Toscan de Plantier (who also produced 'Carmen') was very smart.   He said if I can't sing Butterfly, no 'Butterfly' movie."   Huang herself was initially hesitant.   "When I told my (vocal) teachers in China, they said, 'You're teasing!'   They could not believe me."   But she was perfectly serious.   "There were two difficulties, first the language (Italian), which I studied, and how to use the right voice for Cio-Cio-San."   "I'm most grateful to Maestro James Conlon, I could not do it without him.   He taught me how to do the right style of Puccini.   This was very important," she said. "'  Don't push,' he reminded me all the time.   Otherwise I will kill my voice.   So I took time to find the position in front of the microphone to sing 'Butterfly.'"   Once Huang passed Conlon's muster -- "It's destiny, I'm lucky" -- she stayed in Paris and trained for three months.   The sound track was recorded there and the company lip-synced as they filmed for three months in Tunisia, which somehow seemed the perfect place to recreate remote 1904 Nagasaki.   Huang's gritty persistence and intelligence fit perfectly with Mitterrand's conception of a '90s Butterfly.   "I understand Butterfly.   She's just 15 years old but already has a lot of experience of life because it's difficult and complicated: A noble family that is suddenly poor, her father's suicide," she said.   "Life is changed and for her it's difficult.   She wants a new life and it is the beginning of the century.   She wants an American husband, which is an incredible idea for a Japanese.   She is very, very strong, inside."   Mitterrand, who includes turn-of-the-century documentary footage in the film over a musical interlude, "wanted me to be very dramatic and offer a sharp contrast from the first act, when she's lovely and delicate, and at the end, when she's a mother of 18 and very, very strong."   This is a steel Butterfly for the '90s.   As to those who see Huang as a "new Kathleen Battle," Huang knows the score.   "I must have my special way.   I'm Chinese and have my own culture.   I have to make my own specific style to make music." 
4171 !GCAT !GPRO  Chen Sam, Elizabeth Taylor's business manager and spokeswoman who fielded questions about the actress's stormy relationships and her health problems for years, died on Sunday, it was announced on Monday.   A spokeswoman for Chen Sam and Associates Inc said Sam died at Taylor's Bel Air home.   She declined to say how old Sam was or what caused her death.   "Chen was a very private person.   We're just trying to give out correct information as far as we can and that is it," the spokeswoman said.   Sam was believed to be in her 60s.   Sam had been staying in Taylor's home for several weeks after having become ill, the spokeswoman for Sam's New York-based company said.   Sam was born Chenina Samin in Cairo to an Egyptian father and an Italian mother.   Educated in England and Brazil, she lived in more than 12 countries before moving to the United States in the mid-1970s.   Sam, who had a degree in pharmacology and tropical diseases from London University, met Taylor and actor Richard Burton in 1974 while working for the Botswana Ministry of Health.   She helped Burton over a bout of malaria.   She was appointed their business manager and press counsel and continued to work for Taylor after the couple divorced.   As Taylor's spokeswoman she handled the media on several of her marriages, including her last wedding when she married construction worker Larry Fortensky in 1991.   Sam also spoke for Taylor regarding the star's well-publicised addiction to prescription drugs, as well as her efforts leading the battle against AIDS and her promotion of her personal line of perfumes.   Sam, who was twice married and twice divorced, is survived by her mother, who lives in South Africa. 
4172 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL !GVOTE  Fresh from installing a strong anti-abortion plank in the Republican Party platform, the Christian right criticized Democrats for censoring pro-life views at the party's convention that began on Monday.   "This election is not about the economy, stupid ... This election is going to be about the family and the unborn," Christian Coalition executive director Ralph Reed said.   The group held a "celebration of life" rally inside Chicago's Field Museum of natural history, only two miles -- but an ideological world away -- from the convention site.   Reed told a cheering crowd of several hundred in the cavernous museum lobby that the Democrats are "the party of the gag rule, the party of censorship ... on the central issue of our time: abortion."   A small gathering of abortion rights demonstrators marched and waved banners outside the museum, referring to the Christian Coalition leaders as "dinosaurs."   Reed derided Democratic organizers for barring former Pennsylvania Gov. Bob Casey from addressing the convention, as the anti-abortion Democrat also was barred at the party's 1992 convention.   That meant the 37 percent of Democrats who Reed said oppose abortion would not be represented.   "The Democratic platform has abortion on demand for whatever reason and we're going to change that just as we did the Republican platform," he said.   At the Republican convention in San Diego earlier this month, the influential Christian right succeeded in removing a "tolerance clause" from the Republican platform that would have given recognition to abortion rights members of the party.   Nominee Bob Dole, though anti-abortion himself, played down the platform's importance.   "Our message to President Clinton, (Connecticut Senator) Chris Dodd and (Vice President) Al Gore is that you're not going to drive pro-lifers out of the Democratic party," Reed added.   Four congressional Democrats among the 43 members generally considered to be for banning abortion spoke to the rally, including Texas Rep. Charles Stenholm who counseled compromise on other issues.   "I ask you to be agents of understanding, rather than division," Stenholm said.   "I want to assure you, Christian values are alive and well in the Democratic party." 
4173 !GCAT  A section along the banks of the Noatak River in Alaska's remote Gates of the Arctic National Park was closed Monday, three days after a grizzly bear killed a hiker there, the National Park Service said.   Robert Bell, 33, of Washington, D.C., was mauled to death Friday by a grizzly sow in the far-north park.   It was the first known fatal bear mauling in the park's 18-year history.   Bell had been hiking with a companion during a stop in a nine-day float trip when they surprised the bear guarding a young cub in heavy brush, Park Service officials said.   The men were talking loudly and wearing bells to alert bears to their presence while hiking, said Steve Ulvi, a Gates of the Arctic biologist.   But perhaps due to wind patterns, they were not noticed by the sow until they were within about 10 feet and therefore surprised it, he said.   "It appears that the contributing factors are all natural and not human-caused," Ulvi said.   "From all we can tell, these fellows acted in a perfectly appropriate manner."   Bell's companions, Bill Rehm of San Francisco and Jonathan Butters of Chapel Hill, N.C., were evacuated from the area by a local pilot Friday.   They had used equipment and clothing to spell out the word "Help" on the ground.   The Park Service was allowing rafters to continue floating down the river, but advised them to avoid landing on the banks for a 10-mile stretch around the bear attack site, Ulvi said.   "It appears that there are a larger than normal number of grizzly bears along the Noatak River at that stretch," Ulvi said, attributing it to a larger-than-normal chum salmon run.   He said the Park Service was not looking for the bear that killed Bell.   Park rangers and Alaska State Troopers investigated the accident.   Gates of the Arctic lies above the Arctic Circle in Alaska's remote Brooks Range.   At eight million acres, it is the second largest U.S. national park, but was visited by only a few thousand people each year, Park Service officials said. 
4174 !GCAT !GDIP  Israeli and Egyptian officials held two rounds of talks in a Paris hotel on Tuesday in hopes of reviving the Middle East peace process and planned a third meeting later in the day with U.S. envoy Dennis Ross.   Israeli Dore Gold called the meetings "very useful" but described them as routine while Egyptian Osama el-Baz responded with a curt "not yet" when asked whether progress had been made.   "These are very useful meetings.   They are part of regular consultations that are occurring on all levels between the government of Israel and the government of Egypt," Gold, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told reporters.   "The relations between Israel and Egypt are relations which no one should take for granted," he said.   "We hope not to just have ceremonies and balloons but to have real meaning in the developmnent of our relations and our mutual understanding."   Gold said he and el-Baz had discussed "all regional issues...and we shared our impressions".   El-Baz, an adviser to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, said Ross would join their talks later in the afternoon.   Ross first planned to meet French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette to discuss the lagging peace effort in the Mideast, ministry spokesman Jacques Rummelhardt said.   "Their meeting will take place in the context of various questions hanging over the peace process," Rummelhardt told Reuters.   He declined to elaborate.   The secretive talks took place at the central Paris Bristol hotel that has served as the venue for previous discreet Arab-Israeli meetings.   Ross already met a senior French foreign ministry official on Monday to tighten coordination between the two countries in Middle East diplomacy.   In an apparent confusion, the U.S. embassy had said on Monday that Ross, Gold and el-Baz had already met.   But the Israeli and Egyptian embassies later said the talks had begun on Tuesday.   "We were told that it had happened.   We don't know," a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy said.   Officials of all three embassies said the talks were being arranged directly by their capitals, effectively bypassing the missions.   The talks were expected to focus on a Middle East economic conference planned in Cairo in November, which has been called into question by frictions between Israel and Arab neighbours since the election of Netanyahu, who is opposed to exchanging occupied Arab land for peace, the bedrock of the peace policy of the Labour government he replaced.   President Mubarak showed doubts about the conference last week, saying many Middle East states would not attend unless Israel ensured the peace process moved forward.   Netanyahu, apparently shaken by Mubarak's suggestion that he might cancel the summit, later phoned the Egyptian president to tell him that talks with the Palestine Liberation Organisation would resume soon.   But el-Baz said there had been no progress on resolving Egypt's differences with Israel over the conference while Gold declined comment on the matter altogether. 
4175 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police on Tuesday intensified digging at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in Belgium's child sex scandal as the hunt for missing children continued.   A police official in Brussels told Reuters that the search for missing children was continuing but that a team of investigators was focussing on excavations in Jumet.   Public prosecutor Michel Bourlet said Dutroux had been brought to the house late on Monday night and had given vague indications where police investigators should dig.   "No bodies have been found.   Dutroux is cooperating in the investigation, but I have the impresssion that he is making us go around in circles," Bourlet told Reuters by telephone.   Earlier, neighbours in the southern Belgian village of Jumet said they had seen a handcuffed Dutroux brought to the house late on Monday.   The house was inhabited at one time by Dutroux' dead accomplice Bernard Weinstein.   The area around the house -- a run-down building in an old industrial neighbourhood -- was cordoned off in a 300-metre (yard) radius.   The house's garden was hidden from view with blue plastic sheeting, but bystanders could see the digging arm of a yellow crane lifting debris and scrap from the yard.   Several sniffer dogs were brought to the site, which swarmed with police and media.   Earlier, a police helicopter ordered down two press helicopters which were flying low over the scene.   Bourlet said Dutroux, who has been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment, continued to answer questions.   "(Dutroux) continues to speak to us," he said.   Earlier this week Bourlet described Dutroux as a manipulative character.   Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and of Weinstein on August 17.   They were buried in the garden of one of this other houses.   Dutroux has admitted killing Weinstein.   The two girls starved to death earlier this year in a homemade cell while Dutroux was serving a short sentence for car theft.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a dungeon in another of Dutroux' six houses.   Dutroux, a convicted sex offender, has also admitted kidnapping two others -- An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, who were 19 and 17 respectively at the time of their disappearance a year ago.   They are both still missing.   The police official told Reuters that police were still looking for at least three other Belgian girls who disappeared in the last five years, but that it was not sure that Dutroux was involved in their disappearance. 
4176 !GCAT !GDIS !GHEA  Four people, including two children, were rushed to hospital on the island of Crete on Tuesday to be treated from food poisoning which hit some 800 passengers on a Liberian-registered cruise ship.   "Four people -- two children, a pregnant woman and an elderly man with heart problems -- are treated in hospital," junior health minister Fraglinos Papadelis told reporters.   "From the 800 people affected, around 300 had stronger symptoms but the situation is less serious than originally reported."   Papadelis, a doctor himself, confirmed that the passengers had suffered food poisoning but said the ship started its voyage in Italy and was not supplied with any food or water in any Greek ports.   "I believe that the situation is under control," Iraklion governor Yannis Garyfalakis told reporters.   "The cases are not that serious and our doctors are treating them on the boat with medical supplies rushed in by local hospitals."   Coast guard officials in Iraklion said as many as 30 people could be taken to hospital for further treatment.   They said the illness broke out on the 28,137-tonne Costa Riviera, owned by Costa Grociere in Genoa, Italy, and operated by a Greek company, during a voyage round Greek islands.   The officials said about 1,000 of the passengers were Italian tourists and the remainder American, British and French.   The ship, flying a Liberian flag, was on a cruise from the island of Corfu to Crete.   It docked in the port of Iraklion. 
4177 !GCAT !GDIP  U.S., Israeli and Egyptian officials met in a Paris hotel on Tuesday to discuss the Middle East peace process and a proposed regional economic conference in Cairo, officials said.   Osama el-Baz, one of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's advisers, said he met Israel's Dore Gold, an adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and the two were later meeting U.S. envoy Dennis Ross.   "This is still very preliminary," el-Baz told Reuters.   "We have all kinds of meetings today... Very good meetings," Gold told reporters after his talks with el-Baz.   "I think we are deepening the understanding between the different countries in the Middle East," he said.   The secretive talks, expected to cover doubts cast over the Cairo conference by uncertainties in the peace process, took place at Paris' central Bristol Hotel, the venue for previous discreet Arab-Israeli meetings.   Ross was later due to meet French Foreign Minister Herve de Charette "to discuss some concerns about the peace process", a ministry spokesman said.   Ross already met a senior French foreign ministry official on Monday to tighten coordination between the two countries in Middle East diplomacy.   In an apparent confusion, the U.S. embassy had said on Monday Ross, Gold and el-Baz had already met, but the Israeli and Egyptian embassies said the talks began on Tuesday.   "We were told that it had happened.   We don't know," a spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy said.   Officials of all three embassies said the talks were being arranged directly by their capitals, effectively bypassing the missions.   The U.S. spokeswoman said Ross was not in touch with the embassy.   The talks were expected to focus on the Middle East economic conference planned in Cairo in November which has been called into question by frictions between Israel and Arab neighbours since the election of Netanyahu.   President Mubarak showed signs of reluctance about the conference last week, saying many Middle East states would not attend unless Israel ensured the peace process moved forward.   Netanyahu, apparently shaken by Mubarak's suggestion that he might cancel the summit, later phoned the Egyptian president to tell him that talks with the Palestine Liberation Organisation would resume soon.   Netanyahu, elected in May, is opposed to exchanging occupied Arab land for peace, the bedrock of the peace policy of the Labour government he replaced. 
4178 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GHEA  Doctors were treating some 800 passengers on a Liberian-registered cruise ship for food poisoning on Tuesday after the vessel docked on the island of Crete, government officials said.   "I believe that the situation is under control," Iraklion governor Yannis Garyfalakis told reporters.   "The cases are not that serious and our doctors are treating them on the boat with medical supplies rushed in by local hospitals."   "Hospitals have been put on alert and if needed we will take people there but it doesn't look that bad," he added.   Coast guard officials said illness broke out on the 28,137-tonne Costa Riviera, owned by Costa Grociere S.P.A in Genoa, Italy, and operated by a Greek company, during a voyage round Greek islands.   A coast guard official in Crete told Reuters some 800 of the ship's 1,300 passengers were hit by food poisoning.   The official said the passengers were "mostly European tourists," but he could not give their nationalities.   The ship, flying a Liberian flag, was on a cruise from the island of Corfu to Crete.   It docked in the port of Iraklion. 
4179 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Analysts, employers and opposition politicians on Tuesday criticised Denmark's draft 1997 budget as too timid and based on an over-optimistic forecast of 3.0 percent GDP growth.   "Something like in a 2.0 - 2.5 percent range is more realistic for 1997," Lehman Brothers economist Keld Holm told Reuters Financial Television (RFTV).   Hanna Duer, of MMS International, who also predicted 1997 GDP growth of 2.0 - 2.5 percent, said the government was perhaps premature in expecting a general European upturn in 1996.   "The government is anticipating a turnaround in Germany already this year and I don't imagine that will take place," she told RFTV.   Employers' Federation Chairman Niels Fog said that the budget failed to take real action against unemployment.   "It is deeply disappointing that the government has come up with a budget proposal that is devoid of vital structural change to the labour market," he told Reuters.   The draft sees 1997 unemployment falling to 8.6 percent in 1997, from a projected 9.0 percent in 1996 and 10.3 percent in 1995.   But analysts believe that a welter of job creation schemes, parental leave options and retraining programmes mask a far higher real level of unemployment.   "When you look at unemployment you'll see that the labour force has been declining.   We have all these paid leave schemes...and early retirement...so that is hiding a bit of the unemployment," Duer said.   The budget proposal warns that unemployment should be brought down gradually to avoid upward wage pressure and its ensuing economic costs.   The budget is still subject to ratification by parliament in December, the stage at which spending on areas such as welfare, education and health will be hammered out with opposition parties in an attempt to win their backing.   The opposition Conservative party said that the draft lacked vision and it hoped that the Social Democrat-led minority government was prepared to make "fairly substantial changes."   "The budget shows a government without ambition or the will to live up to its own goals.   One would have to go a long way to find such a boring, book-keeper's proposal," party finance spokeswoman Pia Christmas-Moeller said.   Junior coalition partners the Radical Liberals made a somewhat restrained defence of their government's proposals.   "Many have amused themselves by declaring this draft as the most boring in many years, but that is exactly the point," party finance spokesman Bjoern Elmquist said.   "Denmark today has one of the most robust economies in Europe and we can therefore allow ourselves the luxury of a budget wonderfully free of drama," he added.   Financial markets ignored the proposals, whose key estimates matched those of an economy ministry survey published a week ago.   "Denmark's budget is not affecting trade as it is only a draft at this stage," a bond dealer told Reuters.   --Copenhagen newsroom +45 33969650 
4180 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GTOUR  In Amsterdam, the first half of August appears to have fought off the usual holiday slump but the last half of the month does not seem to have been so successful.   As the Dutch take their holidays, agents and airlines have been left short-staffed and warehouses have been left empty, said several of those who are not lucky enough to be on holiday.   But the carriers and forwarders left at Schiphol did not seem to be too despondent and nearly all of them expect a good September.   Those in the Amsterdam-Asian trade are the most optimistic concerning trade this autumn trade and they reported that despite expectations, July and August have been fairly busy.   Cathay Pacific cargo manager in the Netherlands, Achim van der Graaff, said that although the first six months of 1996 were below expectations, July and August saw an improvement.   Amsterdam-Hong Kong is a very competitive route ex-Amsterdam, he said.   One reason the summer season was so much better was offered by van der Graaff.   "July was actually the best month since 1994," he said.   Cathay offered a more "flexible rates policy' on routes to Japan, he said, which had led it to an increase in Japanese shipments.   The Hong Kong carrier is carrying shipments of flower bulbs to Japan, he added.   But rates generally are still under pressure, he said.   General cargo had suffered the most, the perishable business including plants, flowers, cuttings, vegetables, had performed much better, added van der Graaff.   He is looking forward to September and expects the last quarter to make up for the earlier part of the year.   Cathay is likely to seek rates rises in the autumn.   "I think the market can accept a slightly higher price on the Hong Kong route."   The carrier will be testing market reaction through Air Hong Kong the all-cargo airline in which Cathay has a 75 percent share.   In the Dutch market, Cathay is AHK's general sales agent.   The all-cargo airline has stated that in October it is looking for small increases out of Europe to Hong Kong.   Currently rates to Hong Kong range between 2.30 and 2.45 Dutch guilders for hard cargo and three guilders and above for perishable cargo.   Japanese traffic is undoubtedly the star export destination at the moment and rates to Japan and Korea are remaining healthy and firm.   Tatsuya Katayama, marketing manager of Nippon Cargo Airlines, described the market as "very busy', adding that it is mainly because of the Dutch flower and bulb exports.   He added he that he was not expecting double-digit growth for the month of August but it should reach at least four or five percent on last year, he said.   "We wish we could get more capacity in," he said.   Katayama also expects September to be busier.   Korean Airlines cargo manager, Mike Zimmerman, said the holiday season drop-off would be made up for by the perishables market going to Japan.   Exports to Korea and Japan are doing very well, he added, but the problem comes filling the aircraft on the return from Asia.   However, he too, is optimistic about autumn prospects, especially because of the booming persishables business.   A China Airlines spokesman said the Taiwanese market was fairly slow but this was largely because of the typhoon that hit the island some weeks ago.   Although the typhoon had led to a short-lived boost in perishables traffic because many of the crops in Taiwan were destroyed.   Taiwese China Airlines operates a weekly Boeing 747-200 freighter service to Taipei from Amsterdam and five passenger flights a week.   However, he expects business to increase in September.   He again agreed that perishable traffic is the most healthy business ex-Amsterdam, as well as flowers and vegetables, Norwegian salmon shipments are routed via Amsterdam, he added.   He commented that there is over-capacity on the Taipei route and because of this rates are under pressure.   China Airlines is studying the market and considering rises.   EVA, the other major Taiwanese carrier, has already stated that it will be looking for a five to ten percent rates increase out of Europe.   The U.S market is not the favourite amongst Amsterdam's airfreight community.   It is seeing an upturn in traffic but this is largely due to exports of vegetables to the U.S., especially pepper and tomato exports.   Spokesmen from both United Airlines and American Airlines said they were very busy ex-Amsterdam because of the perishables business.   Without perishables though, business to the U.S. is very quiet, said Ton Versteeg, MSAS U.S. trade director, with the Dutch holidays also a contributory factor.   Passenger holiday season traffic also means there is a lot of extra capacity in the market, resulting in more pressure on rates, said several sources.   Versteeg also expected an autumn upturn.   Many of the electronics companies chose this time of the year to launch new products, added Versteeg.   Many in Amsterdam commented that the last quarter in 1995 made up for the rest of the year and they are again expecting a repeat of this scenario.   An El Al spokesman commenting on the U.S. market said rates were under pressure and rates dumping is going on because of the over-capacity in the market.   He said a rate of 1.05 Dutch guilders was very expensive for some carriers in the market at the moment.   "We would rather fly partly empty than offer these very low rates," he said.   The Israeli carrier operates three times a week to Chicago and to Los Angeles, twice a week to Miami and daily to New York, as well as serving its home market in Tel Aviv.   Generally, business to the Middle East appeared to be a little less than last year and it is quiet presently because of the holidays, said the spokesman.   Rates to the region remain static.   Israel to the Netherlands is dominated by the perishables business, especially grapes and melons, he said.   Latin America is undoubtedly being closely watched by those operating in the Dutch market.   Dutch cargo and charter carrier, Martinair is one of the major operator's to the region.   Gerard ter Bruggen, Martinair cargo sales manager, said every week flights to Santiago de Chile are full and the market offers a great deal of potential.   Quito and Bogota are also good destinations, he said.   Car parts, telecommunications equipment and chemicals are major exports from the Netherlands.   Martinair is likely to add more frequencies to its winter schedule to Quito and Santiago de Chile, he said.   Rates remain stable in this market and have seen slight increases and demand remains strong.   A source from another Latam carrier said this market does not seem to have seen the summer slow-down as much as other markets.   A spokesman from Avia Presto, a handler for 40 airlines, said there had been a few slow months but August had again seen a strong pick-up in business.   "There is certainly more confidence concerning the next few months," he said.   South America and Asia are the hot-spots, he added, with the perishables business being the driving force behind increasing cargo volumes.   The company was handling a lot of flowers coming in from Latam and Africa, which are destined for the Russian market and flowers were increasing from Nairobi, as well, he said.   --Air Cargo Newsroom Tel-44-171-542-7706 Fax 44-171-542-5017 
4181 !C11 !C15 !C151 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A 1995 loss of 190 million francs has forced United Parcel Service of America Inc's (UPS) France subsidiary to undertake a major reorganisation of its activities in the country, a company official told Reuters.   She said this followed a loss made by UPS France in 1994 of 110 million francs.   But she stressed that no decision has yet been taken on whether or not to pull out of the heavier end of the French airfreight market.   UPS France plans to axe almost 800 jobs and close 17 of its 55 French depots before creating 740 jobs in a new-look company, she said.   "Our existing operating structure does not give us the necessary scope to be profitable in what has become a highly competitive market," the official said.   UPS France's current activities cover two distinct market sectors -- its "core" business of documents and small parcels, and heavyweight and palletized shipments.   It entered the heavyweight side of the market in France through the purchase of French road distribution group, Prost Transports, in 1991.   The official said no action would be taken on the reorganisation plans until they were discussed with the employees' works committee, which is due to begin consultations with the management on January 30.   She added that while UPS France's intention was to concentrate more on developing documents and small parcel traffic in the foreseeable future, it would continue to provide customers with services at the heavier end of the market.   UPS France employs 2,500 staff in France and operates a fleet of around 1,100 vans and lorries.   In 1995, it tabled a turnover of one billion francs.   UPS currently operates a nightly Boeing 727 freighter rotation linking Lyon with the express delivery company's European hub at Cologne and Barcelona, as well as a nightly Paris CDG-Cologne rotation using a 14-tonne capacity Electra aircraft.   --Stuart Todd, Air Cargo Newsroom;   Tel +44 171 542 8982 Fax+44 171 542 5017 
4182 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Europe's planned currency union is likely to begin on time at the end of the decade even though a series of issues still needs to be tackled before the start, a senior European monetary official said on Tuesday.   Alexandre Lamfalussy, President of the European Monetary Institute (EMI), the forerunner to Europe's central bank, told a business group, "I am reasonably confident that (European Economic and Monetary Union) will start in 1999."    Lamfalussy based his optimism on the fact that European nations were showing the necessary political will to meet prescribed entry criteria, having already made considerable progress on paring back inflation rates.   "There is a clear determination on behalf of governments to meet the criteria," Lamfalussy said, adding, "nations have said they would do so and they are doing so."   But Lamfalussy also warned that more work lay ahead, especially as nations were having difficulties meeting the criteria on public finances.    To join the currency union, nations must show their budget deficits do not exceed three percent of gross domestic product and that debt does not exceed 60 percent of GDP, or at least convince their peers they are heading towards these levels.   Even as nations scramble to get their budgets in order on time, Lamfalussy said it was clear that not all 15 European member nations could join the union at the beginning.   "Not all nations will participate at the beginning, that is an understatement," Lamfalussy said, declining however to hint at which nations were likely to pass the test.    Privately, EMI officials said the final decision on who would participate, to be reached officially by governments in the spring of 1998 after 1997's economic data are compiled, would come as no surprise to anyone.   Periodic EMI reports detailing nations' progress as well as ongoing feedback to member nations should give sufficient preliminary information on nations' developments, ruling out the chance for last minute upsets, they said.   The next status report will be published in November.    By January the EMI, charged with drawing up a blueprint of instruments the future European central bank (ECB) will use to formulate policies, will also have completed the final catalogue of instruments to be used by the ECB.   While the issue of using minimum reserves, something Germany is lobbying for very heavily, remains open, Lamfalussy said general agreement had been reached on implementing instruments like securities repurchase agreements.    Lamfalussy added that the legal status of the Euro, the new common currency, in the changeover time between 1999 and the time when it is expected to be widely used in 2002 should be formalised before the end of this year.   Meanwhile questions regarding those nations who do not meet the requirements and are relegated as the so-called "outs", will be discussed at several meetings in Dublin this year with Lamfalussy arguing a revised European exchange rate mechanism, ERM II, should be put in place.    The ERM holds currencies within fixed bands around a a known central rate.   Currencies which fluctuated beyond these limits were then entitled to help from the other members and liable to drastic policy changes if they failed to work.   The ERM still operates in name.   Once the currency union is underway, Lamfalussy said it was essential to have a mechanism that ensured nations do not relax fiscal vigilance, and spend much more than they take in tax.   He therefore welcomed the idea of a stability pact which would trigger automatic sanctions punishing those who lapse.   But Lamfalussy stressed that the EMI was in no way involved with advising on how to set up such a plan.   "It is up to the finance ministers to concoct that, but we are in favour of such a pact."   --Frankfurt Newsroom, +49 69 756525 
4183 !GCAT !GPOL  Here are the latest opinion polls tracking national support for Germany's main political parties:    AUGUST 1996 CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Emnid Aug 25  41.0 34.0 7.0 10.0 6.0    Elect Res Aug 23 41.0 35.0 5.0 11.0 4.0    Allensbach Aug 21 37.2 32.8 8.0 13.0 5.6    Emnid Aug 18  41.0 34.0 6.0 10.0 5.0    JULY 1996  CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Emnid July 7  39.0 32.0 7.0 11.0 5.0    Elect Res July  40.0 33.0 6.0 12.0 4.0    JUNE 1996  CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Emnid June 30  39.0 33.0 6.0 12.0 5.0    Elect Res June 21 42.0 33.0 6.0 12.0 4.0    Allensbach June 12 37.4 32.8 7.3 12.3 5.4    Forsa June 6  39.0 36.0 6.0 12.0 5.0    MAY 1996  CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Emnid May 26  40.0 31.0 6.0 13.0 6.0    Elect Res May 25 43.0 32.0 6.0 12.0 4.0    Forsa May 23  38.0 37.0 7.0 11.0 5.0    Allensbach May 15 38.5 32.5 8.1 12.0 4.4    APRIL 1996  CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    Emnid April 28  40.0 32.0 5.0 11.0 5.0    Elect Res April 20 43.0 32.0 6.0 12.0 4.0    Allensbach April 17 38.1 32.3 6.5 12.9 6.3   OFFICIAL RESULTS OF THE OCTOBER 16, 1994 GENERAL ELECTION:    CDU/CSU SPD FDP Greens PDS    41.5 36.4 6.9 7.3 4.4   NOTE: Elect Res = Electoral Research Group (Forschungsgruppe Wahlen)   -- Bonn newsroom, +49 228 2609760 
4184 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini said on Tuesday talks with European partners over the return of the lira to the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM) "were always going on...and very positive".   Dini told reporters that the lira, which crashed out of the ERM in 1992, was now "stable, very stable".   Prime Minister Romano Prodi has said he wants to get the lira back into the ERM before the end of the year and Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said earlier this month the key period would come after the presentation of the 1997 budget.   The budget is due to be unveiled by the end of September.   Earlier on Tuesday, Gerardo Bianchi, leader of the second largest force in the government coalition, the centrist PPI party, called on Prodi to speed up the process of putting the lira back in the currency grid.   -- Rome newsroom +396 6782501 
4185 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GSCI  Chairmen from three EU scientific committees will report to the European Commission on September 4 about their findings on the safety of a strain of genetically modified maize, a Commission spokesman said on Tuesday.   The chairmen of the scientific committees on foodstuffs, pesticides and animal nutrition will meet Commission officials to discuss the scientific basis of a draft decision on the placing on the market of genetically modified maize, COM(96)206, he told Reuters.   "If there's new scientific evidence then the Commission could change its proposal," he added.   Environment ministers stalled a decision on the dossier at their June 24 Council in Luxembourg.   A Commission spokesman told reporters at the time that only France, the initiator of the original proposal to authorise the corn marketed by Ciba-Geigy AG, remained in favour of approval.   Environment Commissioner Ritt Bjerregaard said in her July 26 statement IP/96/708 that "widespread political and public concerns" raised in relation to the proposal had prompted her decision to seek further advice. 
4186 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Members of the Bank of Finland's board of parliamentary supervisors on Tuesday headed to a scheduled meeting saying they did not expect the central bank's board of management to propose a markka-ERM link yet.   "No, that is not likely," supervisory board chairman Ilkka Kanerva told reporters on arriving for the meeting.   He was asked if he expected the central bank's management to propose on the markka be linked to Europe's exchange rate mechanism.   Talking separately, two other supervisory board members also said they expected no ERM decision from the meeting.   "I think there is no reason to make such a decision at this meeting," said Mauri Pekkarinen, a leading Centre Party MP.   The opposition Centre Party has said the markka should not be linked to ERM under current circumstances.   The government has the final say whether to link the markka to ERM -- a move regarded by some analysts as a condition for membership of the third stage of EMU.   The government's stated target is that Finland should be part of the single currency from the beginning of the third stage, scheduled in 1999.   The formal marching order for an ERM decision is that the central bank management propose to the supervisory board the marka be pegged.   The task of the supervisory board -- made up of members of parliament -- is to forward the proposal to the government.   If the government decides a link should be made, the finance minister will take the central parity exchange rate proposed by Finland to the proper EU authorities.   The final decision will be made by the EU's monetary committee made up of key finance ministry and central bank officials from all countries concerned.   --Peter Starck, Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
4187 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union's sugar management committee will on Wednesday fix end of month refunds on syrups and on non-annex II sugar products, EU sources said.   Non-annex II products include biscuits, chocolate and other food items not covered by the Common Agricultural Policy.   "There are no policy issues on the agenda," said a source, adding the main item will be the weekly white sugar export tender.   The committee will also review import duties on cane molasses and revise the reference price on imports of beet molasses.   --Brussels Bureau +322 287 6830 
4188 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Old crop maize rose on Tuesday helped by a few spot covers amid fears rain could delay the start of the first cuttings in France's southwest and in Spain, dealers said.   Meanwhile new-crop wheat slipped in thin trade under continued harvest pressure, they said.   Prompt maize into Bordeaux was quoted at 990 francs per tonne, up 10 francs on Friday.   But new-crop maize for October-December delivery shed five francs on Monday to 915 francs.   Rouen wheat was quoted at 890-895 francs on August and September delivery and at 885-890 francs on September-December delivery, down five on the previous day.   The first maize cuttings were due to start by end August in Spain and early September in southwestern France but rain could push back the start of the harvest by about a week.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
4189 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union's sugar management committee will on Wednesday fix end of month refunds on syrups and on non-annex II sugar products, EU sources said.   Non-annex II products include biscuits, chocolate and other food items not covered by the Common Agricultural Policy.   "There are no policy issues on the agenda," said a source, adding the main item will be the weekly white sugar export tender.   The committee will also review import duties on cane molasses and revise the reference price on imports of beet molasses. 
4190 !C13 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union was facing a showdown with exporters over a major Saudi barley contract as it continued to resist bearish market forces, some EU grain sources said on Tuesday.   But a Geneva-based trade source said the EU was in a strong position as the only realistic nearby supplier.   Exporters have lined up deals to sell 800,000 tonnes of barley to Saudi Arabia at around $142 fob for Sept/Oct arrival but the European Commission says the price is too low.   Last week, the Commission signalled a floor price of around $150 fob when it approved the sale of some 34,000 tonnes of German barley from intervention stores.   It was coming under strong pressure from exporters to relax its pricing policy ahead of this week's export tender.   "The Saudis are the main buyer in a slow and weakening market," said one EU grain source, adding prices were set to fall as big barley crops were gathered in the EU and Canada.   Statistics Canada said on Monday that the country's barley crop may be a record 16.3 million tonnes due to an increase in plantings and yields at or above last year's.   German grain trader Alfred Toepfer last week forecast that the EU barley crop would rise by more than 10 percent to between 49 and 50 million tonnes.   Traders expect Spanish barley output to nearly double to 9.4 million tonnes after plentiful rains enabled the crop to recover after several years of drought.   The EU, which still has some 1.3 million tonnes of barley in intevention stores, mostly in Germany, cannot afford to miss the Saudi business, they said.   The Geneva source noted that Canada last week sold a cargo of feed barley to Japan at $144.50 fob for October arrival.   It earlier sold 50,000 tonnes to Iran at $143.25.   A Canadian Wheat Board official in Brussels for talks with the European Commission on Tuesday was unavailable for comment on the Saudi tender.   But another Canadian agricultural official said that the country's grain stocks were privately financed and there was every incentive to dispose of them quickly.   Canada would be concerned if the EU, after blocking intervention sales, gave big export subsidies.   "We would be unhappy if the EU gave big barley export restitutions," the official said.   While EU old crop barley is priced around $150 a tonne, new crop is about $140 and heading lower with Nov/Dec shipments already under that level.   As the market weakened, there was talk that the Saudis were starting to cancel contracts in order to take advantage of lower prices, Brussels sources said.   Saudi Arabia tendered on August 21 for 250,000 tonnes of the grain for September 25 arrival and 550,000 tonnes for delivery by October 15.   Although the EU is best placed to meet the September needs it faces strong competition from Canadian new crop in October.   As the world's major barley customer, Saudi Arabia persuaded exporters to offer an overall price weighted towards the new crop price, trade sources said.   "It pays cash up front and is a much safer bet than other buyers such as Iran and Libya," said a source. 
4191 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Former French conservative prime minister Edouard Balladur said on Tuesday his country risked falling into an economic morass of "stagnation, even deflation" without ambitious tax cuts to stimulate growth.   Balladur, who belongs to Prime Minister Juppe's own ruling RPR party, said in a signed front-page article in the French afteroon daily Le Monde that France was suffering a lingering "decline" characterised by record unemployment and slow growth.   Balladur, defeated by Jacques Chirac in last year's race for the presidency, did not question the government's goal of mastering public spending to allow France to qualify for European monetary union.   But he wrote it should not "apply the brakes all at once".   Instead, it should offset austerity measures with greater flexibility on taxes, wages and "more generally in the structures of society."   Balladur, in the political wilderness since Chirac's upset win, has been a longstanding critic of Juppe's government, calling for bolder cuts in taxes, public spending cuts and lower interest rates.   With Juppe's popularity at low levels, unemployment at a record high of 12.5 percent and the economy in the doldrums, some media commentators have even speculated Chirac might consider recalling Balladur to the premiership.   Balladur said stronger growth required measures to stimulate the consumption and far-reaching structural reforms.   He urged implementation over the next few years of tax cuts totalling at least 120 billion francs to revive consumption.   Only such a programme of "subtantial tax cuts, increases in salaries whenever possible and job creation through an increase in part-time work" could boost the economy, he wrote.   "Lowering taxes would allow acceleration of growth and as a result, a rise in government revenues," he said.   He proposed cutting a host of taxes, including income tax, housing tax and the value added tax (VAT).   The government is putting the finishing touches on a its promised tax reform, due to be presented to parliament in September, along with its 1997 budget.   Juppe has pledged a major overhaul of the tax system over the next five years that would lower all income tax rates and shift costs of paying for healthcare from wages to savings.   At the same time, he has said the tax reforms would have to go hand in hand with deep cuts in public spending to ready France for monetary union to go into effect on January 1, 1999. 
4192 !C15 !C151 !C31 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Six months to June 30, 1996 (in millions of marks unless stated)    Group business volume 1,345 vs 1,362    Group sales 619 vs 583    Group workforce 3,225 vs 2,386   NOTE - Full name of the German retailer is Kaufring AG.   The rise in the workforce number was due to the first-time consolidation of Weka-Kaufring-Kaufhaus GmbH and Sono Centra.   -- Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
4193 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Senior executives at two big Finnish forest industry companies said on Tuesday they would prefer the markka to be linked to Europe's exchange rate mechanism (ERM) at a rate near 3.08 markka to the German mark.   "We are talking, in any case, about a level above 3.05, that means 3.08 or something like that," chief financial officer Jan-Henrik Kulp at Europe's biggest forest industry group UPM-Kymmene Oy told Reuters.   He was asked what his group considered an appropriate level for the markka in the ERM.   Enso Oy senior executive vice president and chief financial officer Esko Makelainen said "Between 3.08 and 3.10 would certainly be a suitable central parity level."   They were at a seminar on prospects for the Finnish forest industry if Finland joins Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   Finnish Forest Industries Federation managing director Matti Korhonen told the seminar the markka had recently been moving in the right direction after strengthening below 3.00 per mark early in August.   At 1550/1250 GMT, the markka traded at 3.0300 per mark compared with Monday's 3.0310 close.   Referring to Finland's main forestry rivals in Sweden, one executive at the seminar, requesting anonymity, said that since it was "apparent" Sweden would not join the ERM yet, it was in Finland's interest not to fix the markka at too strong a level.   --Ilkka Virtanen, Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
4194 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  France's largest labour union, the Socialist CFDT, warned on Tuesday of "tension and conflict" when the country grinds back to work after the summer break and called for a drive to create up to 500,000 jobs in nine months.   CFDT leader Nicole Notat told afternoon daily Le Monde in an interview that people were increasingly restless in the face of rising unemployment and that economic arguments governments had resorted to for the past 15 years had been "worn threadbare".   "There will be tension and conflicts when people go back to work, some which have been brewing since before the holidays," Notat said.   "We have to break out of this exclusively economic approach where everyone is turning in circles.   For 15 years, governments have sought the appropriate economic policy to promote growth and, thereby, employment.   All the arguments in support of this stance have been worn threadbare," Notat said.   The fifteen years span both Socialist and the current centre-right government.   The fault did not lie with France's commitment to European monetary union, Notat said, adding that she backed the creation of a single currency.   "We are not denying the positive impact for employment from sustained economic growth, the need to control inflation, competitive enterprise, a cut in real interest rates and public deficits," Notat said.   "But, carrying out this policy in the name of employment without producing results on jobs has created disillusion and a feeling of helplessness which is breeding anger."   "It is intolerable to see a country which continues to get richer producing more and more unemployment and exclusion at the same time."   "We are convinced that if 400,000-500,000 job-seekers found jobs in the next six to nine months, that would provide a strong political signal and generate a strong psycholgical jolt," Notat said.   Notat said attacking mass unemployment required a change of tack which would establish obligatory targets to be met by all the players in the economy," she suggested.   "The single (European) currency, tied to reform of European institutions would fell in one go all the arguments of those who still believe there is an alternative to Europe," she said.   In the run-up to the 1997 budget -- expected to be presented on September 18 --, Notat said the most contentious aspects were the shedding of 7,000 civil service jobs, the cutting of "back to school" grants for poor families and plans to cut subsidies for low-cost social housing.   Asked if there was likely to be a "mobilisation" over 1996 pay freezes in the civil service, Notat said: "There will be, both over salaries and over employment.   It is more than urgent that the government accepts the opening of talks on wages, especially for the low-wage levels, in the public service. 
4195 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, who is mediating in the Burundi crisis, was due in Rome on Tuesday night amid speculation that a Catholic group was willing to sponsor talks to promote peace in the country.   The Tanzanian embassy in Rome confirmed that Nyerere, Africa's elder statesman and an internationally-backed mediator on Burundi, would fly in at 8.55 p.m. (1855 GMT) and would leave next Monday.   A spokesman did not give the reason for his visit.   Nyerere's staff in Dar-Es-Salaam said he would attend "an international forum".   Officials said Nyerere had left instructions no statement should be made about the visit.   Diplomatic sources said that during his stay in Italy, the former president was due to have contacts with the Sant' Egidio Community, a Roman Catholic peace organisation which has been following the Burundi situation closely.   The group, which sponsors dialogue to end conflicts, hosted successful mediation to end the civil war in Mozambique and has brought Algerian opposition leaders together.   A Sant' Egidio spokesman said the group, which has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, did not foresee any formal talks on the Burundi conflict "in the next few days".   But one diplomatic source said "a lot of people are coming and going" and that Sant' Egidio hoped that "within the next couple of weeks something interesting might happen".   The source added: "The reality is that Sant' Egidio has been working on Burundi and there is some hope that something could evntually gel".   Burundi's Tutsi President Pierre Buyoya, his country under tough sanctions from its African neighbours following a military coup last month, met Nyerere in Tanzania on Sunday.   In Burundi, presidential spokesman Jean-Luc Ndizeye dismissed speculation of secret deals.   "There is no one in Rome negotiating on our behalf.   There are no secret behind-the-scenes attempts to broker any deals," he said, adding that Buyoya's government however remained willing to talk to the Hutu rebels as long as they renounced genocide and laid down their arms.   They have refused to do so.   Rebel leader Leonard Nyangoma, head of the Hutu National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), visited Rome earlier this month and had contacts with Sant' Egidio.   CNDD officials in the Kenyan capital Nairobi said despite rumours of imminent contacts with Buyoya's regime, their movement would refuse to meet any Burundi envoys and had vowed to topple Buyoya.   Regional states imposed sanctions against Burundi following the July 25 coup by the Tutsi-dominated army.   Sanctions have hit the landlocked country hard, forcing the rationing of petrol and diesel and dramatically increasing prices of imported food and goods.   The fuel shortage has pushed up the cost of food grown in the interior.   Regional states demand a return to constitutional government and unconditional talks between all parties including the army and rebels.   Both sides reject unconditional negotiations.   Ousted Hutu President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, who says he is still legal head of state, has remained holed up in the U.S. ambassador's residence in Bujumbura for more than a month.   Around 150,000 people -- mostly civilians -- have died in Burundi since 1993, when the country's first democratically elected Hutu president was killed in an attempted army coup.   The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last week 4,050 people had been killed by Burundi's army in the Giheta district of central Gitega region since the coup.   Buyoya dismissed the report as exaggerated and said his coup was to bring peace to Burundi but it would not come overnight. 
4196 !C17 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  German economics minister Guenter Rexrodt said on Tuesday he sees signs from the European Commission of an easing of tensions over disputed subsidies by the state of Saxony to auto maker Volkswagen AG.   Chancellor Helmut Kohl's cabinet discussed whether to file a complaint with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg in the case, but reached no decision at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Rexrodt told Reuters.   The government will continue to prepare its case, but will hold off taking action for now, he said.   "The German government stands on the side of Saxony and Volkswagen, which deserves to get the full allotment of subsidies," Rexrodt said.   Rexrodt said fresh discussions would take place on all levels in the next few days, but that preparatory work on a possible complaint by Bonn would continue.   Such a complaint would have to be filed by September 16, he said.   "We want to take advantage of the signals of de-escalation from Brussels," he said, without getting more specific.   Rexrodt said Bonn and Brussels needed to work out their interpretations of the Treaty of Rome, whose Article 92 says that subsidies are acceptable in regions affected by the former separation of Germany.   Brussels also indicated earlier this week it was preparing to file a complaint.   Rexrodt said he hoped such an impasse could be avoided.   The row began in June when the European Commission approved only 540 million marks ($365.5 million) of a proposed 780 million marks in subsidies for VW to build two plants in the formerly communist east German state of Saxony.   Saxony premier Kurt Biedenkopf decided to hand over all the money anyway, because he said 23,000 jobs depended on it.   Saxony filed a complaint in Luxembourg last Friday.   Saxony premier Kurt Biedenkopf said on Tuesday he could not accept the suggestion by EU Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert that the subsidies be paid in escrow until the matter is settled. 
4197 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A French teachers' union called on Tuesday for members to protest against job cuts expected in the centre-right government's austerity budget for 1997.   As public sector unions prepared their response to planned budget cuts, Nicole Notat, head of the country's biggest CFDT union, warned of "tension and conflicts" when the French return from their summer holidays.   The Federation Syndicale Unitaire (FSU) union made the call to action as it met representatives from the SE-FEN teachers union as well as education branches of the national unions CFDT and FO, to decide what action to take against the budget.   The FSU said conditions were ripe to prepare a national strike by the beginning of October.   French schools re-open next week for the new term.   Tuesday's union meeting kicks off a series of gatherings opposing Prime Minister Alain Juppe's budget, which is expected to axe between 2,000 and 2,500 teachers' jobs -- the first teaching cuts for 15 years -- as part of a plan to shed 6,500-7,000 civil service posts.   Juppe has said the 1997 budget would freeze spending at 1996 levels, implying a spending cut of 60 billion francs, to reduce the state deficit to three percent of gross domestic product in order to join the single European currency in 1999.   "There will be tension and conflicts when people go back to work," Notat told the daily Le Monde, citing anger among staff at ailing property lender Credit Foncier, state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais, film studio SFP and appliance maker Moulinex.   The CFDT would take part in union action, she said.   The Socialist-led CFDT, France's biggest union with some 650,000 members, is expected to announce its plans on September 27.   State-owned Credit Foncier is being gradually wound down after making a 1995 net loss of 10.5 billion francs, while Credit Lyonnais is shedding jobs in a bid to make good losses totalling 21 billion francs racked up between 1992 and 1994.   Some 667 jobs could go out of a total 1,056 at SFP if sold to businessman Walter Butler, while Moulinex is axing posts as part of a recovery plan.   Former conservative prime minister Edouard Balladur, also in Le Monde, said France was suffering from a "lingering decline" and called for big cuts in income tax, local taxes and value added tax to boost consumer demand.   Reducing government spending was necessary but not sufficient, he said.   Communist Party leader Robert Hue said on Monday the spirit of public sector strikes which brought France to a virtual standstill for 24 days in November and December last year was "still alive in the hearts and minds" of the French people.   The Communist-led CGT union will unveil on Wednesday its plans to mobilise opposition to the budget, which is due to be discussed in cabinet around September 10, along with proposals for tax and social security reform.   The executive committee of the Force Ouvriere union will meet on September 3 and is expected to draw up its oppostion plans, a spokesman said. 
4198 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A Vienna court on Tuesday found a British computer expert guilty of attempting to blackmail five British dairy companies and sentenced him to three years in jail, the state prosecutor said.   Prosecutor Ronald Schoen told Reuters that 37-year-old Michael Just, from Nottingham in central England, would serve his sentence in Britain.   "The sentence will be legally binding and the man is now in prison (in Austria)," Schoen said, adding that British authorities would have to decide on the timing of his transfer.    It was not immediately clear whether Just would lodge an appeal.   Vienna police arrested Just in July and charged him with attempting to extort 250,000 pounds ($390,000) from five food firms by threatening to contaminate their products with microbiological organisms.   Just, who runs his own computer company in Britain, was apparently trying to draw money from a specially set up anonymous savings account in the Austrian capital when he was detained.    "It looked to be the best method because these accounts are anonymous in Austria," Austrian news agency APA quoted Just as telling the court.   He explained that he was facing financial difficulties in Britain.   "I was depressed.   Then I came up with this scheme to get hold of cash quickly," Just said.   British police made two further arrests in July.   British officials have said the five food companies, whose names have not been released, received written demands from an extortionist who threatened to contaminate a wide range of their products.   The firms alerted police to the letters, which insisted that they pay money into a foreign bank account.   British police have said none of the companies involved paid any ransom. 
4199 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Algeria's President Liamine Zeroual on Tuesday met opposition leaders who handed him draft laws ahead of a national conference over the country's future.   Zeroual met them at the presidential palace in Algiers after they wrapped up the drafted election and party laws and proposals to amend the constitution, a presidency statement, carried by the official Algerian news agency APS, said.   The party representatives who met Zeroual are members of four joint committees set in August 14 to look at his proposed reforms including general election in 1997.   "The members of the four committees' boards have submitted to the president the final reports of their works," the statement said.   Zeroual has been engaged since his election last year in a dialogue with most of legal opposition parties to seek a way out of civil strife which has racked the country since the cancellation in 1992 of a general election in which radical Islamists had taken a commanding lead.   An estimated 50,000 people have been killed in the violence.   Among the parties represented in the committees are the former sole ruling party, the National Liberation Front (FLN), two legal Islamist groups, Hamas and Nahda, and the secular anti-Islamist Rally for Democracy and Culture (RCD).   The outlawed Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was excluded from the talks and the main secular opposition Socialist Forces Front (FFS) walked out of the dialogue.   The FFS said the dialogue was flawed, alleging that Zeroual intended to forge an "anti-Islamist front" rather than seek a peaceful solution to stop violence.   The RCD and FLN on Monday said the outcome of the four committees' work showed the willingness of Algeria's politicians to work together to pull out the North African country from its crisis and implement a multiparty democracy through free votes.   Besides the draft laws, which would introduce proportional representation instead of majority vote in elections, the committees also agreed a political platform for a national conference which will be convened, likely early in September.   This will adopt a kind of code of political conduct banning the use of violence as a way to seek or hold power.   Political sources said Zeroual would examine the draft laws and then hand them to the officially-appointed-Transitional National Council for vote. 
4200 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police on Tuesday intensified digging at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in Belgium's child-killing and sex-abuse scandal.   Public prosecutor Michel Bourlet confirmed that Dutroux had been brought to the house late on Monday night and had given vague indications where police investigators should dig.   But he added no bodies had been found so far.   "No bodies have been found.   Dutroux is cooperating in the investigation, but I have the impresssion that he is making us go around in circles," Bourlet told Reuters on the telephone.   Earlier, neighbours told Reuters they saw a handcuffed Dutroux brought to the house late on Monday, where he stayed until about 1 a.m. on Tuesday.   The house was inhabited at one time by Dutroux' dead accomplice Bernard Weinstein.   Around 9 a.m. (0700 GMT), about 30 police officers brought an excavator and what looked like high-tech search equipment to the house, neighbours said.   The entire area was cordoned off in a 300-metre radius around the house, while two police helicopters hovered overhead and dozens of investigators combed the premises.   Several sniffer dogs specialised in searching for bodies were brought on the site.   Dutroux has been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Just over a week ago, the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and of Weinstein, whom Dutroux has admitted killing, were found buried in the garden of another house belonging to Dutroux.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued from a makeshift dungeon in another of Dutroux' six houses.   Dutroux, a convicted sex offender, has also admitted kidnapping two others -- An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, who were 19 and 17 respectively at the time of their disappearance a year ago.   They are both still missing.   Bourlet told Reuters that Dutroux continued to answer investigators' question, but denied rumours in the Belgian media that An and Eefje had been found.   "(Dutroux) continues to speak to us," he said.   Earlier this week Bourlet described Dutroux as a manipulative character. 
4201 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Burundi strongman Major Pierre Buyoya said an international embargo against the central African nation threatened "a humanitarian catastrophe".   In an interview with the Belgian newspaper Le Soir on Tuesday, Buyoya said he was trying to convince the international community of the "perverse effect" that sanctions were having on Burundi.   "We are going towards a humanitarian catastrophe," he said.   Burundi's central African neighbours have one by one closed their borders against the country since a coup mounted by the Tutsi-dominated army on July 25 which ousted President Sylvestre Ntibantunganya and installed Buyoya in power.   Tanzania has been leading an international campaign to force Buyoya to restore "constitutional order and legality.   Buyoya told Le Soir that Burundi had reached a critical stage, and unless seed for planting crops was made available, the country would be plunged into famine.   He said also that he was prepared to meet leaders of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), a Hutu organisation which has been waging an increasingly succesful guerrilla war.   In the past, Byoya has said he would only hold talks with opponents who first renounced violence.   Buyoya has argued that the coup was necessary to prevent new ethnic massacres, that his transitional government contained representatives from all sections of Burundi and that it was making a significant contribution to peace.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in Burundi in three years of massacres and civil war between minority Tutsis and ethnic Hutus, who make up 85 percent of the population. 
4202 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Spanish government will meet Catalan officials on Wednesday to discuss its 1997 budget plans, a Catalan spokeswoman said.   The regional government's Economy and Health Councillors, Macia Alavedra and Eduard Rius, will meet Secretary of State for the Budget Jose Folgado in Madrid.   Catalan President Jordi Pujol said last Friday he would hold talks with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar in about two weeks, once negotiations were well under way.   The presence of the Catalan health councillor on Wednesday implies cost cutting measures for the national health service are on the agenda, although the spokeswoman could not confirm this.   The PP has already put forward a number of proposals to lower the cost of public health care such as introducing modest charges for prescriptions and for medical treatment.   The Catalans oppose cuts in health spending and say they want a larger proportion of spending to go to health care.   They will also insist a provision for transfer of a bigger share of tax revenues to the regions (30 percent instead of 15 percent) be included in the 1997 budget.   Without Catalan parliamentary support the minority Popular Party government cannot pass a budget for 1997, the year in which it has to reduce Spain's budget deficit by around a trillion pesetas if it is to meet the target for European monetary union.   -- Madrid newsroom + 34 1 585 2151 
4203 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Private Irish operator Ryanair and state carrier Aer Lingus said on Tuesday they were still operating flights to London's Stansted airport despite a hijack drama unfolding on the tarmac.   Ryanair, which has 20 flights daily to the airport of East of London, said it was still flying to Stansted but there were some delays caused by the hijacking of a Sudan Airways plane by suspected Iraqis.   Aer Lingus said one of its Stansted-bound flights had been diverted to Luton airport, north of London, but it still intended to land other scheduled flights in Stansted.   -- Dublin Newsroom +353-1-6603377 
4204 !GCAT !GDIS !GHEA  Greece issued a hospital alert on Tuesday when some 800 passengers on a Liberian-registered cruise ship were hit by food poisoning, the coast guard said.   Illness flared during a voyage round Greek islands and hospitals on Crete were alerted to treat passengers from the 28,137-tonne Costa Riviera.   "It seems we are dealing with a severe case of food-poisoning," a coast guard official in Crete told Reuters.   "Some 800 of the ship's 1,300 passengers were hit, and the serious cases are now being taken to hospital."    The official said the passengers were "mostly European tourists," but could not give their nationalities.   The ship, flying a Liberian flag, was on a cruise from the island of Corfu to Crete.   It docked in the port of Iraklion.   No further details were immediately available. 
4205 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Tuesday it had cleared British Airways' plan to buy all of TAT European Airlines.   BA now owns the airline, which provides services mainly within France, jointly with French partner TAT SA.   BA bought 49.9 percent of the company in 1993 and announced in July this year it was exercising an option to buy the remaining 50.1 percent.   The Commission said it had examined the impact of the deal on competition, especially on the London-Paris and London-Lyon routes, where both BA and TAT European Airlines were active.   "...the Commission has decided not to oppose the concentration and to declare it compatible with the Common Market...," the Commission said in statement IP/96/803.   It said BA had played a leading role in the management of the joint venture and that Tat European Airlines' international routes had been largely operated in coordination with BA's equivalent services and under the direction of BA. 
4206 !G15 !GCAT  Following are highlights of the midday briefing by the European Commission on Tuesday:   - - - -   The Commission released the following documents:   - IP/96/803: Commission clears the acquisition of sole control of TAT European Airlines by British Airways.   - Midday Express ME96/27.8   - Eurostat memo: Tacis high-level seminar in St Petersburg -- Way Ahead for Statistics in New Independent States. 
4207 !C21 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M12 !MCAT  The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) will be ready to convert trading in its three-month German interest rate futures contract to the Euro at the beginning of 1999, managing director Daniel Hodson said on Tuesday.   He told financial daily La Tribune Defosses in an interview that whether Britain joins the single European currency or not, "our three-month German interest rate contract is ready to be converted into the Euro."   Hodson said the euromark contract, which is more liquid than PIBOR, would "clearly" be the reference interest rate future contract for Europe.   He said the bund contract traded on LIFFE would also surpass the notionnel traded on the Marche a Terme Internationale de France (MATIF) as the long-term debt contract of reference.   He acknowledged that the notionnel contract was a key contract in the development of euro-denominated contracts.   He said the LIFFE was well positioned to become the leading exchange in a united Europe, whether or not Britain joins the single currency.   -- Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5454 
4208 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Alexandre Lamfalussy, president of the European Monetary Institute said on Tuesday he believed it was likely that Europe's planned currency union will begin on time on January 1, 1999.   The EMI president "sees a realistic chance that the third stage of the currency union wil begin on January 1, 1999," Lamfalussy said, according to a summary of a speech to be delivered to a luncheon in Frankfurt.   Lamfalussy said the reason for his optimism lay in the fact that many nations were showing the political will to realise an economic and currency union.   He pointed especially to nations' efforts to consolidate public finances.   According to the summary, Lamfalussy said that no decision had been reached on whether the future European central bank would use minimum reserves or have a rediscount facility, as used in Germany.   "Additionally it is being discussed whether to introduce upper and lower limits for money market interest rates," Lamfalussy was quoted as saying.   One of the tasks of the European Monetary Institute, forerunner of the European Central Bank which will conduct monetary policy after EMU starts, is to draw up a blueprint of the instruments the bank will use to implement policy.   Lamfalussy said the future ECB planned to tailor its instruments to make them appropriate to the market, referring especially to securities repurchase agreements.   On progress towards the third stage of EMU, Lamfalussy said the convergence process was making headway and the EMI had stuck to the timetable in its preparation for currency union.   Lamfalussy noted most EU nations were having difficulties meeting the criteria on public finances.   "Germany too missed the deficit target of three percent of GDP in 1995," he said.   But he added that it was favourable that the planned timetable for entry into the third stage of currency union was putting nations under time pressure to conduct the necessary consolidation of their public budgets. 
4209 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  France, shaken by immigrant protests including a hunger strike, chided African states on Tuesday for not helping stem the flow of people chasing a mirage of wealth only to end up as poor illegal residents.   Foreign Minister Herve de Charette, in a clear jibe at France's former African colonies, said they were not doing enough to tackle the problem.   "There are countries which get considerable French aid and do not always give the impression of doing all they could to prevent these unfortunate individuals from ending up adrift in France, and once they are here, to take them back," he told RTL radio.   French police last week stormed a Paris church to evict some 300 African immigrant protesters demanding residence permits, 10 of whom were on a hunger strike.   Exposing differences within the cabinet, Xavier Emmanuelli, secretary of state for emergency humanitarian action, said he regretted that the two-month occupation of the Saint-Bernard church had ended in police action rather than negotiations.   "I would have preferred that it happen otherwise, but it was inevitable," Emmanuelli told the French daily Le Parisien.   Four days after police burst into the church, the Africans were still holding firm on their demands, and the affair kept fuelling a fierce political debate on illegal immigration and government policy.   The opposition Left and labour unions have accused the government of harshly cracking down on helpless immigrants snared by confusing 1993 reforms to France's immigration laws.   The far-right National Front, on the other hand, said that the post-raid confusion and release of most of the Africans shows the government is incapable of dealing with the problem.   "Nothing is settled, as just four individuals have been expelled and the search for the others has been abandoned," Front deputy leader Bruno Megret told a party conference.   "Things are clear.   (French President) Mr (Jacques) Chirac has given the signal.   The doors are open," Megret said.   French courts were drawn deeply into the controversy as judges tried to sort out a legal tangle posed by the Africans.   By Tuesday morning, the Paris administrative tribunal had upheld expulsion orders against 30 of 89 Africans involved in the church protest while throwing out 15 such orders.   Four were deported on a military plane on Saturday along with dozens of other illegal African immigrants.   Separately, the Paris appeals court ordered the release on technical grounds of six of 13 immigrants still in custody since Friday's raid, but upheld detention of the remaining seven.   The court was still hearing appeals on another 40 Africans ordered freed by a lower court on Sunday but who still may ultimately end up being expelled.   It said the hunger strikers, who ended a 52-day fast on Sunday, were too weak to be deported.   Supporters of the Africans have scheduled a major demonstration in Paris on Wednesday.   The Africans themselves have called for a second protest on September 18 in front of the headquarters of the Council of Europe in the eastern French city of Strasbourg.   French officials have said that as many as two-thirds of the protesting Africans may ultimately be allowed to remain in France. 
4210 !GCAT  These are leading stories in Tuesday's afternoon daily Le Monde, dated Aug 29.   FRONT PAGE   -- Stockholm opens first world conference on child prostitution today.   -- General Secretary Nicole Notat of Socialist-led CFDT trade union says there will be "tension and conflicts" this autumn on the labour front over the government's austerity plans.   Three other trade unions have already predicted a "hot" year end.   BUSINESS PAGES   -- Former prime minister Edouard Balladur sees risk of deflation without "ambitious, clearly scheduled" cuts in income tax, housing tax, and value-added tax and affirmative action in other areas.   -- MFS merger with Worldcom increases global competitive environment.   --   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
4211 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police on Tuesday intensified digging at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in Belgium's child-murder and sex-abuse scandal.   Neighbours told Reuters they saw a handcuffed Dutroux brought to the house late on Monday, where he stayed until about 1 a.m. on Tuesday.   The house was inhabited at one time by Dutroux' accused accomplice Bernard Weinstein.    Early on Tuesday, about 30 police officers brought an excavator and what looked like high-tech search equipment to the house, neighbours said.   The entire area was cordoned off, while two police helicopters hovered overhead.   Dutroux has been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Just over a week ago, the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune, and of Bernard Weinstein himself were found buried in the garden of another house belonging to Dutroux. 
4212 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  An international conference on the commercial sexual exploitation of children opened in Sweden on Tuesday with calls for tougher action to combat sex tourism and child pornography.   The conference, being held as a child-sex scandal in Belgium triggered a Europe-wide alert for paedophile gangs, ends on Saturday.   "We hope this will have effects that will last for years to come.   You can't hold a conference on this scale, meet for a few days, raise the issues and then just drop them," congress host chairman Lisbet Palme told Reuters in an interview.   More than 1,000 government, inter-governmental and non-government delegates will discuss the scope of the problems, legal reform, and raising public awareness.   Opening proceedings, Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson highlighted the scale of the problem.   "The plague of child prostitution, pornography and trafficking in chidren has increased dramatically over the past few years.   Millions of children around the world are being sexually abused," he said in his opening address.   The conference is jointly organised by the Swedish government, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), pressure group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism) and the NGO group on the rights of the child.   The five-day programme will include plenary sessions, workshops and keynote speeches by politicians and celebrities such as actor Roger Moore and Queen Silvia of Sweden.   Palme, chairman of the Swedish UNICEF committee and widow of assassinated Prime Minister Olof Palme, said the horrific disclosures in Belgium had proved the importance of openness in combatting child sex abuse.   "The most important thing is to be able to talk about the problem.   Take a look at the recent tragedy in Belgium, we saw grown men crying in rage and frustration," she said.   Belgan police investigating Marc Dutroux, suspected of running a paedophile ring, said on Monday they had arrested a 10th suspect.   In the rapidly-widening child sex scandal, two kidnapped eight-year-old girls have been found dead, two other girls rescued and police are hunting at least two more girls who have been missing for a year.   A 15-strong delegation from Belgium, including Foreign Affairs Minister Erik Derycke, will attend the conference.   Palme, a trained child psychologist, said social taboos on talking about child pornography and paedophile sex were some of the strongest in existence.   "Of course no-one wants to talk about it.   You talk to children who have been involved and they deny it right up until they're shown the pictures, and sometimes beyond.   So it's not surprising the subject is hidden to us."   Delegates were greeted at the Stockholm City Conference Centre by children's choirs, orchestras and a 30-strong demonstration from German anti-sex tourism campaign group Terre des Hommes in scarves painted with scenes of child abuse.   Group spokeswoman Barbara Hebbing told Reuters of her hopes for the congress.   "Sex tourism is a big problem, we're to tell the politicians that it's very important for them to talk about it openly.   We need international meetings like this because it's an international problem," she said.   Persson said: "At this congress we must shed light on the abuse and commercial exploitation taking place in almost every country in the world.   And then we must go from words to deeds by developing strategies to fight these intolerable acts." 
4213 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in the Swedish papers this morning.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAGENS NYHETER   - Sweden's low inflation make wage cuts the only option for trouble-struck Swedish companies to lower their real costs.   - Despite promises to the contrary, Sweden's defence forces will not destroy all of their stockpile of anti-personnel mines.   - The rising costs of television advertising are turning companies away from the medium, an advertising industry association reports.   SVENSKA DAGBLADET   - Swedish real estate companies are the latest winners on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, with an average increase of 12 percent in property share prices since the beginning of July.   - A billion-crown Swedish government programme to kick-start small firms and create employment is unlikely to have the desired effect, the paper writes.   DAGENS INDUSTRI   - The planned sale of 34 percent of the shares in mortgage institute Stadshypotek could result in a bid for all of the shares in the company.   - The Stockholm Stock Exchange will extend its daily trading hours until 1500 GMT starting Monday, September 2.   - The Baltic States are attracting considerable Swedish investment.   Some 1,700 firms partly or wholly owned by Swedes registered in the Baltic States.   - Commercial television station TV4 suffered a 44 million crown loss during the second financial quarter, a worsening of 120 million crowns compared to the same period last year.   -- Paul de Bendern, Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700 1003 
4214 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  France's 1996 welfare deficit is likely to exceed 50 billion francs, about three times the amount originally predicted by the government, French press reports said on Tuesday.   Conservative daily Le Figaro said the Social Security Accounts Commission would forecast a 1996 social security deficit of about 55 billion francs when it meets next on September 23.   Financial daily La Tribune Desfosses said the welfare shortfall would "overshoot 50 billion" francs this year.   The government predicted last year a social security deficit of 16.6 billion this year and a surplus of 11.8 billion in 1997.   In June, newspaper reports said the commission's unofficial forecast for the 1997 welfare deficit would be about 35 billion francs.   Its prediction then for the 1996 welfare deficit was 48.6 billion, including 32.3 billion for health care.   -- Paris Newsroom +331 4221 5452 
4215 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Two masked attackers threw a petrol bomb into the entrance hall of a Turkish-German friendship association in the German town of Hanover late on Monday night, but guests quickly put out the fire, police said on Tuesday.   None of the six people inside the club was hurt, and damage was estimated at around 4,000 marks ($2,700).   Turkish premises have been the target of hundreds of similar attacks in the last three years, some by German racists but most by radical Kurdish separatists or other Turkish militants, authorities say. 
4216 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Maltese press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE TIMES   - Drugs go up in smoke.   Police start destroy 7.5 tons of drugs seized in a container at Malta Freeport last week on their way to Romania from Singapore.   IN-NAZZJON   - Police suspect false Lm10 ($3 approx) notes were printed in Sicily and introduced in Malta circulation through a casino.   L-ORIZZONT   - More questions on Begrade crash.   Jugoslav Vreme magazine says crashed Ilyushin 76 had been chartered by Jugoimport, the bigest arms exporting firm in Yugoslavia.   The aircraft was bound for Malta with a cargo due to have been unloaded for shipment to Libya through Malta Freeport.   The Malta government said aircraft documents showed it was carrying wheels for agricultural equipment and sportswear.   The shippers enclosed a declaration that they were not violating U.N. sanctions against Libya. 
4217 !GCAT  AUSTRIA   DER STANDARD   - Parliamentary president Heinz Fischer insists a decision on Austrian NATO membership must be taken by referendum.   - Former Finance Minister Hannes Androsch has offered around 400 million schillings to Continental to buy tyre maker Semperit Reifen AG.   - Austria's electricity companies have agreed to reorganise the industry in order to prepare for EU-liberalisation of the market.   - Economic experts of WIFO say Austria's economy is on the rise again.   However movement of the service industries from town centres to the outskirts is putting pressure on Vienna and Salzburg.   KURIER   - Creditanstalt's Hungarian unit plans to set up a building society with Postabank, Generali and Volksbank Ungarn as partners.   - Austria is expected to be part of the EMU from the beginning as well as Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, a study of the Basler Bank fr Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich says.   DIE PRESSE   - Austrian Airlines said it is negotiating a partnership in South-East Asia.   Singapore Airlines a likely candidate.   - Austria has second greatest privatisation potential compared to nine other European countries, the Aktienforum says.   - Steyr-Daimler-Puch-Spezialfahrzeuge a branch of Steyr-Daimler-Puch has announced an operating loss of 6.4 million schillings in 1995 compared to profits of 1.3 million the year before.   - Austria's banks earned 24.4 billion schllings in the first half of 1996, 17 percent more than at same time last year, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank says.   However most expect record insolvencies as a result of this year's economic situation.   BOSNIA   OSLOBODJENJE   - Bosnian Central Parliament meets in extraordinary session on Tuesday to discuss conditions for forthcoming elections.   - Bosnian Liberal Party condemns any delay of Bosnian elections, arguing it would reinforce the status quo.   - Federal Governement provides 10 million Deutsche Marks to develop agriculture and cattle breeding says Bosnia's Moslem-Croat Federation Prime Minister Izudin Kapetanovic.   DNEVNI AVAZ   - The United Nations delivers 35,000 tonnes of humanitarian wheat to Bosnia.   - Bosnian Serb opposition leader Predrag Radic considers economic situation in Republic of Srpska as catastrophic and accuses the ruling Serb Democratic Party of giving false promises and misinforming the people.   ---Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864.   CROATIA   VJESNIK   - OSCE may decide to postpone first Bosnian post-war elections due in September until spring.   Final decision is excpected on Tuesday.   - Following an agreement on mutual sub-regional arms control, team of Serbian military experts counted Croatian heavy artillery in eastern Croatia.   - Flights between Zagreb and Belgrade may resume as soon as Serbia recognises the authority of the so-called Flight Information Region (FIR) Zagreb which covers Croatia and Bosnia.   - Study odered by Dubrovacka Banka says the town will need $600 million to preserve its cultural heritage by the year 2000.   Half of the funds would have to come from abroad.   VECERNJI LIST   - Croatia soon to pass a new law on insurance of bank savings so far insured by the state.   Analysts speculate that a sum up to 5,000 German marks might be fully covered.   - Regular comercial flight between Zagreb and Sarajevo to start in September, after the first one in years which occured on Monday.   - Croatian economy has a lot to offer to Albania which has bacome a huge building site and imports everything from food to textile and furniture, says ambassador to Albania Mladen Juricic.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - Croatian government plans to spend one billion kuna on pro-natality aid programmes.   - January-July tourist figures show 10.5 million overnight stays, 6.1 million of which in July alone.   More than two million tourists registered.   - Australian Croat Ivan Zovko donates to the old country his stamp collection worth $1 million.   -- Zqagreb Newsroom, 385-1-4557075   CZECH REPUBLIC   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Eastward expansion of the EU will not take place before the year 2000, though this could also be delayed if the Union is not able to reform the Maastricht Treaty on continental integration.   - Omnipol a.s. intends to save Aero Vodochody a.s. though it insists that no company will invest in a firm with a three-billion crown debt.   - The state paid 500 million crowns to 41 pension funds in the second quarter of 1996.   Altogether, the state has paid out 870 million crowns to pension funds since the beginning of this year.   - The State Market Regulation Fund acknowledged the agreement reached by Agriculture Minister Josef Lux and Czech farmers on Friday.   According to the agreement, the state will purchase all wheat from farmers for 3,500 crowns a tonne.   - Kovosvit Sezimovo Usti a.s., the leading Czech producer of machine tools, wants to penetrate the prestigous American market.   PRAVO - A controlling block of shares in one of the two largest pension funds in the country, Podnikatelsky Penzijni Fond, may be purchased by the PPF financial group.   Sources from the group, however, deny this.   - The Slany-based firm Palaba has decided to sell its 30 percent stake in Ralston-Bateria Slany to Ralston, giving the American company a controlling 70-percent stake in the company.   MLADA FRONTA DNES - The Czech trade deficit grew by a monthly record of 16.4 billion crowns in July, pushing the total deficit up past 85 billion crowns for the first seven months of the year.   - The Ministry of Agriculture intends to extend the validity of high potato import duties at the request of local potato producers.   This is in spite of the fact that local potatoes will not increase in price.   - Economic trade between the Czech Republic and Austria is in a slump in spite of the fact that no trade restrictions exist between the two neighbours.   -- Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003   SLOVAKIA   SME - The paper says the state privatisation agency, the National Property Fund, is expected to approve the privatisation of another 40 companies on its Tuesday's session.   - Convicted Belgian rapist Marc Dutroux is suspected of having raped at least one young Slovak girl during his visits to Slovakia.   The girl has been missing ever since.   NARODNA OBRODA - The Confederation of Trade Unions (KOZ) demands an increase of wages by some 15 percent.   The government said such an increase is not probable this year.   - The government holds its regular session on Tuesday.   The preliminary agenda includes an analysis of causes of the worsnening trade balance.   - The government should also discuss changes to the current procedures of releasing of economic and financial information according to the International Monetary Fund standards.   PRAVDA - Some 1,985 illegal imigrants were caught attempting to cross Slovakia's borders in the first six months of the year.   Most of the imigrants were on their way to Germany.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Heavy engineering company ZTS TEES Martin launches production of construction mechanisms under licence from Komatsu-Hanomag.   -- Bratislava Newsroom, 42-7-210-3687   SLOVENIA   DELO   - Slovenia has already fulfilled all conditions for NATO membership but the decision on NATO enlargement will only be taken next year, said U.S. NATO representative Robert Hunter when visiting Slovenia on Monday.   - Slovenia's electricity producer and distributor said it has managed to overcome an electricity deficit by repairing the power plant Sostanj.   - Parliament is expected to take a vote on the replacement of state prosecutor Anton Drobnic in September.   The vote was initialled by the United List of Social Democrats, who claimed that the prosecutor's work was politically biassed.   - Health resorts Rogla and Zrece are Slovenia's most popular holiday destinations, Delo's opinion poll showed.   - Five candidates have applied for the post of general director of national radio and television station RTV.   Former director Zarko Petan retired this year.   - Most shop owners said shop opening times should be regulated more strictly in order to prevent independent shops being open throughout weekends and nights.   DNEVNIK   - Slovenia's Supreme Court is soon expected to reach a decision on the appeal of the owners of bank Komercialna banka Triglav (KBT), who say the bank should not be liquidated.   The Bank of Slovenia pushed for liquidation of KBT in July due to its liquidity problems.   - State-owned highway company DARS said it faced many problems negotiating the buy-outs of land on planned highway routes.   REPUBLIKA   - Local communities in Slovenia push for higher autonomy. 
4218 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  French police have arrested a Bulgarian businessman suspected by Sofia of obtaining $6 million by fraud, police sources said on Monday.   Ivo Nedialkov, aged 30 and former head of the East West International Holding Group which collapsed in 1994, was detained in the Riviera resort of Cannes on August 20.   Nedialkov disappeared from Bulgaria in December 1994 after the collapse of his firm and arrived in Cannes in early 1996, where he rented a luxury villa.   He had previously lived in Britain and Australia.   The target of an international arrest warrant, he is suspected of selling fictitious shares to private banks and to individual investors. 
4219 !C31 !CCAT !G15 !G151 !GCAT  The pricing of forest industry products will gradually shift towards Europe's new currency, the Euro, from the U.S. dollar, Matti Korhonen, head of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation, said on Tuesday.   Speaking at a seminar on medium and long-term prospects for the forest industry, he also said not only cost and price competitiveness would be decisive, but quality and ecological competitiveness, too.   Finland and Sweden, Europe's biggest forest industry producers, should join forces to meet the challenge posed by growing South-East Asian competitors on the global markets.   "Of the (European) forest industry's production inputs, energy and labour will be priced in Euros, not in Finnish markka or German marks, crowns or francs," Korhonen said in a prepared speech.   "When the inputs are in Euros, this must in the long run result in products being priced in the same currency," he said.   Euro-based credits would gradually replace dollar-credits because the latter entail exchange rate risk, he added.   Finland and Sweden should make it their joint cause to promote forest industry interests in the European Union, Korhonen said.   Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) would offer an opportunity to affect trade and environmental policies -- if we join forces with Sweden -- so that quality and ecological competitiveness will be important in the competition for market share against the growing South-East Asian forest industry, he said.   "EMU will affect cost and price competitiveness, but other overall competitiveness factors -- quality and ecological issues -- will decide the forest industry's future," Korhonen said.   --Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
4220 !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Finnish nominal wages rose 3.9 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 1996 after a 5.1 percent year-on-year rise in Q1, Statistics Finland (SF) said in a statement on Tuesday.    The real earnings index rose 3.2 percent year-on-year   compared to 4.5 percent rise in the previous quarter, SF said.   (Yr/yr changes in pct)    1996 1995    Q2  Q1  Q4  Q3  Q2    Nominal earnings +3.9  +5.1 +6.2 +4.4 +4.5    Real earnings  +3.2  +4.5 +5.9 +3.9 +3.2   In the second quarter, private sector nominal wages rose 3.8 percent, local government nominal wages 4.0 percent and state sector nominal wages 3.3 percent, SF said.   In Q2, the average monthly salary for regular eight hours per day, five days per week work was about 10,600 markka.   Men continued to earn more than women -- 11,600 markka on average per month against little less than 9,500 markka, SF said.   --Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
4221 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Armed hijackers, believed to be Iraqis, freed 140 of the 199 passengers and crew aboard a Sudan Airways plane on Tuesday after it was seized on a flight from Khartoum to Amman and diverted to Britain.   Police at Stansted airport near London spoke of a "controlled release" of hostages in batches of 10 at a time and said they hoped the rest would soon be freed.   The six or seven hijackers, who have said they seek asylum in Britain, are Iraqi nationals believed to be armed with grenades and possibly other explosives, according to police.   The hijackers, who were still on board, earlier threatened to blow up the aircraft during a refuelling stop in Cyprus.   "They're definitely Iraqi," police spokeswoman Kim White told reporters.   They also had their families with them.   A police commander, Roger Grimwade, said the captors had made various requests of police negotiators but stepped back from reports conveyed by other police spokesman that they had demanded to meet a leader of the Iraqi Community Association in London named as Mr Sadiki.   Grimwade was also unable to comment on speculation that the Iraqis were diplomats based in Khartoum who were seeking to defect rather than return to Baghdad.   The hijackers started to release their captives about two hours after the Airbus 310 airliner arrived at Stansted from Cyprus, where it was refuelled, at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT).   Police said the passengers who disembarked, led by the elderly and mothers with small children, were very calm and collected despite their ordeal.   Two sick passengers were taken away in ambulances, but police said their illnesses were not related to the way they had been treated by the hijackers.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   During the stop in Cyprus, the hijackers told police they wanted to claim political asylum in Britain and would release the passengers once they landed in London.   Those who were released were being interviewed by police who were attempting to gather information about the hijackers.   Specially trained British negotiators established telephone contact via the airliner's captain within an hour of the aircraft touching down at Stansted, which is about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital.   The plane was parked at a remote part of the airport two miles (three km) from the main terminal.   White said that most of the passengers were Sudanese but that there were also an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   Sudan's Islamist military government, which the United States has accused of sponsoring "state terrorism", has a broad array of political opponents and is waging a bitter war against separatist rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south.   The Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and said only: "I will blow the plane up."   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4222 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Hijackers began to release hostages on Tuesday from a Sudan Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew that landed at London's Stansted airport.   Police said 40 passengers, mostly women and children, had been freed from the Airbus 310 airliner in a "controlled release" by 7.30 a.m. (0630 GMT), three hours after it arrived from Cyprus.   Two sick passengers were taken away in ambulances, but police said their illnesses were not related to the way they had been treated by the hijackers.   One woman appeared to collapse in the aircraft doorway before picking herself up and walking down the steps.   Two elderly passengers were helped down the steps by a crew member.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   British police said there were six or seven hijackers on board armed with grenades and possibly other explosives.   During a refuelling stop in Cyprus, the unidentified hijackers told police they wanted to claim political asylum in Britain and would release the passengers once they landed in London.   However, British police said the hijackers, thought to be from Sudan or the Middle East and to have their whole families with them on board the plane, had issued just one demand -- that they be allowed to speak to an unidentified fellow countryman who is based in London.   They had not asked for food or water.   "The only demand that they have made so far is to speak to this fellow countryman," said Kim White, a spokeswoman for Essex police, the force with responsibility for Stansted.   "They have given us a name and we are making efforts to contact the man.   Everyone seems calm and collected, considering the circumstances."   Released passengers were being interviewed by police who were attempting to gather information about the hijackers.   Specially trained British negotiators established telephone contact via the airliner's captain within an hour of the aircraft touching down at Stansted, which is about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital.   The plane was parked at a remote part of the airport two miles (three km) from the main terminal.   White said that most of the passengers were Sudanese but that there were also an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   Sudan's Islamist military government, which the United States has accused of sponsoring "state terrorism", has a broad array of political opponents and is waging a bitter war against separatist rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south.   Police in Cyprus said that at least one of the hijackers had apparently been armed with grenades and TNT and threatened to blow the aircraft up unless it flew to Britain so they could claim political asylum.   The Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and said only: "I will blow the plane up."   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4223 !GCAT !GVIO  Small groups of people were allowed to leave a Sudan Airways plane hijacked to London's Stansted airport on Tuesday with 199 passengers and crew on board.   Reporters saw at least 12 people, mostly women and children, descend the steps of the Airbus 310 just before 6.30 a.m. (0530 GMT), two hours after it arrived from Cyprus.   One woman appeared to collapse in the aircraft doorway before picking herself up and walking down the steps.   Two elderly passengers were helped down the steps by a crew member.   A police spokeswoman said two groups of about 10 people had been allowed to leave the plane, including two who were ill.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   Hijackers said they had explosive on board and threatened to blow up the aircraft.   The unidentified hijackers earlier told police in Cyprus they would release the passengers once they landed in London.   They said they wanted to claim political asylum in Britain.   British police said the hijackers had, however, issued just one demand -- that they be allowed to speak to an unidentified fellow countryman based in London.   "The only demand that they have made so far is to speak to this fellow countryman," said Kim White, a spokeswoman for Essex police, the force with responsibility for Stansted.   "My understanding is that they actually have their whole familes on board."   Specially trained British negotiators established telephone contact via the airliner's captain with the unidentified hijackers within an hour of the aircraft touching down.   The plane was parked at a remote part of the airport two miles (three km) from the main terminal.   White said that most of the passengers were Sudanese but that there were also an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   Police in Cyprus, where the plane took on fuel, said earlier that at least one of the hijackers was apparently armed with grenades and TNT and had threatened to blow the aircraft up unless it flew to Britain so they could claim political asylum. 
4224 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  British police began negotiating early on Tuesday with hijackers who diverted a Sudan Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board to London and who were reported to want political asylum in Britain.   "Everybody is calm and there is nothing untoward on the plane," police Chief Inspector Roger Grimwade told reporters.   "We would hope to have reached a peaceful conclusion within two or three hours."   The passengers, said by the police to be Sudanese and from Middle Eastern countries, were on their way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday when the plane was diverted to Cyprus for refuelling and then to London.   Specially trained negotiators established telephone contact with the unidentified hijackers within an hour of the Airbus 310 Flight 150 touching down at London's Stansted airport at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after a flight from Cyprus.   "Negotiations have begun or are certainly in the process of being established," Kim White, a spokeswoman for Essex police, the force with responsibility for Stansted, said as dawn broke.   A forward door was opened on the plane, which was parked at a remote part of the airport two miles (three km) from the main terminal, and reporters on the scene could see figures moving in the doorway.   White said that most of the passengers were Sudanese but that there were also an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   Two buses stood by in the hope that the hijackers would make good on their promise, reported earlier by police in Cyprus, to release the passengers once they landed in London.   Police in Cyprus, where the plane took on fuel, said earlier that at least one of the hijackers was apparently armed with grenades and TNT and had threatened to blow the aircraft up unless it flew to Britain so they could claim political asylum.   "They will surrender the passengers there and surrender themselves," police spokesman Glafcos Xenos told reporters at Larnaca airport.   Armed police kept watch on the plane, but White said there were no plans to call in the army or members of Britain's crack SAS special forces.   There was no immediate word on the motives or even the number of the hijackers.   White said police only knew for sure of one hijacker, who was armed.   Sudan's Islamist military government, which the United States has accused of sponsoring "state terrorism", has a broad array of political opponents and is waging a bitter war against separatist rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south.   Earlier, Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and was quoted as saying: "I will blow the plane up."   The hijackers had wanted to fly to Heathrow, London's main airport, but the British authorities directed the plane instead to Stansted, about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital.   Stansted is the preferred option for handling hijackings in southern England because it is more remote than Heathrow and Gatwick, London's other main airport, and handles less traffic.   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4225 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  A Sudan Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board landed in London early on Tuesday after being seized by hijackers who were reported to want political asylum in Britain.   Reporters saw the Airbus 310 Flight 150, which was hijacked on Monday evening on its way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman, land at Stansted airport at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after a flight of more than four hours.   Police in Cyprus, where the plane took on fuel, said earlier that at least one of the unidentified hijackers was apparently armed with grenades and TNT and had threatened to blow the aircraft up unless it was refuelled so they could fly to Britain to claim political asylum.   "They will surrender the passengers there and surrender themselves," police spokesman Glafcos Xenos told reporters at Larnaca airport.   Security was tight at Stansted airport, London's third-biggest airport, which is about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the capital.   Stansted has been designated the preferred option for handling hijackings in southern England because it is more remote than Heathrow and Gatwick, London's two major airports, and handles less air traffic.   The identity, number and motives of the hijackers were not immediately known.   Sudan's Islamist military government, which the United States has accused of sponsoring "state terrorism", has a broad array of political opponents and is waging a bitter war against separatist rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south.   Earlier, Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and was quoted as saying: "I will blow the plane up."   One of the hijackers negotiated through the pilot in English.   The pilot said several hijackers appeared to be placed around the plane.   The Cypriot police spokesman defended the decision by Cypriot authorities to refuel the plane and let it fly to London, saying they could not risk the lives of those on board.   "They ordered us to refuel the plane, otherwise they were going to blow it up...They had hand grenades," Xenos said.   "All possible measures were taken but the hijackers refused to negotiate.   We tried our best," Xenos said.   Cyprus initially refused permission for the plane to land but let it touch down when the pilot said he was running out of fuel.   Egypt had earlier stopped it from landing, Cypriot officials said.   They sent a message to Khartoum asking for a passenger list but got no reply, police said.   The plane was believed to have 186 passengers and 13 crew on board.   There were no reports of injuries, Xenos said.   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4226 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  A hijacked Sudan Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board headed early on Tuesday for London on the orders of armed hijackers who were reported to want political asylum in Britain.   The Airbus 310 Flight 150 was hijacked on its way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday evening and landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus to refuel.   One hijacker was apparently armed with grenades and TNT and threatened to blow the plane up unless it was refuelled and they were taken to London so they could claim political asylum.   "They will surrender the passengers there and surrender themselves," police spokesman Glafcos Xenos told reporters at Larnaca airport.   The identity, number and motives of the hijackers were not immediately known.   Sudan's Islamist military government, which the United States has accused of sponsoring "state terrorism", has a broad array of political opponents and is waging a bitter war against separatist rebels in the mainly Christian and animist south.   The plane was expected to land at Stansted, London's third airport 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital, at about 4 a.m. (0300 GMT).   "That is the plan at the moment.   That is where the plane is being directed to," Ruth Collin of Essex police, the force responsible for Stansted, said.   British officials said they would much prefer to deal with a hijacking at Stansted because of its relatively remote location and because air traffic would be less badly disrupted there than at Heathrow or Gatwick airports.   They said police and emergency services were implementing a well-rehearsed contingency plan to handle the hijacking.   Earlier, Cypriot authorities tried to negotiate through the pilot with one of the hijackers, asking him to release all women and children on board before refuelling.   But he refused and was quoted as saying: "I will blow the plane up."   One of the hijackers negotiated through the pilot in English.   The pilot said several hijackers appeared to be placed around the plane.   The Cypriot police spokesman defended the decision by Cypriot authorities to refuel the plane and let it fly to London, saying they could not risk the lives of those on board.   "They ordered us to refuel the plane, otherwise they were going to blow it up...They had hand grenades," Xenos said.   "All possible measures were taken but the hijackers refused to negotiate.   We tried our best," Xenos said.   Cyprus initially refused permission for the plane to land but let it touch down when the pilot said he was running out of fuel.   Egypt had earlier stopped it from landing, Cypriot officials said.   They sent a message to Khartoum asking for a passenger list but got no reply, police said.   The plane was believed to have 186 passengers and 13 crew on board.   There were no reports of injuries, Xenos said.   It was the second hijacking this year involving a Sudanese airliner.   On March 24, a Sudan Airways Airbus A320 plane carrying 40 passengers and crew on an internal flight was hijacked to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, where the two Sudanese hijackers surrendered and sought political asylum. 
4227 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   DAILY TELEGRAPH   -- NEW WORLD MAKES BT SEE RED   New World Payphones, a small rival to British Telecom, is to open its first red phone box in London.   The company is locked in a legal battle with BT over green phone boxes.   New World claims its larger rival tried to upstage it last month by announcing a new red box on the same day it produced its own red version with a pyramid-shaped roof.   BT has been awarded an injunction against New World to halt the installation of a green box it alleges is based on the red design.   -- FIRSTBUS TO BID FOR BULK OF RAIL FRANCHISES   Britain's largest bus operator, Firstbus, is to bid for nearly all of the 12 remaining franchises being offered under the rail privatisation.   The company had been selective in bidding for rail operating companies but has now confirmed it is changing its approach for the final 12 of the 25 train operating companies.   However, Stagecoach, the bus company also expanding into rail, has declared it will also bid for all 12 companies.   -- CLARKE URGED TO TOE BANK LINE ON RATES   According to Patrick Moon, a UK economist at Lloyds Bank, the credibility of economic policy could be threatened by disagreements between chancellor Kenneth Clarke and the governor of the Bank of England Eddie George over interest rate policy.   Mr Moon believes the chancellor should resist the temptation to cut interest rates against the advice of Mr George.   Mr Clarke and Mr George have disagreed on about half the occasions on which an interest rate change has been made.   THE TIMES   -- NEILSON COBBOLD TAKEOVER MAY SEE 3.1 MILLION STG BONUS   Viscount Lifford, a director of the Liverpool stockbroker Neilson Cobbold, is in line for a 3.1 million stg bonus as part of the takeover of the firm by the financial services group Rathbone Brothers.   This is one of the incentives being given to the senior staff at Neilson as part of the offer from Rathbone, which values the company at only 7.5 million stg.   The incentives far exceed the guidelines set by the Greenbury committee on executive pay.   -- US TELECOMS DEAL CREATES 23 BILLION DOLLAR GROUP   The takeover by WorldCom of MFS Communications will create one of the largest telecoms groups in the US.   The company will provide long-distance and local phone services and Internet access.   It has a market capitalisation of 23 billion dollars, and annual revenues of 5.4 billion stg, which are growing by 30 percent a year.   This marks the third big deal in the industry this year as companies try to protect their positions in the local and long-distance markets as the market is deregulated.   -- LAWYERS STUDY PEACE PLAN FOR TROUBLED TOBACCO FIRMS   US lawmakers are preparing legislation that could end the large amount of lawsuits brought against the tobacco industry by former workers.   The plan will give the industry immunity from legal action and regulation by the Food and Drug Administration for 15 years.   Tobacco companies will give the government large sums of money to be used to cover the medical costs of smoking, anti-smoking campaigns and some reimbursement for individuals suffering form tobacco-related diseases.   THE GUARDIAN   -- CBI SEEKS VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEE POWER CODE   The CBI is trying to tackle job insecurity and head off Labour Party plans for compulsory works councils by drafting a new corporate benchmark for employee involvement.   CBI members want to use a voluntary code to persuade firms to consult staff because of concern that calls for worker participation in business decisions will lead to government interference in employers' rights to manage.   -- RURAL JOBLESS SET TO LOSE 10 PERCENT OF THEIR BENEFIT   According to experts at the independent Unemployment Unit, jobless people living in rural areas will lose more than 10 percent of their benefit and be forced to travel for up to four hours to sign on under the new Job Seekers' Allowance.   They say the small print of the JSA will halve the number of people who can claim their benefit by post to 60,000.   The JSA does not compensate for infrequent bus or train services and these journeys could cost about five pounds stg.   -- SMITH'S WILL NEED TO BE CONVINCING   WH Smith's new chairman, Bill Cockburn, needs to convince the City tomorrow that his group has turned over a new leaf.   He is to announce the first full-year loss in the group's history.   Since becoming chief executive he has sold the company's stake in the loss making Do-It-All chain, cut the number of business suppliers and made more than 1,000 staff redundant.   The bill for reconstructuring should result in a full-year loss of about 200 million stg.   THE INDEPENDENT   -- CHANNEL FOUR SALE 'WOULD RAISE LESS THAN ONE BILLION STG'   Anthony Fry, a senior City merchant banker with BZW, claims Channel Four would be worth less than one billion stg if it were privatised.   He commented during the Edinburgh International Television Festival yesterday.   The Treasury has proposed a sell-off as a way to raise revenues to fund tax cuts, and could be part of the next Conservative Party manifesto.   Channel Four chief executive Michael Grade vowed to fight the sell-off.   -- LENDERS USE LOAN DEALS TO INFLATE PROFITS   Some of the biggest mortgage lenders in Britain are set to boost their financial returns by spreading the cost of special incentives given to borrowers over several years.   By amortising mortgage discounts, cash-backs and other special deals paid to customers, building societies and some banks can report profits that are tens of millions of pounds higher than their rivals.   -- UK SMALL BUSINESSES CONFIDENT ABOUT FUTURE   It has emerged that Britain's small businesses are some of the most confident in western Europe, providing further evidence that the economy is picking up.   There has been a large increase in optimism among British entrepreneurs about the commercial environment in the first six months of this year, despite the increasingly gloomy outlook being faced by most of their colleagues on the Continent.   BMC +44-171-377-1742 
4228 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   -- TELECOM GROUPS IN 20 BILLION DOLLAR DEAL   WorldCom and MFS Communications, two leading and fast growing US telecommunications companies, have announced a 20 billion dollar merger, aimed partly at providing them with the resources to fully exploit the European business market.   MFS has already developed a fibre optic network in the London area and owns the country's largest Internet access provider, Unipalm Piper.   The all-equity deal with WorldCom follows the recent passing of legislation to deregulate the US telecoms market.   -- BANKS FUEL CITY DEVELOPMENTS   There are signs that banks are once moer willing to provide finance for office development projects in the City of London.   This had since the late 1980's been a sector avoided after over- supply led to the collapse of property values and a series of bad loans.   One developer, Greycoat, has recently raised the requisite finance from banks for two speculative developments in the area, both of which are expected to be completed by the end of next year.   -- LLOYD'S ASSETS MAY BE FROZEN BY US REGULATOR   Lloyd's of London is facing several potentially damaging challenges in the US to its planned 3.2 billion stg recovery package.   In the latest blow, the New York insurance regulator has warned it may take action to freeze the market's US-based funds amidst a continuing row over the amount of information being provided to local investors regarding the recovery plans.   Lloyd's is also attempting to overturn a judgement in the state of Virginia that could place the recovery proposals on hold.   -- BIOTECH HIGH-FLYERS POISED FOR BIG BOOST IN SHARES   A change in the rules of the Association of British Insurers relating to the value of options offered to executives could result in UK biotechnology companies offering millions of pounds in additional options to senior staff.   The ABI is effectively letting the sector breach its own guidelines having been informed by the industry that it needs to offer more incentives to attract top-class executives from within the pharmaceutical sector.   The ABI also has said other sectors that can demonstrate similar problems may be also be allowed exemptions.   -- CASTLEMAINE LICENCE COULD BE REVIEWED AFTER BASS DEAL   It is reported that if the planned purchase of Carlsberg- Tetley by Bass proceeds, the brewer could face a review of its current licence to produce and sell Castlemaine XXXX lager in Britain.   The licence is now held by Carlsberg-Tetley, but provisions of the agreement mean it comes under review by original brand owner Lion Nathan of New Zealand if control of the licensee changes.   Castlemaine is the 11th best selling lager in the country.   -- CONSORTIUM EYES 2 BILLION DOLLAR POWER COMPLEX IN TURKEY   An international consortium including Royal Dutch/Shell, MW Kellogg and Mitsubishi Corporation has announced it is planning to develop a natural gas and power plant facility in Turkey.   The 2.4 billion dollar facility is expected to make a significant contribution to the growing power requirements of the country and is seen as a sign of a return of investor confidence in Turkey just months after the coming to power of an Islamist-led coalition government.   -- CASH MACHINES MOVE CLOSER TOWARDS ACCEPTING ALL CARDS   British banks are reported to be moving towards adopting a system that will let any UK cash machine card access all of the country's ATMs.   At present, alliances between various banks mean only certain cards will be accepted by a range of cash machines.   The universal system already exists severalcountries including France and Austria.   The lead is being set by Lloyds TSB that once it has achieved full integration of its merged systems will let customers access all three of the country's main ATM networks.   Other banks will inevitably follow suit.   -- FALL IN CONSTRUCTION HITS EQUIPMENT SALES   The London consultancy Off-Highway Research has warned that sales of construction equipment will decline in Britain next year more sharply than in other western European states.   The trend is attributed to a building sector that remains depressed as well as a fall in the number of road building projects.   Sales next year are expected to fall 5.2 percent.   The decline comes in the wake of a period of rapid expansion since the early 1990's.   -- JAPANESE GROUP SHIFTS PRODUCTION   Shimadzu, a leading Japanese manufacturer of scientific equipment, is reported to be planning to move some of its production from Japan to Britain.   The company trades in Britain under the Kratos brand and is based in Manchester.   Initially the shift will involve just two products -- machines used in the semiconductor industry.   Three years ago the company shed 200 local staff after a change in strategy that meant it bought in some components it had previously manufactured itself.   -- OIL COMPANIES ADMIT BADLY TIMED HEDGING   Several independent oil exploration and production companies are reported to have suffered declines in revenue stemming from errors of judgement made in hedging policies.   The companies had made use of hedging to offset an expected slump in oil prices.   However, prices this year have remained high, and the impact is expected to show up when most of those in the sector announce interim results over the next month.   For a full range of news monitoring services, phone BMC +44-171-377-1742 
4229 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Armed hijackers believed to be Iraqis released 140 people on Tuesday from a Sudan Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew that landed in London after being diverted on a flight from Khartoum to Amman, police said.    Police spokesman Roger Grimwade said the six or seven hijackers remained on board the aircraft, which arrived from Cyprus at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT).   He said they had made various requests to police negotiators but stepped back from earlier suggestions that the hijackers had asked to speak to a British-based Iraqi police named as Mr Sadiki.   The hijackers, who have said they want to seek asylum in Britain, are believed to be armed with grenades and possibly other explosives, according to police.   They earlier threatened to blow up the aircraft.   The Airbus A310 was diverted first to Cyprus, then to Britain. 
4230 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Rail passengers in Britain faced another day of travel chaos on Tuesday due to a second strike by train crews which has crippled many services across the country.   Guards, conductors, ticket inspectors and catering workers belonging to the Rail, Maritime and Transport union staged a 24-hour walk-out in disputes over pay and refreshment breaks.   Commuters returning to work in several urban regions after a long holiday weekend found emergency timetables in operation and in some areas buses provided cover for cancelled trains.   The seven operators involved in the disputes -- ScotRail, South Wales and West Railways, Regional Railways North East, North West Regional Railways, North London Railways, CrossCountry Trains and Merseyrail -- said disruption would be as bad as during last Friday's 24-hour strike.   None of the seven train operating companies involved is privatised yet but all are due to franchised over coming months as part of Britain's planned privatisation of all 25 such firms.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
4231 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in two London-based Arabic-language newspapers on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-HAYAT   - Iran challenges U.S. mediation between Iraqi Kurds, affirms that Kurds have sought its help.   - Saudi Industrial Development Fund extends $16 million loan to the National Company for Glass Industries Co Ltd.   - Saudi Arabia is expected to increase production of water desalination to 800 million gallons per day in the five-year plan which started in 1995.   ASHARQ AL-AWSAT   - Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan's visit to Yemen will help boost bilateral relations.   Prince Sultan is due in Sanaa on Wednesday.   - Yemeni President affirms his government's readiness to meet investors need.   - Kuwaiti Airways projects a 221 million Kuwaiti dinar income for the new 1996/97 fiscal year. 
4232 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Several people were seen by eyewitnesses on Tuesday to leave a hijacked Sudan Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew that earlier landed at London's Stansted airport.    Reporters saw about 10 people come down the steps from the Airbus 310 just before 6.30 a.m, two hours after the aircraft landed from Cyprus.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   The unidentified hijackers had told police in Cyprus they would release the passengers once they landed in London.   They said they wanted to claim political asylum in Britain.   British police said the hijackers had issued just one demand -- that they be allowed to speak to an unidentified fellow countryman who is in London. 
4233 !GCAT !GVIO  British police said early on Tuesday they had started to negotiate with the hijackers of a Sudan Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board who were reported to want political asylum in Britain.   Specially trained negotiators established telephone contact with the unidentified hijackers within an hour of the Airbus 310 Flight 150 touching down at Stansted airport near London at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after a flight from Cyprus.    "Negotiations have begun or are certainly in the process of being established," said Kim White, a spokeswoman for Essex police, the force with responsibility for Stansted.   The plane was hijacked on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   White said that most of the passengers on board were Sudanese but that there were also an unknown number of Iraqis, Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Saudis.   The plane was believed to have 186 passengers and 13 crew on board.   There were no reports of injuries. 
4234 !GCAT !GVIO  A hijacked Sudan Airways plane carrying 199 passengers and crew landed at Stansted airport just outside London early on Tuesday morning after flying from Cyprus, eyewitnesses said.   The Airbus 310 Flight 150, which was hijacked on Monday evening on its way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman, landed at 4.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) after a flight of more than four hours.    At least one of the unidentified hijackers was apparently armed with grenades and TNT and threatened to blow the plane up in Cyprus unless it was refuelled so they could fly to Britain to claim political asylum.   "They will surrender the passengers there and surrender themselves," police spokesman Glafcos Xenos told reporters at Cyprus's Larnaca airport.   Security was tight at Stansted airport, which is about 30 miles (50 km) northeast of the capital.   Stansted has been designated as the preferred option for handling hijackings in southern England because it is more remote than Heathrow and Gatwick, London's two major airports, and handles less air traffic. 
4235 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  The following is a list of some of the world's most noteworthy and most recent hijackings:   February, 1931 -- The first recorded hijacking of an airliner took place in Peru.   July, 1948 -- First hijacking in Asia, when a Cathay Pacific Catalina plane from Macao to Hong Kong was boarded by four Chinese hijackers.   The pilot and co-pilot were killed and the plane crashed into the sea killing 25 aboard.   April, 1958 -- Start of the "Cuban shuttle".   A Cubana airlines plane was flown to Mexico starting a two-way flow of hijacked planes between Cuba, the United States and Mexico.   August, 1960 -- First reported hijacking in the Soviet Union.   Details were not released as Soviet data was secret.   July, 1968 - First Arab-Israeli incident and first in a series of political hijackings when three Arabs seized an El-Al Israeli plane in Rome and forced it to fly to Algiers.   September, 1970 - Palestinian guerrillas seized three Western airliners, forcing them to land in Jordan where the planes were blown up.   All hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.   September, 1974 - An Air Vietnam plane was hijacked leaving Danang by a lone man demanding to go to Hanoi.   He detonated two hand grenades and all 70 aboard were killed in the crash.   July, 1976 - Two Palestinians and two Europeans hijacked an Air France Airbus with 244 passengers and 12 crew to Uganda.   They released 153 non-Jewish passengers and Israeli commandos rescued the others in a long-range operation.   February, 1978 - Two Arab guerrillas seized an airliner at Larnaca, Cyprus.   Egyptian commandos flew in uninvited to try to storm the plane during negotiations.   Cyprus National Guardsmen resisted them and 15 Egyptians died in a 45-minute battle.   August, 1980 - A total of 168 hijackers seized a Braniff airliner in Peru demanding to fly to Miami.   After they gave up the United States agreed to expedite their emigration papers.   June, 1985 - Two Lebanese Shi'ite gunmen hijacked a TWA flight out of Athens with 153 aboard.   The hijack ended 16 days later at Beirut airport with one killed and 39 Americans freed.   November, 1985 - Palestinians hijacked an Egyptair plane to Malta.   Egyptian commandos stormed the plane and 59 people died.   September 5, 1986 - Twenty-two people died when Pakistani security forces stormed a Pan Am Boeing 747 carrying 400 passengers and crew to end a 16-hour siege which began after four Palestinian hijackers slipped on board at Karachi.   March 8, 1988 - Two Siberians pulled shotguns from musical instrument cases and demanded to be flown to London.   The Tupolev 154 landed instead at a military airfield near Leningrad where nine people died when security forces stormed it.   April 5, 1988 - Arab gunmen seized a Kuwait Airways Boeing 747 carrying 115 passengers and killed two Kuwaitis.   The hijack was abandoned on April 20 in Algiers.   January 26, 1990 - Four gunmen tried to hijack an Iran Air Boeing 727 but were killed by security guards in a mid-air shootout over southern Iran.   August 20, 1990 - Eleven Soviet convicts surrendered to security forces after overpowering their guards and forcing an Aeroflot Tu-154 with 101 passengers and crew to fly to Karachi.   October 2, 1990 - Hijackers seized a Chinese Airways Boeing 737 aircraft with 94 passengers and 10 crew after it left Xiamen but it crashed as it tried to land in Canton, killing 128.   October 10, 1990 - Two Burmese youths surrendered at Calcutta airport after hijacking a Thai Airbus with 204 passengers and 17 crew to press demands for an end to military rule in their country.   March, 1991 - Four Pakistanis seized a Singaporean Airbus on a flight to Singapore to demand the release of Benazir Bhutto's husband.   Singaporean commandos stormed the plane with 114 passengers and nine crew and shot dead all four hijackers.   March 18, 1993 - Security forces stormed a hijacked Ethiopian Airlines plane at Dire Dawa in eastern Ethiopia, killing two of four hijackers and a woman passenger.   October 25, 1993 - A Nigerian Airbus 310 was hijacked on an internal flight and forced to fly to Niamey, Niger, where 129 of the 149 passengers and crew were released.   Niger security forces stormed the plane, freeing the passengers but killing a crewman.   October 25, 1994 - An armed men seized a Yak-40 with 27 passengers on a flight to Rostov.   Thirteen passengers were freed after it landed in Dagestan and the remainder once Russian authorities had paid a ransom of $2.3 million.   One hijacker blew himself up when police commandos stormed the plane.   November 13, 1994 - Three Algerians armed with hammers diverted an internal flight with 42 people on board to Majorca, where they asked for asylum.   November 24, 1994 - A 36-year-old man from Russia's far north took control of a Tu-134 on a flight from Syktyvkar to Minsk and diverted it to Estonia.   He threatened to blow up the plane but released the 69 passengers and crew unharmed.   December 24, 1994 - A French Airbus A-300 was hijacked at Algiers airport by four men demanding the release of jailed opposition leaders.   French elite police stormed it in Marseille, killing the hijackers.   Three passengers also died.   September 19, 1995 - An airline steward used a gun and explosives to divert an Iranian internal flight to Israel, where he asked for asylum in the United States.   All 176 passengers and crew were returned to Iran.   March 8, 1996 - A 20-year-old Turkish waiter diverted a plane on a northern Cyprus-Istanbul flight with 147 passengers and crew to Munich to gain sympathy for the cause of Chechen independence.   He was armed with only a toy pistol.   March 24, 1996 - A Sudanese Airbus A320 carrying 40 passengers and crew was hijacked to Eritrea.   The two Sudanese hijackers sought political asylum in Eritrea.   March 27, 1996 - Three Egyptians with Molotov cocktails forced an EgyptAir Airbus 320 leaving Luxor with 147 passengers and crew to fly to Libya, saying they had a divine message for world leaders.   They surrendered five hours later in Libya.   July 26, 1996 - An Iberia DC-10 was hijacked en route from Madrid to Havana carrying 231 passengers and crew.   It landed in Miami and a man was later accused of using a fake bomb and a makeshift knife to hijack it.   August 16, 1996 - Three Cubans used a knife to force the pilot of a small plane to fly to Florida, where the aircraft crashed into the Gulf of Mexico.   All four Cubans were rescued. 
4236 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  A hijacked Sudan Airways plane with 199 passengers and crew on board was expected to land at London's Stansted airport later on Tuesday morning, a police spokeswoman said.   "That is the plan at the moment.   That is where the plane is being directed to," Ruth Collin of Essex police, the force responsible for Stansted, said.   Stansted, London's third-busiest airport after Heathrow and Gatwick, is located about 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the capital.   British officials said they would much prefer to deal with a hijacking at Stansted because of its relatively remote location and because air traffic would be less badly disrupted there than at Heathrow or Gatwick.   They said police and the emergency services were implementing a well-rehearsed contingency plan to handle the hijacking.   The armed hijackers of the Airbus 310 Flight 150, which is expected to arrive about 4 a.m. (0300 GMT), have said they intend to surrender and seek political asylum in Britain.   The plane was hijacked on its way from Khartoum to the Jordanian capital Amman on Monday evening and landed at Larnaca airport in Cyprus to refuel.   The identity and number of the hijackers was not known.   One of them negotiated through the pilot in English.   The pilot said several hijackers appeared to be placed around the plane. 
4237 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  A conman who painted common Australian parrots with dye to make them look like rare birds worth thousands of dollars was jailed for fraud on Tuesday.   Denham Peiris painted six green parrots, worth about A$100 (US$79) a pair, with a cinnamon hair dye and traded them as Indian Ringneck Parrots, valued at A$14,000 a pair.   Peiris, 32, of Perth, was sentenced in the Western Australian District Court to two years in jail for fraud after trading three pairs of impostor birds for 21 parrots worth a total of A$28,000.   "Everyone was fooled," said pet shop owner Shane Drew, who unknowingly traded the disguised birds.   "I'd already had three local breeders have a look at them and sent photos and videos of the birds to the eastern states for authentication -- they said they're nice birds," Drew told reporters outside court.   "After I was told they were dyed, I checked them over again.   It was a perfect paint job except for one feather under a wing of one bird that was only half dyed," Drew said.   Drew said Peiris, a bird enthusiast, would have succeeded with the fraud if he had not tried to trade a fourth pair of bogus birds after an associate had told police of the scam.   If not for the informant, the painted parrots' true colours would not have been known for six months, he said.   "They moult in the summer, so five or six months down the track, I would have looked like the guilty party," Drew said. 
4238 !GCAT !GSPO  New South Wales rugby union coach Chris Hawkins has resigned at the end of his first season because of business commitments, officials said on Tuesday.   Hawkins, whose side failed to reach the semifinals in the inaugural Super 12 competition, left on amicable terms, New South Wales Rugby Union chairman Ian Ferrier said.   "Chris' business commitments make it difficult for him to embrace the coaching job on a full-time basis which is an essential element of the position given the year-round nature of preparing a team for professional provincial rugby," Ferrier said in a statement.   Ferrier said the union would begin the search for Hawkins' replacement in the near future.   New South Wales were rated among the favourites for the southern hemisphere Super 12 competition involving provincial sides from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.   Auckland defeated Natal in the Super 12 final in May. 
4239 !GCAT !GDEF  Australian Defence Minister Ian Mclachlan announced on Tuesday a review of the previous government's decision to build an armaments depot at an environmentally sensitive site on the Victorian coast.   Mclachlan said the East Coast Armament Complex, approved by the previous Labor government at Point Wilson, needed further investigation by the Defence Department.   The proposed site is inhabited in winter by the rare and endangered orange-bellied parrot.   "Although the previous government approved the complex in January this year, I believe we can usefully look at the shape of the facility more closely," Mclachlan said in a statement.   In January, an independent public inquiry conditionally approved the depot, saying it should take measures to reduce the project's environmental impact.   The review will consider more economical methods of providing an ammunitioning and de-ammunitioning service to navy ships at Point Wilson, he said.   The review's findings are due this year.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
4240 !C11 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Kiwi International Airlines is embarking on a number of initiatives to improve operating efficiency, a restructuring that is likely to result in job losses, chief executive Ewan Wilson said on Tuesday.   "Kiwi International has been through a very difficult period in recent times, largely caused by circumstances beyond the control of the airline," he said in a statement.   "We do concede that we may have grown a little too quickly, but there have also been events such as the ash cloud from Mount Ruapehu, air traffic controller's curfews, fog and mechanical breakdowns which have severely affected Kiwi's flight   operations."   Wilson said before any final decisions were made staff were being given the chance to contribute to the decision-making process on future efficiencies for the airline.   Kiwi International is undertaking a review of its flight schedule, fare structure and staffing levels.   Wilson said the airline was committed to keeping its head office in Hamilton.   He said although Kiwi might have to make some hard decisions, there was no doubt it had an extremely bright future.    "At the moment our customers and our staff are most important to Kiwi in equal priority.   Both have shown tremendous loyalty to the airline, especially in the last year, and Kiwi is determined to provide for both groups as best as it possibly can in the time ahead," Wilson said.   --Wellington Newsroom (64 4) 4734746 
4241 !C11 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  National Australia Bank (NAB) Ltd Managing Director Don Argus said on Tuesday that NAB had begun an extensive training programme worldwide for its 52,000 staff to instill them with the company's core values.   Argus said a previous attempt to inculcate core values such as professionalism and quality across NAB's new operations in Ireland, Britain, New Zealand, the United States and Australia had failed because many employees were sceptical about management's committment to them.    "To ensure there is a group-wide understanding of these values and the manner in which the associated behaviours can and should be applied, we have begun a training programme that will ultimately involve all of our more than 52,000 employees throughout the group," Argus said in a speech to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia.   "All of these internal programmes have a principal objective of establishing and continually renewing a shared values framework that underpins every aspect of our group operations," he said. 
4242 !GCAT !GPOL  The polls look marvellous for the Australian government and show no evidence of the budget dealing a body blow to its electoral standing.   The government's lead has certainly fallen in the past few weeks, but it is difficult to separate the movement from the predictable fading of its honeymoon, which peaked at 18 points in May.   The Reuters Poll Trend -- a smoothed average of the Newspoll, Morgan and McNair polls -- shows the government about 10 points ahead on primary support last weekend, down from 13 or 14 a month before.   (See tabulated data in separate Reuters Poll Trend report.)   Since the trend gap flexed upwards in July without apparent reason (and so maybe the true gap did not move at all), it is possible that the situation has been even more stable than the trendline suggests.   One must be careful of the trend data in fast-moving situations, because it cannot help being sceptical of sudden movement.   But little sudden movement has appeared in the simple average of the polls lately, lending support to the trendline's chief implication: that the government has not suffered much from the budget and would take more seats from the already mangled Labor opposition if an election were held now.   Kim Beazley's position as opposition leader remains very poor as he makes slow progress against Prime Minister John Howard's lead as preferred prime minister (which peaked at 38 points in May).   In fact, there is a hint that Beazley's progress may have stalled, with Howard's trend lead stable at 24.2 percentage points last weekend.   Later data will be needed to confirm this, but if the gap begins to widen, Labor's position would be appalling.   And although one hesitates to speculate on the leadership issue (which tends to be driven by the speculation itself), Labor members of parliament will become extremely restless if Beazley looks like a set-in-concrete loser.   Of course there is no leadership pressure at the moment; Labor has barely begun to fight.   Two-party support is a concern for the government, but it is difficult to work out what is going on here.   The latest trend number is a gap of 6.1, less than the election result of 7.2.   But only two polls calculate this result (by asking minor-party voters which big party they prefer) and they are producing highly different numbers lately.   The trend estimates, which have always showed greater volatility for the two-party vote, have been hampered by the late availability of the Morgan poll.   The Morgan interview method -- face-to-face, rather than by telephone -- necessarily means later reporting.   Since Morgan shows a much greater two-party gap, its subsequent inclusion has consistently resulted in upward revisions to the government's two-party standing.   So it seems safer to concentrate on the primary-vote data.   (The latest Reuters Poll Trend results are always accessible to News 2000 users by typing AU/VOTE f9 )   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
4243 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Australia confirmed on Tuesday that six Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, were being held by rebels in Sudan, and labelled as bizarre reported rebel claims that some were spies and agents of Islam.   "We have seen the reports of some fairly bizarre charges being levelled against the group," a foreign ministry official in Canberra told Reuters.   He confirmed the three Australian nuns, a U.S. priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest were being held by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels at Mapourdit in the mainly Christian south, where the six worked as missionaries.   "These reports (of the spying charges) are a matter of great concern," the official said.   Australian diplomats in Nairobi, capital of neighbouring Kenya, are working with the Catholic church in southern Sudan and with U.S. and Italian diplomats in the region to help free the missionaries, the official added.   The three nuns, members of the Sydney-based Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart order, and the other missionaries have been held by SPLA rebels since August 17, the church has said.   The mission was looted later that day, it said.   Australian Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, and Mary Batchelor, 68, American Father Michael Barton, 48, and Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, have been accused by rebels of spying and working to spread Islam, the Catholic Information Office in Nairobi said.   Australian Sister Maureen Carey, 52, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28, are being held for what the rebel group said was their own security, it added.   Lynch, Batchelor, Barton and Raphael were held in a prison until the weekend, when they were moved to join the other captives at a mission compound, the church in Australia said.   Nuns from the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Sydney were distressed by the reports of the spying charges on Tuesday and declined to speak to the media.   "They are pretty distressed and just trying to get some space to say some prayers," a Catholic church spokeswoman told Reuters.   On Monday, the order urged diplomats to exert more pressure to secure the group's release.   The SPLA has yet to comment.   It is fighting Khartoum's government forces in the mainly Christian and animist south for greater autonomy or independence from the Moslem north.   News of the spying charges emerged after a weekend attempt to secure the release of the missionaries failed, the Australian foreign ministry and church sources said on Tuesday.   A plane was meant to rendezvous with the missionaries and their captors at a settlement near Mapourdit at the weekend under an arrangement negotiated between the rebels and Sudanese priests, the ministry official said.   "But they were not waiting for them as arranged," the official said.   But local church officials were allowed to check on the missionaries, he added.   "They were able to see the group, but not talk to them," the official said.   The local church spokeswoman said the three nuns were reported to be in reasonably good health.   But the official expressed concern.   "They are quite elderly ... We are concerned about their health -- no question about that," he said.   A senior member of the Sydney order of nuns will fly to the Kenyan capital, arriving there on Friday, "to see if she can help at all", the spokeswoman said. 
4244 !GCAT !GPOL  Australia's Liberal-National government led its Labor opponents by about 10 percentage points in voting support last weekend, despite announcing a deficit slashing budget on August 20, the Reuters Poll Trend shows.   Trend primary support based on the two polls taken last weekend shows the government 10.2 percentage points ahead, compared with 11.2 percent a fortnight before.   Highly volatile two-party data, tracking the reallocation of minor party votes under the preferential voting system, shows a gap of just 6.1 points.    The trend estimates -- smoothed averages of the major Australian polls -- show Opposition Leader Kim Beazley stable at about 24 points behind Prime Minister John Howards as preferred prime minister.   Trend estimates are always revised in view of later data.   These figures will be further revised to include late-August data from the Morgan poll, which is presently unavailable, and has only now been revised to include newly available Morgan data for mid-August.   Also, there have been small revisions to the estimates for all weekends since April.      ----PRIMARY----- ---TWO-PARTY---- --PREFERRED PM--     Govt Oppn Gap Govt Oppn Gap Govt Oppn Gap   LATEST   Newspoll 50 38 12 53 24 29   McNair 45 36 9 52 48 4 55 32 23   Morgan 50 34 16 56.5 43.5 13   REUTERS POLL TREND   Aug 25 47.3 37.1 10.2 53.0 47.0 6.1 53.1 29.0 24.2    11 47.9 36.7 11.2 54.2 45.8 8.3 52.2 28.0 24.2   Jul 28 49.7 36.0 13.6 56.2 43.8 12.5 52.8 26.0 26.8    14 49.8 35.9 13.9 56.6 43.4 13.2 54.7 25.4 29.3   Jun 30 48.6 37.0 11.6 55.4 44.6 10.7 56.0 25.5 30.5    16 49.3 37.1 12.2 55.3 44.7 10.6 56.0 24.6 31.4    2 51.2 36.2 15.0 56.8 43.2 13.7 58.4 22.5 35.9   May 19 52.3 34.7 17.6 58.5 41.5 17.0 59.8 21.5 38.3    5 52.3 34.3 18.0 58.7 41.3 17.4 58.8 21.9 37.0   Apr 21 51.9 35.0 16.9 58.1 41.9 16.1 57.4 22.2 35.2    7 51.6 35.7 15.8 57.9 42.1 15.7 56.5 21.9 34.6   Mar 24 50.6 35.8 14.8 57.1 42.9 14.2 55.5 22.5 33.1    10 48.2 37.4 10.8 54.7 45.3 9.5    2 47.3 38.8 8.5 53.6 46.4 7.2 41.4 45.6 -4.1   Feb 25 46.4 40.0 6.4 52.7 47.3 5.4 41.4 45.6 -4.2    18 47.1 40.7 6.3 52.8 47.2 5.5 41.8 45.3 -3.5    11 48.0 40.2 7.8 53.6 46.4 7.2 42.9 44.5 -1.7    4 48.3 39.2 9.1 54.2 48.1 8.5 43.0 43.9 -0.9   Jan 28 47.9 39.1 8.8 54.0 46.0 8.0 42.5 43.4 -0.9    14 45.6 38.8 6.8 53.0 47.0 5.9 42.4 44.4 -2.0   Dec 31 45.4 39.2 6.2 53.2 46.8 6.4 40.4 44.5 -4.1   NOTES: The trend is derived by averaging the available polls for a given period -- usually three -- and then applying a five-term Henderson moving average, similar to trend estimates published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.   Since it smooths volatility by dampening short-term movements, users are cautioned to bear in mind any events that might explain sudden excursions.   The latest two observations are subject to revision -- sometimes to include extra data for that period and always to include data for later periods.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2370 
4245 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  New Zealand First's attempt to prolong debate on the raising of the superannuation surtax threshold was blocked by parliament's business committee on Tuesday.   The committee, dominated by National and Labour, restricted the available debating time for the bill to 45 minutes.   This means the bill, increasing the surcharge thresholds with effect from April 1, 1997, will pass through its final stages and become law today.    New Zealand First leader Winston Peters accused the two big parties of "holding hands" to arrange the deal.   His party argues the surtax should be scrapped altogether.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 473-4746 
4246 !E21 !E211 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  Social Welfare Minister Peter Gresham said on Tuesday that New Zealand could afford to sustain its current pensions regime if it repaid public debt, and a switch to compulsory super would act as a drag on the economy.   "Compulsory superannuation has its problems of being a very significant drain on the economy for quite a long time while the fund is being set up, regardless of how the fund is invested and where it's held, the security and the safety of it, all of those things," Gresham said in an interview.    "In the first 20 or so years which the fund takes to build up, all your taxpayers in that time pay double.   They pay for current retirees and they pay for their own retirement and it will be 20 or 30 years before they'll start to produce a significant return."   Gresham noted that compulsory superannuation would be one of the areas examined in a 1997 review of the multi-party accord on retirement income.   He declined to speculate on whether National would be prepared to negotiate on compulsory superannuation after the October 12 election.    The New Zealand First Party proposes to go ahead with a second round of tax cuts on July 1, 1997 and introduce compulsory superannuation at three percent of income, rising to eight percent over time.   The Labour Party wants to create a national superannuation fund, financed through a tax at eight cents in the dollar, to be paid instead of the same amount of personal income tax.   It proposes an initial cash injection of NZ$150 million.   Gresham said studies indicated that the current superannuation regime could be sustained, given prudent fiscal management.   This would mean repayment of public debt.    "If the country shifts its public debt, has no debt servicing burden, possibly gets to a credit position...coming to 2015 and beyond, yes it's reasonable to say we're in a position to sustain it.   But if we still have a public debt and it's 20 to 30 percent of GDP at that stage, it would be highly unlikely that we would sustain it."   Gresham said the government was confident of passing a bill to raise the threshold for the superannuation surtax -- the last piece of legislation it aims to push through in the current term -- despite possible blocking tactics by New Zealand First.    "I think the surcharge thresholds will be changed next April...We'll get the legislation through," he said.   The bill increases the thresholds for the surcharge from April 1, 1997 so the cut-in point occurs when a couple's gross income is about 10 percent above the average ordinary time wage.   The new thresholds will be $15,444 a year of other income for couples ($6,825 previously) and $10,296 a year for single superannuitants ($4,550 previously).   The government estimates the change will reduce the number paying the surcharge by more than 100,000 or from 25 percent to 14 percent of all superannuitants.    New Zealand First argues the surcharge should be scrapped altogether.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 473-4746 
4247 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The main opposition Labour Party will launch its election campaign in Auckland on September 8, a spokesman for Labour leader Helen Clark said on Tuesday.   The largest party in the conservative governing coalition, National, is yet to announce the date of its campaign launch.   The opposition economic nationalist party New Zealand First is planning to launch on the weekend of September 14 and 15 also in Auckland, sources in the party said, but it has not yet made a public announcement.   The general election will be held on October 12. 
4248 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  WELLINGTON, Aug 27 - It's crunch time for politicians, not least for the enfant terrible of the current Parliament, Winston Peters.   Just three months ago New Zealand First's leader was riding high in political opinion polls, and looked set to play a key role in forming a coalition government after the October 12 election.   Now, with three polls confirming that NZ First is slipping in public esteem, Peters is off like a whirling dervish around the country, speaking to his favourite Grey Power audiences.    He is trying to beat off the challenge of the Alliance which has stormed back in the polls, rising five points in as many months to 16 percent, while NZ First fell from 30 percent to 21 percent.   Some commentators see the Alliance and NZ First drawing support from the same pool of voters, disenchanted in both Labour and National.   The Alliance appeared to steal a march on NZ First by its vigorous campaign against the sale of Forestcorp.   It has taken such a strong line on issues, not just on the sale of Forestry Corporation, but on health and education, that both NZ First and Labour have appeared wishy-washy by comparison.    NZ First has even appeared to retreat from the more extreme rhetoric it espoused earlier in the year, and on some issues -- market rentals for state houses -- it has sought to distinguish itself from parties of the Left by supporting the current policy, leading some critics to speculate that it is positioning itself to link up with National in a coalition of the Right.   Perhaps realising that this kind of pragmatism was getting him nowhere, Winston Peters has, in his latest blasts to Grey Power, come out with guns blazing against National's "secret" post-election agenda, which is to privatise any remaining public assets that attract private sector interest.    Those assets, he says, include Works Corp, Government Property Service, Electricity Corp, Transpower, NZ Post and ACC - though how anyone could regard ACC as an "asset" (it is carrying unfunded liabilities put at around $5 billion) remains a mystery.   According to Peters, National has swallowed the great lie that the private sector knows how to run a business better than the public sector.  Given that National was founded to foster private enterprise against state socialism, Peters seems to have moved a long way philosophically from the days he himself claimed a place on National's front-bench.    He also defends the export and marketing monopolies of the Dairy Board and the Apple and Pear Board.   They stand as "dramatic evidence", he says, that competition does not always work in the public interest, adding that the Business Roundtable and Treasury hate these successful businesses for a simple reason...they work!   Peters believes National's secret agenda also extends to privatising the health system.    "It is clear that the funder/provider split in health funding and the legislative priority for Crown Health Enterprises are clear indicators that National simply awaits another three years to complete this Far Right madness."   And Labour, in Peters' book, is a "willing partner in this obscene political complicity...it was Labour, not National, which started the privatisation agenda.   And on the Forestry Corp sale, Labour resembled nothing so much as a possum caught in the headlights of an approaching truck".   Labour, he says, "are the ultimate political quislings".    Its duplicity can be seen in its housing policy, with promises to introduce income-related rents in the public sector, which Peters says ignores the fact that the majority of low-income tenants are in the private sector.   Peters claims that an independent valuation puts the cost of Labour's housing policy at double its stated $100 million.   The reality is that Labour is up to its old tricks, again, promising policies that cannot be delivered.   Whether Peters' return to his early-season rhetoric will revive NZ First's fortunes remains to be seen.    Maybe he will have to vamp up what he claims to be NZ First's "unique" quality as the only party that "intends to share power with the NZ people".   (Note - The opinions expressed in this article represent the views of the author only.   They should not be seen as reflecting the views of Reuters) 
4249 !GCAT !GCRIM  Australian police on Tuesday were hunting a gunman in dense bushland on the country's north coast after he shot dead his wife and wounded three other people in a domestic dispute.   The shooting occured around 6.30 a.m. (2030 GMT) on Tuesday at Glenwood, south of Maryborough, about 150 km (93 miles) north of Brisbane on the Queensland coast.   "This chappy has shot his wife dead and wounded his 16-year-old son and a female, which we believe is a friend of the son, and wounded a neighbour," Maryborough police inspector Malcolm Churchill said.   All three wounded are in a satisfactory condition in hospital, he said.   Police gave no further details of the shooting.   Churchill said the gunman initially fled from the shooting in a car, but has since left his car and entered dense bushland.   "It's real forestry-type country," he said.   "The area has been cordoned off and we have our special emergency response group going in there with our helicopters."   Churchill said police do not know whether the man is still armed, but have asked people to stay inside their homes.   "This fellow is a very capable and competent bushman and this (hunt) will be protracted," he said.   Australia's six states and two territories are in the throws of trying to introduce tough new firearm laws, banning rapid fire weapons, after a shooting massacre in the island state of Tasmania.   On April 28, a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage at the site of the historic Port Arthur penal settlement, killing 35 people. 
4250 !GCAT !GODD  A New Zealand motorist got an unexpected free flight to Tonga on Tuesday after being caught drinking and driving.   The man drew attention to himself in the North Island town of Tauranga while trying to reverse his car out of a pothole on Saturday night.   He spun the wheels so much that the tyres caught alight and smoke began pouring from under the bonnet, the New Zealand Press Association reported.   Police arrested the man and charged him with drink-driving, but then iscovered he was wanted by the Immigration Service as an overstayer.   The man was due to catch a flight to Nuku'alofa in Tonga later on Tuesday. 
4251 !GCAT  -- TA KUNG PAO - Chinese President Jiang Zemin told visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that China needed cooperation not confrontation.   -- ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS - The Hong Kong government would put to auction about 400 hundred guns made in Brazil.   They were the biggest lot of illegal weapons confiscated in the territory.   -- Second-hand weapons from Hong Kong's police force were popular on the international market, because the territory's crime rate was low and the weapons were in good condition.   It was estimated that about 35 percent of Hong Kong's second-hand weapons were sold in the United States.   -- HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES - The Hong Kong government had decided to put off the completion of its tenth container terminal, from 1998 to the year 2000.   -- Most mainland listed companies involved in property investment in China, retail, media, and magnetic products reported huge losses this year.   -- The financial difficulties of some listed companies had led to a increased number of bad debts for local banks.   Banks would now tighten control over loans to second and third-rate companies.   -- MING PAO DAILY NEWS - Yizhen Chemical Fibre Co., the world's fourth largest polyester manufacturer, shocked investors with a 74 percent plunge in attributable profit for the first six months this year.   -- The leader of a gang of hooligans recently arrested in China's Shanxi province for rape, blackmail, bribery and assualt, had been considered a good cadre by his superiors and selected as a model Communist Party member.   -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - South Koreans applauded a judge's decision to sentence former president Chun Doo Hwan to death, and his successor Roh Tae-woo to more than 20 years behind bars for a military mutiny and civilian massacre.   -- China's military was divided over whether to adopt a low profile or flex its muscles in achieving the country's objectives in relation to Taiwan and other countries.   -- HONG KONG STANDARD - Hopewell Holdings decided to infuse more money into the massive Bangkok elevated railway project, raising its commitment to 25 billion baht (HK$7.6 billion).   -- Hong Kong newsroom (852) 2843 6441 
4252 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Beijing accused Washington on Tuesday of impeding the peaceful reunification of China and Taiwan by selling advanced weapons to the island.   A decision by the United States to sell Stinger missiles, launchers and other weapons to Taiwan was "a kind of obstacle to peaceful reunification" of China and Taiwan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing.   Beijing has regarded Taiwan as a renegade province since the end of China's civil war in 1949 and has threatened to invade if the island declares independence.   Shen said the sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan was "supporting and condoning" separatist sentiment on the island.   On Monday, China renewed a demand that the United States cancel plans to sell weapons to Taiwan to prevent "new damage" to Sino-U.S. relations.   The U.S. State Department rejected China's call to scrap the sale, saying the weapons were "purely defensive" and would not affect the basic military balance in the region.   The U.S. argument that it was only selling defensive weapons to Taiwan was flawed, Shen said, adding that Washington was violating past pledges to reduce weapons sales to the island.   The Pentagon said last week that Taiwan wanted to buy 1,299 Stinger missiles, 74 guided missile launchers, 74 flight trainer Stinger missiles, 96 jeep-like Humvee vehicles and 500 rounds of .50 calibre ammunition for an estimated $420 million.   The principal contractors are the Hughes Missile Systems Co., Boeing Missile and Space Systems Co and AM General.   Such sales must be made through the U.S. Defense Department, not directly by contractors, and Congress must be notified in case it wants to veto the sale. 
4253 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Chinese political and business stories in leading newspapers, prepared by Reuters in Beijing.   Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.   Telephone: (8610) 6532-1921.   Fax: (8610) 6532-4978.   - - - -   PEOPLE'S DAILY   China's President Jiang Zemin told visiting Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad that there must be cooperation between countries and not resistance, contact and not containment, dialogue and not force.   An editorial said the impasse towards an agreement on a global nuclear test ban treaty should be resolved step-by-step.   - - - -   CHINA DAILY   China publicly thanked Gabon for its strong support at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, where Beijing came under attack from Western nations for its human rights record.   - - - -   CHINA SECURITIES   An editorial said last week's interest rate cuts would help reform state firms.   - - - -   FINANCIAL NEWS   China's tourism revenues totalled $4.61 billion in the first half of 1996, up 15.26 percent year-on-year. 
4254 !GCAT  Newspaper headlines   CHINA TIMES - South African president Nelson Mandela says his government willing to develop diplomatic relations with both sides of Taiwan strait.   National Assembly approves nomination of Wang Tso-jung as president of highest watchdog body, the Control Yuan.   UNITED DAILY NEWS - Former South Korean president Chun Doo Hwan sentenced to death, former president Roh Tae-woo gets 22-1/2 years in prison on similar charges.   South African president Mandela says no country can sever ties between Taipei and Pretoria.   COMMERCIAL TIMES - British-owned Baring's funds invest heavily in Taiwan's stock market.   ECONOMIC DAILY NEWS - Computer giant Acer to forge alliance with mainland manufacturers.   Taiwan's foreign currency deposit hits new record high in July.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
4255 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Indonesian political and business stories in leading newspapers, prepared by Reuters in Jakarta.   Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.   Telephone: (6221) 384-6364.   Fax: (6221) 344-8404.   - - - -   KOMPAS   Indonesian President Suharto said his country and Argentina needed to develop closer economic relations.   Suharto was speaking upon welcoming Argentine President Carlos Menem on an official state visit.   - - - -   JAKARTA POST   Bank Indonesia Governor J. Sudradjat Djiwandono has confirmed the seven billion rupiah ($2.9 million) transaction fraud, which was uncovered last week and involved three of the bank's treasury officials.   Political analysts said the government must allow people greater participation in politics to prevent a repetition of the riots in Jakarta on July 27.   The riots broke out after police stormed the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) and evicted supporters of Megawati Sukarnoputri.   - - - -   MERDEKA   Indonesian police are still searching for Zarima, an actress accused of illegally possessing nearly 30,000 Ecstasy pills.   Zarima was arrested early this month after police discovered the pills kept at her rented house but later escaped on her way to the police station.   - - --   MEDIA INDONESIA   Legal Aid Institute (LBH) chief Bambang Widjojanto will be questioned on Tuesday as witnesses in the subversion case involving leader of the small left-wing People's Democratic Party (PRD), Budiman Sudjatmiko, accused of inciting the June 27 riots in Jakarta. 
4256 !GCAT  DAY'S TOP STORIES   - Former South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan was sentenced to death on charges of masterminding a 1979 coup and an army massacre of prodemocracy demonstrators the following year.   (ALL PAPERS)   - Ruling Laban party representative Edcel Lagman says the South Korean example should be an eye-opener for the Philippines which has been trying to recover money it alleges was stolen by former President Ferdinand Marcos.   (THE MANILA TIMES)   - President Fidel Ramos on Monday ordered the Presidential Legal Counsel Renato Cayetano to look into the alleged violation of bidding rules by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority which awarded a port privatisation contract to Hutchison Ports Philippines.   (MANILA STANDARD)   - Some 16,000 Christian protestors have gathered in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines to register their opposition to the government's peace deal with Moslem rebels.   (MALAYA)   - A government panel left for Jakarta on Monday to participate in the final round of discussions with the Moro National Liberation Front.   (TODAY)   - A multi-party move to roll back fuel prices is gaining ground in the House of Representatives as it summoned officials of the Department of Energy to shed light on charges they violated the Oil Deregulation Law when they allowed a hike in oil prices based on a wrong formula.   (TODAY)    ++++   BUSINESS   - PDCP Bank is offering one billion pesos in preferred shares.   (PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER)   - The state-owned National Development Company will sell 12 percent of its shares in National Steel Corp to any interested buyer if Malaysia's Wing Tiek Holdings Berhad failed to pay for these shares by August 30.   (THE MANILA TIMES)   - The Securities and Exchange Commission will decide on Tuesday whether or not officials of Dizon Copper and Silver Mines can renege on a voluntary commitment to refrain from implementing several controversial resolutions passed by the company's board of directors.   (MANILA STANDARD)   - Alcorn Philippines Inc and Basic Petroleum and Minerals Corp have both won new exploration contracts from the Department of Energy.   (MANILA BULLETIN)   - Manila newsroom (632) 841 8934 
4257 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  China said on Tuesday that the soldiers to be sent to Hong Kong after it takes power in mid-1997 were brushing up on Cantonese and being told not to spit in a bid to win over the territory's residents.   Some of them were even able to sing pop tunes in Cantonese, the dialect spoken in Hong Kong, the Liberation Army Daily said.   "Culture excercises" were being conducted along with military drills to whip the recruits into shape.   These included language training, basic legal knowledge and tips about life in Hong Kong, including singing pop tunes.   "There are no concerns about the image of our mighty warriors but there may be some worries over just how cultured they are," it said.   It referred to one soldier who had dropped the unpleasant habits of spitting and littering after taking the training course.   "Many of the troops can now sing in Cantonese and they understand Hong Kong's Basic Law," the newspaper said, referring to the mini-constitution drafted by China for the territory after the mid-1997 transfer of power.   Some soldiers had expressed the wish to learn Cantonese and English despite the fact that many Hong Kong people were learning Mandarin, the official Chinese dialect, it said.   "How can we communicate with our Hong Kong comrades if we don't learn Cantonese?"   it quoted one soldier as asking.   "We will learn what the British army didn't," he said. 
4258 !GCAT !GVIO  South Korea has told its overseas missions to step up security since its embassy in the former Yugoslavia received a threat over Seoul's crackdown on radical students, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.   A letter to the Belgrade embassy on Monday under the name of the Macedonian Communist Party demanded South Korea release detained student leaders, a ministry spokesman said.   "The letter said the party would assault the embassy, other South Korean-related facilities and Korean nationals unless our authorities released arrested students," he said.   Nearly 400 members of an outlawed student group were arrested after violent protests demanding reunification with communist North Korea were crushed by riot police at a Seoul university this month.   Authorities branded the violence, in which a police officer was killed, as an act of terror.   "The ministry has ordered the embassy to take urgent security measures against possible terrorist attacks," the official said, asking not to be named.   It had called for similar precautions at other overseas missions, including those in Canada and Bangladesh where leftist groups have staged protests over the crackdown. 
4259 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  North Korea said on Tuesday that two South Korean students ended a hunger strike they began last week on the border between the two nations to demand the release of students detained in Seoul for supporting reunification with North Korea.   "The hunger strikers at Panmunjom wound up their struggle seven days after they started it," said the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), monitored in Tokyo.   The students, Ryu Se Hong and To Jong Hwa, who were in North Korea to attend functions there for the reunification of the two Koreas, announced the end of their protest fast at a joint news conference on Tuesday morning, KCNA said.   "Our fasting ends today, but the struggle continues," the students were quoted as saying.   "The struggle...reflects the desire of the 70 million fellow countrymen and so it was righteous yesterday, is righteous today and will be righteous in the future, too," they said.   They began their hunger strike last week after South Korean riot police stormed Seoul's Yonsei University to end a seven-day occupation by students calling for reunification with North Korea and the withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in the South.   Police arrested about 3,200 students in breaking up the protests. 
4260 !GCAT !GVIO  Filipino Christians on Tuesday vowed to fight a peace deal between the government and Moslem guerrillas through courts, force of arms and prayer as Manila prepared to seal a pact with the rebels.   Dozens of politicians and more than 5,000 followers crowded a convention centre in the southern city of Zamboanga for a protest while scores gathered outside with signs denouncing the accord as "deadlier than AIDS".   But Manila officials said there was no stopping the deal as government and rebel negotiators gathered in Jakarta to initial an accord ending a 24-year conflict in the southern Philippines which has killed some 125,000 people.   The two sides are to hold a final round of talks in the Indonesian capital capped by a ceremony on Friday at which they will affix their initials to the peace agreement.   Indonesian President Suharto and senior diplomats from nations of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which helped broker the accord, are to witness the ceremony.   The formal signing will be in Manila on September 2.   The accord will set up a Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development to supervise the development of 14 provinces on Mindanao island.   Mindanao's five million Moslems regard the region as their ancestral homeland, although decades of migration from other parts of the Philippines means they are outnumbered by some 15 million Christians.   The council is to be headed by Nur Misuari, chairman of the rebel Moro National Liberation Front, and will serve as forerunner of a Moslem autonomous region to be installed in three years.   This has angered Christians who fear Moslem ascendancy in an area they now dominate.   The deal would end a war that has cost Manila 73 billion pesos ($2.8 billion) since 1972.   "There is opposition, but this is in some areas only, and I believe the majority of the people are for this council," chief government negotiator Manuel Yan said in Jakarta.   Yan said last-minute details to be ironed out included arrangements for those guerrillas who would not be integrated into the Philippine armed forces and the disposal of their weapons.   Congresswoman Maria Clara Lobregat, spearhead of the Christian opposition, told reporters in Zamboanga that opponents of the pact would challenge it in the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.   "We are going to do this legally, not in violence," she said.   But Zamboanga city councillor Jaime Cabato said Christian vigilantes were busy arming themselves.   He estimated their number at 5,000 and said they would not hesitate to use violence.   Others had more peaceful intentions.   "We will continue our opposition through daily prayers and lighting of candles," said one protester.   Analysts said the accord would clear the way for the development of a largely impoverished but mineral-rich region whose growth has lagged behind other parts of the country.   President Fidel Ramos has pledged to channel a big chunk of funds into the area, and other officials expect Saudi Arabia and other OIC countries to support Misuari with investments.   "Seed money from the OIC will likely go into high visibility projects which will establish the council's credibility so Misuari hits the ground running," political analyst Alex Magno said. 
4261 !GCAT !GPOL  The China-appointed caucus responsible for gathering nominees to the Selection Committee for choosing Hong Kong's future leaders will not disclose candidates' identities, a Hong Kong newspaper said on Tuesday.   The British colony reverts to China on July 1 next year and its post-handover leader and provisional legislature will be chosen by the 400-strong Selection Committee.   The Chinese-language Sing Tao newspaper quoted a member of China's Preparatory Committee, which is taking nominations to the Selection Committee, as saying technical problems prevented the Preparatory Committee's secretariat from publishing the names.   The Preparatory Committee member, pro-Beijing politician Tam Yiu-chung, did not say what the technical problems were, the paper added.   Tam could not be reached for comment.   Another member of the Preparatory Committee, Frederick Fung, a member of one of Hong Kong's smaller pro-democracy parties, said the decision by the secretariat was contrary to that taken earlier by the entire Preparatory Committee.   Fung said the Preparatory Committee, which is responsible for the actual handover, had decided to publish the list of all candidates competing for the 400 places on the Selection Committee, Sing Tao said.   More than 15,000 nomination forms have been handed out by the Preparatory Committee secretariat since the nomination period opened on August 15.   It closes on September 14.   Hong Kong's Chief Executive designate is due to be selected around November. 
4262 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  More than 270,000 hectares of North Korean farmland were submerged by flooding in July, with 6,928 hectares of rice and 3,234 hectares of maize destroyed, according to a North Korean governmental report.   Japanese aid workers, who recently visited the reclusive communist state, said the floods in July directly hit a southern rice growing area and posed more serious damage to food output than last year's floods.   The report prepared by the Flood Damage Rehabilitation Committee of North Korea showed 152,680 hectares of paddy field and 31,849 hectare of non-paddy field were submerged.   A copy of the report was obtained by Reuters in Tokyo.   North Korea said earlier this month that flooding last month had caused an estimated $1.7 billion of damage.   It was Pyongyang's first official assessment of the impact of the torrential rains in late July that ravaged vast areas of the communist state.   "The acreage of damaged farm land was smaller compared to last year," said Michiya Kumaoka, a member of the Relief Campaign Committee of Japan, a group of aid workers.   "But the floods this year directly hit a rice growing area in southern parts of the country and caused more serious damage," said Kumaoka, who is also president of the Japan International Volunteer Center.   The Japanese aid workers group, including Kumaoka, recently visited North Korea to donate nearly 60 tonnes of rice in emergency relief.   "We were able to visit food distribution centres in the eastern part of North Korea.   About 450 grams of rice a day was distributed to local farmers," Kumaoka said.   He said U.N. aid agencies are assessing flood damage and are likely to publish their report as early as September.   North Korea surprised the world last year by asking for help to cope with food shortages caused by the severe floods.   Prior to the latest round of flooding, the United States, South Korea and Japan had agreed to donate $15.2 million in cash and food in response to an appeal by the United Nations for emergency food supplies for North Korea.   But they ruled out full-scale food aid or other major economic assistance until Pyongyang accepts proposed four-nation talks aimed at replacing the 1953 armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean war with a peace treaty. 
4263 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Beijing accused Washington on Tuesday of impeding the peaceful reunification of China and Taiwan by selling advanced weapons to the island.   A decision by the United States to sell Stinger missiles, launchers and other weapons to Taiwan was "a kind of obstacle to peaceful reunification" of China and Taiwan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang told a news briefing.    China regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has threatened to invade if the island declares independence.   Shen said the U.S. sale of advanced weapons to Taiwan was "supporting and condoning" separatist sentiment on the island.   The U.S. argument that it was only selling defensive weapons to Taiwan was flawed, Shen said, adding that Washington was violating past pledges to reduce weapons sales to the island.   China demanded on Monday that the United States cancel plans to sell weapons to Taiwan to prevent "new damage" to Sino-U.S. relations. 
4264 !GCAT !GDIP  Indonesia plans to deport a four-year-old Japanese boy for overstaying but would allow him to re-enter the country and apply for a residential permit, an immigration official said on Tuesday.   M.A. Gani, spokesman for the directorate-general of immigration, told Reuters that Andreya Masaru Miyakoshi, who is of Japanese and Indonesian parentage, would shortly be deported to Singapore but could re-enter Indonesia and apply for a permit to stay in the country.   The boy has a Japanese father, Mitsuo Miyakoshi, and an Indonesian mother, Atik Kristia Mulyani.   They divorced last year and failed to have the child's Indonesian residence visa renewed.   Under Indonesian law, a child's citizenship always follows that of the father.   "He (the child) will be deported to Singapore in the near future.   His father has agreed to provide round-trip tickets for the child and his mother to go Singapore, which is the nearest place (to get a visa)," Gani said by telephone.   The boy can get a social visit visa for Indonesia and later obtain an extendable residence visa, Gani said.   "At the age of 18, he can apply to become an Indonesian citizen," he said.   Gani said the boy was currently with his mother, who is living on the island resort of Bali.   The Jakarta Post newspaper reported on Tuesday that the district court in the east Java town of Surabaya, where Mitsuo Miyakoshi now lives, had ruled that he had to give his former wife 250,000 rupiah ($107) a month.   Atik said last week she had never received any money.   ($1=2,341 rupiah) 
4265 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  China on Tuesday reaffirmed its support for a global nuclear test ban treaty blocked by India last week, saying the pact would be an important step in achieving total nuclear disarmament.   "Although the final draft of the treaty probably didn't totally satisfy any country, it was in general balanced," the official People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary.   India blocked the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, saying the pact did not contain a clause committing the five declared nuclear powers to a timetable for nuclear disarmament.   New Delhi's stance, which was seen as effectively thwarting 2-1/2 years of negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament, drew widespread but generally muted foreign criticism.   India has also pledged to oppose any forwarding of the draft treaty to the United Nations General Assembly.   China said many countries had compromised to complete the treaty and that the issue of a disarmament schedule could be discussed in future negotiations.   "The completion of the test ban treaty would be an important and practical step in the gradual process of achieving total nuclear disarmament," it said.   China has pledged support for the pact since reaching a deal with the United States that made international inspections of nuclear sites more difficult than in earlier drafts of the accord.   The newspaper said China advocated the complete ban and destruction of nuclear weapons but that there was little hope other nuclear powers would soon adopt the same stance.   "Some nuclear powers stubbornly uphold policies of nuclear deterrence based on first use of nuclear weapons," it said.   China held on July 29 what it said would be its last nuclear test before a self-imposed moratorium that took effect the following day.   China was the last declared nuclear power to announce a halt to testing. 
4266 !GCAT !GDIP  The head of the Philippine delegation to peace talks with Moslem separatists said on Tuesday he saw no hitches before a peace accord is signed this weekend.   "We have surmounted all the problems except for a few last minute details," presidential peace adviser Manuel Yan told Reuters before a final round of talks being held in Jakarta.   "This will lead us to our objective of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the southern Philippines," he said.   Delegations from the Manila government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), headed by Nur Misuari, would hold a meeting on Wednesday and a fourth and final round on Thursday.   That was to be followed on Friday by the initialling of the Final Peace Agreement at the presidential palace in Jakarta, to be witnessed by Indonesia's President Suharto, Hamid Algabid, Secretary-General of the Conference of the Islamic Organisation (OIC), and senior diplomats from Islamic and other states.   The agreement calls for the setting up of an administrative council in 14 provinces in the southern Mindanao region as a precursor to a Moslem regional autonomous government that the MNLF is demanding as a condition for ending the rebellion.   Yan said last-minute details to be ironed out included arrangements for those Moslem separatist guerrillas not being integrated into the Philippine armed forces and the disposal of their weapons.   Manila's announcement of its agreement to install a rebel-led council has sparked widespread protests among Christian residents of Mindanao.   The country's six million Moslems regard the southern region as their ancestral homeland although they have become a minority in the area after decades of Christian migration.   In Zamboanga in the southern Philippines earlier on Tuesday, more than 5,000 Christians held a rally vowing to fight the accord through the courts, force of arms and prayer.   Yan conceded there was opposition among Christians to the proposed agreement.   "There is opposition, but those are in some areas only, and I believe the majority of the people there are for this council to be set up as a transitional structure leading towards regional autonomy.   "This is really a good opportunity for us to finally come to an agreement and restore peace in Mindanao, a peace which is mutually agreed upon by both sides," Yan said.   Philippine President Fidel Ramos said on Sunday that the ceremonial signing of the peace accord would take place in Manila on September 2.   Indonesia chairs a committee of six states from the OIC -- also including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Senegal, Somalia and Bangladesh -- who have served as mediators and observers in achieving an agreement originally proposed in Tripoli in 1976.   The peace talks, however, did not get off the ground until an informal meeting was held by the various parties in the west Javan town of Cipanas in April 1993.   Manila appointed Yan, a 76-year-old veteran of World War Two and the Bataan Death March during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, to head the government side in peace negotiations to end an insurgency that has claimed 125,000 lives.   Yan said peace in the southern Philippines would open the door to economic development in an impoverished region that Malaysia and Indonesia also see as a major potential growth area.   He said OIC members had committed themselves to promoting investment in the region. 
4267 !GCAT !GDIS !GHEA  The government said on Tuesday that the threat from a mysterious killer germ, while still requiring vigilance, appears to be receding in the western Japan city of Sakai, where the epidemic hit the hardest.   The food poisoning epidemic caused by the O-157 colon bacillus in Sakai appears to be "settling down", Health Minister Naoto Kan was quoted by a government spokesman as telling the cabinet.   The O-157 colon bacillus has been found responsible for a widespread food poisoning epidemic that has killed 11 people and made over 9,500 ill this year.   Sakai, near the regional commercial centre of Osaka, has been hit hardest by the deadly bacteria, with nearly 6,500, mostly schoolchildren, affected by the disease.   Two children in Sakai have died from complications associated with the bacteria.   Kan told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday that no new victims have been reported since August 8, indicating that the peak has passed, at least for Sakai.   Sakai officials agreed with the assessment, but said it was too early to feel relieved.   "There are still patients hospitalised and problems which must be dealt with," a city spokesman said, citing the issue of whether to allow children infected with the bacteria but not showing symptoms to attend school from September.   Health authorities believe school lunches were the source of the food poisoning in Sakai, but researchers have been unable to pinpoint the exact source of the infection.   The outbreak has prompted authorities to tighten sanitary standards at slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants and sparked calls for an overhaul of the nation's school lunch programme.   The ministers agreed at Tuesday's cabinet meeting to step up inspection measures for school lunches in September and October, when schools around the country resume.   Japan's Agriculture Ministry also announced that it will compile hygiene guidelines based on U.S. government methods of checking the safety of farm produce to prevent another outbreak of the epidemic.   As of Monday, 31 children were still hospitalised in Sakai city, of whom six were in serious condition. 
4268 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A relative of Chinese dissident Chen Longde said on Tuesday Chen had been beaten twice by a prison official and that in desperation he jumped from a third-floor window in a labour camp.   Chen was sentenced last month to three years in a labour camp for endangering national security by sending a petition to parliament in May demanding the release of political prisoners.   He was seriously injured in the fall earlier this month and is now in hospital.   Chen's brother-in-law, surnamed Ning, said by telephone from the east China city of Hangzhou that the family had visited Chen this morning and found him in low spirits with a broken right leg and three teeth smashed.   He quoted Chen as saying that he had been beaten on August 15 by a prison official after refusing to write materials on his case requested by officials.   On August 17, the official beat him again, this time with an electric prod, Ning quoted Chen as saying.   "He said he just couldn't stand it any more so he jumped," Ning said.   Ning said doctors told him Chen would undergo surgery on Wednesday and would probably have to spend three months in hospital.   "We're very angry.   The law is clear that this sort of action cannot be taken even against prisoners," Ning said.   Chen's elder sister, Chen Xiaoying, said the family received word of the incident on Monday and were outraged that the police waited nine days before informing them of Chen's injuries.   Chen, aged 39, was detained on May 28 this year and sentenced to three years reform through labour in late July.   He was jailed previously for three years for his role in student-led democracy demonstrations crushed by the army on June 4, 1989, in Beijing.   Hangzhou police could not be contacted for comment. 
4269 !GCAT !GDIP  China's chief of general staff, Lieutenant-General Fu Quanyou, and a delegation of senior military officials are in Vietnam for a week-long visit, Vietnam's state media reported on Tuesday.   The Vietnam News Agency said Fu had arrived on Monday to "compare notes on issues of mutual concern."   It gave no other details and the agenda was not provided to foreign journalists.   The top-level military exchange is the second in just over a month.   Vietnam's army chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Pham Van Tra, visited Beijing in July.   At that meeting the, two sides discussed regional security and agreed to promote military cooperation in line with broader government and Communist Party accords.   Vietnam and China have a long history of border and other differences.   The two nations are among regional claimants to the potentially oil-rich Spratly and Paracel island chains in the South China Sea.   But relations have warmed in recent years.   They made history in June when Chinese premier Li Peng became the most senior foreign official to attend a Vietnam Communist Party congress. 
4270 !C12 !C41 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The chairman of the Samsung Group, Lee Kun-hee, has not yet decided whether to appeal a suspended jail sentence handed down by a Seoul court for bribing former president Roh Tae-woo, a group spokesman said on Tuesday.    "We haven't decided whether to appeal or not.   We have seven days to lodge an appeal against the sentence," the spokesman said.   Lee was sentenced on Monday to two years in jail suspended for three years.   He was among nine businessmen found guilty of bribery by the Seoul District Criminal Court. 
4271 !GCAT !GPOL  The junior partner in Japan's three-party ruling coalition appeared set to split on Tuesday, but senior politicians played down the impact on Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's government or the election calendar.   An intensifying row between senior and junior lawmakers of the New Party Sakigake over plans to form a new political party before elections expected as early as October was "a minor matter", said government spokesman Seiroku Kajiyama.   Kajiyama, a stalwart of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the senior coalition partner, dismissed the heavy domestic media interest in maverick Sakigake official Yukio Hatoyama's budding revolt as "programming for the slack summer season".   Hatoyama, the 49-year-old grandson of a 1950s prime minister, on Tuesday quit a senior party post and has stated his intention to leave Sakigake, an LDP splinter group formed in 1993, to form a reformist political group.   Pundits and media reports say about 10 of 23 fellow party members would follow Hatoyama if he bolted -- far too few to take away the parliamentary majority held by the coalition of the LDP, the Social Democratic Party and Sakigake.   Hatoyama's rebellion -- which has heated up while Hashimoto is on a 10-day Latin American tour -- has angered some coalition leaders because he has hinted he will cooperate with opposition efforts to topple the government.   However, Hatoyama's efforts to expand his group by drawing members of the main opposition Shinshinto (New Frontier Party) have been hobbled by a dispute over the role of Sakigake chief Masayoshi Takemura.   Hatoyama is scheduled to hold last-minute talks on Tuesday evening with Takemura, an ex-finance minister who the opposition legislators say the lacks reformist credentials the new party would need to attract disenchanted voters.   Hashimoto must call polls by mid-1997, and has repeatedly said he would not consider calling an early general election.   But many analysts and politicians believe he may dissolve parliament soon after it reconvenes in early October -- using the threat of an election to discipline wayward coalition members.   No date has been set for the opening of parliament. 
4272 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  South Korea, which has offered to take over an investigation into an apparent fishing boat mutiny in the Pacific, sent a coastguard ship to Japan on Tuesday to tow the vessel to Korea, a foreign ministry official said.   Five countries are wrangling over who should investigate the case in which the Korean captain of the 250-gross ton Pescarmar No. 15 and 10 other crewmen were apparently killed weeks ago by sailors fed up with the harsh working conditions.   "A ship carrying an investigation team left this morning.   But we are not sure when we can tow the Honduras-registered ship to our country," the ministry official told Reuters.   The case involves Japan, which sent a coastguard vessel to rescue the drifting ship, South Korea and Indonesia, whose seamen were among those killed, Honduras, where the boat was registered, and interests in Oman which owned the ship.   The ministry official said South Korea should probe the case because most of the victims were Korean nationals.   South Korea has already formally made an offer to Japan to take over the investigation.   "As many countries are involved in the case, we cannot decide to tow the ship by ourselves," the official said.   "But we will contact the related countries to suggest taking over the case."   If given jurisdiction, South Korea plans to question six Chinese-Koreans, six Indonesians and one Korean found on the vessel.   The survivors gave conflicting versions of the incident when they were investigated by the Japanese coastguard.   The apparent mutiny happened between August 3, when radio contact with the ship was lost, and its rescue on Sunday.   Korean police said the victims were thrown overboard.   But it was not known if they were killed before being pushed off the ship.   The Japanese coastguard vessel that went to the fishing boat's rescue found the vessel without fuel near Torishima island, about 500 km (340 miles) south of Tokyo, on Sunday.   The coastguard delayed towing the boat to port until a decision was made on which country would exercise jurisdiction. 
4273 !C41 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The honorary chairman of the Hanbo Group, Chung Tae-soo, will appeal a two-year jail sentence handed down by a Seoul court for bribing former president Roh Tae-woo, a group spokesman said on Tuesday.    "We are not sure when we would appeal but our lawyers are preparing it," he said.   Chung was among nine businessmen found guilty on Monday by the Seoul District Criminal Court for bribery.   All the businessmen have seven days to lodge appeals of their sentences.   During that time they remain free.   --Seoul Newsroom (822) 727 5643 
4274 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  China's tourism industry earned $4.61 billion in foreign exchange in the first six months of this year, up 15.26 percent from the same 1995 period, the Financial News said on Tuesday.   Foreign tourists made 24.6 million trips to China between January and June, a year-on-year increase of 12.25 percent, the newspaper said, quoting statistics by the National Tourism Administration.   The figures were slightly higher than those previously reported by local media.   China hoped to attract 49 million tourists and generate $10.5 billion in foreign exchange revenues in 1997, the newspaper said.   It gave no further details. 
4275 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A 105-km gasoline pipeline in central China has been shut down by an explosion that killed over 40 people earlier this month, oil officials said on Tuesday.   Trucks and rail were being used to move the petrol to compensate for the loss of the use of the pipeline which was damaged in the explosion on August 9, officials at the Zhongyuan oilfield in Henan province said by telephone.    Earlier reports had said the pipeline was for crude oil but officials said it was used to move petrol from the refinery at Puyang to a storage facility 105 km away in Tangying.   They said that the pipeline previously carried 300 to 500 tonnes of petrol per day.   They were unable to say whether truck and rail transport was close to fully compensating for the loss of the pipeline.   Officials said, however, that the refinery was now shifting its output to boost production of diesel fuel which could be sold in larger amounts locally.    Other officials said the pipeline might be out of service for some time.   They said police had cordoned off the area as a crime scene and that the pipeline could not return to service until an investigation was completed.   The pipeline would then have to be tested again.   "The loss has been considerable," said an official at the sales department of the Zhongyuan oilfield.   Oil officials in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou told Reuters that the cause of the explosion appeared to have been farmers who had tapped into the pipeline to syphon off petrol.   They said that heat or a spark from a motor vehicle parked near the pipeline probably was responsible.   They added that 41 people were dead and 58 injured, many of them seriously.    An official at China National Petroleum Corp in Beijing said he was unaware of any impact on production at the Zhongyuan oilfield.   "The latest output figure shows that Zhongyuan is still producing at above 100,000 tonnes per day," he said.   That would be equal to about 740,000 barrels per day.   He said he was not aware of any disruption in supplies in the region, though he noted that the pipeline belongs to local authorities and not the national corporation. 
4276 !GCAT !GDIP  Chinese Foreign Minister Qian Qichen has called for a new peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula with Beijing willing to play a role, the official People's Daily said on Tuesday.   "It is necessary to build a new peace mechanism in the Korean peninsula according to changes in the international situation," Qian told visiting South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Ki-choo on Monday.   "China is willing to play a constructive role in establishing a peace mechanism in the peninsula," Qian said without elaborating.   "China hopes long-term peace and stability will be maintained on the Korean peninsula and relations between the North and South will improve," Qian said.   China and North Korea boasted their solidarity was "as close as lips and teeth" in the decades after the 1950-53 Korean war when Chinese troops backed Pyongyang.   But China has since decided its friendship with an old comrade cannot stand in the way of rich economic rewards from closer ties with South Korea.   Beijing is now Seoul's third largest trading partner.   South Korea and the United States have proposed four-nation peace talks with North Korea and China to replace a truce that ended the Korean conflict.   However, North Korea has insisted on bilateral talks with the United States to seek a peace accord, saying Seoul was not a party to the armistice agreement that ended the war.   The two Koreas remain technically at war since the conflict ended in a truce. 
4277 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Japan's Finance Minister Wataru Kubo told a news conference on Tuesday that the government was not planning any further tax increases to finance the state budget following its decision to raise the consumption tax in April 1997.    "It would be difficult for the government to take steps to raise taxes (to finance the budget) as we have already decided to raise the consumption tax to five percent (from the current three percent)," Kubo said.   Meanwhile, concerning government bond issues to finance the budget, Kubo said that although Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's cabinet had decided that 1997/98 starting April would mark the start of restructuring of the nation's budget, "the situation is not the sort in which we can immediately escape from our dependency on government bond issues".    Asked whether the government was planning to come up with a supplementary budget in time for an extraordinary session of parliament expected to be held this autumn, Kubo said: "We are not acting on the premise that we will make a supplementary budget."   If an extra budget were to be prepared in time for the parliament session, the finance ministry would have to start working on it in early September, he said.   "Now is the time when we have to make an overall decision (on the supplementary budget)," he added.    Kubo said he had doubts about whether a supplementary budget would be in line with the government's long-term policy of restructuring state finances, as such a budget would have to be paid for by using government bond issues.   But at the same time, looking at economic conditions, he pointed out that consumer spending seemed to be a bit sluggish compared with a year ago.   Economists have said that Japan may need an extra budget later this year to help the economy.   The government would make a decision on the extra budget looking at the economic situation in the first half of calendar 1996, including economic growth for the April-June quarter, and on how public works projects are being carried out, Kubo said. 
4278 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Thousands of Christians opposed to a peace pact between the Philippine government and Moslem rebels held a rally on Tuesday, vowing to fight the accord through the courts, force of arms and prayer.   More than 5,000 people crowded a convention centre in Zamboanga city to protest a proposed Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development (SPCPD) that is to be led by rebel chief Nur Misuari, witnesses and police said.   More people gathered outside with placards reading "SPCPD is deadlier than AIDS.   If they want it, they can have it," and denouncing President Fidel Ramos as a traitor.   The pact, due to be initialled in Jakarta by the end of the month, sees the council as a prelude to a Moslem-led, autonomous regional government.   Christians, who are in a clear majority in the south, regard the pact as a sell-out to Moslem interests.   Congresswoman Maria Clara Lobregad told reporters that opponents of the pact were preparing to challenge it in the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.   "We are going to do this legally, not in violence," Lobregad told reporters.   Others were prepared to use force, however.   Zamboanga city councillor Jaime Cabato said he had been in contact with Christian vigilante groups who were busy arming themselves.   He estimated their number at 5,000 and said they would not hesitate to use violence.   Others had more peaceful intentions.   "We will continue our opposition through daily prayers and lighting of candles," said one protester, who declined to be named.   Police and troops were stationed around the convention site but the demonstration was peaceful.   The pact is intended to end a 24-year revolt by southern Moslems that has killed more than 120,000 people. 
4279 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  China has publicly thanked Gabon for its strong support at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, where Beijing has come under attack from Western nations for its human rights record.   China's President Jiang Zemin offered his gratitude in a meeting on Monday with visiting Gabon President Omar Bongo, the official Xinhua news agency said.   Jiang also acknowledged the Central African nation's support for China's stance on Taiwan, which Beijing views as a renegade province, while Bongo was quoted as thanking China for economic and technological aid, the agency said late on Monday.   In April, China quashed a draft resolution by the U.N. Human Rights Commission expressing concern over continuing reports of Beijing's violations of fundamental freedoms.   After the defeat of the resolution, drafted by the European Union and the United States, China's Foreign Ministry thanked 26 countries for backing its motion for "no action" on the document.   It was the sixth year in a row that China avoided censure at the U.N.'s main human rights forum.   China has been accused of a wide range of human rights abuses, often in violation of its own legal code, in an effort to silence dissent.   A Xinhua commentary earlier this year said a plot by the West to force its human rights standards and values on other countries was doomed to failure. 
4280 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Shares of Daewoo Group and Dong-ah Construction, a unit of the Dong-ah Group, fell in early morning trading after the chairmen of the two groups were sentenced to prison for bribing former president Roh Tae-woo, brokers said.    Daewoo Electronics fell to a year low of 6,140 won, down 170, an hour after the morning trading began, while Daewoo Corp lost 20 won to 7,250 and Daewoo Heavy Industries shed 30 won to 6,150, they said.   Dong-Ah Construction dropped 900 won to hit the low for the year at 24,200.   "The Daewoo and Dong-Ah group stocks are all badly hit by the news that their chairmen got jail terms," said a Coryo Securities broker.   Brokers said currently weak market fundmentals were pressuring the shares as well.    A Seoul court on Monday sentenced Kim Woo-choong, the founder and chairman of South Korea's powerful Daewoo Group Dong-Ah Group, received a 2-1/2 year jail sentence.   "There is hardly any buying on Daewoo and Dong-Ah shares," the Coryo Securities broker said.   "Even if the market turns to the positive side, those shares are likely to stay flat."   Brokers said the Daewoo and Dong-Ah group shares are expected to remain in negative territory for the remainder of the day.   --Seoul Newsroom (822) 727 5643 
4281 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB !GVIO  Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem called on Tuesday for a two-hour strike to protest what they called Israel's war on Arab East Jerusalem after police demolished a building there.   Israeli police demolished a 10 metre (yard) by 20 metre structure in Jerusalem's Old City they said had been built with funding from the Palestinian self-rule Authority for use as a social club.   Police used a huge crane to lift a bulldozer over the Old City's walls to reach the building amidst narrow alleys, witnesses said.   Bystanders at the scene said work had begun on the building in 1991 and it had yet to be completed when the Israeli police bulldozed it.   The Palestinian Authority was set up under the 1993 PLO-Israel interim peace deal.   "There has been a call for a general strike between one (1000 GMT) and three o'clock," Palestinian lawmaker Ahmed Hashem Zighayer told Reuters.   "This is a war that has been declared on us and we want our people to come and see the site where they declared the war."   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, has said it will not allow the Authority, set up under a 1993 interim peace deal to control parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, to operate in Jerusalem.   Israel's previous government held the same position but in general turned a blind eye to Palestinian Authority activity in the city.   Tuesday's demolition came a day after PLO officials said they had bowed to Netanyahu's demand they close offices in Jerusalem.   They said two of the three offices Israel wanted closed had been shut.   Netanyahu has made closure of the three offices a condition for resuming peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).   Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it.   It says it will never cede any part of the city.   Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.   The city is up for negotiation at final peace talks which have yet to resume under Netanyahu. 
4282 !GCAT !GVIO  Israeli police on Tuesday demolished a structure in Jerusalem they said had been built with funding from the Palestinian self-rule Authority.   The 10 metre (yard) by 20 metre (corrects dimensions) concrete structure inside Jerusalem's walled Old City had been intended for use as a social club, said police.   Police used a huge crane to lift a bulldozer over the Old City's walls to reach the building amidst narrow alleys, witnesses said.   Bystanders at the scene said work had begun on the building in 1991 and it had yet to be completed when the Israeli police bulldozed it.   The Palestinian Authority was set up under the 1993 PLO-Israel interim peace deal.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, has said it will not allow the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, to operate in Jerusalem.   Israel's previous government held the same position but in general turned a blind eye to Palestinian Authority activity in the city.   Tuesday's demolition came a day after PLO officials said they had bowed to Netanyahu's demand they close offices in Jerusalem.   They said two of the three offices Israel wanted closed had been shut.   Netanyahu has made closure of the three offices a condition for resuming peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).   Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it.   It says it will never cede any part of the city.   Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.   The city is up for negotiation at final peace talks which have yet to resume under Netanyahu. 
4283 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Moroccan press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LE MATIN DU SAHARA   - Tourism sector needs long-term stategy to overcome crisis.   L'OPINION   - Michael Jackson fans disappointed after news that his show has not been given the green light.   AL-BAYANE   - Morocco issues draft constitution to be approved by referendum on September 13.   LE QUOTIDIEN DU MAROC   - Trade ministry to create fund to finance small businesses investment projects.   - Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore says in interview to Moroccan daily Quotidien du Maroc "Africa must prepare integration in world market".   BAYANE-AL-YOUM   - Thousands made homeless after fire destroyed shantytown in Casablanca. 
4284 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  An Israeli court has ordered that a detained human rights worker, whose organisation said he was abused by interrogators in prison, be remanded to custody in a hotel, Israeli media and the group Human Rights Watch said.   Israel's Itim news agency said on Tuesday that a court in the northern Israeli town of Acre on Monday ordered Bashir Tarabieh, a U.S. resident originally from the Golan Heights, remanded to a hotel under house arrest for 48 hours.   It said Tarabieh, 27, was arrested last week on suspicion he carried out activites against Israel.   It did not elaborate.   Israeli authorities were not immediately available to comment.   The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch organisation, which says Tarabieh works for it as a consultant, said Israeli interrogators had abused Tarabieh and demanded his immediate release.   It said Israeli interrogators at Kishon prison near Haifa, where he was held since his arrest on August 19 while on holiday on the Golan, subjected Tarabieh to "degrading and inhumane treatment".   "He was hooded, tied to a chair with his hands and feet also tied and forced to sit in a contorted position for hours," Human Rights Watch said in a statement issued to the media.   "While a hotel room is clearly preferable to a jail cell, Mr. Tarabieh is still in de facto custody and at the disposal of GSS (General Security Service) agents," Kenneth Roth, Human Rights Watch executive director, was quoted by the statement as saying.   The GSS is commonly known as the Shin Bet.   Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.   Nearly five years of peace negotiations between Israel and Syria have stalled over the strategic plateau.   Syria demands its return.   About 15,000 Israelis have settled among 18,000 Druze on the heights since 1967.   Neither Itim nor Human Rights Watch said what citzenship Tarabieh held. 
4285 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Sudan Airway's office in Jordan said on Tuesday most passengers abroad its hijacked plane that landed in London were Sudanese heading to Amman for medical treatment.   Armed hijackers, believed to be Iraqis, released 140 people after the plane landed at an airport near London.   They seized it on Monday evening soon after it left Khartoum for the Jordanian capital Amman.   "Most of the Sudanese passengers on board were coming to Jordan for medical treatment," Justo Baba, station manager of Sudan Airways office in Amman, told Reuters.   He said the plane had 186 listed passengers and 13 crew -- including 23 Iraqis, 14 Jordanians, one Syrian, one Saudi and one Palestinian.   The rest were Sudanese.   Baba said he was not certain where the Iraqi passengers were heading.   A number of anxious relatives have been phoning the airline's office to inquire about the fate of the plane, Baba said.   At Stansted airport, two sick passengers were taken away in ambulances, but police said their illnesses were not related to their treatment by the hijackers.   One woman appeared to collapse in the aircraft doorway before picking herself up and walking down the steps.   Two elderly passengers were helped down by a crew member. 
4286 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the official Iraqi press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JUMHOURIYA   - Iran continues its meddling in Iraqi Kurdish affairs in northern Iraq.   - India works for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq.   - Editorial slams Iran's foreign minister for saying his country could bring peace to northern Iraq.   - National assembly to discuss water pollution in Iraq in its next session.   - Commentary accuses UNSCOM of adopting tactics to delay lifting of the oil embargo on Iraq.   QADISSIYA   - Iraq and UNSCOM talks resume in Baghdad.   - Iraq and Turkey discuss flow of cross-border traffic.   - National Assembly speaker receives Canadian delegation.   AL-IRAQ   - Iraq and Greece discuss cooperation in health spheres. 
4287 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Saudi Arabian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-RIYADH   - A 28-member delegation of Saudi businessmen to visit three former Soviet republics in September to examine the formation of joint projects.   - Agriculture Ministry plans to buy 21,000 tonnes of dates a year from Saudi farmers.   AL-YAUM   - King Fahd tells cabinet meeting that the government will continue to encourage the private sector to boost the economy.   - A Saudi technical team is to visit Amman to study the import of Jordanian agricultural products.   ARAB NEWS   - Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan to visit Yemen on Wednesday.   Saudi Arabia and Yemen are trying to settle their border dispute.   - Around 40,000 Saudi farmers will start receiving the first installment of nine billion riyals from the branch offices of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency from August 31.   - Saudi Arabia is to send three delegations to South Africa to forge closer relations between the two countries, especially in technical and industrial fields. 
4288 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the official Syrian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SYRIA TIMES   - Khaled al-Fahoum, leader of the Palestine National Salvation Front, hails Syria's steadfastness in peace talks with Israel and its firm stand on rejecting separate deals.   - Japan urges Israel to follow the path of peace.   - The Islamic Jihad Movement plans to continue resistance in Israel.   TISHREEN   - Israel sets a cabinet team to speed measures to demolish occupied Jerusalem.   - As Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak threatens to cancel the economic summit of the Middle East, international moves start to stop the collapse of the peace process.   AL-THAWRA   - Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa arrives in Damascus today carrying a message from Mubarak to President Hafez al-Assad.   - Lebanon says Israeli proposals are rejected and no substitute to cooperation and coordination with Syria.   - Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara discusses with Palestinian leader Faisal al-Husseini the following up of the Cairo Arab summit's decisions.   AL-BAATH   - After accusing Bashar Tarabieh of burning two occupation posts in the Golan Heights, Israel sets him free after being tortured in prison. 
4289 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Tunisian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LA PRESSE   - President Ben Ali discusses with Prime Minister Hamed Karoui next steps in drafting the nineth development planning.   - Tunisia's fish production 83,000 tonnes in 1995, down from 102,000 tonnes in 1988.   LE TEMPS   - Strategic studies on energy, water, population and development presented to President Ben Ali. 
4290 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Bahraini press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-AYAM   - Arab Financial Services expects to post a $5 million net profit this year.   AFS is owned by 55 Arab banks and financial institutions.   - Bahrain to announce names of the new Shura council members before the end of September.   AKHBAR AL-KHALEEJ   - 50 environmental experts are set to meet in Bahrain on September 3 to discuss present and future changes in the region.   GULF DAILY NEWS   - Bahrain's economy is set to soar.   Several schemes are in the pipeline which would help boost the economy, information minister says. 
4291 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Egyptian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-AHRAM   - Intensive Egyptian contacts with all parties to push peace negotiations on all tracks.   A joint Egyptian, American and Israeli meeting in Paris today to discuss the economic summit and resume the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations.   - Prime Minister Kamal Ganzouri reviews a report on latest oil discoveries.   A new field in Suez Gulf produces 4,000 barrels per day.   Oil Minister Hamdi el-Banbi says prices of oil and products will not be increased.   AL-AKHBAR   - Foreign Minister Amr Moussa says the Sudanese regime's policies are wrong.   - Ganzouri receives a delegation of American oil companies.   27.2 billion pounds of American investments in the oil sector.   AL-GOMHURIA   - Water level increases continue in Nasser Lake.   - Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy to arrive in Cairo on Sunday. 
4292 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Greek Cypriot press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   CYPRUS MAIL   - Sudanese hijacked plane lands in Cyprus for refuelling.   - No rise in defence levy this year, said government spokesman Yiannakis Cassoulides.   PHILELEFTHEROS   - Intensive urges for the reshuffling of ministers.   - The roles have been reversed at Cyprus Airways.   It is the company now that demands from the unions action to decrease the operational costs of the airline.   SIMERINI   - Ministry of finance is preparing a study on the side effects of a rise in the defence levy. 
4293 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Turkish press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SABAH   - Fourteen funerals are held in Turkey on Monday for soldiers killed in the conflict with Kurdish rebels.   - Istanbul airport is crammed and in total chaos as holidaymakers return home.   MILLIYET   - Parliament is to holds an extraordinary session to discuss lifting emergency rule in some of the ten mainly-Kurdish provinces where it is effective.   - The Islamist-led government is preparing a five-step plan on the southeast problem.   HURRIYET   - Turkish journalist Ender Erturan dies as the plane which he was flying in England crashes.   CUMHURIYET   - The Islamist-led government shelves projects they vowed to realize as there are no financial resources to bring them to life.   YENI YUZYIL   - A report by the Centre of Strategic and International Studies draws a bleak picture of Turkey due to the economic and political deadlock caused by the ruling Islamist Welfare Party.   DUNYA   - A report by the Association for Foreign Investment reveals that foreign investment in Turkey has decreased by 6.5 percent since 1993.   ZAMAN   - The Islamist-led government pushes for an effective law on limiting media sector promotions despite a presidential veto. 
4294 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinian leaders in Jerusalem called on Tuesday for a two-hour general strike to protest what they called Israel's war on Arab East Jerusalem after police demolished a building there.   "There has been a call for a general strike between one (1000 GMT) and three o'clock," Palestinian lawmaker Ahmed Hashem Zighayer told Reuters.   "This is a war that has been declared on us and we want our people to come and see the site where they declared the war."    Israeli police on Tuesday demolished a 10 metre (yard) by 20 metre structure in Jerusalem's Old City they said had been built with funding from the Palestinian self-rule Authority for use as a social club.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, has said it will not allow the Authority, set up under a 1993 interim peace deal to control parts of the Gaza Strip and West Bank, to operate in Jerusalem.   Israel's previous government held the same position but in general turned a blind eye to Palestinian Authority activity in the city.   Israel captured Arab East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it.   It says it will never cede any part of the city.   Palestinians want East Jerusalem as capital of a future state.   The city is up for negotiation at final peace talks which have yet to resume under Netanyahu. 
4295 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Jordanian press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JORDAN TIMES   - Armed forces pledges to continue as nation's shield.   King, in message to security services, says there is no room for hostile elements.   - King and ex-premiers review developments.   - Detainees release continues.   - Economists welcome new liberalisation moves, say more measures are needed.   AD DUSTOUR   - Sudanese passenger jet hijacked en route to Amman from Khartoum.   AL ASWAQ   - Labour minister says 60,000 labourers and workers to go to Gulf this year.   AL RAI   - Jordan to license all unlicensed buildings in kingdom.   - Saudi committees in Amman to hire 1,000 teachers next week. 
4296 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Kuwaiti press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   AL-QABAS   - The Emir Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah discusses bilateral relations with the visiting president of the Comoros.   - Interior ministry says prison hunger strike is over.   About 600 inmates started a hunger strike on Saturday to demand better living conditions and less restriction in the prison's visiting area.   AL-WATAN   - Cabinet source says parliamentary elections set for October 7.   - Kuwait Investment Projects Company reports 202 percent rise in its mid-year results.   AL-RAI AL-AAM   - Parliament to discuss report on defence ministry supply contracts.   Parliament earlier this month gave its public funds protection committee investigatory powers to probe alleged irregularities in defence ministry contracts.   - Commerce official says Kuwaiti laws need to be amended to be in line with the regulations of World Trade Organisation. 
4297 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the United Arab Emirates press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-ITTIHAD   - Non-oil trade through Dubai expected to reach 78.5 billion dirhams in 1996, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce says.   GULF NEWS   - UAE garment industry starved of manpower.   Investors fear losing business if need for workforce is not met soon.   - Construction firms in the UAE seek urgent help of government.   Smaller companies worst affected by departure of absconders who have taken advantage of government's amnesty for illegal workers to leave the country.   KHALEEJ TIMES   - The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said it is pressing ahead with projects to expand its facilities.   - Indian exports of machinery and electrical equipment to Dubai soared by 158 percent in 1995, the India Trade Centre says. 
4298 !C13 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Turkey's parliament is to meet for an extraordinary session on Tuesday to debate the abolition of a compulsory state savings scheme.   The parliamentary session, scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. (1200 GMT), was called last week by deputies from the Islamist-led coalition.   The scheme, introduced in 1988, is funded by two-percent salary contributions by workers and a further three percent contribution by employers.   Analysts say the scheme has failed because of low level investment returns.   Labour Minister Necati Celik met on Monday with union leaders to discuss possible methods of repaying the money to contributors.   Parliament is scheduled to stay in session through the week to discuss the abolition of emergency rule in some of the 10 provinces where it is enforced to combat a separatist Kurdish conflict in the southeast. 
4299 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Beirut press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AN-NAHAR   -Israel's Internal Security Minister Avigdor Kahalani proposed deploying a U.S.-Arab force in south Lebanon once Israel pulls out of its occupation zone.   -The north Lebanon elections - Fundamentalists and political parties fail to win seats.   AS-SAFIR   -U.S.-French talks dealt with the five-nation committee monitoring the April 27 ceasefire understanding between Lebanon and Israel.   -Traditional leaders weakened by the elections.   AL-ANWAR   -About 40 Lebanese companies and firms take part in the International Damascus Exhibition.   AD-DIYAR   -Syrian Vice-President Khaddam: We did not interfere in the electoral process.   NIDA'A AL-WATAN   -All yields were unchanged on Lebanese treasury bills, according to weekly rates issued by the central bank. 
4300 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Israeli newspapers on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JERUSALEM POST   - Uproar over ultra-Orthodox Jewish media attacks on Supreme Court president.   - Japanese Foreign Minister - I trust Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.   - Palestinian President Arafat wants Israeli President Weizman to commute sentences of Palestinian prisoners.   - Hijacked Sudanese plane diverted to Larnaca.   - Finance Minister Meridor says economy slowing but far from recession.   - Banks reduce prime rate to 17.3 percent after Central Bank lowered short term lending rate by 0.5 percentage points.   - Bank Discount profits up 47 percent.   HAARETZ   - Israeli Foreign Minister Levy calls on Netanyahu to meet Arafat.   - U.S. has had destroyer off Lebanese coast monitoring Syrian ground-to-ground missile programme.   - Shas ultra-Orthodox Jewish political party says ultra- Orthodox have right to criticise Israeli Supreme Court.   - Member of German parliament says some people appointed to investigate Nazi crimes were members of Nazi party.   - Government reversal: Zim will not be privatised.   YEDIOTH AHRONOTH   - Political source says Netanyahu, Arafat meeting sometime between Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement, Sept 16 to 20.   - Police recommending 15 soccer players, 26 others be charged in sports gambling scandal.   MAARIV   - Syrian President Assad to Israel's Levy: You won Israeli elections by narrow margin and do not represent the people.   - Contacts toward Netanyahu, Arafat meeting already on Sunday.   - Shin Bet secret service begins collecting intelligence on extremist ultra-Orthodox Jews.   GLOBES   - Demands Central Bank lower interest rate a further one percent.   - Wertheimer and Zisser raise credit of 250 million shekels to acquire Africa Israel shares.   Estimate is they'll try to acquire 18-20 percent of shares to raise their stake to 25 percent. 
4301 !GCAT  The scene inside the arched gate of al-Nawras resort on Gaza's northern beach would have been unthinkable until very recently.   Young Palestinian men and women, swimming against traditional tides, were enjoying a dip together in a sparkling pool, unconcerned that they might be branded as infidels.   The scene reflected the social revolution that has gripped the deeply conservative Gaza Strip since Palestinian President Yasser Arafat took charge of the area in 1994 under a self-rule deal with Israel.   Al-Nawras (Seagull) Tourist Resort, which opened for business in July, is the latest and most daring feature of Gaza's social liberalisation.   "Up until now, I could not go swimming," said a 19-year-old woman who was with about 30 others inside the pool.   "The presence of the Palestinian Authority provides us with the security and freedom to wear what we like."   The $2.7 million resort provides Gaza's elite with a Palestinian version of an exclusive club.   Inside the whitewashed walls, families dine, swim and exercise in a posh setting of water fountains, well-maintained lawns and flowers.   Arafat's wife Suha and her one-year-old daughter Zahwa are among the 170 families using it regularly.   Owners say it can accommodate up to 250 families.   The swimming pool is reserved for family use five days a week.   Women and men coming on their own must swim separately on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.   Membership fees for a family of two start at $300, far beyond the reach of most Gazans.   But an influx of wealthy Palestinians since the PLO took charge of Gaza has given the club a solid membership base.   "This is a wonderful place.   One can at least find a place here to relax and enjoy a day off," said Husam Shisha'a, who grew up in Kuwait and returned recently to Gaza.   "Such places are terribly important.   Otherwise people will lose their sanity and even explode," he said as he ate lunch with his family at poolside.   Gazans, once confined to their homes from dusk to dawn by an Israeli army curfew, have made full use of the freedom won after Israel pulled out its troops in 1994.   On Thursday evening, families gather on the beach for cookouts.   Young men sip coffee and smoke water pipes.   Men and women mix at many of the restaurants and resorts that dot the beach, breaking a taboo long observed throughout the Strip.   Palestinians say that Gaza's liberalisation was given a boost by Arafat's sweeping crackdown on Islamic militants in February and March, following a spate of suicide bombings in Israel in which 59 people were killed.   Recreation centres began to flourish as PLO security forces rounded up hundreds of activists and Hamas's influence on the streets declined.   Founded by six brothers, including two expatriate Palestinian businessmen who returned home after 20 years in Australia, the Nawras club is at the centre of an ambitious project that will eventually include a five-star hotel and a Roman theatre that runs down to the sea.   In addition to the pool and restaurant, owners are putting final touches to a gymnasium and tennis and basketball courts.   An Italian company has won a tender to furnish a 1,000-seat theatre which will also serve as a cinema and conference centre.   "Once this facility is completed, it will be unique even for the Middle East," said Abdel-Latif al-Sabaawi, general manager of the resort.   "We look at this project as a lung for the (Gaza) Strip to breathe with."   Fateh al-Sabaawi, 25, an administrator at the site, said: "People had been anxious for such a facility to open.   They want to enjoy themselves after 30 years of Israeli occupation." 
4302 !GCAT  NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG   - The government of Liechtenstein is spending 26.5 million Swiss francs to renovate and expand several museums and government buildings in the centre of Vaduz.   - Several thousand Tamils gathered at the U.N. Headquarters in Geneva on Monday to demand the release of Nadarajah Muralidaran, coordinator of the Tamil Tigers in Switzerland, who has been imprisoned in Zurich since April.   - The number of overnight stays in Swiss hotels fell by 3.6 percent to 1.38 million for the first half of 1996.   The figure reached its lowest level since 1954.   - Clothing group Big Star posted a 7.1 percent sales increase to 67 million Swiss francs and net profit rise of 2.1 million francs for the first six months of the year.   TAGES ANZEIGER   - Sandoz said it will sell its building chemical division MBT to Germany's Viag Group for 1.3 billion Swiss francs.   - A Swiss woman and her son were arrested in Spain for intending to pass on secret information they acquired illegally from an employee at Switzerland's Federal Department of Statistics.   - Swiss Re denied a rumour that it intended to take over the British life and reinsurance firm Mercantile & General.   - Basler Cantonalbank, with its new subsidiary "Discount Direct", is the first Swiss financial institute to execute stock market transactions for private and institutional customers for minimal fees.   - Nearly 21,000 full-time jobs were lost in the second quarter of 1996, half of them in the building sector.   JOURNAL DE GENEVE   - Cargo Service Schweiz, a collective group of independent transportation firms, wants to exercise its pre-sales right and take over Cargo Domizil Schweiz.   CSS presented its take-over plan to the Swiss Federal Railways. 
4303 !GCAT  Headlines from major national newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL PAIS   - Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar imposes change of ambassador to Cuba   EL MUNDO   - Government gives judge four reasons for not handing over dirty war secret papers   DIARIO 16   - Explosion at Puertollano refinery brings its security into question   ABC   - Bill Clinton starts with a lead in race for the White House   CINCO DIAS   - Portugal serves Telefonica as trampoline to enter Brazil   EXPANSION   - Treasury tightens control over companies to combat fraud   GACETA DE LOS NEGOCIOS   - Big banks capture 310 billion pesetas in equity to back American expansion 
4304 !G15 !G155 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  A woman who became a man took Britain to the European Court of Human Rights on Tuesday to win recognition as father to the child of his long-time female companion.   The child was born in 1992 through artificial insemination by sperm from a third person.   The British trans-sexual told the court that the Registrar General gave his name to the child but refused to recognise his role as father to the child and to register him as the father.   The trans-sexual, named only as X, argued that the Registrar's refusal breached the European Convention on Human Rights which guarantees respect of family life.   The European Commission of Human rights, which screens cases for the Strasbourg-based court, had declared the case admissible.   The court will deliver its verdict at a later date. 
4305 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Denmark on Tuesday predicted a fall in its public sector deficit to 5.8 billion crowns in 1997 from an expected 15.3 billion crown shortfall this year and 15.9 billion crowns in 1995.   "1997 holds prospects of an improvement in the general government budget balance by nearly 10 billion crowns or one percent of GDP and that these finances will be close to equilibrium," finance minister Mogens Lykketoft said in a document presenting his 1997 budget proposal.   He said Denmark since 1995 had met EMU (economic and monetary union) convergence criteria with a general government deficit of 1.6 percent of GDP against the convergence requirement of 3.0 percent.   "In 1997 the deficit is estimated at just under six billion crowns or 0.5 percent of GDP and Denmark also meets the convergence requirements for inflation, interest rates and currency, while the gross public debt ratio is falling at a satisfactorily rapid rate," Lykketoft said.   Denmark, which opted out of European economic and monetary union in its 1993 referendum on the Maastricht treaty on closer European co-operation, would have to hold another referendum if it wanted to join EMU.   --Chris Follett, Copenhagen newsroom +45-33969652 
4306 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Algerian press on Tuesday as reported by the official Algerian news agency APS.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL MOUDJAHID   - Fourty countries and 60 organisations take part in the eighth Youth African Movement congress in Algiers.   - 25,000 people benefited from unemployement insurance scheme.   L'AUTHENTIQUE   - Algeria won seven medals at Atlanta para-olympic games.   AL CHAAB   - The government seeks large participation to chart main economic priorities to ensure social and economic stability.   - Great Britain is a base for terrorism: 14,000 extremist personalities take part in congress in London. 
4307 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in Norwegian papers this morning:   AFTENPOSTEN   - In the corruption case involving Norwegian state-owned company Statoil, a Briton now says he paid a Statoil employee 30,000 pounds, his lawyer says.   The two men were remanded in custody by a Norwegian court for their alleged roles in the matter.   Statoil Managing Director Harald Norvik says he is no longer surprised to find corruption in the oil industry.   - The Offshore Northern Seas Conference, the world's biggest oil fair, opens in Stavanger.   - Pre-tax profits for the largest companies listed on Oslo Bourse fell by a total 1.3 billion crowns during the first six months of 1996.   DAGENS NAERINGSLIV   - Although foreign investors hold 35 percent of stock listed on the Oslo Bourse, Norwegian shareowners remain in power.   This is partly because foreigners mainly own shares without voting rights (B shares).   - Norwegian insurer UNI Storebrand unveiled its bank on Monday, Storebrand Bank.   It offers higher interests on deposits than the traditional banks do. 
4308 !GCAT  The following are leading domestic stories in Portuguese newspapers.   DIARIO ECONOMICO   - Government wants to give 200 million escudos to small businessmen for pensions fund, a government source told the paper.   - Planning Minister Joao Cravinho lists motorways to be privatised.   - Lisbon stock exchange will announce the price paid by Banco Portugues de Investimento (BPI) in its successful bid for Banco de Fomento e Exterior (BFE) tomorrow.   PUBLICO   - Spanish telephone company Telefonica wants a partnership with Portugal Telecom.   Telefonica president Juan Villalonga told the Spanish newspaper "El Pais" that he wants the two operators to move into the Latin American market together.   - Portuguese trade deficit outside the Europe Union fell 5.1 percent in the first half of 1996 compared to the same period last year.   - Construction companies say that activity in the private sector increased in the second quarter of 1996 compared to the same period in 1995.   DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   - Government is to propose stronger penalties for those who use explosives and carry arms in public places.   --Lisbon bureau 3511-3538254 
4309 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  The chief economist of Germany's central bank warned on Monday that entry criteria for Europe's planned currency union must not be altered, speaking out in a smouldering debate on the issue among European leaders.   "As we have said on many occasions, a softening of the convergence criteria is out of the question in our opinion," the Bundesbank's Otmar Issing told a group of bankers.   Italian officials have this month stirred a long simmering debate on European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) criteria by suggesting they should be renegotiated in light of Europe's sluggish economic growth and fiscal problems.   Nations wishing to join the single currency at its planned starting date on January 1, 1999 must show their budget deficits are not exceeding three percent of gross domestic product while their total public debt does not exceed 60 percent of gross domestic product.   Issing rejected the calls for more lenient entry criteria, suggesting instead that nations must go one step further and adopt another document to ensure lasting stability once the union is founded.   Issing said it was also important to adopt a so-called stability pact, currently being discussed by European leaders, which would impose automatic sanctions on members straying from the original targets.   Commenting on speculation that countries may be let into EMU even if they exceed the prescribed targets, Issing said the stability pact could not be seen as a replacement for the original entry criteria.   "We cannot get around implementing a stability pact but not as a replacement for the convergence criteria.   The stability criteria must be observed," Issing said.   A stability pact's sanctions were particularly important because the Maastricht Treaty, setting out the rules for the currency union, held no provisions to expel a nation for bad behaviour, Issing said.   "Expulsion is not a planned option," Issing said, adding, "The economic cost of quitting EMU, disregarding the political ramifications, would be immense."   He warned that Germany was currently in danger of missing both the debt and deficit criteria this year.   "There is a danger that Germany will again clearly miss the three percent deficit criteria this year and recently it has also exceeded the 60 percent debt target," Issing said.   REUTER 
4310 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Dutch newspapers today.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   HET FINANCIEELE DAGBLAD   - Justice officials arrest two people on charges of insider trading in shares of foods and beverages concern BolsWessanen.   (p1)   - Introduction of second chipcard alongside "chipknip" will result in tens of millions of guilders in extra costs, says Rabobank chairman.   (p1)   - Offshore and dredging company IHC Caland forecasts strong second half after 4.6 pct lower profit growth in first half.   (p1)   - Trading company Ceteco's first six months net pressured by financing costs.   (p3)   - Insurer Achmea Group books 18 pct higher H1 net; group forecasts profits growth in second half.   (p3)   - Rabobank forecasts higher second half net, after H1 net up 21.5 pct at Dfl 853 million.   (p3)   - Plastic pipe producer Wavin's net in first six months jumps 35 pct to Dfl 19.8 million; outlook is good.   (p3)   - Consumer confidence grows to 5 in august from 4 in July, according to Central Bureau of Statistics CBS.   (p4) DE VOLKSKRANT   - Cabinet chooses today for phased petrol excise increase.   (p1)   - Cable operator Casema starts experiment with cable telephone service.   (p17)   - ABN Amro Aandelen Fonds' intrinsic value/participation at June 30 was Dfl 123.39 from Dfl 104.09 at the beginning of 1996.   (p17) DE TELEGRAAF   - Pension fund ABP and ING unit Nationale Nederlanden cut mortgage rates by resp.   0.3 and 0.2 pct.   (p21)   - Warehouse inventory maker Nedcon books H1 net of Dfl 1.3 million, company is confident of H2 results.   (p21)   - Justice economic affairs minister shocked by research into administrative costs arising from environmental rules.   (p25) TROUW   - Liberals want fifth runway for Schiphol Airport to be built as quickly as possible.   (p3) ALGEMEEN DAGBLAD   - Traffic minister Annemarie Jorritsma rejects advice to make road transport more expensive.   (p1)   - Shell Nederland surprised by economic affairs ministry's probe into petrol price fixing.   (p11)   --Amsterdam newsdesk +31-20-504-5000 
4311 !GCAT  Here are the highlights of stories in the Danish press on Tuesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   BERLINGSKE TIDENDE   --- The social democrats are to propose a new drug policy which will give drug addicts free access to treatment and suggests distribution of heroin to the most dependent addicts.   --- The Danish army still has not found the reason for the plane crash on the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic on August 3 which killed the Danish defence chief.   However the investigation team cannot exclude that the crash was caused by bad weather.   POLITIKEN   --- Experts from the brewing sector now warn that the new cooperation between Danish brewery group Carlsberg and the British brewery Bass could cause conflicts because of the difference in management within the two groups.   JYLLANDS-POSTEN   --- One of the world's largest department stores the Japanese Itochu has invested 120 million crowns in an eel breeding project in western Denmark.   It hopes to breed about 1200 tons of eel within the next three to four years.   BORSEN   --- Danish industrial group Danfoss says it will move part of its production in Germany to Slovenia and Mexico as production prices in Germany have shown to be higher than expected. 
4312 !GCAT !GVIO  Two bombs exploded overnight on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica in what has become a nightly routine since separatist guerrillas called off a shaky truce earlier this month.   Police said no-one was hurt in the blasts, which wrecked a tax office in Bonifacio early on Tuesday and damaged a car rental office at the southern Figari airport late on Monday.   The latest blasts took to 17 the number of bomb attacks in the past 13 days.   No-one has claimed responsibility for the attacks but police said they seemed part of a two-decade-old campaign by separatists for greater autonomy from Paris.   The outlawed Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC), one of the main guerrilla groups, ended a seven-month truce last week, accusing the government of reneging on secret commitments. 
4313 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   LES ECHOS   -- Elf picks up 17 oil exploration permits in the Gulf of Mexico.   -- Air France passenger turnover up six percent to 9.4 billion francs for four months of April to July, compared to year-ago.   -- Air France Europe consultative staff committee rejects plan to lay off 950 staff.   -- Prime Minister Alain Juppe says it is still far too early to lay down medium-term public policy on digital TV, adding it was no longer the government's job to regulate everything.   -- GAN plans to inject 800 million francs into UIC banking unit.   LA TRIBUNE DESFOSSES   -- Liffe chairman Daniel Hodson plans switch to Euro contracts in March 1999, regardless of whether Britain opts for monetary union or not.   -- CDC bank warns government not to take out more than 13.5 billion francs to balance the 1997 national budget.   -- UIC posts 758 million franc first-half loss.   L'AGEFI   -- Speculation hits Roussel UCLAF share trading due to rumours of Hoechst buy-out.   -- France may help finance construction of Pudong airport near Shanghai.   -- Credit Agricole is set to become prime beneficiary of French banking deregulation.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- Social security to announce estimate of 1997 health care deficit on September 23.   LIBERATION   -- Egypt, Israel and U.S. meet yesterday to prepare third Middle East economic conference slated for Cairo in November.   -- French judge Eva Joly in Jerusalem to take statement from Claude Richard, a key figure in the Elf sleaze probe.   THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE   -- Businessman, leftist politician and convicted felon Bernard Tapie to resign from French parliament the same week he becomes a film star.   -- France braces for a season of labour strikes after summer break.   LE PARISIEN   -- Government readies major legislation to limit damage from several scandals.   -- Michelin launches green automobile tyre -- other colours now possible too.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
4314 !GCAT  The following are some of the leading stories in Finnish papers this morning.   HELSINGIN SANOMAT   - A 12-year old Finnish boy who has missing since November last year has been found in a village in Estonia.   The police suspect his mother arranged a kidnapping.   "It seems that this has to do with a custody case," a police spokesman said.   - Finance Minister Sauli Niinisto questions Finland's neutrality status during the Soviet period.   Niinisto says the Finn-Soviet "friendship pact" should be compared to the military pacts between the Soviet Union and eastern European countries.   - Money markets expect a cut in the base rate today as the board of parliamentary supervisors meet today.   The base rate yields 1.25 percent above the tender rate.   - The good weather in August has increased the grain harvest by almost one-fifth from last year.   KAUPPALEHTI   - Industry is confident wood sales will pick up in the autumn after a crucial wood price agreement was concluded over the weekend.   - French asset management company Alliance Capital Management sold over five million Nokia shares for around one billion markka in July.   The group still owns 1.7 percent of Nokia.   - Income tax reductions planned for next year will benefit the textiles and garment industry, says industry spokesman.   - Finnish vehicles maker Oy Sisu Ab is interested in launching tractor production in Russia.   Sees great demand for tractors in Russia but very little supply.   DEMARI   - Customs crimes have risen 49 percent in the first half of 1996 compared to the corresponding period last year.   Tax fraud and alcohol smuggling comprised one-third of the crimes.   - Foreign Minister Tarja Halonen wants to bolster Finland's profile in human rights issues.   Halonen says Finland has been active in pressuring Burma on human rights questions.   - Finnish police say very little child porno is distributed from Finland.   Say accusations of Finnish internet entrepreneur's involvement in distribution highly exaggerated.   TURUN SANOMAT   - UPM-Kymmene CEO Juha Niemela sees the pace of forest industry capacity increase slowing down in the coming years.   -- Veera Heinonen, Helsinki newsroom + 358 - 0 - 680 50 240 
4315 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Tuesday morning's Austrian newspapers.   DER STANDARD   - Parliamentary president Heinz Fischer insists a decision on Austrian NATO membership must be taken by referendum.   - Former Finance Minister Hannes Androsch has offered around 400 million schillings to Continental to buy tyre maker Semperit Reifen AG.   - Austria's electricity companies have agreed to reorganise the industry in order to prepare for EU-liberalisation of the market.   - Economic experts of WIFO say Austria's economy is on the rise again.   However movement of the service industries from town centres to the outskirts is putting pressure on Vienna and Salzburg.   KURIER   - Creditanstalt's Hungarian unit plans to set up a building society with Postabank, Generali and Volksbank Ungarn as partners.   - Austria is expected to be part of the EMU from the beginning as well as Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, a study of the Basler Bank fr Internationalen Zahlungsausgleich says.   DIE PRESSE   - Austrian Airlines said it is negotiating a partnership in South-East Asia.   Singapore Airlines a likely candidate.   - Austria has second greatest privatisation potential compared to nine other European countries, the Aktienforum says.   - Steyr-Daimler-Puch-Spezialfahrzeuge a branch of Steyr-Daimler-Puch has announced an operating loss of 6.4 million schillings in 1995 compared to profits of 1.3 million the year before.   - Austria's banks earned 24.4 billion schllings in the first half of 1996, 17 percent more than at same time last year, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank says.   However most expect record insolvencies as a result of this year's economic situation. 
4316 !GCAT  Following are the highlights of stories reported in the Irish press on Tuesday.   IRISH INDEPENDENT -   - An insurance company is to mount a direct challenge to the National Lottery through an insurance scheme.   REHAB, which cares for the handicapped, is in a deal with an insurance company under which players would take out a policy based on their choice of numbers.   If the numbers are chosen it would pay the player.   - Police have recovered a series of paedophile-type photographs in a child sex investigation.   The prints feature a 13-year-old schoolgirl.    IRISH TIMES   - The Irish Brokers Association has no scheme to compensate victims of mishandled investments.   Commerce Minister Pat Rabbitte held talks with the body on complaints against Taylor Asset Managers.   - U.S. President Bill Clinton vowed tighter gun control as the Democratic convention began in Chicago.   - A marriage registrar has discovered that several summer couples were illegally married becaue they failed to provide necessary notice.   -- Dublin Newsroom + 353-1-6603377 
4317 !GCAT  The following are some of the top headlines in leading Italian newspapers.   ----------   TOP POLITICAL STORIES   * Foriegn minister Lamberto Dini says there will be no revision of the Maastricht treaty, but there maybe a change in the time schedule.   (All)   ----------   TOP BUSINESS STORIES   * Italian European Commissioner Mario Monti says European Union will help employment (Il Sole)   * Representatives from Mediaset, the giant entertainment group, met with government officals on Monday, in a last attempt to overide anti-trust laws that could remove one of their three television channels.   (Il Sole, Stampa, Repubblica)   * WorldCom Inc said early on Monday it and MFS Communications Co Inc had agreed to merge in a stock swap worth at least $14 billion.   (Il Sole)   * All in one regional taxes are to be phased in next year as part of the governments efforts for financial simplification.   (Corriere)   * Supermarkets say the cost of theft amounts up to 1,200 billion lire per year.   (Il Sole)   * Treasury minister, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi navigates between cut backs and maintaining social security.   (Repubblica)   Reuters has not verified these stories and can not vouch for their accuracy.   -- Rome bureau ++396 6782501 
4318 !GCAT !GDEF  In an aggressive marketing blitz, Germany's armed forces are aiming to persuade more young men to do what the law says they must do anyway -- military service.   To a pulsating beat, a television commercial shows dramatic action shots of paratroopers, helicopters, tanks and warships in best rock music video style.   A clean-cut young German soldier suddenly appears.   "This is the greatest," declares Torsten Lindemann, a rugged 22-year-old recruit from Heiligenhaus.   With more and more potential recruits taking advantage of a provision which allows them to dodge the draft simply by writing a letter outlining why they feel they cannot serve, the Bundeswehr is bringing out the big guns to promote itself.   The advertising blitz that began airing on German television this month, conceived by the Duesseldorf-based Abels & Grey agency, costs more than 10 million marks ($6.7 million) -- almost half the defence ministry's public relations budget.   But it will be money well spent if it can reverse the trend away from military service, officials say.   Around 160,000 of the 415,000 young men called up for military duty last year refused to serve.   It was a record, higher even than in 1991, the year of the Gulf War.   The record might be broken this year.   The number of conscientious objectors rose slightly in early 1996, the defence ministry said.   Although it dipped again in May, the military is not convinced the trend has been broken.   The law requires men to serve 10 months in the military but allows exceptions in which objectors spend 13 months doing civilian work in hospitals or other social functions.   The record number of objectors comes as Germany conducts its boldest foreign military mission in 50 years by contributing soldiers to the international force upholding the Dayton peace accord for former Yugoslavia.   The defence ministry insists there was no connection between the two events, noting conscripts only go on foreign military missions if they volunteer.   Pacifist groups tend to concur.   Chancellor Helmut Kohl, whittling away at a national pacifist streak spawned by the country's militarist past, has insisted unified Germany step up its military role to match its economic muscle and show solidarity with NATO allies.   But young Germans no longer menaced by communism in eastern Europe relish the idea of staying close to friends and family rather than signing up for life in battle fatigues.   "The armed forces, yes, but without me," one young man told army "youth officers", whose job it is to promote understanding of Germany's security policy and support for the military.   In their annual report, they list several arguments given by young men to explain why they chose not to serve in the army.   "Why should I?   With civilian service I make significantly more money, work the hours I want, live at home with my parents and see my girlfriend every day," said one pragmatic youth.   To counter this sentiment, the Bundeswehr launched its ad campaign that shows young men singing the praises of army life.   One enthuses about the extra 1,200 marks ($812) he gets every month by agreeing to extend his service past the minimum term.   Another dismisses stories about the hard life in the army and insists he has more friends in the barracks than at home.   Touching on young people's fears about finding a job amid double-digit unemployment, one young soldier points out the army paid for him to get a truck driver's licence.   Another says his training as an electrician should pay off in civilian life.   Claire Marienfeld, the parliamentary ombudswoman for the armed forces, warned in her annual report that the Bundeswehr will have trouble filling its ranks in the long run unless young men can be convinced that military service is worthwhile.   She noted that one in three young men subject to the draft preferred to perform alternative service last year, reflecting a widespread attitude that the soldier's life was less useful than other forms of national service.   "This trend in society is dangerous for military service," she said.   "Those who say "no' to military service often are valued more highly -- and not just among young men -- than the young soldier whose commitment to society is often disparaged."   The defence ministry says the rise in conscientious objection simply reflects the fact that more young men are being called up under a new system of conscription.   It insists the army will remain at full strength into the next century.   Germany, which has clung to conscription as a bedrock of its post-war democracy, even as other European countries switch to professional armies, needs around 170,000 conscripts a year to flesh out its 340,000-man army.   But Marienfeld said it has its work cut out.   "If there is no turning point in the trend toward refusing military service, the armed forces have to expect significant problems in covering their need for conscripts in coming years," she said in her report to the lower house of parliament in March.   "Making military service more attractive is more urgent than ever before," she added, calling on churches, schools and labour unions to instill in young men the value of defending their homes and compatriots by taking up arms.   ($1=1.4777 Mark) 
4319 !GCAT !GSPO  England have been given until the end of next week to change their mind about an exclusive television deal with Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television and stay in the Five Nations' championship.   Scotland Rugby Football Union president Fred McLeod said on Wednesday if there was no change in the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) approach England would be excluded from the championship.   The championship, featuring England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France, is one of the most popular sporting contests in the British Isles.   But last April England infuriated their championship colleagues when they decided to sign a 87.5 million pounds sterling ($135.8 million) deal giving Sky television exclusive rights to rugby union matches in England.   "We have given the RFU every opportunity to modify its approach to the sale of broadcasting rights, prior to and following England's exclusion from the Five Nations' championship," McLeod said.   "If there is no change in the RFU's approach by the end of next week, when representatives from the other four unions are due to meet, England's exclusion from the championship will be finally confirmed, and we will proceed with the new Four Nations' championship."   In a statement earlier on Wednesday, the Four Nations TV Committee said dates had been set for a competition involving Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France next year.   "Between now and then, discussions will take place in one final attempt to persuade the Rugby Football Union to save the Five Nations' championship in its current form," the statement said.   The present contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation was shared between the four home nations while France have their own television deal. 
4320 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  British scientists predicted on Wednesday that the mad cow epidemic would die out by 2001 but admitted they still did not know how many people would get the human form of the disease from eating infected beef.   In the "first comprehensive analysis" of the epidemic in the scientific journal Nature, the veterinarians, epidemiologists and other experts said it would be hard to get rid of the epidemic any faster without slaughtering vast numbers of cattle.   "The epidemic is in rapid decline before and without any culling.   That's the good news," said Christl Donnelly, a statistician at Oxford University who worked on the study.   "But there's also the potential worry in looking at the number of infected animals that entered the food chain."   Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) decimated British cattle herds in the 1980s.   Scientists decided it was caused by feeding cows the rendered remains of sheep that had scrapie, a similar brain-wasting disease.   They eventually banned this type of feed and introduced rules to keep infected beef products out of the food supply.   But in March government scientists admitted that people could become infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a deadly brain illness, from eating mad cow-infected beef.   This summer they announced BSE was passed from cow to calf.   Researchers led by zoologist and epidemiologist Roy Anderson of Oxford used statistical analysis to predict there would be 340 new infections and 14,000 new cases of BSE before 2001.   Nearly every new infection now came via maternal transmission, they said.   The numbers would be too small to sustain the epidemic.   Donnelly said the current culling policy would barely speed up the end of the epidemic.   "It's really just slicing a little bit off the top," she said.   To make a big difference, she said, "you would have to kill virtually everything".   They also gave what they believed to be definitive numbers on the epidemic.   About 446,000 infected animals were eaten before the use of infected organs was banned in 1989, and 283,000 more before restrictions were tightened last December.   "The estimated number of animals infected over the period 1974 to the end of 1995 is 903,000," they wrote.   Anderson's group said they did not know whether there would be an epidemic of CJD, which normally strikes one in a million per year and has an incubation period of up to 30 years.   Donnelly said there simply was not enough information yet.   "The government is not covering up the risk to humans.   It's really not known," she said.   "I know it's frustrating to the public.   It's also frustrating to scientists."   David Skegg, a specialist in preventive and social medicine at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, said the report was an embarrassment.   "The continual retreat from entrenched positions about BSE has damaged the credibility of science, as well as of politicians," he wrote in a commentary.   "Not only is it disturbing that transmission at a substantial level has been detected so belatedly, but the discovery also calls into question many sacred cows about BSE," he added, noting that scientists had once denied there was maternal transmission. 
4321 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Lloyd's of London said on Wednesday it had been swamped by U.S. investors signing up for its recovery plan after a U.S. appeals court overturned a ruling that had threatened the insurance market's survival.   When staff arrived at Lloyd's headquarters in London's financial district just hours before the original deadline for acceptance of the recovery plan, its fax machines had been whirring for nearly 12 hours.   "Acceptances from the U.S. have been flooding in overnight.   Clearly a lot of Names felt inhibited by the judgment," said a spokesman, referring to U.S. judge Robert Payne's decision last Friday to allow U.S. Names more time to consider the plan.   Payne granted an injunction giving U.S. Names, or investors, more time to consider the plan and ordered Lloyd's to provide further information by September 23.   This ruling was overturned on Tuesday by a panel of judges in Baltimore, who sent the case back to the Virginia district court with orders to dismiss it.   The spokesman said Lloyd's offices in London and nearby Chatham had been deluged with hundreds of acceptance forms, but was unable to give a number.   Lloyd's was not expected to publish a new count of acceptances before Wednesday afternoon.   Over the last few days, evidence of support for the Lloyd's recovery proposals among its 34,000 investors worldwide has grown considerably, with the latest count putting acceptance at 82 percent as of Tuesday evening.   But almost half of the 2,700 United States Names had until last night held off.   Only 53 percent had accepted, according to Tuesday's figures.   Wednesday's deadline of noon London time for accepting the recovery plan, under which Lloyd's proposes Names pay to help reinsure billions of pounds in liabilities into a new company called Equitas, still officially stands.   But Lloyd's chairman David Rowland said on Tuesday there would be some form of limited extension, so that Names who have not accepted could do so.   This will crucially allow the market enough time to collect the convincing majority of acceptances, especially from U.S. Names, which it needs to prove its own solvency.   Lloyd's problems began in the 1980s when a destructive combination of negligent underwriting, poor investment advice and a sequence of natural disasters conspired to bring about losses of several billion pounds   Long-standing Names were for the first time in their lives suddenly faced with the prospect of unlimited losses.   The market is due to submit figures to Britain's Department of Trade and Industry next week in an annual solvency test, and file with the U.S. Treasury and New York Insurance Department later next month.   Equitas may lift off in two weeks if all goes as planned.   The recovery plan's success increasingly looks likely, but another challenge by U.S. Names has not been ruled out.   However, U.S. legal sources said overnight that, while U.S. investors could in theory attempt to challenge Tuesday's order it would be difficult to do so successfully.   Despite that, one U.S. Name and chief negotiator for an action group known as the American Names Association, Kenneth Chiate, said he expected Names to appeal the Baltimore ruling.   -- London Newsroom, +44 171 542 7721 
4322 !GCAT !GDIP  Taiwanese tycoon Kao Ching-yuan on Wednesday urged Beijing to resume talks with Taiwan, saying the island's investors would lose confidence in China if relations remained at a low ebb due to ideological differences.   "I would like to suggest here... that the two sides resume as soon as possible talks on trade and investment," Kao, vice-chairman of President Enterprises, the island's biggest investor in China, told a seminar in Beijing.    The talks were suspended last year after President Lee Teng-hui made a landmark trip to the United States.   Beijing regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has sought to push the island into diplomatic isolation.   Kao warned that it would be riskier for Taiwanese businessmen to invest in China and investors would lose confidence in the mainland if political or ideological disputes continued to hamper ties between Beijing and Taipei.   Nearly 80 prominent Taiwanese business leaders and politicians, led by Kao, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a high-profile, 12-day visit.   Taiwan's leaders have publicly expressed reservations about the island becoming too dependent on China economically. 
4323 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Turkey's parliament voted to abolish a widely criticised state savings scheme in an emergency session that stretched out into the early hours of Wednesday, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.   The motion to abolish the scheme was passed with the votes of the Islamist-led government despite bloc opposition from the other parties.   The government has 280 seats in the 550-seat parliament.   The scheme was instituted in 1988 to boost investment, but union leaders and other critics say it has been widely abused and offered little in the way of returns.   Analysts have said the fund abolition is likely to be welcomed by workers who will see an immediate benefit to their wage packets and employers, whose wage costs will fall.   But they say it will not be of any positive benefit to the economy as the government still has to make payments to workers and will have to consider alternative savings measures.   Since the scheme was set up, workers have paid two percent of their salaries and employers contributed a further three percent.   The government has not provided figures on the size of the fund.   The abolition of the savings scheme, the latest in a series of populist moves by the Islamist-led coalition, will take effect in the month after it is published in the Official Gazette, Anatolian said.   In earlier populist moves, civil servants have been given a larger-than-expected wage rise and the minimum wage was doubled, raising concerns about the government's commitment to rein in Turkey's gaping deficits.   Annual inflation in Turkey is running at over 80 percent and the 1996 budget deficit is expected to total 1,300 trillion lira ($15 billion).   ($1 = 86,000 lira) 
4324 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The admission that three lysine producers conspired to fix prices means Archer Daniels Midland Co. is likely to face criminal charges in the government's probe of the food additives market, legal experts said.   "It puts them on notice that their alleged co-conspirators are cooperating with the government, providing both documents and oral testimony," said Robert Stephenson, a lawyer with Cotsirilos, Stephenson, Tighe & Streicker in Chicago.   The Justice Department said on Tuesday that Ajinomoto Co.   Inc. and Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co.   Ltd., both based in Tokyo, and the U.S. unit of South Korea's Sewon Company Ltd. admitted they conspired to fix prices for lysine, an animal feed supplement.   It also said the three companies have agreed to provide documents and witnesses to investigators.   The agreement, under which three executives also pleaded guilty or no contest to the charges, significantly turns up the heat on Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), the lawyers said.   "The table stakes have significantly increased that ADM will be charged," said Stephenson, who is not involved in the ADM case but is an experienced antitrust attorney.   ADM declined to comment.   Since the government's probe of the food additives market came to light more than a year ago, the Decatur, Ill.-based agribusiness giant has denied any wrongdoing and said it was cooperating fully with investigators.   Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona said Wednesday that all of the defendants except Ajinomoto agreed to plead guilty.   Ajinomoto agreed to plead no contest, meaning it does not want to fight the charges, which in practice is little different from a guilty plea, lawyers said.   "If they (the government) have signed some of the potential defendants to plea agreements that include a commitment to cooperate, that puts tremendous pressure on the remaining potential defendant, of which ADM is obviously one," said Joe Sims, an attorney with Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue.   That prospect was making some investors nervous, and ADM stock fell 62.5 cents to $17.75 on the New York Stock Exchange.   "The market is definitely (saying), 'This can't be good news for ADM,'" Dain Bosworth analyst Bonnie Wittenburg said.   "The fact that the foreign companies have agreed to cooperate in the government case (makes investors) nervous."   The pleas by the three companies and their executives came about 14 months after ADM acknowleged the government had asked for documents and testimony in its investigation of the markets for high-fructose corn syrup and citric acid, two common food additives, as well as lysine.   Lysine sales alone exceed $600 million a year, analysts said.   Stephenson said the plea deals by Ajinomoto, Kyowa Hakko and Sewon diminish the government's need to rely on Mark Whitacre, a former ADM official turned government informant, as a witness against ADM. ADM fired Whitacre last year over allegations he embezzled millions of dollars from the company.   At this point, ADM may decide to enter a plea or it could face a criminal indictment, attorney Sims said.   "Either one of those things can come reasonably promptly," said Sims, an antitrust expert who is not directly involved in the ADM case.   "I would not be surprised to see something in the next 30 days."   If ADM decided to enter a plea, analysts said it could easily afford the $10 million fines that were levied against Ajinomoto and Kyowa.   "Those are not the kinds of fines that are going to break the company," Piper Jaffray analyst George Dahlman said.   ADM had about $3 billion in working capital as of March, he said.   In a separate proceeding, ADM has agreed to pay $25 million to settle a civil lysine price-fixing lawsuit brought by its customers as part of an overall $45 million settlement that also involved Ajinomoto and Kyowa Hakko. 
4325 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Swedish finance minister Erik Asbrink on Wednesday hosed down renewed speculation about Sweden's plans for joining the European Union's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), saying public support was needed first.   However financial markets were upset when Asbrink, in a signed article in the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, said Sweden might choose not to join EMU when it starts in 1999.   The jitters sent Swedish debt yields edging up, particularly at the long end with nine year bond yields jumping 11 basis points (0.11 percentage point) to 8.16 percent, and softened the crown to 4.4800 against the mark from 4.4620 on Tuesday.   But Asbrink quickly moved to calm the markets, saying there was still no timetable drawn up and reaffirming earlier comments that the matter would go before the ruling Social Democratic Party congress in autumn 1997.   "What I tried to express in the article is that Sweden will take the decision one year from now," Asbrink told a Reuters Financial Television interview.   "The time until then is to be used ... to have a thorough debate and then to come to a final conclusion.   It is an open question as to whether we join the monetary union in the first round or not.   "If we choose not to join at the first stage then of course we would like to have the option to join later on."   Askbrink said it was vital the move had popular Swedish support otherwise it would be hard to adhere to the EMU.   "It is hard to see a decision on joining EMU without quite stable support from the general public," said Asbrink.   To date opinion polls have shown the majority of Swedes opposed to EMU membership.   A survey by the Swedish Institute of Public Opinion Research (SIFO) last week found 56 percent of Swedes were opposed to joining the EMU with only 21 percent in favour.   But Asbrink said public opinion, although currently rather negative, could change.   "I'm convinced the union will start according to plan.   I'm convinced a number of countries will join.   Sweden could be one of those countries but that's not 100 percent sure," he said.   The finance minister also acknowledged there were political problems for Sweden in joining EMU with large parts of the Social Democrats wanting Sweden to remain outside the new institutions.   "I and the government see many advantages in Sweden joining EMU but we also see some problems and risks involved, politically and economically," he said.   Several analysts believed Sweden may decide to wait with EMU membership even if the country would qualify to join from the start.   "Sweden does not want to join in 1999 but wants to keep (its option) open to join soon afterwards," chief economist carl Hamilton of Handelsbanken told Reuters.   Economist James McKay at investment bank Paine Webber in London took a similar view.   "I believe they will wait and watch to see how EMU emerges in the coming years to see whether it would be beneficial to Sweden," he told Reuters. 
4326 !GCAT !GPOL  President Jacques Chirac, chairing his first post-summer holiday cabinet meeting, urged his ministers on Wednesday to "get yourselves together" and not give in to the widening pessimism that has gripped France.   "This is the behaviour that I expect from the government and all of its ministers," Chirac, back from a Riviera holiday, lectured the cabinet, warning against conduct that would contribute to "the general gloom".   The government returned from its traditional summer break facing a daunting agenda including growing joblessness, labour unrest and anger over its botched handling of 300 African immigrants who occupied a Paris church in protest at hardline 1993 immigration law reforms.   "To listen to the...commentators, the government's return to work has been marked by gloom.   And this is true -- how could it be otherwise," Chirac said, according to government spokesman Alain Lamassoure.   "The social and economic situation, in spite of encouraging signs, remains difficult despite the government's determined efforts to improve the situation in a France that has been weakened by a long period of carelessness," Chirac said.   According to a CSA poll published on Wednesday in the daily La Tribune, 54 percent of voters are pessimistic as they go back to work, with strikes, poverty and job losses topping worries.   The poll found that 77 percent expected strikes and trouble for the centre-right government in the autumn.   Record unemployment, planned public spending cuts and layoffs have infuriated unions, who are threatening a fresh wave of unrest in a possible revival of the lengthy public-sector strikes which virtually crippled France late last year.   Nicole Notat, head of the country's biggest union, the CFDT, and Louis Viannet, the head of the Communist-led CGT union, have warned of labour unrest after the holidays.   Teachers' unions have announced demonstrations and a likely strike over job cuts expected in the 1997 austerity budget.   Farmers have also threatened protests.   Public support also has been growing for the Africans who were evicted from the Saint-Bernard church after a two-month occupation begun in hopes of winning residence in France.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe initially ignored the protest, but when it began to dominate the headlines he ordered hundreds of police to smash their way into the church.   To let the Africans remain would be illegal, he announced.   But five days later, the government had expelled just four of the Africans and acknowledged that as many as two-thirds of the others might ultimately be allowed to stay.   The raid thus enraged both the left-wing opposition, which denounced the police action as a crude violation of human rights, and the far right, which said the government had opened the door to illegal immigration.   It also provided the unions with a potent new issue in a series of protests already planned for the next two months.   On another sticky issue confronting the cabinet, Chirac aides said he would meet on Friday a delegation of cattle breeders upset by plummeting beef prices due to fears over mad cow disease. 
4327 !E31 !E311 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Industrial production in the European Union slid 0.3 percent during the March to May period compared with the prior three months, Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, said on Wednesday.   A fall in output was seen in six of the bloc's 15 member states -- France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal and Italy.   The six countries account for 70 percent of the EU's industrial production.   Significant production gains were reported only in the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland, the office said.   Following are the production figures for 13 countries.   Data for Austria and Ireland were not available.    Netherlands 1.4 pct  France  -0.1 pct    Denmark  0.9 Germany -0.2    Finland  0.8 Luxembourg -0.4    Greece  0.4 Spain  -0.6    Sweden  0.3 Portugal -0.8    Belgium  0.3 Italy  -1.0    Britain  0.1 
4328 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission has cleared plans by Germany's Rewe Internationale Beteiligungs Gesellschaft mbH, a unit of the Rewe Gruppe, to acquire BML Vermoegensverwaltung AG (Billa Gruppe), a European Union source said on Wednesday.   The source gave no further details.   Billa, with 1995 sales of about 50 billion schillings, is Austria's biggest retailer with a market share of more than 28 percent.   -- Brussels newsroom +32 2 287 68 11 
4329 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  France's labour unions are counting heavily on the memory of crippling strikes late last year to force the centre-right government into retreat as it puts the final touches to a critical spending-cut budget for next year.   The big question, which no one yet dares to bet on with any certainty, is whether they can rally enough backing in the private sector to generate the momentum of the strikes spearheaded by restive state railway workers last November and December.   Many of the ingredients for trouble are there: unemployment at record levels, a series of high-profile labour conflicts in defence, banking and manufacturing, low consumer morale and few signs of the economic growth which could help cut dole queues.   The government also plans to cut up to 7,000 civil service jobs in 1997, probably about 2,300 of them among state teachers.   Reform of the army and defence, financial troubles at state bank Credit Lyonnais and Credit Foncier and labour disputes and job-cutting at firms like Moulinex kitchen appliance maker and the Myrys and Bally shoemakers add to a sense of uneasiness.   Either way, the next few weeks will be nail-biting ones for President Jacques Chirac and Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe as they try to push through spending caps and reforms to prepare France for European monetary union by 1999.   Next year is the year they have promised to cut the public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) under the terms of the Maastricht treaty on monetary union.   Juppe, who reconvenes his cabinet on Wednesday after the summer break, has pledged to cap central government spending at 1.552 trillion francs ($307.6 billion) and is counting on savings of 60 billion francs on job and housing subsidies as well as lower debt interest.   He is hemmed in on one side by unions and almost palpable public discontent as people return to work after holidays and on the other side by financial markets which could punish any perceived backtracking on pledges to get finances in order.   Some economists point out, however, that the political commitment to monetary union is still solid and that this is more important than fears of social unrest that have made the French currency vulnerable in the short term.   "It's clear that the franc is being weakened, but in the medium term it is not justified," said Valerie Plagnol, economist at French bank Credit Commercial de France.   The unions, who have kept the heat on throughout a normally quieter August, are now trying to bring the lot to the boil.   Teachers unions fired the first salvo on Tuesday when they warned of a likely strike over the expected jobs cuts and education reforms.   They will meet on September 3 to decide to finalise their position.   Marc Blondel, leader of the independent Force Ouvriere union which was at the fore of last year's 24-day strike, has said "all the ingredients are there for it to explode".   The Socialist CFDT, which has distanced itself from the more militant factions to support the government welfare reforms that sparked the strikes last November and December, also warned on Tuesday of imminent "tension and conflicts".   Politicians are raising pressure on Juppe too.   Edouard Balladur, an ex-Conservative prime minister who ran against Chirac for president and considered a contender if Juppe fails to keep favour, called on Tuesday for 120 billion francs of tax cuts in the coming years to avoid stagnation.   Juppe hopes to produce tax reforms along with the budget in September and to offer income tax cuts worth 20 billion francs next year, at a time when government revenue is under pressure.   ($1=5.046 French Franc) 
4330 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT  Italy's Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said that Italy must make the maximum effort to meet the financial criteria of the Maastricht Treaty on European economic and monetary union.   Writing in La Repubblica newspaper he said that failure to comply with the Treaty, aimed at creating a single European currency by 1999, would have negative consequences.   He wrote that Italy "must continue to make the maximum effort to reach the Maastricht criteria," and he underlined that these criteria "are not a barrier, but reference parameters of figures and trends".   Under the Maastricht Treaty on European integration, governments should aim to bring their 1997 budget deficits close to three percent of total output, and put their outstanding debt level on a sustainable path towards 60 percent of GDP.   -- Milan newsroom +392 66129502 
4331 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT !GPRO  Bernard Tapie, France's former singer, soccer boss and minister, launched a career as a film star on Wednesday, cast convincingly as a morally dubious lawyer whose role mirrors his own behind-the-screens legal tangles.   Courtesy of award-winning director Claude Lelouch, the bankrupt businessman plays the charismatic and garrulous lead in the much-hyped comedy "Men, Women: Instructions for Use" which opened across the country.   Hiring the 53-year-old Tapie earned Lelouch accusations he had sacrificed morals for money.   His fledgling star is embroiled in a flurry of lawsuits and has been convicted of match-rigging, tax evasion and fraud.   Tapie, who will take up to a quarter of profits, bulldozed attacks aside and defiantly announced he would probably star in a second movie too -- likely prison sentences permitting.   "When I was in politics, people wanted to eliminate me.   When I was in soccer (as head of first-division Marseille), people wanted to eliminate me.   Even before filming started, people wanted to eliminate me from the cinema," Tapie said.   "It's understandable that the little people attack a symbol of happiness.   But it's monstrous that the people who are attacking me are high up the ladder.   So I say to hell with them, and I'll try to make another one," he told Europe-1 radio.   Tape has announced he would resign his French parliamentary seat -- a publicity stunt for the film, since he will be stripped of the seat by October.   On screen Tapie is a flamboyant, playboy lawyer famed for landing his helicopter on the Berlin Wall.   His life collapses the day a jilted girlfriend turned doctor seeks revenge by making him believe he has cancer.   The glossy movie is Lelouche at less than his best, despite good performances by second lead Fabrice Luchini among others.   French audiences at least will have a field day spotting similarities between the real-life Tapie and his genial, devious character who reels off one-liners like "Women are like flowers: if you want to keep them for a long time, you mustn't pick them too early".   Critics took Lelouche to task for giving star billing and a nice-guy image -- Tapie's character offers two buskers a night at a luxury hotel -- to a man with three criminal convictions.   "If cinema uses a corrupt ingredient to sell its soup... it's likely that film stars will no longer be chosen for their talent but for the length of their criminal record," said popular daily France-Soir.   "That has nothing to do with me and I'm not here to judge," retorted the bespectacled Lelouche, who won an Oscar for the 1966 romance "A Man and a Woman".   "Tapie is 'too much' in everything, and uncontrollable.   What I saw in him above all was that he loves life.   And I said to myself: 'Let's use that'."   In "Men, Women: Instructions for Use", the lawyer's new love for life after he believes himself cured by a miracle prompts him to stage a fake death and start a new life.   "I'd thought at one time of doing the same thing but I gave up on the idea," Tapie reflected in one interview.   "But today, when I see the hatred some people have for me, I realise that I would have made them happy if I'd gone through with it."   Short of which, Tapie the politician will, if all goes to plan, die off and Tapie the filmstar will take his place to rub shoulders with show-biz glitterati at the Venice Film Festival, where the movie will compete for the Golden Lion. 
4332 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Canadian Auto Workers union Wednesday named Chrysler Corp. as its strike target, setting up a contest between General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. to lead U.S. bargaining with the United Auto Workers.   In making the announcement, Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove, said he chose Chrysler because he didn't want to pick the same target as UAW President Stephen Yokich.   "He has eliminated Chrysler from the selection process and he's still looking at Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.," Hargrove told reporters at a Toronto news conference.   Traditionally, the UAW and CAW have chosen different targets for Big Three labour negotiations, and threaten each company with a national strike to move the talks along.   Pacts covering nearly 400,000 Big Three hourly workers in the United States and 52,800 in Canada expire Sept. 14.   But negotiating teams from the Canadian auto union and Chrysler agreed Wednesday to extend the strike deadline to Sept. 17.   In the race to be the U.S. target, Ford appears to be gaining an edge over GM, analysts said.   Detroit's No. 2 automaker has recently made offers that show a willingness to work with the union on the thorny issues of outsourcing and job preservation, analysts say.   Sean McAlinden, a labour analyst with the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation, said Ford has offered the UAW some opportunities to move some parts manufacturing now done by outside suppliers back into Ford plants.   Ford also has encouraged one of its suppliers, Johnson Controls Inc., to allow the UAW to organise some of its plants, a move that could help the union rebuild its shrinking membership rolls.   If such provisions are cemented into a pattern agreement, it could slow GM's efforts to shift more parts work to outside suppliers and bring down its burdensome cost structure.   "Ford may try to throw them a chicken bone to choke on," McAlinden said.   Chrysler Canada Ltd.'s vice president of human resources, Kenneth Francese, said the copmany and the CAW will meet over the Labour Day holiday weekend to iron out the schedule and will begin discussing the main issues in earnest Tuesday.   "I think if anybody has the ability, people in this room have the ability to fashion a settlement that will be acceptable to both sides," he said.   It was unclear if the UAW would pick a target company before Labour Day, when Yokich will lead a major parade in downtown Detroit.   The CAW's decision marks the first time the Canadian union has chosen its strike target ahead of its U.S. counterpart and the second time in a row it has selected Chrysler.   In the last round of bargaining during 1993, the CAW and Chrysler reached a master agreement without a strike at any of the companies for the first time since the CAW split off from the UAW in 1985.   The CAW last went on strike at Ford Canada for nine days in 1990.   Hargrove said his first preference for a Canadian target was Ford Canada.   But Hargrove said he feared the UAW might choose Ford and steal away the Canadian union's bargaining power.   "I was not at all comfortable in my discussions this morning with Mr. Yokich that if I had selected Ford today that he and I might be stumbling over one another come mid-September," Hargrove said.   But members of the CAW's General Motors contingent at the morning news conference voiced their unhappiness over the union's choice.   "The (GM) Oshawa complex is damned well disappointed," one member growled at Hargrove after the announcement.   Although contracting out work, or "outsourcing," in the auto industry is a major issue at all three automakers, GM has made outsourcing decisions in the last year that will eliminate over 5,000 CAW jobs.   GM has also indicated it will resist a pattern agreement from the other automakers if any pact imposes tough restrictions on its ability to give work to outside suppliers. 
4333 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A group of U.S. investors in Lloyd's of London will ask a U.S. appeals court to reconsider its decision Tuesday to lift an injunction which had threatened the British insurance giant's recovery plan, an attorney said Wednesday.   "We're planning to file tomorrow afternoon an emergency motion for a rehearing," said Stephens Clay of Kilpatrick & Cody, who represents the group of 93 investors, known as Names.   If the three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denies the motion, he said, the plaintiffs will ask the entire court to reconsider the matter.   The appeals court panel in Baltimore Tuesday threw out an injunction issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Robert Payne in Richmond, Va., that 300-year-old Lloyd's said could have led to its collapse.   Payne granted the injunction giving U.S. Names more time to consider the recovery plan and ordered Lloyd's to provide further information by Sept. 23.   The appellate court Tuesday sent the case back to Payne with instructions to dismiss it.   The higher court said Payne erred in imposing the injunction because investors had signed contracts specifying disputes would be settled in British courts.   But Clay said Lloyd's appeal of Payne's ruling had asked the court to stay the injunction, not rule on the merits of the case.   "No issue regarding the merits of the case was before the court, only whether or not to stay the injunction," Clay said.   "What they did was not just stay the injunction, but they reached down and got an issue that was not before them that involved the merits of the case."   The plaintiffs' response to Lloyd's appeal addressed the question of whether to stay the injunction, he said.   "We think that severely prejudiced us by not allowing us to respond on the merits," he said.   Lloyd's earlier Wednesday said that news of Tuesday's decision had prompted more U.S. investors to sign up for the recovery plan and that over 90 percent of the insurance market's investors worlwide had accepted the offer.   By Wednesday afternoon, 66.7 percent of the 2,700 U.S. Names had accepted the plan, Lloyd's said.   Wednesday's noon deadline for accepting the 3.2 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) recovery plan, under which Lloyd's proposes that Names pay to help reinsure billions of pounds in liabilities into a new company called Equitas, was extended to give all a chance to respond.   Lloyd's problems began in the 1980s when a destructive combination of negligent underwriting, poor investment advice and a sequence of natural disasters conspired to bring about losses of several billion pounds. 
4334 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  British scientists predicted on Wednesday that the mad cow epidemic would die out by 2001 but admitted they still did not know how many people would get the human form of the disease from eating infected beef.   In the "first comprehensive analysis" of the epidemic in the scientific journal Nature, the veterinarians, epidemiologists and other experts said it would be hard to get rid of the epidemic any faster without slaughtering vast numbers of cattle.   "The epidemic is in rapid decline before and without any culling.   That's the good news," said Christl Donnelly, a statistician at Oxford University who worked on the study.   "But there's also the potential worry in looking at the number of infected animals that entered the food chain."   Britain's farmers hailed the report and demanded talks with ministers on its implications.   A National Farmers Union (NFU) official said the report had vindicated the union's demand that decisions on tackling the disease, which may be transmissable to humans, should be based on scientific evidence rather than politics.   "We obviously want to see the government to discuss this latest evidence which would seem to be fairly positive," said chief press officer Trevor Hayes.   Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) decimated British cattle herds in the 1980s.   Scientists decided it was caused by feeding cows the rendered remains of sheep that had scrapie, a similar brain-wasting disease.   They eventually banned this type of feed and introduced rules to keep infected beef products out of the food supply.   But in March government scientists admitted that people could become infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a deadly brain illness, from eating mad cow-infected beef.   This summer they announced BSE was passed from cow to calf.   Researchers led by zoologist and epidemiologist Roy Anderson of Oxford used statistical analysis to predict there would be 340 new infections and 14,000 new cases of BSE before 2001.   Nearly every new infection now came via maternal transmission, they said.   The numbers would be too small to sustain the epidemic.   Donnelly said the current culling policy would barely speed up the end of the epidemic.   "It's really just slicing a little bit off the top," she said.   To make a big difference, she said, "you would have to kill virtually everything".   They also gave what they believed to be definitive numbers on the epidemic.   About 446,000 infected animals were eaten before the use of infected organs was banned in 1989, and 283,000 more before restrictions were tightened last December.   "The estimated number of animals infected over the period 1974 to the end of 1995 is 903,000," they wrote.   Anderson's group said they did not know whether there would be an epidemic of CJD, which normally strikes one in a million per year and has an incubation period of up to 30 years.   Donnelly said there simply was not enough information yet.   "The government is not covering up the risk to humans.   It's really not known," she said.   "I know it's frustrating to the public.   It's also frustrating to scientists. 
4335 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The green fields of agricultural biotechnology are turning into a legal battle ground as companies file suits and countersuits against each other to protect their stakes in the budding business.   Biotech players are "suing each other over control of the technology," said Ray Goldberg, professor of Agriculture and Business at the Harvard Graduate School of Business.   "They are going to redefine how they work together."   At stake are rights to produce and sell genetically enhanced crops.   After more than a decade of research, biotech crops are beginning to be commercialized.   They include corn and cotton that produce their own pesticides and soybeans that can withstand the use of certain herbicides.   In the end, analysts and company executives say, many of the lawsuits are expected to be settled out of court, resulting in agreements to license and swap technology.   "It is very unlikely, because stakes are very high, that the seed companies will really let this work its way entirely through the court system," said Dain Bosworth analyst Bonnie Wittenburg.   "Ultimately (companies) will cross-license, trade rights and use these pieces of protected technology as assets and trade them back and forth," added Timothy Martin, a spokesman for Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc.   Pioneer, which provides the leading share of seed for corn, the biggest U.S. crop, has been sued for alleged patent infringement by DeKalb Genetics Corp.   Pioneer's defence is that it has a U.S. patent pending, which if approved could supersede DeKalb's claims.   Pioneer said the application for that patent was filed before DeKalb's.   The case illustrates how new and pending patents complicate the legal landscape for agricultural biotechnology as seed and biotech development companies seek protection for their gene portfolios, production methods and the biotech crops themselves.   "The patent positions are not yet clear.   The patents that have been issued leave some room for different interpretations," said Michael Sund, vice president of communications and investor relations for Mycogen Corp.   Mycogen and Monsanto Co. have sued each other for alleged patent infringement, and Mycogen is considering appealing some recent rulings in Monsanto's favour, Sund said.   Despite the legal complications, companies are expected to continue full-steam to commercialize biotech crops.   "They've made the decision to go ahead," said Piper Jaffray analyst George Dahlman.   Mycogen, for example, this year commercialized in limited quantities three corn hybrids that contain the Bt gene, which enables the plant to produce a substance that is toxic to the European core borer, a major pest.   Sund said the hybrids have performed well, as expected, in fighting off the corn borer.   "Performance has been everything we hoped for," he added.   A genetically enhanced cotton that contains the Bt gene to fight bollworm has come under some tough scrutiny this year after a heavy infestation of the pest in some areas of Texas prompted farmers to use chemical sprays on the crop.   Monsanto, which collaborated with Delta and Pine Land Co. to produce Bollgard cotton, maintained that the biotech crop still performed well.   Monsanto said Bollgard cotton had to be sprayed less than traditional cotton.   The collaboration between Monsanto and Delta and Pine Land is but one example of the partnerships that are being forged in agricultural biotechnology.   Monsanto has an ownership stake in DeKalb and Pioneer has a research collaboration with Mycogen.   These partnerships -- like the lawsuits -- underscore one key aspect of the biotechnology business: no one party has all the key pieces to the puzzle.   "No one single firm has the monopoly on the germ plasm," Goldberg said.   "No one single firm has the monopoly on the science." 
4336 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV !GVIO  Environmental warfare has broken out across the British construction industry, striking some of the biggest corporations as activists give up peaceful protests and seek to hit builders where it hurts -- in their profit margins.   Described by one British company as "eco-terrorism," it is seen as the new business risk of the 1990s.   Famous names like Tarmac Plc, Costain Group Plc and ARC, a unit of the conglomerate Hanson Plc, have all been targeted.   Activist groups are no longer seen by British companies as harmless, badly organised groups of students and hippies.   "You only have to see them in action at protests," said David Harding, a spokesman for ARC, a unit of Hanson which supplies construction materials.   "They walk around with mobile phones and camera equipment, they communicate and gather support for demos via the Internet -- we're talking about a highly sophisticated organisation."   One road protester, using the code name Steady Eddie, told the construction journal Building earlier this year: "If it comes down to full-scale economic warfare, we will aim to drive them out of business."   In addition to financial threats, companies say that "terror" tactics are used by the activists.   Costain's contract to build the controversial Newbury bypass, which runs through a conservation area, has led to violent protests delaying building.   There have also been bomb threats, staff intimidation and picketing of Chief Executive Alan Lovell's home.   A Costain spokesman told Reuters: "We've had all sorts of protests at the head office and the chief executive's house.   But it's when it gets to the (employee) families -- that it goes across the line."   Tactics used by some underground groups, including the cryptic Berkshire Wood Elves, which distributes leaflets with instructions on homemade explosives, are now the subject of a police investigation.   Larger activist groups include Earth First, The Land is Ours, Alarm UK and Road Alert.   The groups have targeted specific projects like the Newbury bypass and the M3 highway through Twyford Down in the southern county of Hampshire.   But they are also campaigning on broader issue such as stopping the government road-building programme and stopping out-of-town superstores, which they say create more traffic and pollution and damage local communities.   The government has slashed its road-building spending, but it has been seen primarily as economic rather than environmental, although protests may have contributed to the decision.   Graham Watts, chief executive of the Construction Industry Council, said, "I don't think many firms involved in tendering (bidding) for sensitive projects realise the impact environmental activity has on the cost of running a project.   "But they are more alert than they were three-four years ago.   There's no doubt it's a big issue now."   He says the damage comes in two forms: "Tangible -- in the form of extra costs, additional security, threats to staff and the more intangible -- damage caused by negative publicity."   Watts said the cost of protesting can be heavy once the company is locked into a contract.   "I do often hear on the industry circuit of tales where the company tenders at low margins and the demonstrations which follow means they are running the project at a loss."   ARC says it's not just contractors in the front line that are affected but also suppliers like itself.   Its own quarries came under attack after it emerged that it may be a supplier for the Newbury bypass.   "It was called the 'First Battle of the Newbury bypass'," said ARC's Harding.   "We had 300 Earth First protestors invade and occupy our site.   Hundreds of thousands of pounds (dollars) of damage was done in one day.   Plus, there was the knock-on cost of lost production and extra security in future."   Simon Brown, analyst at investment bank UBS, said this new phenomenon has led to a change in the way the industry evaluates project risk.   "When talking to Tarmac about the M3 link (through Twyford Down) they made it fairly clear that their risk assessment methods have been changed and now involve a very clear environmental risk analysis."   Harding says others have done the same.   "As a result of eco-terrorism, we are looking at controversial jobs more closely to see if the profit margins are wide enough to cover things like extra security."   For an industry already suffering from razor-thin margins, overcapacity and stagnant demand, eco-terrorism is the latest bizarre twist in the construction sector's tale of woe. 
4337 !C12 !C16 !C17 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Final approval for Lloyd's of London's recovery plan edged closer Wednesday as it declared that over 90 percent of members had accepted a settlement offer aimed at securing the 300-year-old insurance market's future.   Lloyd's said it had been swamped by U.S. investors signing up for its recovery plan after a U.S. appeals court overturned a ruling that had threatened the insurance market's survival.   By Wednesday afternoon, 66.7 percent of U.S. members had accepted.   "The level of acceptances speaks for itself.   Members have made their views toward the reconstruction of Lloyd's abundantly clear," Lloyd's Chairman David Rowland said in a statement.   Earlier, a Lloyd's spokesman said acceptances from U.S. investors in the market, known as Names, had flooded in overnight.   Almost half of the 2,700 U.S. Names had until Tuesday night held off, with only 53 percent accepting by then.   This followed a decision by a federal appeals court in Baltimore Tuesday to overturn U.S. District Court Judge Robert Payne's ruling in Richmond, Va., Friday to allow U.S. Names more time to consider the plan.   Payne granted an injunction giving U.S. Names more time to consider the plan and ordered Lloyd's to provide further information by Sept. 23.   On Tuesday, the panel of judges in Baltimore sent the case back to the lower court with orders to dismiss it.   Rowland said he acknowledged that many overseas members had deferred their acceptance in the light of the Virginia court judgment and the subsequent Baltimore ruling.   Over the last few days, evidence of support for the Lloyd's proposals among its 34,000 investors worldwide has grown.   On Tuesday evening, acceptances totalled 82 percent, compared with 75 percent Saturday.   Wednesday's noon deadline for accepting the 3.2 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) recovery plan, under which Lloyd's proposes that Names pay to help reinsure billions of pounds in liabilities into a new company called Equitas, was extended to give all a chance to respond.   Rowland said Wednesday afternoon that under the circumstances it was "fair and proper" to exercise flexibility in pushing back the deadline for acceptances.   Lloyd's said that any formal, longer-term extension would be subject to a decision by its council at a Thursday meeting at which it would consider "the prospect of declaring the settlement offer acceptances unconditional."   This extension will give the market enough time to collect the convincing majority of acceptances, especially from U.S. Names, which it needs to prove its own solvency.   Lloyd's problems began in the 1980s when a destructive combination of negligent underwriting, poor investment advice and a sequence of natural disasters conspired to bring about losses of several billion pounds.   Long-standing Names were for the first time in their lives suddenly faced with the prospect of unlimited losses.   The market is due to submit figures to Britain's Department of Trade and Industry next week in an annual solvency test, and file with the U.S. Treasury and New York Insurance Department later next month.   Equitas may lift off in two weeks if all goes as planned.   The recovery plan's success increasingly looks likely, but another challenge by U.S. Names has not been ruled out.   However, U.S. legal sources said overnight that while U.S. investors could in theory attempt to challenge Tuesday's order, it would be difficult to do so successfully.   Despite that, one U.S. Name, Kenneth Chiate, who is chief negotiator for a group known as the American Names Association, said he expected U.S. Names to appeal the Baltimore ruling. 
4338 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Canadian Auto Workers Union President Buzz Hargrove said Wednesday the union had chosen Chrysler Corp.'s Canadian subsidiary as its 1996 strike target.   "I have decided in 1996 that the Chrysler workers will lead the bargaining," Hargrove told a news conference.   The 210,000-member union chose to bargain with Chrysler Canada to avoid picking the same target as the union's U.S. cousin, the United Auto Workers.   Hargrove told reporters that UAW President Stephen Yokich had told him in an early morning telephone call that the UAW had discounted Chrysler as a target.   "He has eliminated Chrysler from the selection process and he's still looking at Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp.," he said.   Negotiating teams from the Canadian union and Chrysler agreed to extend the deadline for a strike at Chrysler to Sept. 17 from Sept. 14 to increase pressure for a settlement.   "We have agreed that we are going to notify Chrysler this afternoon in a meeting that the deadline will be Sept. 17 to either have a settlement or a strike will commence at 11:59 p.m.," Hargrove said.   The move was made to change the strike deadline from a Saturday night to a Tuesday, when the auto plants are in full production.   The CAW leader's first preference was to choose Ford Canada as the strike target.   But Hargrove said he feared the UAW might choose Ford and steal away the Canadian union's bargaining power.   "I was not at all comfortable in my discussions this morning with Mr. Yokich that if I had selected Ford today that he and I might be stumbling over one another come mid-September," Hargrove acknowledged.   Chrysler Canada Ltd.'s vice president of human resources, Kenneth Francese, said in a statement released after the press conference that the company's goal was to work with the union to develop viable solutions to the labour issues.   "We know we face a number of difficult issues and challenges," Francese said.   The decision marks the first time the CAW has chosen its strike target ahead of its U.S. counterpart and was the second consecutive time it has chosen Chrysler's Canadian unit in the last two rounds of bargaining.   In the last round of bargaining during 1993, the union and Chrysler settled a master agreement without a strike at any of the companies for the first time since the CAW split off from the UAW in 1985.   The CAW last went on strike at Ford Canada for nine days in 1990.   Members of the CAW's General Motors contingent at the morning news conference voiced their unhappiness over the union's choice.   "The (GM) Oshawa complex is damned well disappointed," one member growled at Hargrove after the announcement.   Although contracting out work, or "outsourcing," in the auto industry is a major issue at all three automakers, GM has made outsourcing decisions in the last year that will eliminate over 5,000 CAW jobs.   GM has also indicated it will resist a pattern agreement from the other automakers if any pact imposes tough restrictions on its ability to outsource.   The CAW has made plain its determination to reverse GM's decisions to sell two plants in Canada and cut jobs.   The CAW is the largest private-sector union in Canada, with 52,800 of its 210,000 members in the auto industry alone.   The union will officially open negotiations with Chrysler Tuesday and will close off preliminary talks with the other auto companies. 
4339 !GCAT !GPOL  Britain's advertising watchdog delivered a "rap over the knuckles" to the Conservatives on Wednesday, telling them to stop displaying a poster depicting opposition Labour leader Tony Blair with demonic red eyes.   The ruling party used the controversial image to illustrate their slogan of "New Labour, New Danger", arguing that the moderate image presented by Blair masked policies that would harm Britain if Labour took power.   But the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that although the poster would not cause widespread offence to the public the Conservatives were wrong to portray Blair in an adverse or sinister way without his permission.   "They should have known better than to run this sort of advertising," Matti Anderson, director general of the ASA, told reporters.   The ad was created for the Conservatives, battling to haul back a 20 percent Labour lead in the opinion polls with an election due by next May, by leading agency M&C Saatchi.   "This is a rap over the knuckles for the Conservatives and M&C Saatchi," Anderson said.   The ASA said it had received 151 complaints about the ads, which it said broke an industry code that protects politicians and other public figures from being depicted in an offensive or adverse way without prior permission.   Labour's head of general election planning, Peter Mandelson, welcomed the ruling.   "This sensible decision will be welcomed by the public who don't want abusive, negative advertising brought into British politics," he said in a statement.   He called on Prime Minister John Major to instruct staff at Conservative party headquarters "to clean up their act".   The Conservatives said they would abide by the ASA's ruling but stood by the message behind the poster.   "We believe that it wasn't showing Tony Blair as demonic.   What we believe it was doing was showing that behind him... there are people who live in the dark who are manipulating him," Charles Hendry, deputy chairman of the party, told BBC radio.   The ASA has no statutory power to enforce its ban, since Britain's advertising industry is self-regulatory.   But, in practice, advertisers, media owners and ad agencies rarely disobey the ASA when it bans an ad, because they want to avoid the negative publicity.   M&C Saatchi was set up last year by Maurice Saatchi -- who Major earlier this month nominated to become a member of the House of Lords -- and his brother, Charles.   In December 1994 Maurice was kicked out of Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising, the huge agency he and his brother created in 1970. 
4340 !GCAT  A doorknob, latch or knocker may seem an unlikely asset.   But as the restoration of old homes and historical buildings picks up speed, the hardware needed for the finishing touches has become valuable.   "People are using them in Victorian homes now, and we don't make anything that look like them anymore," said Terry Kovel, publisher of Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles (1-800-571-1555).   Moreover, "several clubs have been organised and people are doing research and can now collect with some sense of security, and know the good from the bad," she said.   Colourful cast-iron doorknockers made a lot of noise at a recent auction by Bill Bertoia Auctions in Vineland, N.J. (609-692-1881).   A whimsical rabbit eating a cabbage sold for $1,705, nearly triple the estimate.   A chubby cherub with ribbons and roses fetched $1,540.   Most of the knockers, which sold for a few dollars at flea markets less than 10 years ago, went for $100 to $500.   Oltz-Wilson Antiques, a dealer in Portsmouth, R.I. (800-508-0022), sold a doorknob portraying a Puritan minister leaning over a pulpit for $800 plus a 10 percent fee in November.   An intricate solid bronze doorknob with parrots, and a backplate with foliage and ribbons was auctioned for $700.   Designers' creations also incorporated coloured glass, ceramics, and popular figures such as George Washington.   Christopher Columbus graced the knobs of the Columbus Hotel in Ohio in 1900, said Webb Wilson, who owns Oltz-Wilson Antiques.   "They are microcosms of larger works of art.   Reproductions are terribly expensive, so people are willing to pay a good price," said Maudie Eastwood, who has written several books on the subject of her passion over 25 years.   Because of their scarcity, "collectors have the upper hand."   Hotels and other commercial establishements have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for complete sets of hardware, Eastwood said.   "They wish to find what they can of existing examples to cast models.   So they will pay a lot for that."   Nostalgia doesn't rest on the door's surface alone, however.   Doorstops made by the same iron foundries that produced doorknockers and bookends in the 1920s to 1940s also have a strong following.   Most of the foundries ceased making decorative items when World War II began, so these artifacts are well on their way to becoming antiques, which by definition are 100 years old.   Doorstops are either flat-backed or full figured.   Because of their size, they resemble small sculptures and can command very high prices, especially with paint in good condition.   A Bradley & Hubbard 16-inch doorstop in the shape of a barefoot whistling boy with hands in his pockets sold for $7,000 two years ago, said Jeanne Bertoia, who runs Bill Bertoia Auctions with her husband.   A hooded girl holding a Halloween pumpkin fetched $5,000.   A doorstop with Charleston dancers signed by the designer Fish is priced at about $3,000.   A pair of Deco Bathing beauties under an umbrella, also by Fish, is worth $2,500.   "The top end always appreciates the most.   The cream always rises to the top," Bertoia said.   "A doorstop that cost $45 (about 15 years ago) is now worth $150.   But one that went for $100 to $150 now brings $2,000 to $3,000."   Doorstops originated in England in the 19th century, many in the shape of lions, dolphins and other animals.   But these are not as desirable as American ones, which are far more colourful, said Bertoia.   If you have door hardware or doorstops you think may be valuable, consult books by authors such as Maudie Eastwood, or contact a specialist antique dealer.   Seek out clubs like the Antique Doorknob Collectors of America in Eola, Ill. (708-357-2381) and Doorstop Collectors of America in Vineland, N.J. (609-692-4092.   "The most important factor is the condition" of the item, said Bertoia.   "If a doorstop was repainted and in bad condition, it'll be worth only 25 percent of its (potential) value and will be difficult to sell."   As for would-be collectors, stick to the old stuff to be safe.   "New doorstops and knockers won't appreciate because they are so mass produced," Bertoia said.   On the other hand, she reflected, "I'm sure they are the collectibles of tomorrow." 
4341 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Ion Iliescu, in power since the 1989 fall of communism, on Wednesday launched his bid to lead Romania into the next century, promising prosperity and stability if elected in November polls.   Iliescu, 66, told an audience of ruling party figures, celebrities and businessmen in a speech to launch his candidacy that the most painful moments of change were over for the still- poor Balkan country.   "Romania has left behind it the economic and social chaos of the first years of reform and is now in a fresh moment of change," said the former communist functionary who ousted Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in a bloody revolt.   In a speech short on inspired rhetoric and specific pledges he defended his record for fostering steady economic development, blasted Romania's newly rich for conspicuous consumption and promised an attack on corruption.   "The key point of my platform is to modernise the national economy in line with changes in contemporary society," he said.   While opinion polls cast him as favourite to retain power, the obstacles in his way were symbolised by a heckler who interrupted the opening moments of his speech to complain that Iliescu was seeking a third term in office.   The Romanian constitution limits Presidents to two four-year terms.   Although Iliescu was elected both in 1990 and 1992 he argues the new constitution, introduced in 1991, applies only to his second ballot victory.   The opposition argues that Iliescu is trying to cling to power at all costs, and will contest his candidacy in the courts.   It promises quicker reform and says the President has blocked the changes need to rescue Romania from the economic doldrums.   Opposition leaders say Iliescu is a late and reluctant convert to capitalism, moving awkwardly from communist rhetoric only at the behest of Western governments who have threatened to shun Romania.   Iliescu's speech committed him to fresh efforts to reform and privatise Romania's still largely state-run economy.   "We want to build a healthy market economy...not one of black-marketeers and unscrupulous dealers," said Iliescu.   "Unfortunately many who accumulated capital have preferred to squander it on luxury, ostentatiously displaying their personal wealth rather than reinvesting into production and creating new jobs," he told his audience.   Iliescu made little mention of his ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR), in what analysts said was a conscious move to appeal for cross-party support and avoid association with the PDSR, which has been tarnished by corruption scandals.   For the same reason his campaign will be run by a high-profile team of career diplomats, not party managers, who have already sought to portray Iliescu as a statesman and national father figure ahead of the November 3 vote.   Iliescu's main rivals are Emil Constantinescu, an academic standing for the opposition Democratic Convention bloc, and Romania's first post-communist premier, Petre Roman.   Electioneering for the third post-communist presidential and parliamentary polls officially starts on September 4. 
4342 !GCAT  Sending a kid off to college this year?   Then it's probably too late for financial advice; you're already broke.   Between the tuition tab and the August shopping trips for little coffee pots, dorm room shelves and more, more, more, you're probably wondering what's left.   Well, now that the worst is over, there are a few ways to save money, or at least protect the little you have left, while your child enjoys that first year of balancing books with too much fun.   I hope this helps.   -- Notify your auto insurance company, and watch your rates go down.   If all the cars stay home while your child moves at least 100 miles away, the rates will drop substantially.   They'll drop, too, if she takes the car with her but attends school in a town your insurance company considers safer than the one you are in now.   What's typical?   A $1,430 annual premium will drop to $700 if the car stays home, says one company.   And she's still covered when she takes it out on vacations and over the summer.   -- Another thing about insurance: If your child lives in the dorm, your homeowner's policy probably covers her computer and CD player.   Once she moves off campus, she's on her own, and should consider a renter's policy.   -- Learn to love e-mail.   Even if you're behind the curve, your kid won't be.   Most college students get their electronic mail addresses when they get their student IDs, and they have free access.   You could chat daily and really keep in touch without spending for all those long-distance calls.   -- Alternatively, consider getting your own 800 number.   For $4.50 a month, AT&T will set you up to receive calls from anyone.   You pay for the calls, but with a discount plan you can cut the cost of the calls to 17 cents a minute.   This is especially convenient if you have more than one child living away from home.   Primarily for convenience, this will save money when compared with the pre-paid calling cards many students use instead.   -- Debit, not credit.   College towns are light years ahead of the rest of us when it comes to smart cards.   Many student ID cards have chips that hold cash, and the stores surrounding the campus will take them like money.   This may keep your child from wasting or losing loose change.   And it will certainly keep him from running up too much debt on credit cards he can't pay off.   -- Go on the plan.   The level payment plan that many colleges now offer make tuition an easier nut to crack.   When you pay monthly instead of all at once at the beginning of the year, you can delay the inevitable day of borrowing, and keep money in the bank earning interest a little longer.   -- Liquidate your child's account first.   Does your family have to pay $12,000 this year?   And your daughter's account has $9,000 in it?   Use it to pay the first $9,000, then front any money she needs for other expenses yourself.   Next year, when she's filling out all those aid forms, her money won't count against her.   -- Book flights now for Thanksgiving, winter break and other visits home.   The earlier you book, the more likely you are to get a discount on fares.   -- Don't buy too much stuff.   Refrigerators, computers, lamps, stereos can come in handy, but your child may not need them to start.   Many schools offer computer centres, and many roommates come with stereos and refrigerators.   You may worry that items will be more expensive in the college town, but that's not always the case.   Older students moving on may be trying to unload the same things your child is seeking.   (You can Email Linda Stern at 72160.1546@compuserve.  com or write to her in care of Reuters, Suite 410, 1333 H St., NW, Washington, DC 20005.   She regrets that she cannot answer each letter individually, but will cover your questions in upcoming columns.) 
4343 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin, who has been on vacation since Monday, is taking decisions in key matters of foreign and domestic policy, spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky told a news briefing on Wednesday.   "Even on holiday, Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) remains an active president.   There should be no doubt that decisions on key issues of internal and foreign policy are being taken by him," Yastrzhembsky said.   But Yastrzhembsky dodged a question about whether he had met the president in person since he left for his vacation, saying only that Yeltsin had spoken twice to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, once on August 26 and once on August 28.   "These were long enough, substantial, constructive conversations," he said.   He said Yeltsin was studying documents presented by his security chief Alexander Lebed on how to resolve the conflict in breakaway Chechnya and planned to make his orders on Lebed's responsibilities more concrete.   But he added: "To our great regret the Chechen problem is not one which can be resolved in one hour.   The president has needed additional expert advice."   He had no information about whether any meetings were planned between Yeltsin and Lebed, who returned to Moscow at the weekend saying he wanted Yeltsin's approval for his peace plan.   Yeltsin, 65, has been seen rarely in public since his reelection in July, prompting widespread speculation about his health.   The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied rumours that Yeltsin is ill, said he had started a holiday on Monday in the private Rus hunting lodge, some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow. 
4344 !GCAT !GCRIM  As liberal Sweden hosted a conference on child sex abuse, police in neighbouring Finland said on Wednesday they had no powers to arrest a suspect found hoarding a massive computer library of child pornography.   In a raid last week, police seized two computers and nearly 350 floppy disks at the Helsinki home of a 19-year-old student, holding material including pictures of sadistic acts with children; torture, mutilation and cannibalism.   "These pictures of adults having sex with children are really hard pornography.   This is exceptionally large, exceptionally severe hard pornography involving very severe abuse of children," said police specialist Kaj Malmberg.   The investigation started when he was given a floppy disk which contained a descriptive menu of about 3,000 exceptionally perverse pictures: he said the library could contain hundreds of thousands of them.   "It's the biggest thing I've seen," said Malmberg, a specialist on pornography on the Internet.   The children were both Caucasian and Asian.   But he said he could not arrest the student because under Finnish law, which is modelled on the liberal Nordic norm, distributing hard pornography is a minor offence.   "It's like speeding or something," he said.   Police must wait until the student returns from university outside the Finnish capital to interrogate him.   Malmberg said the seized computers could be connected to the Internet, but seemed mainly to operate as a dial-in library for callers to collect or deliver pictures: which made it likely they had been mainly used by local or regional people.   He found a distribution link on Wednesday for the pictures with Sweden, he said; but although he expected people in several other European countries had used the system, he had not yet found any Belgian connection.   Possession of "ordinary" pornography is not a crime under Finnish law, Malmberg said.   Owning "hard" pornography or making it available is an offence with a maximum penalty of six months in jail.   This may be raised to two years next year, but that alone would not be enough for Finnish health and welfare experts who are pushing for tougher punishment of sex crimes.   "We want possession (of pornography) to be criminalised -- not just production or selling," said Merja-Maarja Turunen, senior medical officer and psychiatrist at the National Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health.   "It is important.   It's not a minor offence.   It's obvious that somewhere along the line a child is being molested," she said.   In Finland, many cases are dismissed as incidents.   Turunen said the view is common in Finland that unlike other criminals, sex offenders need therapy rather than punishment.   Even where the law is adequate, she said prosecutors are quick to dismiss sex crime cases, and she quoted an editorial comment on the issue in one Finnish daily which said it was "such a minor problem, let's sweep it under the carpet again".   Malmberg said pornography offences are so minor in Finland that police tend not to be willing to act.   "It would make it easier to investigate and we would probably get better results if we had (more) power," he said.   "When you look at these pictures you really start to think that something should be done." 
4345 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Lloyd's of London said Wednesday it was swamped by American investors signing up for its recovery plan after a U.S. appeals court overturned a ruling that had threatened the insurance market's survival.   When staff arrived at Lloyd's headquarters in London just hours before the original deadline for acceptance of the recovery plan, its fax machines had been whirring for nearly 12 hours, a spokesman said.   "Acceptances from the U.S. have been flooding in overnight," the spokesman said.   The flurry of acceptances followed a U.S. appellate court ruling overturning a lower federal court's injunction against Lloyd's multibillion-dollar recovery plan.   The spokesman said Lloyd's offices in London and nearby Chatham had been deluged with hundreds of acceptance forms, but was unable to give a number.   Lloyd's was expected to publish a new count of acceptances Wednesday afternoon.   Over the past few days, evidence of support for the recovery proposals among its 34,000 investors worldwide has grown considerably, with the latest count putting acceptance at 82 percent as of Tuesday evening.   However, almost half of the 2,700 U.S. investors in Lloyd's had held off -- until Tuesday night, after the appellate court ruling.   Only 53 percent had accepted, according to Tuesday's figures.   Wednesday's official deadline for accepting the recovery plan, under which Lloyd's proposes that investors pay to help reinsure billions of dollars in liabilities in a new company called Equitas, still stood.   But Lloyd's Chairman David Rowland said there would be some form of limited extension, so that investors who had not accepted could do so.   This will allow the market enough time to collect the convincing majority of acceptances, especially from U.S. investors, which it needs to prove its own solvency.   Lloyd's problems began in the 1980s when a destructive combination of negligent underwriting, poor investment advice and a sequence of natural disasters conspired to bring about losses of several billion dollars.   Long-standing investors in Lloyd's -- known as Names -- were for the first time in their lives suddenly faced with the prospect of unlimited losses.   The market was due to submit figures to Britain's Department of Trade and Industry next week in an annual solvency test.   It must also file with the U.S. Treasury Department and New York Insurance Department later next month.   Equitas may lift off in two weeks if all goes as planned.   The recovery plan's success increasingly looks likely, but another challenge by U.S. Names has not been ruled out.   However, U.S. legal sources said that while U.S. investors could in theory attempt to challenge Tuesday's order, it would be difficult to do so successfully.   Despite that, one U.S. investor and chief negotiator for an action group known as the American Names Association, Kenneth Chiate, said he expected them to appeal the appellate ruling.   Lloyd's Chairman David Rowland said in an interview that he was determined that the terrible losses of the past caused by negligent underwriting and poor advice to investors will not be repeated.   He suggested that the supervision of the market, which includes corporate activity and the discipline of professionals, stay largely within Lloyd's itself, while investor protection could be handled by an outside body.   At the moment all regulatory issues are handled ultimately by Lloyd's ruling council, because this is the statutory body.   "It's likely that part of our responsibilities may still stay within us but answer separately, and that it is more likely to be the investor protection role which may answer outside," Rowland said.   After the completion of the recovery plan, Rowland said he was likely to step back from day-to-day management of the insurance market, leaving the bulk of this to Chief Executive Ron Sandler.   Rowland said he would spend more time on governance, policy, the promotion of Lloyd's and the question of his succession. 
4346 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A passenger train collided with a locomotive at a main railway station in Linz on Wednesday, injuring around 35 people, three of them seriously, police said.   "One locomotive was stationary and the passenger train collided into the back of it," a police spokesman in Linz, 200 km (120 miles) west of Vienna, told Reuters by telephone.   The express passenger train travelling from Steyr, southeast of Linz, had around 80 people on board when it hit the back of a service locomotive used to shunt wagons into sidings.   Police said they were checking whether one of the train drivers had ignored a signal.   Doctors and medical staff from a hospital across the road from the station were at the scene of the accident within minutes and treated some of the injured near the tracks.   The collision took place on a bridge leading into the station and firemen used cranes to lift the injured on stretchers from the bridge to the road below.   A spokesman for the Linz emergency accident unit, just 20 metres (yards) from the station, said most of the injured were only slightly hurt but three had to remain in hospital.   Their injuries were not life-threatening, he said.   Austria's state railway (OeBB) said greater damage was averted as the driver of the passenger train had time to apply his emergency brakes before the collision.   The OeBB estimated damage at 10 million schillings (one million dollars) and said it had launched an inquiry into the accident. 
4347 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GWELF  Turkish trade unions on Wednesday urged the government to pay them back all money collected in a compulsory savings scheme, abolished by parliament after a marathon session that concluded after midnight.   "The principals and interest collected through compulsory savings must be paid by the government in three months to those who deserve them," said a joint statement from Turk-Is, DISK and Hak-Is labour confederations.   Parliament abolished the widely criticised state savings scheme in an emergency session that began on Tuesday night with votes from the Islamist-led government despite bloc opposition from the other parties.   The scheme was instituted in 1988 in work places which employ at least 10 employees to boost investment, but union leaders and other critics say it has been widely abused and offered little in the way of returns.   Since the scheme was set up, workers have paid two percent of their salaries and employers contributed a further three percent.   "The government must also add the three percent contributed to the scheme by employers to the salaries of workers," the union statement said.   Analysts said the abolition is likely to be welcomed by workers who will see an immediate benefit to their wage packets and employers, whose wage costs will fall.   They say the abolition will not be of any positive benefit to the economy as the government still has to make payments to workers and will have to consider alternative savings measures.   But a government official said the three-percent employer contribution made by state economic enterprises would mean savings for the government, which has announced a series of measures to finance deficits.   Opposition parties criticised the phrasing of the law abolishing the fund, saying it did not clarify when or how the government would begin repayments to workers.   "There is now a government which extorted rights of 6.2 million employees who earned their money with blood and sweat," Yilmaz Karakoyunlu, deputy chairman of the main opposition Motherland Party, told Anatolian news agency.   The government has not provided figures on the size of the fund, but analysts say about 430 trillion lira ($5 billion) have been collected in the fund in terms of principal and interest.   The abolition of the savings scheme, the latest in a series of populist moves by the Islamist-led coalition, will take effect in the month after it is published in the Official Gazette.   In earlier populist moves, civil servants have been given a larger-than-expected wage rise and the minimum wage was doubled, raising concerns about the government's commitment to rein in Turkey's gaping deficits.   Annual inflation in Turkey is running at over 80 percent and the 1996 budget deficit is expected to total 1,300 trillion lira.   ($1=86,000 lira) 
4348 !GCAT !GDIS  A passenger train collided with a locomotive at a main railway station in Linz on Wednesday and police said around 10 people were injured.   Austrian television reported earlier that more than 20 had been hurt in the accident at the station in Linz, 300 km (180 miles) west of Vienna.   "One locomotive was stationary and the passenger train collided into the back of it," a police spokesman in Linz told Reuters by telephone.   The express passenger train travelling from Steyr, southeast of Linz, with around 80 people on board, hit the back of a service locomotive used to shunt wagons into sidings.   The police spokesman said he was not sure whether any more passengers were still trapped in the wreckage.   Doctors and medical staff from a hospital across the road from the station were at the scene of the accident within minutes and were able to treat the injured quickly, he added.   Greater damage was averted as the driver of the passenger train had time to apply his emergency brakes before the collision occurred, a state railways spokesman told Austrian news agency APA. 
4349 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Turkey and Israel on Wednesday signed a defence industry accord that could cause problems for Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan among his Islamist voters.   "Today during a one-day working visit he (Israeli Defence Undersecretary David Ivry) signed a Turkish-Israeli defence industry cooperation agreement," Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said during a news briefing.   A military official signed the accord for Turkey, he said.   A military training accord between Turkey and Israel signed earlier in the year brought Israeli jets to an air base near Ankara.   It caused widespread anger in the Moslem world.   Moslem countries accused Turkey of abandoning solidarity against the Jewish state after the accord was made public in April.   Akbel played down the significance of the latest accord.   He said he did know the details.   "Turkey has defence industry agreements with around 20 countries.   This is a standard framework agreement," the spokesman said.   He said Turkey had similar accords with some Moslem countries.   Signing of the latest agreement had been expected earlier this month but was delayed because of Erbakan's first foreign tour, which included a visit to Iran.   During his visit to Tehran, Iran's spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Erbakan he hoped that Ankara would rid itself of its connections with Israel.   Erbakan strongly opposed the military training accord when he was in opposition but toned down his objections after coming to power. 
4350 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Taiwanese tycoon Kao Ching-yuan on Wednesday urged Beijing to resume talks with Taiwan, saying the island's investors would lose confidence in China if relations remained at a low ebb due to ideological differences.   "I would like to suggest here...that the two sides resume as soon as possible talks on trade and investment," Kao, vice-chairman of President Enterprises, the island's biggest investor in China, told a seminar in Beijing.   The talks were suspended last year after President Lee Teng-hui made a landmark trip to the United States.   Beijing regards Taiwan as a rebel province and has sought to push the island into diplomatic isolation.   Kao warned that it would be riskier for Taiwanese business executives to invest in China and investors would lose confidence in the mainland if political or ideological disputes continued to hamper ties between Beijing and Taipei.   Nearly 80 prominent Taiwanese business leaders and politicians, led by Kao, arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a high-profile, 12-day visit.   Taiwanese newspapers said Kao would meet Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other senior officials.   Taiwan's leaders have publicly expressed reservations about the island becoming too dependent on China economically.   The trip comes less than two weeks after Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui called for a review of economic policy toward China with the aim of avoiding overdependence on the mainland.   The China Times Express newspaper in Taipei said on Sunday that Taiwan's economic planners had drawn up measures -- including contingency plans to restrict Taiwanese investment on the mainland -- if Taiwan-China relations deteriorated.   The Taiwanese delegation was the largest to visit China since a trend of easing tensions was reversed by Taiwan President Lee's mid-1995 visit to the United States.   Last week, China introduced a series of regulations to pave the way for direct shipping links.   Taiwan has banned direct trade, transport and mail links with China since Mao Zedong's communist army defeated and drove Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalist troops to the island at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.   Indirect links between the two sides have been allowed since the late 1980s through Hong Kong or a third country.   Many Taiwanese business executives, who have poured more than $20 billion into China, are eager for direct trade and transport links.   But Taiwan has been reluctant to lift the ban, which it views as its last bargaining chip in talks with the communists. 
4351 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta said the Clinton adminstration would consider backing off its demand that the FDA regulate nicotine, CBS News reported on Tuesday.   Panetta told CBS the White House would be willing to give up the Food and Drug Administration's proposed jurisdiction over tobacco if the industry adhered to new rules that would ban most vending machine sales and restrict cigarette advertisements aimed at youngsters.   "The fundamental requirement is getting the industry to meet these requirements so that kids will not be attracted to smoking," Panetta told CBS in an interview.   "And frankly anything that can avoid the long-term litigation that's involved here with these regulations would be helpful."   The new regulations, announced on Friday, are due to be phased in over two years and include a number of measures aimed at stopping young people from taking up smoking.   The tobacco industry has vowed to fight the regulations in court, arguing that the FDA does not have the legal authority to regulate nicotine.   White House press secretary Mike McCurry said President Bill Clinton and others have long said it would be "far preferable" to have statutory language or voluntary measures restricting access to tobacco among minors than having the matter tied up in the courts.   He said Clinton would prefer action that would be "immediate as opposed to something that might be litigated for some time to come," adding, "obviously we will see what develops out of any discussions that take place."   McCurry is travelling with Clinton on a whistlestop train tour through Michigan on his way to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.   CBS also reported that White House officials had said they would have to take a very hard look at how any proposed legislative might deal with the possiblity of freeing the tobacco industry from lawsuits by smokers.   In a poll released on Tuesday, CBS said 67 percent of Americans approved of the new government regulations which gave the FDA authority over the sale and advertising of cigarettes and other tobacco products.   Twenty-six percent disapproved.   However 62 percent of those polled said the regulations were not likely to reduce significantly the number of minors using cigarettes and other tobacco products.   The poll of 540 adults was conducted on Monday and had a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points. 
4352 !C11 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Insurance market Lloyd's of London said on Wednesday that over 90 percent of its worldwide membership of 34,000 had accepted its 3.2 billion pound ($4.98 billion) settlement offer.   Lloyd's added in a statement that 66.7 percent of its U.S. members had accepted the settlement.    "In total, 30,918 members had returned acceptances by noon (1100 GMT) today, equivalent to 90.06 percent; a further 83 received by four pm (1500 GMT) increased the total to 31,001 or 90.3 percent," Lloyd's said.   The London insurance market's chairman David Rowland said in the statement that the level of acceptances spoke for itself.   "Members have made their views toward the reconstruction of Lloyd's abundantly clear," he said.   Rowland acknowledged many overseas members, particularly in the U.S., had deferred acceptance due to a Virginia court ruling on Friday and an appeal court ruling on Tuesday. 
4353 !GCAT !GSPO  England have been given a final chance to remain in the Five Nations' championship despite striking an exclusive television deal with Rupert Murdoch's Sky television.   In a statement on Wednesday, the Four Nations TV Committee said dates had been set for a competition involving Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France next year.   "Between now and then, discussions will take place in one final attempt to persuade the Rugby Football Union to save the Five Nations' championship in its current form," the statement said.   No further details were immediately available.   England infuriated their championship colleagues when they decided to sign a 87.5 million pounds sterling ($135.8 million) deal giving Sky television exclusive rights to rugby union matches in England.   The present contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation was shared between the four home nations while France have their own television deal.   Last month Five Nations' committee chairman Tom Kiernan said England would be thrown out of the competition "unless circumstances change in the near future". 
4354 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   Tacis - office furniture and computer equipment Notice of invitation to tender issued by the European Commission for the Tacis Programme 'Reinforcement of Employment Services in Mongolia' (ED MON 9402) (96/C 250/09)   Audiovisual coverage of current events Open procedure (96/C 250/08)   Purchase of a search system in the Community trade mark area for the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market Open procedure (96/C 250/07)   Purchase of a library management system for the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market Open procedure (96/C 250/06)   Notice concerning the organization of open competitions (96/C 250/05)   Prior notification of a concentration (Case No IV/M.820 - British Aerospace/Lagardere SCA) (96/C 250/04)   Recapitulation of current tenders, published in the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Communities, financed by the European Community under the European Development Fund (EDF) or the European Communities budget (week: 19 to 24 August 1996) (96/C 250/03)   Information procedure - technical regulations (96/C 250/02)   Ecu (1) 27 August 1996 (96/C 250/01) END OF DOCUMENT. 
4355 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 on financial aid from the Community for the work of the Rijksinstituut voor de Volksgezondheid en Milieuhygiene (RIVM), Bilthoven, Netherlands, a Community reference laboratory for residue testing (Only the Dutch text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/519/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 on financial aid from the Community for the work of the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome, Italy, a Community reference laboratory for residue testing (Only the Italian text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/518/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 on financial aid from the Community for the work of the Bundesinstitut fur gesundheitlichen Verbraucherschutz und Veterinarmedizin (formerly called the Bundesgesundheitsamt), Berlin, Germany, a Community reference laboratory for residue testing (Only the German text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/517/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 on financial aid from the Community for the work of the Laboratoire des medicaments veterinaires, Fougeres, France, a Community reference laboratory for residue testing (Only the French text is authentic) (Text with EEA relevance) (96/516/EC)   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1684/96 of 27 August 1996 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1683/96 of 27 August 1996 determining estimated production of unginned cotton for the 1996/97 marketing year END OF DOCUMENT. 
4356 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GVIO  Thousands of Zimbabwean civil servants marched in the capital Harare on Wednesday in defiance of government statements dismissing them over their strike, which has crippled essential social services.   Police kept a low profile, mostly around a park where the marchers numbering about 5,000 gathered earlier to hear speeches from their leaders before moving into the city centre.   The civil servants are demanding increases of 30 to 60 percent, saying their salaries have not kept up with annual inflation averaging 22 percent over the past two years.   The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions threatened on Tuesday to call a general strike if President Robert Mugabe's government failed to settle the dispute by Friday.   The government has been uncompromising on its stance that the workers -- including junior doctors, nurses, mortuary attendants, firefighters and prosecutors -- were dismissed for defying an order to return to work last Friday.   But some officials say the government is trying behind the scenes to resolve the crisis, which has disrupted internal flights and left hospitals barely functioning. 
4357 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  Slovenia and Poland signed a declaration on Wednesday voicing mutual support in their efforts to join the European Union and NATO.   Slovenian President Milan Kucan and Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski inked the accord at a news conference at the end of a two-day official visit by Kwasniewski.   The two countries also pledged to deepen their political, economic, cultural and scientific cooperation.   "I expect the cooperation between our countries will help both towards EU and NATO membership," Kwasniewski said.   Slovenia and Poland have already signed association agreements with the European Union and are hoping to be in the first group of former Eastern bloc countries to gain entry.   Kwasniewski, accompanied on his visit by representatives from Polish companies, said he expected the trip to bring increased economic cooperation.   Poland and Slovenia are members of the Central European Free Trade Area (CEFTA), which also includes the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.   Slovenia's trade with Poland rose to $142.3 million in 1995 from $118.8 million in 1994.   Kwasniewski plans to spend three days' private holiday at the Slovenian seaside resort of Strunjan. 
4358 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin, who has been on vacation since Monday, is taking decisions in key matters of foreign and domestic policy, spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky told a news briefing on Wednesday.   "Even on holiday, Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) remains an active president.   There should be no doubt that decisions on key issues of internal and foreign policy are being taken by him," Yastrzhembsky said.    But Yastrzhembsky dodged a question about whether he had met the president, saying only that Yeltsin had spoken twice to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl since August 26.   "These were long enough, substantial, constructive conversations," he said.   He said Yeltsin was studying documents presented by his security chief Alexander Lebed on how to resolve the conflict in breakaway Chechnya.   "To our great regret the Chechen problem is not one which can be resolved in one hour," he said.   "The president has needed additional expert advice."   He had no information about whether any meetings were planned between Yeltsin and Lebed, who returned to Moscow at the weekend saying he wanted Yeltsin's approval for his peace plan.   Yeltsin, 65, has been seen rarely in public since his reelection in July, prompting widespread speculation about his health.   The Kremlin, which has repeatedly denied rumours that Yeltsin is ill, said he had started a holiday on Monday in the private Rus hunting lodge, some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow. 
4359 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Albania said on Wednesday a threatened all-out strike by oil workers in protest at a delay in wage payments had been averted but talks between the unions and the government were still going on.   Energy Ministry spokesman Astrit Karadaku acknowledged that wage payments were late, saying the problem had arisen due to a drastic fall in sales of lower quality fuels from refineries of Albania's state-owned Albpetrol company.   The daily Koha Jone said the workers had protested over the late payments and because an approved 20 percent wage rise had not materialised.   Some 7,000 oil workers had sent a petition to President Sali Berisha and threatened to go on an indefinite strike from September 5 if no action was taken, the paper said.   "I just talked with Albpetrol officials and they told me there is absolutely no talk of a general strike," Karadaku told Reuters.   He explained Albpetrol sales had suffered from cut-throat competition by low-priced imported fuel but the situation had improved since the government reduced excise tax on domestic fuels 10 days ago.   Karadaku said excise tax on gasoline had been cut to 17 percent from 53 percent, the new brand of 88-octane lead-free gasoline was now taxed at 47 percent and diesel at 20 percent from 40 percent.   "The aim is to make it competitive and we have proposed to the government that institutions financed by the state budget buy only Albpetrol (Albanian) fuel," he added.   Karadaku said Sokol Bejleri, the former director-general of Albpetrol who quit to become state secretary for Energy and Mining, was talking with independent union leaders in Patos, where Albpetrol is based in southern Albania.   The workers also demanded the sacking of managers they accused of being corrupt.   "Oil workers cannnot sit and count the days past the pay date because our work keeps the state budget alive," union leader Myrteza Goxhaj, who could not be reached for comment, told the daily.   Karadaku said the demands of workers for better housing had already been given the green light, with 30 new apartments to be built soon. 
4360 !GCAT !GPOL  Mystery around Russia's "invisible" President Boris Yeltsin thickened on Wednesday amid awkward Kremlin explanations, and some newspapers said an early race to replace him was already under way.   "An unannounced, under-the-carpet presidential campaign has started in the country," the authoritative Izvestia newspaper said on Wednesday.   "The pussyfooting around the agreement which General (Alexander) Lebed has brought from Chechnya testifies to this."   Yeltsin, who disappeared for a holiday on Monday, has charged his security chief Lebed with finding a solution to the Chechnya conflict which has killed at least 30,000 people and strained Moscow's relations with the West.   Lebed struck a military deal with the rebels last week but his pleas for Yeltsin to hear his plans for a political settlement have fallen on seemingly-deaf ears.   "The president is studying the documents," is the Kremlin's answer to Lebed's request for a meeting -- or at least a telephone conversation.   Without the Chechnya crisis, August would have appeared the most convenient time for Yeltsin, 65, to take a break.   He won a gruelling election against a communist challenger with crucial help from Lebed, a first-round contender, and put a new government in place.   The Chechen conflict has triggered a power struggle in the Kremlin as fragile peace prospects grow stronger.   The Kremlin -- in the absence of vacationing chief-of-staff Anatoly Chubais -- has answered so many questions so vaguely, if at all, that independent observers are asking where the president is and what is wrong with him.   Yeltsin, who had two heart attacks last year, effectively disappeared from the public eye before the runoff election on July 3, and his wooden 45-second inauguration speech on August 9 did little to quell speculation about his health.   A brief television appearence later was taped by a trusted crew and, unusually for Russia, cameras from state television channels were not even present.   He is spending his vacation at the private and exclusive Rus hunting lodge, some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow, but he has not met any officials there and has not appeared on television.   A spokesman for the presidential press service summed it up on Wednesday by saying: "We do not have any information about the president because he is on holiday."   Another Kremlin official, asked to comment on rumours that Yeltsin was ill, said simply: "We have no official information on any worsening or any change in the president's state of health."   The choice of the hunting lodge instead of the well-equipped Barvikha resort and sanatorium near Moscow also appears strange, given that aides have said that the Kremlin chief needs thorough medical checks.   There is also a personal angle -- Yeltsin left his beloved wife Naina behind in a Moscow hospital after she underwent kidney surgery on Saturday.   A Kremlin spokesman said on Wednesday Naina was getting ready to leave hospital.   Before the Russian election campaign started, Naina made clear she did not want Yeltsin to stand again.   But she remained loyally at his side through the campaign, travelling with him across Russia and smiling as he spoke.   Some analysts say Lebed, who finished a strong third in the first round of the election, is using his peace efforts in Chechnya to boost his chances if a new poll is held early.   "If he stops this shameful war, he will become a national hero with strong chances of becoming a hero with official powers in the future," said Izvestia.   But it might be too early to write Yeltsin off.   He danced and travelled non-stop before the first round of the presidential election in a sharp contrast to the end of last year when he looked like a slow-moving political corpse, slurring his words like late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. 
4361 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Workers at Serbia's Zastava arms factory protesting over unpaid wages are demanding the general manager be sacked, a trade union official said on Wednesday.   The Zastava works in the central town of Kragujevac is the backbone of Serbia's defence industry, supplying the army with a whole range of weapons.   Its workers have staged protests in the town's main square for the past eight days demanding June and July wages and last year's holiday pay.   On Tuesday, general manager Vukasin Filipovic ordered the 3,500 production workers on mandatory leave until Monday.   "The general manager told us he needed time to resolve our problems with the government in Belgrade.   But his decision is illegal and we want him to be replaced," trade union president Zoran Nedeljkovic declared. 
4362 !E12 !E21 !E211 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The Yugoslav parliament is expected to approve on Thursday legal conditions set for IMF membership but analysts warn no money will be forthcoming before authorities enact genuine economic reforms.   "The decree is an important step forward," Mihajlo Nikolic of the Yugoslav central bank said on Wednesday.   "But this does not mean a quick return to the International Monetary Fund nor access to fresh funds."   "Radical economic reforms are a must prior to the IMF decision to support our economy," said Nikolic, once chief advisor to sacked central bank governor Dragoslav Avramovic.   The majority Socialist parliament is expected to endorse a government decree on the restoration of IMF membership based on the Fund's offer to accept rump Yugoslavia as one of the successor states of the ex-Yugoslav federation.   The government's insistence on legal continuity -- the heart of a longtime dispute with the IMF -- has been quietly dropped.   Belgrade had originally insisted that new Yugoslavia, consisting of Serbia and Montengero, was the only legal successor to the former Yugoslavia.   But diplomatic sources here say the country will have to fulfil an entire package of political and economic conditions before the IMF decides to reactivate Yugoslavia's membership.   "The government will have to bite the bullet on one of the key conditions set by the IMF -- the privatisation programme," said one diplomat who asked not to be named.   "The government clearly and loudly has to show it is for a healthy stabilisation policy and a clear and transparent privatisation programme," he said.   Economic analysts were sceptical that the country's ruling Socialists were ready for general privatisation and radical free-market reforms required by the IMF.   "I do not believe our authorities have made up their mind on such a crucial issue as privatisation," Nikolic said.   The sources say the government must be willing to offer controlling stakes to foreign investors.   "And who would invest money here just to get a minor 25-30 percent stake in a company?"   Belgrade will also have to make severe cuts in public spending to secure fresh funds from the IMF for its cash-starved economy.   "That is also one of the hot issues as the IMF usually sugessts cuts for the army and police," Nikolic said.   "And that will be a difficult thing to do here."   Ivan Vujacic of the Belgrade School of Economics said that apart from privatisation and reduction in public spending, the banking system, interest rate and exchange rate policies would have to be reformed.   "It is a very difficult and complicated package the Yugoslav government has to deal with," he said.   Analysts expect the government, confronted with a collapsing economy after four years of U.N. sanctions and war, to meet the minimum IMF conditions to secure badly-needed capital.   "They will do as little as possible to get access to international financial markets," Nikolic said. 
4363 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  U.S. Special Envoy Stuart Eizenstat met with top Mexican political and business leaders on Wednesday in a bid to soothe U.S.-Mexican tensions over the controversial Helms-Burton law blocking trade with Cuba.   Eizenstat, charged by U.S. President Bill Clinton with the difficult task of building a unified front with U.S. allies on Cuba policy, is on the first stop of a diplomatic mission that will also take him to Canada and Europe.   "The differences were clearly set forth," Eizenstat told reporters after his meeting with Mexican officials.   "No one tried to sugar-coat the differences.   But I was certainly struck by the clear desire of Mexico to see Cuba eventually move to democracy and that gives us something to go on."   Eizenstat met Foreign Minister Jose Angel Gurria, Trade Minister Herminio Blanco and President Ernesto Zedillo's chief of staff Luis Tellez as well as business leaders.   The Mexican Foreign Ministry said officials repeated to the U.S. delegation Mexico's condemnation of the U.S. blockade of Cuba and said Mexico would continue fighting against the Helms-Burton law.   The meeting, however, took place in an "environment of respect," it added.   Some pro-Cuba protesters hurled eggs at the U.S. embassy residence where Eizenstat was staying but the demonstration broke up without serious incident.   The U.S. law was introduced in retaliation for Havana's shooting down of two small U.S. planes.   It threatens sanctions against foreign firms which "traffic" in confiscated properties in Cuba formerly owned by U.S. nationals or Cubans who later took U.S. citizenship.   U.S. allies bitterly oppose some aspects of the law, particularly the provision allowing for civil suits against companies that "traffic" in confiscated properties.   Clinton waived that provision until January, when he must decide whether to waive it again or allow it to kick in.   Telecommunications firm Grupo Domos of Mexico has already been hit with U.S. sanctions, as has Canadian firm Sherrit International Corp.   Executives of both firms will be barred from entering the United States.   Eizenstat's aides said only about a dozen companies worldwide were under investigation to see if sanctions should apply to them.   Eizenstat held out a glimmer of hope that other Mexican companies might be able to prevent the full weight of the law from taking effect by taking steps on their own. 
4364 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The judicial committee of the Organisation of American States (OAS) has ruled that punitive U.S. legislation blocking foreign trade with Cuba contravenes international law, the committee's president said on Wednesday.   "We have worked three weeks analysing the Helms-Burton Act within the framework of international law.   We have worked very hard and we have come to the unanimous decision that in various aspects the act is not in keeping with international law," Eduardo Vio of Chile told Reuters.   The United States passed the anti-Cuban legislation in a bid to isolate Cuba by threatening sanctions against foreign firms doing business with the Communist-ruled island.   The bill is named after its creators.   The regional group's judicial committee, which has a solely consultative role, made the decision on Saturday during its annual month-long meeting in Rio de Janeiro.   Vio said his committee had passed its resolution onto the general secretary and the permanent council of the OAS who will decide how to proceed next.   "We have not proposed any course of action.   That is not our task," Vio said.   "We have simply commented on whether the content of the Helms-Burton Act conforms to international law."   He said the judicial committee had been asked by the OAS general assembly to give a legal opinion on the Helms-Burton Act.   "Its (the committee's) resolutions are not legally binding for the OAS or its member states," Vio added.   "But our opinion carries significant moral and political weight."   He did not comment on the legal arguments leading to the committee's conclusion.   Vio said the committee has not commented on any particular points of conflict between the United States and Cuba or the United States and Mexico, but merely on the act in general.   Telecommunications firm Grupo Domos of Mexico has already been hit with U.S. sanctions, as has Canadian firm Sherrit International Corp.   Executives of both firms will be barred from entering the United States.   The U.S. law was introduced in retaliation for Havana's shooting down of two small U.S. planes.   It threatens sanctions against foreign firms which "traffic" in confiscated properties in Cuba formerly owned by U.S. nationals or Cubans who later took U.S. citizenship.   OAS opposition to the law follows strong objections by the European Union, along with Canada and Mexico, that the Helms-Burton Act contravenes international trade regulations.   Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina has hailed the OAS declaration as an unprecedented step by a committee of the OAS, the regional body which Havana has in the past often accused of being manipulated and dominated by the U.S. government.   The OAS was founded in 1899 as the Pan American Union and has evolved into an organisation which monitors security matters of mutual concern to its more than 30 member-nations in the Americas and the Caribbean. 
4365 !C12 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A Costa Rican court said Wednesday it has banned the import of all Volkswagen AG products until the German car-maker leaves a $1 million deposit with the court as part of a civil lawsuit brought by a Costa Rican businesman.   "The parties were notified of the prohibition on Tuesday by the first civil court of Sa Jose, where the case is being heard," court spokesman Fabian Barrantes told Reuters. 
4366 !E12 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Australian Prime Minister John Howard called on Wednesday for the independent monitoring of each APEC member's progress on its trade obligations.   Business advisers to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum should take a bigger role, Howard said in a speech at a dinner for the two-day APEC energy ministers meeting in Sydney.   The meeting started on Wednesday.   "Business, I think, needs to be more involved in evaluating APEC's progress on trade liberalisation," he said.   "It would be sensible for the APEC Business Advisory Council to provide next year an independent report card setting out business views on the individual action plans," he said.   The 18 APEC nations agreed in Bogor, Indonesia, in 1994 that their developed members would drop trade barriers by 2010 and developing members would follow by 2020.   The council met in Manila last week to prepare recommendations for this year's APEC leaders' meeting, to be held in the Philippine capital in November.   APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States. 
4367 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  The Hongkong Bank put its staff on alert on Wednesday after police warned the company was the target of a bomb threat, which local media have said could be linked to the territory's underworld.   "Staff have been alerted.   They are aware of the situation," bank spokeswoman Karen Ng said.   "The bank's guidelines about how to deal with suspected explosive devices, bombs, have been reiterated (to staff).   The safety of our customers and employees obviously are very important to the bank," she said.   Police had informed the bank it was the target of a bomb threat which could be linked to similar threats in the British colony in recent weeks, Ng said without elaborating.   The bank, whose full name is Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp Ltd, is a unit of HSBC Holdings Plc.   Hong Kong police told Reuters on Wednesday they were informed of the bomb threat by two local journalists on Tuesday who said they received the warning from an anonymous caller.   "We will take necessary step towards the matter," a police spokeswoman said.   But she did not specify the measures.   Police also could not confirm whether the bomb threat was linked to a notorious criminal now in jail.   People claiming to be associates of Yip Kai-foon, regarded by police as one of Hong Kong's most dangerous gangsters, called local newspapers recently warning they would plant bombs in a Hongkong Bank branch within a week if Yip was badly treated in prison, the mass-circulation Apple Daily said on Wednesday.   Yip was arrested after a shootout with police in central Hong Kong three months ago and was returned to jail from where he had escaped several years ago while serving a 16-year term for firearms offences.   He is facing trial for armed robbery. 
4368 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  Taiwan said on Wednesday it had begun initial discussions with South Africa on sales of its domestically made AT-3 trainer jets.   "We would like to sell the AT-3 trainer jet to South Africa and the South African side says it is interested," an official at state-run Han Hsiang Aerospace Industry Co Ltd said.   "Initial discussion is underway," the official said by telephone.   He declined to give details.   The Commercial Times newspaper said Taiwan wanted to sell 20 to 40 AT-3 trainers to the island's largest ally.   Han Hsiang also makes the island's Indigenous Defence Fighter, Taiwan's first locally developed jet fighter.   Taiwan Vice-Premier Hsu Li-teh is in South Africa on a nine-day official visit.   Local media reported on Tuesday the island would build a US$3 billion to $5 billion petrochemical zone in South Africa, describing the project as a joint venture.   Executives from several major Taiwan petrochemical firms, including state-run Chinese Petroleum Corp and Tuntex Distinct Corp, are accompanying Hsu on his visit.   Taiwan has diplomatic relations with only 30 countries.   The rest of the world recognises rival Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province and refuses relations with any country that has official ties with Taiwan. 
4369 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Burma's military intelligence chief, Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, said international news agencies have been making poor assessments of the situation in Burma based on false reports, official media said on Wednesday.   Khin Nyunt, who is also Secretary One of the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), said in a speech that internal groups opposing the government and expatriate Burmese who fled the country were concocting false news about Burma and passing them on through foreign news agencies.   "The West-influenced news agencies are disseminating such news reports with a negative outlook," state-run quoted Khin Nyunt saying in a speech.   He said the news agencies were trying to pressure Burma under the pretext of democracy and human rights.   "In spite of totally different positive developments in Myanmar (Burma) at present compared with that of 1988, certain agencies influenced by the West are disseminating false news as if the conditions of 1988 still exist," newspapers reported him as saying.   The SLORC assumed power in 1988 after suppressing a bloody pro-democracy uprising that left thousands dead or imprisoned.   Khin Nyunt said it was important to report objective information on the political, economic and social situation of Burma so it can be properly represented by international news agencies.   The Burmese government has often said fabrications and biased stories written by some foreign news organisations have caused a false negative image of the country abroad.   The Information Ministry summoned local representatives of foreign news organisations to a meeting in July and requested them to be objective in their reporting.   The SLORC has recently revived an Information Committee charged with holding monthly news conferences for foreign and local media. 
4370 !GCAT !GODD  The baseball-sized creatures loll inertly on the boat deck, deep red at one end and orange at the other, spattered with hard protrusions like pimples run amok.   Flabby skins cover barrel-shaped bodies and give slightly when poked.   Grotesque seems too kind a word.   But in Japan, a nation that gave birth to sushi and where unusual food abounds, even these seasquirts are a treat for some diners, to be savoured raw in vinegar with cucumber on the side.   They are not eaten on the scale of "natto," a pungent concoction of fermented soybeans with breakfast rice, or baked dough balls filled with chunks of octopus.   But the edible seasquirt, or hoya, raised only along a small section of Japan's northern Pacific coast and rarely sent farther afield, has its connoisseurs, even if many Japanese themselves have never heard of it.   "It's such a special food that even if we did promote it more widely, it wouldn't sell.   So it's limited to areas where people have always eaten it," said Ryo Sasaki, at the Miyagi Fisheries Research and Development Centre in northern Japan.   Teruo Miura known as "the Hoya PhD" to neighbours in Okirai, a coastal hamlet about 450 kilometres (300 miles) north of Tokyo, has been raising hoya commercially for 24 years.   He is one of only a few earning their living from the homely creature, which is found naturally in the sea where he lives.   He used to fish for squid, then raised seaweed.   "But one day when I was getting some hoya for the family to eat I just thought, why not do this as a business," he said.   Hoya are a species of seasquirt, which have bodies that are basically a water-filtering sack.   About 86 percent of their body weight is water, and they have primitive hearts.   In late November, hermaphroditic mature hoya release larvae they have produced in their bodies.   The spawn float on currents before sinking in calmer waters, usually close to shore.   Ropes hung strategically from floats offer a place for the spawn to attach themselves and prosper.   Once attached, they don't move again for the rest of their lives.   No special selection is done to ensure quality offspring.   "You have absolutely no idea whose hoya the spawn are coming from.   They could be from anywhere out there," Miura said.   At about 10 months, the "collector" ropes are spliced at intervals onto longer ropes.   Clumps of 80 to 100 hoya will develop, much like bunches of bananas.   Then they are left alone to grow for about three years.   Harvesting consists of pulling up the rope with a grappling hook and winch, then wrenching off each hoya by hand.   A kilo of hoya brings about 70 yen (US$.65), down from the peak of 80 yen per kilo in Japan's economic boom of the late 1980's.   Miura sells from 60 to 100 tons annually.   The yearly national take varies from 6,000 to 10,000 tons, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.   "Last year wasn't so good, the water was too warm.   And this year we've been hit by the food poisoning scare," Miura said.   An deadly epidemic of food poisoning in Japan has made many Japanese shy away from raw foods.   The season runs from March to September.   "In June the flavour is much richer, in March it's more watery.   High quality hoya has yellowish flesh, not quite orange," Miura said.   Four-year-old hoya is best.   A few deft strokes of a knife are all it takes to remove hoya's tough outer skin and carve several thick slices of "meat."   Most devotees prefer to dip it in vinegar, but it may also be broiled, eaten frozen, or dipped in batter and fried.   And the flavour?   Concentrated bitterness, then a faintly salty aftertaste with a touch of smoke, and just the slightest hint of stickiness.   It suggests sea floors teeming with all the strange creatures slithering there.   "I'm actually not all that crazy about the taste myself," Miura said.   "It's best to eat hoya and then drink water.   It makes the water taste really good." 
4371 !CCAT !GCAT  For years cafes in Cairo meant thick scented hookah smoke and tinkling glasses of sugary mint tea.   This year some coffehouses have shed their traditional image to become a Cairene sign of the times.   There's no backgammon and Egyptian ballads here -- patrons at Cairo's two cybercafes surf, hang out and chill to the latest pop tunes on compact disc.   The Internet, not the crowd, is the main attraction and coffee is not a mere shouted order but a perculator away.   "What prompted us to open a cybercafe was the frequent questions of people as to where they can go to access the Internet," said Dr Mona el-Kaddah, vice president of Internet Egypt, the private firm that runs the cafes.   "It's a place where people can use the Net, meet and share experiences, give each other ideas and of course socialize through the Internet scene," she added.   Local and foreign students, academics and businessmen are among the many Web surfers who throng to the computer screens at the cybercafes, one in the city centre and one at a shopping mall in a posh suburb.   "I can have an e-mail account or access from the house but I prefer to come here," said Mohammed Abdel Rahman, a university student who comes to the cafe regularly.   "I can come here and have a coffee, meet my friends, play with the computer and not only get information but I can have fun too," he added.   "For 10 pounds ($3) an hour, its cheaper than shooting pool."   Young patrons crowd around downloaded Music Television (MTV) videos and sports news while others exchange greetings over the sound of Nirvana and the occassional Mozart.   Others relax in the reading room overlooking the Nile.   "I've been to cafes in the States and Holland, and the computing facilities in this place are definitely tops," said American Keith Brafford, who ran into the cybercafe while on holiday in Egypt.   Three years ago the government, in association with the Foreign Relations Coordination Unit of the Supreme Council of Universities, put Egypt online.   It estimates there are more than 200,000 Internet users among its 60 million people.   Access via a leased line costs 15,000 to 20,000 pounds ($5,000 to 6,700) a year but users can surf the information superhighway for rates of around 1,000 pounds ($330) a year through a dial-up number.   Unlike in other Middle East countries where governments restrict usage, anyone with a computer and an international phone line can access absolutely anything on the Internet -- a fact that has brought jitters to Egypt's conservative society.   "Security and morality on the Internet are worldwide issues for discussion.   We cannot ban such a major information source just because misuse happens everywhere," said Dr. Tarek Kamel of the state's Regional Information Technology and Software Engineering Centre.   Although the state is promoting the Internet as its latest tool for economic, tourist and social development, the media has focused on its smuttier side.   Stories of teenagers downloading pornography and pedophilia in other countries and tampering with files of the defence and justice ministries make the front page of Egypt's newspapers.   Local technology advances are buried deep inside.   "What about the video and the satellite dish?"   Kaddah tells the Internet's opponents.   "We try hard to guide the young people toward constructive information resources at our cybercafes and we make them sign a code of ethics when they join us so that they are aware of what things are acceptable to our society and what things are not.   Until now, we haven't had any problems," she added.   Their buzzing cybercafes have prompted Internet Egypt, one of 14 firms selling Internet services in Egypt, to think of opening more sites in Cairo and nationwide.   Other companies are also planning to jump on the bandwagon.   But users tend to come from the upper to upper middle income bracket, a minority among Egypt's teeming population.   Most Egyptians remain loyal to their waterpipes.   "I've got my traditional cafe with its drinks and hookahs where I go to relax.   Why would I ever go to a cybercafe, work on a computer and use my brain?"   said cafe customer Gamal Gadd al-Karim. 
4372 !GCAT !GDIP  Britain can play a more active role in Iran's development plans, Tehran's envoy in London said in remarks published on Wednesday.   Charge d'affaires Gholamreza Ansari, in an interview with the Iranian daily Iran, said there was no tension in relations between the two countries at the moment although widespread differences still existed.   There was no mention in an account of the interview carried by Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) of the late revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa ordering the killing of British author Salman Rushdie which has soured relations between Tehran and London.   The Iranian envoy said British interests in the region would not be maintained through creating tension and crisis, adding that this was a common point among Iran, Britain and Europe.   Stressing there was higher potential for trade and industrial cooperation between Iran and Britain, Ansari said political considerations had stood in their way.   The volume of bilateral trade between Britain and Iran was $700 million in the past Iranian year which ended on March 19.   Khomeini accused Indian-born Rushdie of blaspheming Islam in his novel "The Satanic Verses".   An Iranian charity has offered a multimillion-dollar reward to anyone who kills Rushdie.   Britain says Iran should cancel the death order if it wants relations between the two countries upgraded.   Iranian officials say the edict cannot be revoked, but that Iran would not send agents to kill Rushdie.   The European Union has promoted a "critical dialogue" with Iran over the fatwa and accusations -- denied by Tehran -- that it supports "terrorism".   British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday that a U.S. law aimed at punishing Iran's alleged support of terrorism by penalising countries or firms investing there was wrong and unworkable.   "We've made it clear that while we share the American view as to the unacceptability of Iran's behaviour, we do not believe it is sensible for the U.S. Congress to be trying to impose penalties on America's friends and allies and to apply that on an extra-territorial basis," he told Reuters in an interview in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. 
4373 !GCAT !GHEA  Kuwait's public Health Ministry on Wednesday ordered baby milk importers to provide data on the level of a chemical suspected of impairing fertility in the brands they import.   "All certified agents and companies importing baby milk should provide the health ministry with a laboratory analysis issued by the country of origin that determines the presence of phthalates and its level, if existing, in the baby milk imported to the country," a ministry decree said.   The decree did not specify the purpose of the request.   But it said it was based on "the importance of placing necessary restraints required to guarantee health monitoring on baby milk to insure its safety".   Phthalates, which have caused a reduction in sperm counts in experiments with rats, caused a scare in Britain in May when traces of it were found in nine brands of baby milk.   European Union scientific experts looking into the issue said in July there was no risk. 
4374 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  Turkey's parliament voted to abolish a widely criticised state savings scheme in an emergency session that stretched out into the early hours of Wednesday, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.   The motion to abolish the scheme was passed with the votes of the Islamist-led government despite bloc opposition from the other parties.   The government has 280 seats in the 550-seat parliament.   The scheme was instituted in 1988 to boost investment, but union leaders and other critics say it has been widely abused and offered little in the way of returns.   Analysts have said the fund abolition is likely to be welcomed by workers who will see an immediate benefit to their wage packets and employers, whose wage costs will fall.   But they say it will not be of any positive benefit to the economy as the government still has to make payments to workers and will have to consider alternative savings measures.   Since the scheme was set up, workers have paid two percent of their salaries and employers contributed a further three percent.   The government has not provided figures on the size of the fund.   The abolition of the savings scheme, the latest in a series of populist moves by the Islamist-led coalition, will take effect in the month after it is published in the Official Gazette, Anatolian said.   In earlier populist moves, civil servants have been given a larger-than-expected wage rise and the minimum wage was doubled, raising concerns about the government's commitment to rein in Turkey's gaping deficits.   Annual inflation in Turkey is running at over 80 percent and the 1996 budget deficit is expected to total 1,300 trillion lira ($15 billion).   ($1 = 86,000 lira) 
4375 !C12 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  One of the six defendants charged in the Justice Department's probe of price fixing in the worldwide lysine market has agreed to plead no contest to the criminal charges while the others have agreed to plead guilty, a department spokeswoman said Wednesday.   Spokeswoman Gina Talamona said Ajinomoto Co Inc has agreed to enter the no contest plea as part of the department's long-running antitrust investigation that also involves Archer Daniels Midland Co.    On Tuesday, the Justice Department announced that Ajinomoto, Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co Ltd, the U.S. unit of the South Korean firm Sewon Company Ltd and three of their executives have signed plea agreements admitting their role in a conspiracy to fix prices to eliminate competition in the worldwide market for the animal feed supplement lysine.   In its announcement, the Justice Department did not say the agreement called for Ajinomoto to plead no contest.   Talamona said she would not be able to discuss why the Justice Department allowed Ajinomoto to plead no contest instead of guilty.   But there is little practical difference between the two pleas.   Under a no contest plea, defendants tell the judge they do not wish to fight the criminal charges and admit to all facts stated in the charges.   Pleas of guilty and no contest both must be accepted by the judge presiding over the case. 
4376 !E11 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  China's booming economy and growing population will soon put more demands on the earth's resources than the United States does, a Washington-based study group said on Wednesday.   And if China, with its much larger population, tries to replicate a consumer economy, it will quickly become clear that it is unsustainable, the Worldwatch Institute said.   "In recent decades, many observers noted that the United States, with less than five percent of the world's population, was consuming a third or more of its resources," it said.   "This is no longer true.   In several areas, China has overtaken the United States," the group said in the September/October 1996 issue of its World Watch magazine.   China already consumes more grain and red meat, uses more fertilizer, produces more steel and burns more coal than the United States, the article by Worldwatch President Lester Brown and Vice President Christopher Flavin said.   In its use of oil and carbon dioxide emissions, it is fast catching up.   Its emissions of carbon dioxide, the leading greenhouse gas, are currently a tenth of the world total, Worldwatch said.   China's economy has grown by 10 to 14 percent a year for the last four years, and would overtake the United States as the world's largest by 2010 if the growth rate continued.   Since China's population is nearly five times that of the United States, its per capita demands are still far less -- for example the average American consumes 25 times as much oil as the average Chinese citizen.   But even on a per capita basis, China is closing the gap on the United States in some products, consuming 66 pounds (30 kgs) of pork per person a year, compared with 68.3 pounds (31 kgs) in the United States.   If Chinese people were to consume as much beef as the 99 pounds (45 kgs) per year eaten by Americans, it would take 343 million tonnes of grain -- the entire U.S. harvest -- to feed the cattle to make up the difference, Worldwatch said.   "As its population of 1.2 billion people moves into modern houses, buys cars, refrigerators and televisions, and shifts to a meat-based diet, the entire world will feel the effects," Worldwatch said.   If China were to consume as much grain and oil per person as the United States, prices of both would go off the top of the charts and carbon dioxide emissions would soar, it said.   "The bottom line is that China, with its vast population, simply will not be able to follow for long any of the development paths blazed to date," it added. 
4377 !C18 !C182 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  General Motors Corp. told employees it has a potential buyer for four of its parts plants, but denied reports Tuesday that it is in discussions to sell the facilities to Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc.   GM informed workers at its Delphi Interior and Lighting Systems plant in Flint, Mich., on Monday that it has a possible buyer for the facility and three others, union and company representatives said Tuesday.   The 1,200 workers at the Flint plant were not told who the prospective buyer is, said officials at United Auto Workers union Local 326.   "They did tell us that as we spoke the potential buyer was entering into discussions," said Tim Thompson, a district shop committee officer for Local 326.   The Detroit News reported Tuesday that GM is talking with Magna, of Markham, Ontario, and that a deal could be announced soon.   Separately, a source with knowledge of the auto supplier industry told Reuters that Atoma International Inc., a division of Magna, won the bidding for the plants, although the deal had not been finalized.   But Delphi spokeswoman Kari Hulsey denied that Magna is a finalist to buy the plants.   "It's not Magna, it's not a division of Magna," she said."   One factor that could delay the announcement is the continuing contract talks between the UAW in the United States and Canada and Detroit's Big Three automakers.   If Magna does turn out to be the buyer, it may be to GM's advantage to hold off finalizing a deal.   Magna has previously had a contentious relationship with the Canadian United Auto Workers union.   The buyer wants to purchase the Flint plant, one in Livonia, Mich., and two in Canada as a group.   The plants employ a total of 5,100 hourly workers and make a variety of interior parts, including hinges, door panels and instrument panels, GM said.   The Flint plant, which makes hardware, and the Livonia facility, which makes interior door panels, are both Delphi plants.   The fabricating facility in Oshawa, Ontario, and a seat plant in Windsor, Ontario, are managed by GM of Canada but make products for Delphi.   GM spokeswoman Hulsey would not say if the four facilities are among the 14 underperforming Delphi plants that GM has said it wants to divest. 
4378 !GCAT !GENT  The hottest ticket at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday was a man named Kennedy holding court in an art museum miles away.   Even talk show host Oprah Winfrey was wowed.   "I thought I loved him.   Now I know I do," she gushed after John F. Kennedy Jr., son and namesake of the late Democratic president, taped a show with her for airing next week.   "He was charming, smart and stimulating," she said.   The most sought after ticket in town was a late evening party at the Art Institute of Chicago where Kennedy was hosting a crowd to promote his political magazine "George."   News crews and the curious were lined up outside the museum hours before the party began, trying to get a glimpse.   Winfrey said she came back from vacation early to tape the show after someone called saying "John's going to be in town.   I went 'Oh I will come back from vacation!   Are you kidding?'"   In an interview with WLS-TV in Chicago, Winfrey said Kennedy discussed during the show his family's reaction to the latest issue of his magazine which has Drew Barrrymore on the cover in a Marilyn Monroe pose recapturing that actress's birthday salute to his father in New York's Madison Square Garden more than 30 years ago.   "My famly is used to scandal," Kennedy told Winfrey.   "It didn't register too high on the family Richter scale"   On the recent auction of his mothers belongings, Kennedy said:   "My mother kept every single thing she got in her life.   Either we were going to open a museum or we had to get rid of what didn't matter and keep what were memories."   Winfrey said Kennedy was "one of the most charming men I've ever encountered -- ever encountered."   One fan who showed up outside Winfrey's television studio said, "He's just the most beautiful man in the world." 
4379 !GCAT !GSPO  Britain's Chris Boardman is on course to regain the world individual pursuit title he last held in 1994.    After breaking the world record 4,000 metres by more than six seconds with a time of 4:13.353 in the qualifying round, he is seeded to meet Olympic champion and deposed record holder Andrea Collinelli in the final on Thursday.    Boardman eased off in the man-to-man quarter finals but still recorded the second fastest time ever, 4:14.784, while Italy's Collinelli won his match in 4:17.551.   "You can go on collecting world records, but my aim is to take the world title, so I conserved my energy," said Boardman, who will be attacking Tony Rominger's world hour record at Manchester on September 6.    "This is a very fast track, and it's also my home stadium, being only an hour away from my house," the Merseyside rider added.   The first title of the five-day championships went to American Marty Nothstein, who won the keirin event.    The Philadelphia rider last held the keirin championship in 1994 but could not defend last year because of a knee injury.   Nothstein staged a late burst to take the final by the width of a wheel from Gary Neiwand of Australia and Frederic Magne of France.    Shane Kelly of Australia retained his world one-kilometre time trial title with a track record time of one minute 2.777 seconds.   Kelly averaged 57.345 kph to beat Soren Lausgberg of Germany by 0.18 seconds.   Defending champions Silvio Martinelli and Marco Villa of Italy had no difficulty in retaining the 50-kilometre madison title.    They finished nine points clear of Australia's Scott McGrory and Stephen Pate, who snatched the silver from Kurt Betschart and Bruno Risi of Switzerland in the final sprint. 
4380 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results from an   international athletics meeting on Wednesday:   Women's long jump:    1.   Ludmila Ninova (Austria) 6.72 metres    2.   Heike Drechsler (Germany) 6.65    3.   Fiona May (Italy) 6.64   Men's 110 metres hurdles:    1.   Emilio Valle (Cuba) 13.42 seconds    2.   Steve Brown (U.S.) 13.45    3.   Andrea Giaconi (Italy) 13.80   Women's 100 metres:    1.   Chandra Sturrup (Bahamas) 11.34 seconds    2.   Natalya Voronova (Russia) 11.53    3.   Gabi Rokmeier (Germany) 11.61   Men's javelin:    1.   Sergey Makarov (Russia) 85.26 metres    2.   Tom Pukstys (U.S.) 84.20    3.   Peter Blank (Germany) 81.64   Men's 100 metres:    1.   Osmond Ezinwa (Nigeria) 10.13 seconds    2.   Davidson Ezinwa (Nigeria) 10.18    3.   Stefano Tilli (Italy) 10.43   Men's 400 metres:    1.   Davis Kamoga (Uganda) 45.15 seconds    2.   Marco Vaccari (Italy) 46.16    3.   Kennedy Ochieng (Kenya) 46.21   Women's pole vault:    1.   Mariacarla Bresciani (Italy)  3.85 metres    2.   Andrea Muller (Germany) 3.75    3.   Nastja Rysich (germany) 3.75   Women's 800 metres:    1.   Ana Fidelia Quirot (Cuba) 1 minute 58.98 seconds    2.   Letitia Vriesde (Surinam)  2:00.39    3.   Inez Turner (Jamaica) 2:00.91   Men's high jump:    1.   Wolfgang Kreissig (Germany)  2.20 metres    2.   Kostantin Matusevitch (Israel)  2.20    3.   Michele Buiatti (Italy) 2.15   Men's 800 metres:   1.   Robert Kibet (Kenya) 1:45.24   2.   Vincent Malakwen (Kenya) 1:45.62   3.   Philip Kibitok (Kenya) 1:46.09   Women's javelin:   1.   Oksana Ovchinnikova (Russia) 58.94 metres   2.   Natalya Shikolenko (Belarus) 57.44   3.   Silke Renk (Germany) 56.70   Women's 400 metres hurdles:   1.   Virna De Angeli (Italy) 55.66   2.   Natalya Torshina (Kazakhstan) 55.99   3.   Anna Knoroz (Russia) 57.02   Men's 400 metres hurdles:   1.   Lauren Ottoz (Italy) 49.16   2.   Brian Bronson (U.S.) 49.67   3.   John Ridgeon (Britain) 49.83   Men's 3,000 metres:   1.   Luke Kipkosgei (Kenya) 7:46.91   2.   Alessandro Lambruschini (Italy) 7:47.78   3.   Richard Kosgei (Kenya) 7:48.38 
4381 !GCAT !GSPO  Liam Botham demonstrated his father Ian's golden touch on Wednesday, taking five for 67 on his county debut for Hampshire against Middlesex.   His first victim was former England captain Mike Gatting who pushed Botham's seventh delivery in first-class cricket to square-leg where Matthew Keech held the catch.    The 19-year-old medium-pacer then had John Carr out to his 18th ball and returned later in the day to polish off the tail by dismissing Richard Johnson, Ricky Fay and last man Phil Tufnell as Middlesex were all out for 199.   Hampshire were 105 for four at the close.   "There was an element of good fortune about some of those wickets so I suppose people will say it's typical Botham luck.   But they all count.   My dad was accused of the same thing, though he liked to think he bowled people out," said the younger Botham who was especially delighted with the scalp of Gatting.   "Mike Gatting shook my hand before the start and wished me well, which was nice of him.   But he's gloated to my old man (father) that he never got him out so I got him out," he laughed.   Gatting said: "Liam seems to have a bit of Ian's flare, but he is his own man and determined to make his own way."    The fairy-tale, however, very nearly did not happen because Botham had originally arrived in Portsmouth from Southampton only to be told his services were not required.   He then drove 40 kms back to play for the second XI to learn that John Stephenson had dropped out of the Middlesex match in the meantime with a shoulder injury.   Botham fought his way through a motorway traffic jam to get back to Portsmouth and took the field as the third over began.   His father Ian Botham began his test career in 1977 by dismissing Australian captain Greg Chappell with a long hop and went on to become his England's most successful all-rounder ever with 5,200 runs, 383 wickets plus 120 catches in 102 tests.   In the other county championship match which began on Wednesday, Glamorgan reached 73 for three against Durham in a rain-restricted day. 
4382 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading completed   first-round scores in the rain-affected British Masters golf   championship at Collingtree Park on Wednesday (Britain unless   stated):   66 Gavin Levenson (South Africa)   68 Colin Montgomerie   69 Jose Coceres (Argentina), Raymond Russell, Robert Allenby   (Australia), David Gilford, Stuart Cage, Mike Clayton   (Australia), Mark Roe, Emanuele Canonica (Italy)   70 Francisco Cea (Spain), David Howell, Peter Hedblom   (Sweden)   71 Steven Bottomley, Ove Sellberg (Sweden), Joakim Haeggman   (Sweden), Stephen Ames (Trinidad and Tobago), Klas Eriksson   (Sweden), Roger Chapman, Mark Davis, Pierre Fulke (Sweden),   Martin Gates, Anders Haglund (Sweden)   72 Niclas Fasth (Sweden), Michael Jonzon (Sweden), Chistian   Cevaer (France), Thomas Bjorn (Denmark), Tony Johnstone   (Zimbabwe), Padraig Harrington (Ireland), Pedro Linhart   (Spain), David Carter   73 Ross McFarlane, Domingo Hospital (Spain), Seve Ballesteros   (Spain), Paul Broadhurst, Greg Turner (New Zealand), Mike   Harwood (Australia), Brenden Pappas (South Africa), Peter   Teravainen (U.S.), Jean Van de Velde (France), Oyvind Rojahn   (Norway), Stephen McAllister, Neal Briggs   Note: 77 players to complete their first rounds on Thursday 
4383 !GCAT !GSPO  Shane Kelly of Australia retained the world one-kilometre time trial title at the world track championships on Wednesday, with a track record time of one minute 2.777 seconds.   Kelly averaged 57.345 kph to beat Soren Lausgberg of Germany by eighteen hundredths of a second.   The bronze medal went to another German, Jan Van Eijden, in 1:04.541. 
4384 !GCAT !GSPO  South African part-time player Gavin Levenson shot a six-under-par 66 to head the British Masters on Thursday before thunderstorms forced play to be suspended with half the field still to finish their opening rounds.   Levenson, who stands to earn 116,600 pounds ($181,600) should he stay in top spot, did not know he would be playing until Monday night.    But that did not appear to affect him as he left the big names in the shade with his fine score which included five birdies on the front nine and then three more against two bogeys on the back.   He led by two from Britain's world number two Colin Montgomerie who returned to action despite the illness of his father to shoot a 68 on the 6,728-yard Collingtree Park course.   But with exactly half the 156-man field still playing their rounds, play was called off for the day when the course could not be dried out enough after a second suspension caused by thunderstorms.    Officials said a number of the greens remained unplayable because the rain had dislodged some of the substance applied to them recently to combat a condition known as "meadow grass decline".   They hope to complete the opening round and play the second round on Thursday.   Among those still to finish their rounds were European money-winning leader Ian Woosnam, who stood at three under par with four holes to play, and Irish Ryder Cup player Philip Walton, three under with six holes left.   Levenson, a 42-year-old who lost his Tour playing card last year and who has formed a golf promotion company at home in Johannesburg, expected to be at work this week -- until a call from Tour officials at midday on Monday.   He was told he was third reserve for the event which he had entered earlier and would get in if three more players dropped out.   By the end of the day they had, Levenson was on a plane for Britain and on Wednesday he putted his way into the lead.   Levenson, 172nd on the money list, holed four times from 20 feet, one of them from off the green, chipped in from 12 feet and made another 12-foot putt for birdie at the last hole.    He took only 22 putts in his round which was quite remarkable given that he had not played a tournament since the French Open in June.   "So I have not had the frustrations I usually have.   Maybe I was a bit more relaxed," he said.   His two bogeys came at the par four 11th and 16th holes, where he misread the wind on the tee.   Montgomerie, who withdrew from last week's German Open because his father had suffered two heart attacks, was pleased with his round which included four birdies.   "My mind is elsewhere," he admitted.   "I had ample other opportunities but I had a few saves as well so it was nice to know I can get a 68 when I am not concentrating fully."   Montgomerie, whose target for the rest of the season is to overhaul Woosnam and win the European Order of Merit for a record-tying fourth successive year, said he felt he had not played as well since the Scottish Open early in July.   Since then he has missed the halfway cuts at the British Open and U.S. PGA Championships.   The tournament is the first qualifying event for places on next year's European Ryder Cup team and there was not much for new captain Seve Ballesteros to learn about the candidates -- except himself.   After starting at the 10th hole, he shot a one-over-par 73 with a disappointing finish to his first nine.   Ballesteros, who would like to be a playing captain at the Ryder Cup, drove out of bounds at the 17th, his eighth, and could only par the long ninth when his sand wedge approach finished 25 feet from the pin.   "I'm supposed to hit it closer than that," he grumbled.   "I just did not hit the ball very well today." 
4385 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading placings in   the 195-km second stage of the Tour of the Netherlands between   Haarlem and Almere on Wednesday:   1.   Max van Heeswijk (Netherlands) Motorola 4 hours 39 minutes   six seconds.   2.   Johan Capiot (Belgium) Collstrop   3.   Sven Teutenberg (Germany) U.S. Postal   4.   Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom   5.   Federico Colonna (Italy) Mapei   6.   Jans Koerts (Netherlands) Palmans   7.   Michel Zanoli (Netherlands) MX Onda   8 .  Giuseppe Citterio (Italy) Aki   9 .  Robbie McEwen (Australia) Rabobank    10.   Kaspars Ozers (Latvia) Motorola  all same time   Leading overall placings after two stages:    1.   Colonna  8:22:00    2.   Van Heeswijk 1 second behind    3.   McEwen  same time    4.   Teutenberg 4 seconds    5.   Capiot  5    6.   Koerts  7    7.   Ozers  8    8.   Gianluca Corini (Italy) Aki  same time    9.   Lance Armstrong (U.S.) Motorola  9    10.   George Hincapie (U.S.) Motorola same time 
4386 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results and overall standings after the 195 kilometre second stage of the Tour of the Netherlands between Haarlem and Almere on Wednesday.   1.  Max van Heeswijk (Netherlands) Motorola 4 hours 39 minutes six seconds.   2.  Johan Capiot (Belgium) Collstrop   3.  Sven Teutenberg (Germany) U.S. Postal   4.  Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom   5.  Federico Colonna (Italy) Mapei   6.  Jans Koerts (Netherlands) Palmans   7.  Michel Zanoli (Netherlands) MX Onda   8.  Giuseppe Citterio (Italy) Aki   9.  Robbie McEwen (Australia) Rabobank    10.  Kaspars Ozers (Latvia) Motorola all same time.   Leading overall standings after second stage.    1.  Colonna  8:22:00    2.  Van Heeswijk 1 second behind    3.  McEwen  same time    4.  Teutenberg  4 seconds    5.  Capiot  5    6.  Koerts  7    7.  Ozers 8    8.  Gianluca Corini (Italy) Aki same time    9.  Lance Armstrong (U.S.) Motorola  9    10.  George Hincapie (U.S.) Motorola  same time. 
4387 !GCAT !GSPO  At midday on Monday Gavin Levenson was in his Johannesburg office planning his week as a partner in a golf promotion company.   Just 48 hours and 22 putts later, he found himself unexpectedly leading the British Masters after an outstanding six-under-par 66 at Collingtree Park.   Levenson, 42, lost his playing card after finishing 135th on the European Tour money list last year and now he only gets in when enough other players pull out.   He last played in June in the French Open and thought he had no chance of getting in a tournament like the British Masters.   But then a tour official rang and said he had moved up from fifth reserve to third reserve and asked if he wanted to play.   "I said I would try and get a flight," Levenson said.   He had no luck with South African Airways and rang the tour to say the flights were full -- by which time he was first reserve.   Then he phoned British Airways and managed to get a cut-price flight.   When he contacted the tour again to say he was coming he was in the event.   "It was because Mark McNulty, my closest mate, withdrew," said Levenson.   "It's a small world, isn't it?"   Apart from his astonishment at leading, Levenson was amazed at his putting, especially on greens that could be termed "blues" because they had taken on that colour after treatment for something called "meadow grass decline."   "We didn't expect to hole anything on them and it did not help when I missed from five feet at the first.   "But my caddy, Mick Jones, said just to hit them at the hole.   He said I would miss a few but maybe I'd make some as well, so just keep going."   He started "making some" at the second where he holed from just off the green 20 feet away.   He made two other putts of similar length, chipped in once from 12 feet and capped his round with a 12-footer for a birdie at the last.   Levenson felt his putting last year had cost him his place on the tour where he has played almost every year since 1979.   "It has been my downfall over the past few years," he said.   "I know I am a good striker of the ball and not having played since the French Open I haven't had the frustrations I used to have and maybe I was a bit more relaxed today."   Levenson has won just 13,714 pounds ($21,350) from nine events this year and stands 172nd on the money list, but there is another 116,600 pounds ($181,600) for the winner here.   Unless he finishes in the top 10, which would get him into next week's event in Switzerland, Levenson does not expect to play again in Europe this year.   But there are 11 events coming up in South Africa and he hopes to play in all of them.   Business, however, is there for him to fall back on.    "We are not looking to make champions but we would like more businessmen to play, the black businessmen.   That is what we are really trying to do," he said. 
4388 !GCAT !GSPO  Results from the   world track cycling championships on Wednesday:   Men's individual pursuit:   Selected result from first round   Chris Boardman (Britain) 4:13.353 seconds (world record) caught   Jens Lehman (Germany)   Quarter-finals   Boardman 4:14.784 caught Edouard Gritson (Russia)   Francis Moreau (France) 4:16.274 beat Heiko Szonn (Germany)   4:21.715   Andrea Collinelli (Italy) 4:17.551 beat Michael Sandstod   (Denmark) 4:24.660   Alexei Markov (Russia) 4:19.762 beat Mariano Friedick (U.S.)   4:20.241   one kilometre time-trial final    1.   Shane Kelly (Australia)  1 minute 02.777 seconds    2.   Soren Lausberg (Germany) 1:02.795    3.   Jan Van Eiden (Germany) 1:04.541    4.   Herve Thuet (France) 1:04.732    5.   Grzegorz Krejner (Poland) 1:04.834    6.   Ainars Kiksis (Latvia) 1:04.896    7.   Dimitrios Georgalis (Greece)  1:05.022    8.   Jose Moreno (Spain) 1:05.219    9.   Keiji Kojima (Japan) 1:05.300    10.   Graham Sharman (Australia) 1:05.406    11.   Jose Escuredo (Spain) 1:05.731    12.   Craig MacLean (Britain) 1:05.735    13.   Christian Meidlinger (Austria)  1:05.850    14.   Darren McKenzie-Potter (New Zealand) 1:06.289    15.   Masanaga Shiohara (Japan) 1:06.615    16.   Jean-Pierre Van Zyl (South Africa) 1:07.258   Keirin final   1.   Marty Nothstein (U.S.), last 200 metres in 10.982 seconds.   2.   Gary Neiwand (Australia)   3.   Frederic Magne (France)   4.   Pavel Buran (Czech Republic)   5.   Michael Hubner (Germany)   6.   Laurent Gane (France)   Madison final (50 kms)    1.   Silvio Martinelli - Marco Villa (Italy)  34 points, in a   time of 55 minutes 47.4 seconds    2.   Scott McGrory - Stephen Pate (Australia)  25    3.   Andreas Kappes - Carsten Wolf (Germany)  23    4.   Kurt Betschart - Bruno Risi (Switzerland)  22    5.   Gabriel Curuchet - Juan Curuchet (Argentine) 15    6.   Peter Pieters - Tomas Post (Netherlands)  14    7.   J immi Madsen - Jens Veggerby (Denmark)  14    8.   Isaac Galvez-Lopez - Juan Llaneras (Spain)  11    9.   Wolfgang Kotzmann - Franz Stocher (Austria)  5   10.   Christophe Capelle - Jean-Michel Monin (France) 2 
4389 !GCAT !GSPO  England have been given until the end of next week to change their mind about an exclusive television deal with Rupert Murdoch's Sky Television and stay in the Five Nations' championship.   Scotland Rugby Football Union president Fred McLeod said on Wednesday if there was no change in the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) approach England would be excluded from the championship.   The championship, featuring England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France, is one of the most popular sporting contests in the British Isles.   But last April England infuriated their championship colleagues when they decided to sign a 87.5 million pounds sterling ($135.8 million) deal giving Sky television exclusive rights to rugby union matches in England.   "We have given the RFU every opportunity to modify its approach to the sale of broadcasting rights, prior to and following England's exclusion from the Five Nations' championship," McLeod said.   "If there is no change in the RFU's approach by the end of next week, when representatives from the other four unions are due to meet, England's exclusion from the championship will be finally confirmed, and we will proceed with the new Four Nations' championship."   In a statement earlier on Wednesday, the Four Nations TV Committee said dates had been set for a competition involving Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France next year.   "Between now and then, discussions will take place in one final attempt to persuade the Rugby Football Union to save the Five Nations' championship in its current form," the statement said.   The present contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation was shared between the four home nations while France have their own television deal. 
4390 !GCAT !GSPO  World number two Colin Montgomerie belied a lack of recent practice to become a contender again with a four-under-par first round 68 in the British Masters at Collingtree Park on Wednesday.   Montgomerie's bogey-free round at the start of the first event counting towards selection for next year's European Ryder Cup team left him two shots off the early lead held by South African Gavin Levenson, who returned a 66.   Levenson, who lost his Tour playing card last year and is in this field because of other withdrawals, birdied five holes on the front nine to set up his score.   Tournament favourite Ian Woosnam, winner of the German Open on Sunday and leader of the money list, had not begun his round when Montgomerie finished.   New Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros started at the 10th and played indifferently for nine holes on the way to a 73.   He lashed out at the sand with his club and his foot at the 13th, his fourth, and was unhappy with a sand wedge approach at the 18th.   "I left it 25 feet away.   I'm supposed to hit it closer than that," he said.   "I just didn't hit the ball very well."   Ballesteros the player will have to do better than this to impress Ballesteros the captain, for he has not ruled out being a playing captain against the Americans next year.   The Spaniard, who took a five-month break after last year's Ryder Cup, has missed the halfway cut in his last three tournaments -- the Irish, British and German Opens.   Montgomerie's schedule was disrupted again last week when he withdrew from the German Open because his father had suffered two heart attacks.   Three months ago he pulled out of the Spanish Open because his daughter was ill.   Before last week he had missed cuts at the British Open and the U.S. PGA, though he tied 12th at the Scandinavian Masters.   "I feel I haven't played good golf since the Scottish Open and since the PGA I've hardly touched a club until this week," he said.   "I'll settle for four 68s.   It's nice to know I can still shoot a score like that after a break and when I'm not concentrating fully because of my father."   He had no problems with the greens, which are tinged blue this week after treatment for something called "meadow grass decline".   "They are putting well and are truer than they appear," Montgomerie said.   Levenson, 42, did not expect to be playing here, although he had entered, until he was told at the weekend he was fifth reserve.   "By the time I contacted the organisers I was third reserve but I couldn't get a South African Airways ticket," he said.   "Then I was able to get on a British Airways flight at a reduced price and by then I was in the event."   He actually got in when one of his closest friends, Zimbabwean Mark McNulty, withdrew.   Levenson has not played a tournament anywhere since the French Open in June, when he missed the cut.   He needed only 22 putts in Wednesday's round.   "My putting has always been my downfall over the years.   Maybe because I have not played a tournament in so long I was more relaxed today," he said.   "Obviously I've played a lot of tournaments over the years and so I've got it in me somewhere.   But usually I can't find it."    Play was suspended in mid-afternoon because of a thunderstorm but resumed after a break of 70 minutes.   At that point it was still possible to complete the round on Wednesday but a second thunderstorm later in the afternoon sent players scurrying to the clubhouse again and cast doubt as to whether the round could be finished. 
4391 !GCAT !GSPO  Britain's Chris Boardman fulfilled his prediction that he would break the world 4,000 metres world record in the world track cycling championships on Wednesday.   Boardman clocked four minutes 13.353 seconds to slice more than six seconds from the previous world mark of 4:19.699 set by Olympic champion Andrea Collinelli of Italy in Atlanta in July.   Collinelli qualified in second place, also beating his old record in 4:17.696.   "I was very nervous before the start but then I was amazed by the speed of my ride," Boardman said.   "I don't know if I can go any faster.   Who knows what will happen in the later stages?"   Boardman, 28, did not contest the Olympic pursuit because of its proximity to the Tour de France in which he led the French GAN team.   However, he took a bronze medal in the Olympic road time-trial and then returned home to prepare for the world track series in the Manchester indoor velodrome.   He adopted the "superman" riding position with arms at full stretch perfected by fellow Briton Graeme Obree, the 1995 world champion, and taken up in Atlanta by Collinelli.   Obree was forced to pull out of his title defence because of a viral infection.   Qualifiers for Wednesday evening's quarter-finals:    1.   Chris Boardman (Britain) 4:13.353    2.   Andrea Collinelli (Italy) 4:17.696    3.   Mariano Friedick (U.S.) 4:19.808    4.   Heiko Szonn (Germany) 4:21.009    5.   Francis Moreau (France) 4:21.454    6.   Alexei Markov (Russia) 4:22.738    7.   Michael Sandstod (Denmark) 4:24.427    8.   Edouard Gritsoun (Russia) 4:26.467 
4392 !GCAT !GSPO  Britain's Chris Boardman broke the world 4,000 metres cycling record by more than six seconds at the world championships on Wednesday.   Boardman clocked four minutes 13.353 seconds in the qualifying round of the individual pursuit event to beat the previous mark of 4:19.699 set by Andrea Collinelli of Italy at the Atlanta Olympics on July 24. 
4393 !GCAT !GSPO  European Ryder Cup captain Seve Ballesteros wants tough players who can handle pressure and tough courses for them to qualify on for next year's match against the Americans at Valderrama.   The Spaniard, a member of European teams for the past 16 years, is now saddled with the responsibility of masterminding Europe's defence of the trophy they won with a superb display in the singles at Oak Hill last September.   "I want to have players in the team who can handle the pressure," Ballesteros said on Tuesday on the eve of the British Masters at Collingtree, the first tournament in which players earn points towards qualifying for the European team for next year's bienniel event,    Adding that he felt there might be three or four new men in his squad, Ballesteros said he had not ruled out being a playing captain, "though the way I am playing right now I don't think so".   "But I hope I can play a little better and then I can make the decision to play," said Ballesteros, who has missed the halfway cut in his last three tournaments.   "I am not worried about qualifying for the team.   The only thing I would worry about is if I am playing well enough to see myself as an important part of the team as a player.   "I may qualify and not play on the team -- or I may not qualify and pick myself.   It is how I feel I am playing at the time and what is best for the team."   Ballesteros wants the courses staging the qualifying tournaments over the next year to be made harder.   "I want tougher conditions, courses set up differently so that scoring will not be very low every week.   I want to see a little bit more rough, faster and firmer greens.   That would be best for the top players," he said.   "Ideally we would play Valderrama every week.   It would be perfect and they won't be cutting the rough there for the Ryder Cup."   The course in southern Spain, consistently voted the best in Europe, has hosted the European season-ending Volvo Masters for the past eight years.   It has led to some observers tipping the Europeans as favourites next year as the Americans, who began their qualifying at the start of this year, will have had virtually no experience of the course when they arrive for next September's match.   But Ballesteros refused to see it that way.   "It is too early to say that because we don't have a team yet and we don't know what kind of team they have.   "I don't want to see my team as favourites.   Over-confidence is not good," he said.   The Collingtree course where qualifying is beginning is not up to the standards Ballesteros wants and officials issued an apology to the players on Tuesday about the state of the greens.   "I really find the tees in very good condition," Ballesteros said tactfully.   Ballesteros stressed that he wants his top players to do their best to qualify by right.   "I would like to see at least a minimum effort to try and qualify instead of thinking `Well, because I am who I am I will be in the team anyway'."   One player he would dearly love in his team is former partner Jose Maria Olazabal, sidelined for almost a year because of rheumatoid arthritis in his feet.   Olazabal has planned several comebacks this year but all have been aborted because he has not felt ready to return to tournament golf.   "I spoke to him last week and he is practising and playing nine holes a day.   But he did not say when he might return," Ballesteros said.   "The problem is that the doctors have little knowledge of his condition.   It is unusual to see a problem like his in a man of 30.   "But there is no question I am still hopeful he can qualify," Ballesteros said. 
4394 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of English first division   soccer matches on Wednesday:    Barnsley  3 Reading 0    Stoke  1 Bradford 0    Swindon  1 Oldham 0   Wolverhampton 1 Queens Park Rangers 1   Standings (tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, against, points):    Barnsley 3 3 0 0 8 2 9    Stoke 3 3 0 0 5 2 9    Tranmere 3 2 1 0 6 3 7    Bolton 3 2 1 0 5 2 7    Wolverhampton  3 2 1 0 5 2 7    Queens Park Rangers 3 2 1 0 5 3 7    Norwich 3 2 0 1 4 3 6    Ipswich 3 1 1 1 6 4 4    Birmingham 2 1 1 0 5 4 4    Crystal Palace  3 1 1 1 3 2 4    Swindon 3 1 1 1 2 3 4    Oxford 3 1 0 2 6 3 3    Bradford 3 1 0 2 3 3 3    Huddersfield  2 1 0 1 3 3 3    Portsmouth 3 1 0 2 3 5 3    Reading 3 1 0 2 3 8 3    Man City 3 1 0 2 2 3 3    West Bromwich  3 0 2 1 2 3 2    Port Vale 3 0 2 1 2 4 2    Sheffield United  2 0 1 1 4 5 1    Grimsby 3 0 1 2 4 7 1    Charlton 2 0 1 1 1 3 1    Southend 3 0 1 2 1 7 1    Oldham 3 0 0 3 2 6 0 
4395 !GCAT !GSPO  Close of play scores on the first   day of four-day English County Championship cricket matches on   Wednesday:   At Portsmouth: Middlesex 199 in 60 overs (K.Brown 57;   L.Botham 5-67).   Hampshire 105-4.   At Chester-le-Street: Glamorgan 73-3 v Durham. 
4396 !GCAT !GSPO  England soccer manager Glen Hoddle confirmed on Wednesday that the Liverpool pair of Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler would miss England's World Cup qualifying match against Moldova on Sunday.   The two men, both suffering from back injuries, joined the England squad at training but it was soon clear they had no chance of making the flight to Kishinev on Friday.   "They had some scans and X-rays yesterday and they're out," said Hoddle.    "The more important thing for me was to get them down here and have a chat.   To go another five weeks without that chance would have been foolish," he added.   Hoddle, who has already lost the services of midfielder Darren Anderton and defender Steve Howey, delayed naming any replacements.   There was also concern over injuries to Paul Gascoigne, Les Ferdinand and David Batty. 
4397 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading rider Jason Weaver received a 21-day ban from the disciplinary committee of the Jockey Club on Wednesday.    Weaver had been reported after being found guilty of irresponsible riding at the provincial track of Pontefract 10 days ago.   It was his fourth riding offence this season.   Although five days of the ban were suspended until January 1, Weaver will miss next month's big St Leger meeting, including the ride on top stayer Double Trigger in the Doncaster Cup.   Weaver shot to prominence in 1994 when he won the English 2,000 Guineas on Mister Baileys in his first ride in a classic. 
4398 !GCAT !GSPO  Britain's Steven Redgrave said on Wednesday he might change his mind and go for a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Games in Sydney.   Redgrave is one of only five athletes who have won gold medals at four successive Olympics.   He shared victory with Matthew Pinsent in the coxless pairs at the Atlanta Games and said at the time that would be his last shot.   But he has had second thoughts since then.   "I'm only 34.   Some say that's too old for an athlete," he said.   "But I'll be 38 by Sydney and that's not too old.   It's whether I have got the enthusiasm for the training over the next four years.   Rowing is an endurance sport." 
4399 !GCAT !GSPO  Surrey on Wednesday defied a request from England's Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) to omit Chris Lewis from a vital championship match as part of disciplinary action against the player.   Lewis reported late for the test against Pakistan on Sunday and was dropped from the England squad for the upcoming series of one-day internationals against the tourists, which will cost him a minimum 3,000 pounds ($4,600) in match fees alone.   The TCCB also wanted Surrey to extend his punishment by leaving him out of their match against defending county champions Warwickshire, which begins on Thursday.   But Surrey chairman Michael Soper, who supported the initial action against Lewis, said: "We feel that this punishment is harsh but fair (but) that it should not be taken forward to prevent him playing for his county to whom he is contracted.   "The TCCB have made it clear that, by including him in the team to play Warwickshire, Surrey are not in breach of any of the board's regulations.   Indeed they have stated that this is `a matter entirely for decision by yourselves'."   Lewis was dropped from England's 13-man squad to face Pakistan in the one-day series after turning up 55 minutes late on Sunday and missing all of England's practices.   Lewis said his car had suffered a puncture.   His explanation was not accepted by either captain Michael Atherton or coach David Lloyd. 
4400 !GCAT !GSPO  Liam Botham demonstrated his father Ian's golden touch on Wednesday shortly after making his county debut for Hampshire.   Botham dismissed Mike Gatting with his seventh ball when the former England captain pushed a half-volley to square-leg on the first day of the four-day match against Middlesex at Portsmouth.   Earlier Botham arrived in Portsmouth from Southampton only to be told his services would not be required.   He then drove 40 kms back to play for the second XI to learn that John Stephenson had dropped out of the Middlesex match in the meantime with a shoulder injury.   Botham dashed back to Portsmouth and took the field as the thrid over began.   Ian Botham began his test career in 1977 by dismissing Australian captain Greg Chappell with a long hop and went on to become his country's most successful all-rounder ever with 5,200 runs, 383 wickets plus 120 catches in 102 tests. 
4401 !GCAT !GSPO  International scrum-half Shaun Edwards has agreed to extend his contract with Wigan by a further year but may miss Britain's forthcoming tour of Australia because of a knee injury.   Edward's contract still has 16 months to run but there has been speculation that he would quit Wigan after losing his regular starting place.   "It is good to have a long-term future at the club and I didn't want to leave," Edwards said.   "But it looks as though I could be out of the tour because of my knee which has been troubling me recently." 
4402 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GSPO  Former England captain Will Carling along with Jeremy Guscott, Rory Underwood and Dean Richards have been left out of England's first training squad of the season.   The quartet, who possess 244 international caps between them, were also omitted from a summer training camp but will still be in contention when the northern international season starts later this year.   "Their qualities are well known to the selectors and they will, of course, be considered when the season gets underway," the Rugby Football Union said in a statement on Wednesday. 
4403 !GCAT !GSPO  Hideo Nomo allowed a run in seven innings for his fifth win in seven road starts and Greg Gagne capped a three-run fourth with a two-run homer as the Los Angeles Dodgers claimed a 5-1 victory the Montreal Expos on Tuesday.   With their fifth straight win, the Dodgers moved a half-game ahead of the Expos at the top of the wild card hunt behind Nomo (13-10), who allowed six hits and walked four with six strikeouts.   In San Francisco, Mike Williams allowed two runs in 7-1/3 innings and Benito Santiago and Ruben Amaro had RBI hits in the first inning as the Philadelphia Phillies edged the San Francisco Giants 3-2.   Williams (5-12), who snapped a personal three-game losing streak, allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five.   It was also Williams' first win in three career decisions against San Francisco.   In Pittsburgh, Al Martin's run-scoring single snapped a fifth-inning tie and Denny Neagle outdueled John Smoltz as the Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Atlanta Braves 3-2.   The Braves led 2-1 entering the fifth, but the Pirates pushed across two runs against Smoltz (20-7).   Neagle (14-6) beat the Braves for the third time this season, allowing two runs and six hits in eight innings.   In St Louis, Gary Sheffield and Devon White each drove in two runs and Mark Hutton scattered four hits over six innings to lead the Florida Marlins past the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3.   White added a solo homer, his 11th, off reliever Mark Petkovsek with one out in the fifth, giving the Marlins a 6-0 lead.   In New York, Steve Finley's three-run homer capped a four-run eighth inning and gave the San Diego Padres a 4-3 victory over New York, spoiling Bobby Valentine's debut as Mets' manager.   The rally made a winner out of reliever Willie Blair   Tony Gwynn and Wally Joyner had two hits apiece, helping the Padres to their third straight win.   First-place San Diego has won seven of its last eight games and improved to 34-20 against NL East opponents.   In Houston, Tony Eusebio's eighth-inning sacrifice fly capped a comeback from a five-run deficit that gave the Houston Astros a 6-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs.   The Astros trailed 5-0 after three innings, but scored three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth before taking the lead in the eighth.   In St Louis, Gary Sheffield and Devon White each drove in two runs and Mark Hutton scattered four hits over six innings to lead the Florida Marlins past the St. Louis Cardinals, 6-3,   Sheffield, who was benched Monday, delivered a double down the left-field line in the first, scoring Luis Castilla and Alex Arias to put the Marlins ahead to stay.   At Colorado, Hal Morris and Eric Davis each homered and John Smiley scattered six hits over 6 2/3 innings as the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-3, snapping a four-game losing streak.   The Reds took a one-run lead in the second inning when Morris led off with his 10th homer off starter Armando Reynoso (8-9).   They increased their bulge to 4-0 in the third when Barry Larkin drew a one-out walk, Kevin Mitchell singled and Davis launched his 22nd homer over the right-field wall. 
4404 !GCAT !GSPO  The New Zealand rugby selectors recalled fly-half Andrew Mehrtens on Wednesday when they announced their team for the third and final test in Johannesburg on Saturday.   He returns in place of Simon Culhane who broke a wrist in the All Blacks' series-clinching victory in Pretoria on Saturday.   Mehrtens played in the last TriNations test in Cape Town but missed the first two tests in the current series after tearing a cartilage in his knee while training, an injury which needed a small operation.   Lock Ian Jones and wing Jeff Wilson have also been named in the team despite doubts over their fitness.   Jones has a knee injury while Wilson is suffering from a viral infection.   Blair Larsen or the uncapped Glenn Taylor are on standby to replace Jones and, with Jonah Lomu out of action with a shoulder injury picked up in Tuesday's drawn match against Griqualand West, Eric Rush is favourite to play should Wilson fail to recover.   Team:   15-Christian Cullen, 14 - Jeff Wilson, 13-Walter Little, 12 - Frank Bunce, 11-Glen Osborne; 10 - Andrew Mehrtens, 9 - Justin Marshall; 8-Zinzan Brooke, 7-Josh Kronfeld, 6 - Michael Jones, 5-Ian Jones, 4 - Robin Brooke, 3-Olo Brown, 2-Sean Fitzpatrick (captain), 1-Craig Dowd. 
4405 !GCAT !GSPO  Former South African captain Giles Bonnet was named by the South African Hockey Association on Wednesday as the new coach of the men's national side.    Bonnet, who has been coaching the Kwazulu-Natal provincial team, takes over from Englishman Gavin Featherstone who took South Africa to 10th place in the Olympic Games in Atlanta.   Featherstone, a former Britain captain, has accepted a coaching position with a women's team in Ireland. 
4406 !GCAT !GSPO  Western Province batsman Herschelle Gibbs was the only uncapped player in South Africa's 14-man squad named on Wednesday for a quadrangular one-day series in Kenya next month.   Kenya, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka will take part in the series.   National coach Bob Woolmer said Gibbs, 22, had been rewarded for a tremendous tour of England with the South African A team earlier this year.   "I've known Herschelle since he was 11 years old and he showed in England how he has matured.   His 170 against the MCC was an innings of supreme class against the best bowling attack we faced all tour," Woolmer told a news conference.   .   "We were not able to consider Jacques Kallis, Paul Adams and Shaun Pollock due to injury and the replacements have all come from the A tour and it's great that they are all in form."   Spin-bowling all-rounders Nicky Boje and Derek Crookes replace Pollock and Adams, while Gibbs comes in for his Western Province colleague Kallis.   Squad: Hansie Cronje (captain), Craig Matthews (vice-captain), Dave Richardson, Brian McMillan, Gary Kirsten, Andrew Hudson, Pat Symcox, Jonty Rhodes, Allan Donald, Fanie de Villiers, Daryll Cullinan, Derek Crookes, Herschelle Gibs, Nicky Boje. 
4407 !GCAT !GSPO  Russian captain Viktor Onopko and Brazil's Cafu were both sent off as the two countries drew 2-2 in a friendly soccer match in Moscow on Wednesday.   With the scores pegged at 1-1 Cafu was given his marching orders and then, with five minutes remaining, the Russian captain was also shown the red card after insulting the referee.   The Russians, playing their first game under new coach Boris Ignatiev, had made the early breakthrough when defender Yuri Nikiforov converted a penalty in the 18th minute.   Trailing 1-0 at the break, the Brazilians came back two minutes into the second half when half-back Donizetti made a run down the right-wing and equalised.   With Cafu off, the Russians regained the lead 10 minutes from time when substitute striker Vladislav Radimov scored from long range.   Five minutes later, Ronaldo fired home the second penalty of the night to level the scores.   Brazil play the second match of their short European tour against the Netherlands on Saturday. 
4408 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympiakos of Greece beat Yugoslavia's Red Star 71-57 (halftime 40-34) in the first match of an international club basketball tournament on Wednesday.   Partizan (Yugoslavia), Alba (Germany), Dinamo (Russia) and Benetton (Italy) are also taking part in the event which continues until Saturday. 
4409 !GCAT !GSPO  Russia and Brazil drew 2-2   (halftime 1-0) in a friendly soccer international on Wednesday.   Scorers:   Russia - Yuri Nikiforov (18th minute), Vladislav Rodimov   (80th)   Brazil - Donizetti (47th), Ronaldo (85th)   Attendence: 20,000 
4410 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic swimming champion Alexander Popov was getting better on Wednesday after being stabbed in a street row, an official said.   "He is better, his condition is stable," Russian Swimming Federation President Gennady Aleshin told Reuters by telephone.   Popov has been transferred to a clinic which treats top officials.   He was initially operated on in Hospital No 31 after he was stabbed in the abdomen late on Saturday in an argument with roadside watermelon sellers in south-west Moscow.   The wound had affected one of his lungs and a kidney.   In Atlanta last month the 24-year-old Russian became the first swimmer to retain the Olympic 50 and 100 metres freestyle titles.   Interfax news agency said police had detained two of the attackers but the main one, who had used the knife on Popov, was still on the run. 
4411 !GCAT !GSPO  Honduras soccer officials on Wednesday denied accusations that national team players were treated like slaves.   "The players sign their contract and receive treatment which is adequate for any human being," said David Lopez, spokesman for the national soccer federation FENAFUTH.   Former national team coach Ernesto Rosa Guedes, sacked two weeks ago, launched a bitter attack on the federation this week.   "They (Honduras) have good players but they are treated like slaves," he said, claiming that the federation had failed to pay bonuses promised to the players.   "We tried to improve Honduran football but it's very difficult because they (the directors) don't want change," said Rosa Guedes, a Brazilian who was in charge for nine months.   "There are too many personal interests in the national team."   He said that on one flight, directors had made two players disembark and give up their places for friends of the federation president.   Rosa Guedes was replaced by Ramon Maradiaga, under whom Honduras have won their last two games against El Salvador and Cuba.   "I never managed to impose the players I wanted but they (Maradiaga and his assistant) are people from the country who pick the players the directors want.   But Honduras have not done anything for 14 years."   Honduras, who begin their World Cup qualifying matches next month, have qualified for the World Cup only once, in 1982. 
4412 !GCAT !GSPO  World Cup cricket champions Sri Lanka will play two tests and three one-day internationals in a tour of New Zealand next March, officials said on Wednesday.   New Zealand Cricket said the Sri Lankans would play tests in Hamilton and Wellington and one-dayers in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, following hard on the heels of a tour by England.   New Zealand will also line up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this November in a one-day champions trophy competition in Sharjah.   The team will go on to tour Pakistan, playing two tests and three one-day internationals. 
4413 !GCAT !GSPO  World number five Simon Parke blamed a controversial new seeding system for his surprise first-round defeat by Ireland's Derek Ryan in the Hong Kong Open on Wednesday.   England's Parke, on the comeback trail after chemotherapy to fight testicular cancer, lost 15-11 15-11 2-15 15-11 to the world number 15.   Parke said he was a victim of the new seeding system brought in by the Professional Squash Association which sees highly-ranked players meeting each other in the first round of events.   "I did not vote for the change," said Parke.   "I do not think it was needed - everyone wants to change it back."   The win was sweet revenge for Ryan who was beaten by Parke in the Al Ahram tournament in Egypt in May when the Englishman was not fully fit following his fight against cancer.   "I feel fine," the 24-year-old Parke said.   "I have recovered from the chemotherapy and have been playing a series of exhibition matches against Del Harris."   Second-seed Rodney Eyles of Australia struggled to beat Zarak Jahan Khan of Pakistan, who is ranked just eight places below him.   "It's a product of the system that I met him in the first round but the way I look at it if I did not play him in the first round I would have met him in the second," said Eyles, after his 15-6 8-15 15-10 7-15 15-12 victory.   "It was not a great performance but considering I have not had a match since May it's good to get through.   He had a good night -- when he gets a sniff of a chance he does not give up." 
4414 !GCAT !GSPO  First round results in the Hong   Kong Open on Wednesday (prefix denotes seeding):   2-Rodney Eyles (Australia) beat Zarak Jahan Khan (Pakistan)   15-6 8-15 15-10 7-15 15-12   4-Peter Nicol (Scotland) beat Julian Wellings (England) 15-8   15-7 15-6   Derek Ryan (Ireland) beat 5-Simon Parke (England) 15-11 15-11   2-15 15-11   7-Chris Walker (England) beat Julien Bonetat (France) 15-12   15-6 15-2   Jonathon Power (Canada) beat Ahmed Barada (Egypt) 11-15 8-15   15-13 15-11 15-2   Amr Shabana (Egypt) beat John White (Australia) 10-15 15-9   15-10 16-17 15-1   Paul Johnson (England) beat Tony Hands (England) 12-15 15-11   7-15 15-6 15-11   Zubair Jahan Khan (Pakistan) beat Faheem Khan (Hong Kong) 12-15   15-10 15-10 15-10   R 
4415 !GCAT !GSPO  Underdog Formula Shell stunned heavily favoured Alaska Milk with an 85-82 victory on Tuesday evening to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven finals of the Philippine Basketball Association second conference.   Shell, led by American import Kenny Redfield, overcame a 36-46 Alaska lead at half-time and then limited the Milkmen to six points in the last six minutes of play.   Redfield scored 23 points before fouling out with a minute left in the game.   Game Two is scheduled for Friday. 
4416 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of game one of the Philippine Basketball Association second conference finals on Tuesday:   Formula Shell beat Alaska Milk 85-82 (36-46)   (Formula Shell leads best-of-seven series 1-0) 
4417 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of first division   soccer matches played over the weekend and Tuesday:    Hapoel Kfar Sava  0 Hapoel Zafririm Holon 1    Hapoel Tel Aviv 1 Maccabi Haifa 3    Hapoel Jerusalem  0 Hapoel Petah Tikva  3    Hapoel Ironi Rishon Lezion 3 Hapoel Taibe 1    Hapoel Beit She'an  0 Hapoel Beit She'an  1    Maccabi Petah Tikva  0 Betar Jerusalem  3    Hapoel Haifa 3 Maccabi Tel Aviv  1    Hapoel Beersheva  2 Maccabi Herzliya  0 
4418 !GCAT !GSPO  Spaniard Felix Mantilla is turning out to be the Rodney Dangerfield of the U.S. Open -- he gets no respect.   After being passed over by the U.S. Open seeding committee despite his world number 16 ranking, and nearly snubbed again when officials were given a second chance to right the wrong, the 21-year-old Mantilla was shipped to the National Tennis Centre hinterlands on Wednesday.   Undaunted, the Spaniard first managed to find court 19 and then posted his first career hardcourt victory, a 6-1 6-7 7-6 6- 3 win over Brazilian Fernando Maligeni in his Open debut.   "The most important thing was that I won today and I showed that I could play well on hardcourts," said the 17th seed after his win on a court with only a handful of spectator seats -- an assignment that most any top player would consider an insult.   Mantilla has been offended early and often at the Open.   When French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov pulled out, Mantilla was the logical choice to get the replacement seeding, but officials instead toyed with the idea of giving it to 18th- ranked Michael Stich.   Mantilla and his fellow Spaniards considered boycotting the tournament over the shabby treatment until officials relented and made him a seed.   "I deserved to be seeded, it was not fair, it was not right," said Mantilla, whose lack of hardcourt pedigree was cited by tournament officials as the primary reason for not seeding him.   Mantilla, who has all his wins this year on clay and reached two finals this month on the dirt, played like he was still on his favourite surface, glued to the baseline and happy to trade groundstrokes against the left-handed Brazilian.   But Mantilla is not worried about using his clay court instincts to prove the Open organisers wrong.   "If I keep playing like this, I could win a lot of matches," he said. 
4419 !GCAT !GSPO  Todd Martin was given a chance to grab some U.S. Open spotlight on Wednesday and he turned in a workmanlike first-round victory on the Louis Armstrong stadium court.   The 13th-ranked Martin, eager to make up for his Greg Normanesque collapse in the Wimbledon semifinals, belted 14 aces and won 48 points at the net as he served and volleyed his way past little-known Younes El Aynaoui 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4 in the "featured" stadium match-up of the day.   Following Tuesday's star-packed programme, fans at the National Tennis Centre found slim pickens on the tournament's third day with virtually all the marquee names given the day off.   That left 12th seed and sometime U.S. Davis Cup hero Martin as the best-known commodity on the men's schedule.   But Martin was forced to share the spotlight with a relatively unknown South African qualifier who had never won a Grand Slam match.   David Nainkin, ranked a lowly 215th in the world, stunned ninth-seeded countryman Wayne Ferreira, who had been one of the hot players coming into the Open.   Ferreira, ranked seventh in the world after last week's title in Toronto that included big wins over fellow seeds Martin and Thomas Enqvist, found his impressive 18-4 record on hardcourts this summer counted for naught as he went down 6-4 6-4 2-7 7-5.   "I felt like I've been playing tennis every day for the last five months.   That's how I felt today," said a burned out Ferreira, who also fell to a qualifier in the first round here last year.   "It was very difficult to get motivated to play mentally.   When that doesn't happen, your physical side kind of disappears," added the freckle-faced Ferreira, who joined a list of first-round seeded casualties that includes Richard Krajicek (5), Alberto Costa (14) and Marc Rosset (15).   In only his third career meeting against a top-10 player, Nainkin had no trouble finding the kind motivation that Ferreira should surely have mustered for one of the biggest tournaments of the year.   "I really wanted to win.   I had a will power that I didn't know I had," said the excited 25-year-old from Durban.   "I dug deep."   The only other men's seed in action was Spanish clay court specialist Felix Mantilla, who was awarded a 17th seeding after French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov pulled out injured and insulted over a seeding demotion.   Exiled to one of the smallest outside courts, Mantilla posted a 6-1 6-7 7-6 6-3 win over Brazilian Fernando Meligeni for his first career victory on a hard court.    Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev, working his way back to form after an injury-plagued couple of years, took the prize for swiftest first-round victory.   Medvedev turned back Frenchman Jean-Phillippe Fleurian 6-2 6-0 6-1 in a mere 77 minutes.   Martin, who squandered a seemingly insurmountable 5-1 fifth-set lead at Wimbledon that enabled compariot MaliVai Washington to take his place in the final, was firmly in control early against the Moroccan on the U.S. Open's main stage.   The 60th-ranked El Aynaoui settled down in the third set and thereafter forced Martin to work for his victory.   "I played very well the first couple of sets and took the play to him," recalled Martin.   "Third set ... he started slapping the ball, going in, took me out of my rhythm a little bit.   After that I was pretty comfortable," added Martin.   One seed was planted in women's second-round play when 63rd-ranked Barbara Rittner of Germany crushed 13th seed Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands 6-2 6-1.   Schultz-McCarthy should be thoroughly embarrassed by her outing after committing so many unforced errors (41) that Rittner needed only win 24 points on her own to take the match.   Earlier in the day, eighth-seeded Olympic heroine Lindsay Davenport, who was expected to meet Schultz-McCarthy in the fourth round, sailed into the third with a 6-0 6-4 win over Slovakian Fed Cup player Henrieta Nagyova.   Fifteenth-seeded Argentine Gabriela Sabatini, the 1990 champion, grabbed a third-round berth with a sloppy straight sets win over American Ann Grossman.   Second seeded two-time champion Monica Seles took her expected place in the third round, but did it without playing a point when her opponent pulled out with a knee injury. 
4420 !GCAT !GSPO  Second seed and co-world number one Monica Seles advanced to the third round of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships without hitting a ball on Wednesday.   Seles, the 1991 and 1992 champion who dropped just one game in her opening match, was scheduled to play Laurence Courtois of Belgium Wednesay night.   But tournament officials announced about four-and-a-half hours before the match that Courtois had pulled out due to a left knee bone inflammation, moving Seles into the next round on a walkover. 
4421 !GCAT !GSPO  Outspoken Andrei Medvedev exchanged his reputation as the clown prince of tennis on Wednesday for a new no-nonsense attitude that has made life on the courts fun again.   "I think I'm much more focused on what I have to do, and that's playing tennis," Medvedev said after routing Frenchman Jean-Philippe Fleurian 6-2 6-0 6-1 in the opening round of the U.S. Open.   It was Medvedev's sixth victory in a row after winning his first tournament of the year last week at the Hamlet Cup.   "I realised this year, that without putting 99.9 percent of your mind into tennis, I don't think you can successful," said the 22-year-old Medvedev.   "The whole day I'm thinking abnout tennis.   I felt that all the other things I was doing the years before, they were distracting me, they were not helping me at all."   For Medvedev that meant confining his post-match comments to tennis and not going off on tirades about about peripheral issues such as the poor quality of food in the players lounge, an entertaining rant that took his mind off the task at hand.   "I know what I'm here for," said Medvedev, who lost in the second round of the Open the last two years after reaching the quarters in 1993, the same year he tried his hand as a restaurant critic.   "I'm not here to fight the press or talk about the food or entertain the people off the court.   I'm here to play tennis and to win.   I have much less fun off the court.   I have much more fun on the court," he said.   Just three years ago Medvedev was one of the world's best, with a ranking of six after reaching the French Open semifinal and winning three tournaments.   But Medvedev's ranking slowly began to drop last year as he struggled with a wrist injury.   The Ukrainian finally hit a low of 44th two months ago.   "It's somewhere where I wouldn't like to stay very long," Medvedev said of his current ranking of 36.   "It's a part of the penalty that I have to accept."   As part of his new businesslike approach, Medvedev hired Australian coach Bob Brett at the start of this year and the partnership is beginning to pay off.   "At the beginning of the year we started from zero," said Medvedev.   "Winning in Long Island (last week) was like winning for the first time."   While Medvedev's 77-minute romp past Fleurian was rather ordinary, the fact that the two were playing each other was rather remarkable.   In the original draw, Medvedev and Fleurian were slotted to play each other.   When controversy forced the draw to be done over -- against odds of 151-to-1 -- Medvedev and Fleurian drew each other a second time.   "When I saw the new draw I didn't have to change my preparation," Medvedev said.   "I think it's destined that it turned out for me." 
4422 !GCAT !GSPO  American golden girl Lindsay Davenport rode a wave of new-found confidence and her trimmed down frame into the third round of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships on Wednesday.   The eighth-seeded Davenport, who dropped 20 pounds (nine kg) in a fitness campaign that helped carry her to an Olympic gold medal, dispatched Slovakian Henrieta Nagyova 6-0 6-4 in just 49 minutes despite a couple of brief second-set lapses.   Davenport was the hottest player on the women's tour coming into the Open after wins over Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the Olympics and Steffi Graf in Los Angeles earlier this month.   And Nagyova did little to cool her down.   Davenport was joined in the third round by popular Argentine Gabriela Sabatini, who opened the day's programme on the stadium under cloudy skies with an uninspiring 6-2 6-3 win over American Ann Grossman.   "I'm not as satisfied with the way I played today as I was the first day," said the 15th-seeded Sabatini, who missed both the French Open and Wimbledon this year with a pulled stomach muscle.   Davenport, whose new celebrity as Olympic champion saw her throw out the first ball at a New York Mets baseball game in nearby Shea Stadium on Tuesday night, blanked the 68th-ranked Nagyova in a lightning fast, 16-minute first set.   Davenport unleashed 21 winners to just seven for the Slovakian Fed Cup player for the match.   Nagyova halted the shutout by breaking Davenport's serve to open the second set and built a 3-1 lead before the American ran off the next four games for a 5-4 lead.   A couple of Davenport unforced errors while serving for the match allowed Nagyova to prolong the inevitable.   But the American quickly broke back to advance.   The 72nd-ranked Grossman looked good in a very unWimbledon-like purple dress, but the tennis was not pretty.   Her looping shots frustrated topspin queen Sabatini at times, but not enough to affect the outcome of the match.   Grossman dropped all five of her service games in a sloppy second set in which Sabatini also was broken three times.   "It's very hard to play Ann because she likes to play those high balls.   I didn't really like the second set," admitted Sabatini, who likely would have found the spectators in agreement.    Davenport admitted to being nervous about getting through the first couple of rounds because of past failures here.   But she said her confidence level was at at all-time high.   "I think I've proven it to myself that I can play and can win," she said.   While the women began second-round play, the men were finishing up the first round with virtually all the marquee names given the day off.   Ninth seed Wayne Ferreira of South Africa and American Todd Martin (12) were the only top men scheduled for action and Ferreira quickly joined the growing list of seeded casualties.   Ferreira brought an 18-4 record on summer hardcourts into the Open and was expected to make some noise here after winning a title last week in Toronto that included victories over fellow seeds Martin and Thomas Enqvist.   But he quickly went down two sets to countryman David Nainkin and never recovered falling 6-4 6-4 2-6 7-5 to the 215th-ranked qualifier.   Asked if he was excited about his first career Grand Slam win, the 25-year-old Nainkin said: "That's an understatement.   "I didn't come out expecting to win," added Nainkin, who said just wanted to play well enough to be able to look himself in the mirror.   The next time he looks he will surely find himself smiling.   Also smiling was outspoken Andrei Medvedev of Ukraine.   Medvedev, who defied incredible statistical odds by drawing the same opponent in both the original and revised men's draws, embarrassed Jean-Philippe Fleurian 6-2 6-0 6-1 in a swift 77 minutes.   Medvedev, once a top-five player now fighting his way back from injury and ranked 36th, won the Hamlet Cup last week and carried that momentum into Wednesday's match, breaking the 100th-ranked Frenchman eight times in the match, while committing just three unforced errors in a near-perfect second set.   "My tennis is getting much better, hard work is paying off," said Medvedev.   "Today was a good experience." 
4423 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Wednesday's matches in the U.S. Open Tennis Championships at the National Tennis Centre (prefix number denotes seeding):   Women's singles, second round   15-Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina) beat Ann Grossman (U.S.) 6-2 6 -3   Irina Spirlea (Romania) beat Maria Jose Gaidano (Argentina) 6-1 6-2   8-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) beat Henrietta Nagyova (Slovakia) 6- 0 6-4   Anne-Gaelle Sidot (France) beat Wang Shi-Ting (Taiwan) 6-4 3-6 6-3   Sandrine Testud (France) beat Cristina Torrens-Valero (Spain) 6 -2 6-1   Men's singles, first round   Andrei Medvedev (Ukraine) beat Jean-Philippe Fleurian (France) 6-2 6-0 6-1   David Nainkin (South Africa) beat 9-Wayne Ferreira (South Africa) 6-4 6-4 2-6 7-5   David Rikl (Czech Republic) beat Hicham Arazi (Morocco) 6-4 7-5 6-2   Andrea Gaudenzi (Italy) beat Shuzo Matsuoka (Japan) 7-6 (7-4) 6 -2 6-3   Men's singles, first round   17-Felix Mantilla (Spain) beat Fernando Meligeni (Brazil) 6-1 6 -7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-3   Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) beat Karol Kucera (Slovakia) 6-2 5-7 7- 6 (7-3) 7-5   Jan Kroslak (Slovakia) beat Chris Woodruff (U.S.) 2-6 6-4 3-6 6 -2 7-6 (7-1)   Women's singles, second round   Amanda Coetzer (South Africa) beat Mariaan de Swardt (South Africa) 6-2 7-5   Linda Wild (U.S.) beat Kristie Boogert (Netherlands) 5-7 6-3 6-3   Kimberly Po (U.S.) beat Kristina Brandi (U.S.) 6-1 6-4   Helena Sukova (Czech Republic) beat Paola Suarez (Argentina) 6- 4 7-6 (7-2)   Women's singles, second round   2-Monica Seles (U.S.) beat Laurence Courtois (Belgium) by walkover (knee injury)   Dally Randriantefy (Madagascar) beat Jane Chi (U.S.) 6-3 6-1   Ines Gorrochategui (Argentina) beat Aleksandra Olsza (Poland) 6 -1 6-1   Men's singles, first round   12-Todd Martin (U.S.) beat Younes El Aynaoui (Morocco) 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4   Sjeng Schalken (Netherlands) beat Gilbert Schaller (Austria) 6- 3 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3    Men's singles, first round   Michael Tebbutt (Australia) beat Richey Reneberg (U.S.) 3-6   6-1 3-6 7-5 6-3   Paul Haarhuis (Netherlands) beat Michael Joyce (U.S) 6-7   (5-7) 7-6 (8-6) 1-6 6-2 6-2   Women's singles, second round   Barbara Rittner (Germany) beat 13 - Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (   Netherlands) 6-2 6-1   Men's singles, first round   Guy Forget (France) beat Grant Stafford (South Africa) 3-6 2-6 6-4 7-6 (7-2) 6-3   (End first round)   Women's singles, second round   Lisa Raymond (U.S.) beat Sarah Pitkowski (France) 6-2 6-0   Asa Carlsson (Sweden) beat Barbara Schett (Austria) 6-2 3-1 retired (Thigh injury) 
4424 !GCAT !GSPO  Tennis star Stefan Edberg may be playing his last Grand Slam at the U.S. Open, but he's not quite ready to say farewell just yet.   "What I'm really aiming to do here this week is hopefully get into the second week and be around," said the Swedish fan favourite after a swift 6-3 6-3 6-3 first-round upset of fifth-seeded Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.   "On paper it's a little upset, I would say, not a huge one," the former world number one, who is now ranked 28th, said with a sly grin and a shake of his blond head.   The low-key 30-year-old is remarkably relaxed and feeling right at home on the U.S. Open's stadium court these days as his glorious Grand Slam career winds down.   "At the moment I'm actually feeling very, very calm about the whole thing," said Edberg, who early in his career was not a big fan of New York's Grand Slam.   "I found this place very, very tricky to come to," he said of his early U.S. Open campaigns.   That changed forever in 1991 when the smooth Swede put together the first of his back-to-back title runs.   "Always when you've won at the place, the whole place just changes, no question about it," said Edberg, who considers his straight sets win over Jim Courier in the '91 final to be the best tennis he ever played.   "Since then, I've enjoyed every year coming here.   It's been one of the very special places to come to," added Edberg, who also has two Wimbledon and two Australian Open titles.   But Edberg has no regrets about his decision to make this U.S. Open the 54th and last Grand Slam of his career.   "Knowing when you're going to retire, I think that makes it easier," he said.   "I don't really want to hang around playing tennis out there if I can't perform the way I want to perform," he continued.   "I want to be in the top 10 and really have a chance to win a Grand Slam.   Those years are pretty much over.   "I've been on the tour for many, many years.   It's time for me to go now before it's too late."   And if he should surprise himself and delight the fans by winning the U.S. Open one more time, might he change his mind about retiring?   "No I will not," he said, smiling at the idea.   "I'm so sorry."   "Being realistic, there is a very little chance, but as long as I see that chance, I will go out there and do what I can." 
4425 !GCAT !GSPO  A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that a Tulsa, Oklahoma, company could produce trading cards satirising major league baseball players and their big money contracts.   The ruling by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals followed an attempt by the Major League Baseball Players Association to stop Cardtoons L.C. from marketing the cards on grounds they violated the players' publicity and licensing rights.   One of the cards showed a likeness of San Francisco Giants outfielder Bobby Bonds, one of baseball's highest paid players, and identified him as "Treasury Bonds."   He is shown tipping a batboy for bringing him a golden bat labeled a "Fort Knoxville Slugger."   The court said the cards were protected by the First Amendment and the right to free speech.   "The cards. . . are an important form of entertainment and social commentary that deserve First Amendment protection," it said.   "The irony of MLBPA's counter-claim for profits from the cards is not lost on this panel (of judges)," the court said. 
4426 !GCAT !GSPO  Major League Baseball   standings after games played on Tuesday (tabulate under won,   lost, winning percentage and games behind):     AMERICAN LEAGUE     EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    NEW YORK  74 57 .565 -    BALTIMORE  70 61 .534 4    BOSTON  68 65 .511 7    TORONTO  62 71 .466 13    DETROIT  47 85 .356 27 1/2    CENTRAL DIVISION    CLEVELAND  79 53 .598 -    CHICAGO  70 64 .522 10    MINNESOTA  66 66 .500 13    MILWAUKEE  64 69 .481 15 1/2    KANSAS CITY  60 73 .451 19 1/2    WESTERN DIVISION    TEXAS 75 57 .568 -    SEATTLE  68 63 .519 6 1/2    OAKLAND  63 72 .467 13 1/2    CALIFORNIA  61 71 .462 14     WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28TH SCHEDULE    CLEVELAND AT DETROIT      MILWAUKEE AT CHICAGO      OAKLAND AT BALTIMORE      MINNESOTA AT TORONTO      TEXAS AT KANSAS CITY      BOSTON AT CALIFORNIA      NEW YORK AT SEATTLE      NATIONAL LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    ATLANTA  81 49 .623 -    MONTREAL  70 60 .538 11    FLORIDA  62 70 .470 20    NEW YORK  59 73 .447 23    PHILADELPHIA 54 79 .406 28 1/2    CENTRAL DIVISION    HOUSTON  71 62 .534 -    ST LOUIS  69 63 .523 1 1/2    CINCINNATI  65 66 .496 5    CHICAGO  64 65 .496 5    PITTSBURGH  56 75 .427 14    WESTERN DIVISION    SAN DIEGO  73 60 .549 -    LOS ANGELES  71 60 .542 1    COLORADO  69 64 .519 4    SAN FRANCISCO 56 74 .431 15 1/2    WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28TH SCHEDULE    CINCINNATI AT COLORADO      LOS ANGELES AT MONTREAL      ATLANTA AT PITTSBURGH      SAN DIEGO AT NEW YORK      CHICAGO AT HOUSTON     FLORIDA AT ST LOUIS     PHILADELPHIA AT SAN FRANCISCO 
4427 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Baseball games played on Tuesday (home team in CAPS):     National League    Philadelphia  3 SAN FRANCISCO 2    Los Angeles  5 MONTREAL  1    PITTSBURGH  3 Atlanta  2    San Diego  4 NEW YORK  3    HOUSTON  6 Chicago  5    Florida  6 ST LOUIS  3    Cincinnati  4 COLORADO  3     American League    Cleveland  12 DETROIT  2    BALTIMORE  3 Oakland  1    Minnesota  6 TORONTO  4    Milwaukee  4 CHICAGO  2    KANSAS CITY  4 Texas 3 (10 innings)    Boston 2 CALIFORNIA  1    SEATTLE  7 New York  4 
4428 !GCAT !GSPO  Three seeded men were upset at the U.S. Open on Tuesday but the biggest surprise of of the Grand Slam's second day was that Goran Ivanisevic wasn't one of them.   The fourth-seeded Croatian beat veteran Russian Andrei Chesnokov 1-6 6-2 6-4 6-4 under the lights on a balmy night to end a four-year run of New York misery.   "It feels great, it was a tough match," said an obviously relieved Ivanisevic.   The huge-serving Ivanisevic has twice been a Wimbledon runner-up, but the National Tennis Centre at Flushing Meadow had been one of his least favourite places on the planet.   Since reaching the fourth round here in 1991 the talented Croatian had been on a steady and stunning downward spiral.   A third-round loss in 1992 was followed by a second-round defeat in 1993 and a first-round exit in 1994.   A joke that the only way he could continue the luckless pattern last year was by getting hurt actually came to pass when he retired in the first round with an ankle injury.   "Last year I twisted my ankle in the first round and the year before I played like an idiot," he said.   That was the year he saw a plane flying over the court during his match and said he wondered why he wasn't on it.   But Ivanisevic finally broke the string and perhaps his New York jinx by fighting back from a 1-6 first set to avoid joining 14th-seeded Spaniard Alberto Costa, 15th seed Marc Rosset of Switzerland and fifth-seeded Dutch Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek on the sidelines.   Costa fell to Czech Bohdan Ulihrach in five sets, Rosset was downed by American Jared Palmer in four and Krajicek was victimised by an unlucky draw and an off day, losing to fan favourite Stefan Edberg, who is playing his final Grand Slam, in straight sets.   "I was a little nervous in the beginning, then I started to play better.   It's nice to win," Ivanisevic said.   "My goal is still to make it to the second week of the tournament, which I've never done in eighth years," he said.   A second-serve ace -- his 10th of the match -- put Ivanisevic up 5-3 in the fourth set and he served it out two games later, reaching match point with his 11th and final ace.   Ivanisevic said he needs a couple of tight maches under his belt before he'll feel truly comfortable on these courts he had come to dread.   "Then I think I'll be fine, then I can be dangerous." 
4429 !GCAT !GSPO  It wasn't supposed to be this hard for defending champion Steffi Graf to win her opening match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday night.   But the script that called for the usual first-round demolition by the top-ranked top seed was rewritten by 29th-ranked Indonesian Yayuk Basuki playing with nothing to lose abandon.   Graf, of course, prevailed 6-3 7-6, but not before some tense moments that even had the German superstar thinking the match was going three sets.   "I won the second set, which I didn't think I would do, being down 5-2 and the chances she had at 6-5," Graf recalled.   Several of the other women's seeds eased into the second round with more typical Graf-like efficiency Tuesday.   As afternoon turned to evening, fourth-seeded Spaniard Conchita Martinez took apart Romanian Ruxandra Dragomir in 58 minutes with the loss of just two games, one more than second seed Monica Seles, who opened the second-day programme by crushing American Anne Miller 6-0 6-1.   Third seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, the 1994 champion, and eighth-seeded Olympic gold medalist Lindsay Davenport dropped three game each en route to the second round.   But the day was not without its seeded casualties on the women's side.   Fifth-seed Iva Majoli of Croatia was picked off by Austrian Judith Wiesner and Wimbledon semifinalist Kimiko Date of Japan, the 10th seed, fell 6-2 7-5 to 53rd-ranked American Kimberly Po.   Date's defeat left no other seeded players in Seles's quarter of the draw, which lost Anke Huber (6) and Maggie Maleeva (12) on Monday.   But Graf, winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, was not about to join that list.   "At some points I felt a little nervous," she admitted.   "When it came down to the important points, I felt more confident."   Basuki, a first-round loser here for the fifth consecutive year, was clearly going for winners, hitting the lines and running Graf around the court as she broke the top seed twice in the second set to grab that shocking 5-2 lead.   Graf ran off the next three games to restore some semblance of order.   But Basuki, her long black ponytail flying as she raced for shots, held her serve and twice had set point on Graf's serve at 6-5 before the German unleashed a forehand pass to force the tie-break.   "I lost the moment," lamented Basuki, who has reached the fourth round at Wimbledon four times and was a semifinalist in Montreal earlier this month.   Still, the feisty Indonesian got off to a 3-0 lead in the tie-breaker before a pair of costly double faults gave Graf her chance to avoid a third set.   "Usually in the first one or two matches, you want to find your rhythm and want to get into it," said Graf, who won seven of the last eight points in the breaker.   "To be in that situation today, a couple of times having to play well, get down and play point-by-point, definitely is a good start." 
4430 !GCAT !GSPO  Schedule of Wednesday's featured matches on the show courts at the U.S. Open (prefix number denotes seeding):   Day session   Stadium court, beginning 11:00 am (1500 GMT)   15-Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina) v Ann Grossman (U.S.)   8-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) v Henrieta Nagyova (Slovakia)   12-Todd Martin (U.S.) v Younes El Aynaoui (Morocco)   Grandstand:   9-Wayne Ferreira (South Africa) v David Nainkin (South   Africa)   Paul Haarhuis (Netherlands) v Michael Joyce (U.S.)   13-Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (Netherlands) v Barbara Rittner   (Germany)   4-Conchita Martinez (Spain) v Nathalie Tauziat (France)   Night session   Stadium, beginning 7:30 pm (2330 GMT)   2-Monica Seles (U.S.) v Laurence Courtois (Belgium)   2-Michael Chang (U.S.) v Neville Godwin (South Africa)   Grandstand   Vince Spadea (U.S.) v David Prinosil (Germany) 
4431 !GCAT !GSPO  Chicago Cubs right fielder Sammy Sosa underwent surgery on Monday to remove a fractured bone from his right hand and will miss four to six weeks, the club announced Tuesday.   Sosa, a leading candidate for National League Most Valuable Player honours, was injured August 20th when he was hit by a Mark Hutton pitch in the first inning of an 8-1 victory over the Florida Marlins.   The 27-year-old Sosa leads the league with 40 homers and is tied for 10th with 100 RBI.   The loss of Sosa, who appeared in all 124 games this season, is a huge blow to the Cubs' playoff hopes. 
4432 !GCAT !GSPO  Brazilian striker Marcelo scored a hat-trick as PSV Eindhoven maintained their 100 percent record and stayed on top of the Dutch first division with a 3-1 win at Volendam on Wednesday.   PSV's main rivals for the title, defending champions Ajax Amsterdam, celebrated the novelty of having the roof of their new 51,000 seat stadium closed against the rain, with a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar.   Ajax were missing six first-team players but Frank de Boer shot home the winner from a 20-metre free kick in the 30th minute of a dull game.   Marcelo, signed in close season to replace compatriot Ronaldo who left to play for Barcelona, opened the PSV scoring in the 19th minute when he fired home after good work from Rene Eijkelkamp.   The Brazilian found the mark again two minutes after halftime and again in the 56th minute before midfielder Pascal Jongsma scored a consolation goal for Volendam five minutes from time.   Feyenoord Rotterdam suffered an early shock when they went 1-0 down after four minutes against de Graafschap Doetinchem.   The equaliser came in the 73rd minute when Swedish international Henke Larsson scored from close range and 10 minutes later Jean-Paul van Gastel gave Feyenoord a 2-1 victory from the penalty spot.   After three matches PSV lead the first division with nine points, three points clear of fifth-placed Ajax. 
4433 !GCAT !GSPO  Former England manager Bobby Robson enjoyed his first success in charge of Barcelona as his team weathered 90 minutes of non-stop Atletico Madrid pressure to win the Spanish Super Cup 6-5 on aggregate on Wednesday.   Barcelona had won the first leg 5-2 but the second leg was a different story.   Atletico came within a whisker of taking the Cup on the away-goal rule but squandered several chances after going 3-1 ahead 15 minutes from the end.   Juan Lopez gave Atletico the lead midway through the first half after Barcelona fullback Albert Ferrer and substitute goalkeeper Julen Lopetegui failed to clear a Milinko Pantic cross.   Barcelona's Hristo Stoichkov made his only significant contribution of the evening 10 minutes after halftime when Sergi Barjuan broke down the right to set up the fiery Bulgarian with a simple equaliser.   But Atletico struck back almost immediately through new signing Juan Eduardo Esnaider and then Serbian set-piece specialist Pantic made it 3-1 with a superb free-kick in the 75th minute.   Robson praised Atletico after the game, which was played in the Community of Madrid athletic stadium because of pitch problems at the Vicente Calderon ground.    The venue of Atletico's first league game, scheduled for Sunday, is still in doubt with the Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu a distinct possibility. 
4434 !GCAT !GSPO  Summary of the Spanish Super Cup, second leg, played on Wednesday:   Atletico Madrid 3 (Juan Lopez 28th minute, Juan Esnaider 58th, Milinko Pantic 75th) Barcelona 1 (Hristo Stoichkov 55th).   Halftime 1-0.   Attendance 11,000.   (Barcelona win 6-5 on aggregate). 
4435 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of the Spanish Super Cup, second leg, played on Wednesday:    Atletico Madrid  3 Barcelona  1   (Barcelona win 6-5 on aggregate) 
4436 !GCAT !GSPO  Argentine striker Iwan Cesar Gabrich signed a five year contract with Dutch champions Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday.   The 24-year-old Gabrich, who signed for an undisclosed fee from the Argentine side Newell Old Boys, is set to join Dutch international Patrick Kluivert in the Ajax forward line.   He is Ajax's sixth new signing this year, joining midfielder Richard Witschge, defenders John Veldman and Mariano Juan and strikers Tijjani Babangida and Dani. 
4437 !GCAT !GSPO  UEFA Cup hopefuls Parma and Roma, under new coaches this season, crashed out of the Italian Cup to second division opponents on Wednesday while league champions Milan could only draw 1-1 at humble Empoli.   Wealthy Parma, now coached by the former Italian international Carlo Ancelotti, were without new striker Enrico Chiesa and went down 3-1 at serie B club Pescara in their second round clash.   Pescara's Ottavio Palladini shattered Parma with goals in the second and fourth minutes.   Midfielder Marco Giampaolo made it 3-0 in the 38th minute and Parma's Alessandro Melli pulled back a late goal six minutes from time.   The second round was the entry point for the bulk of the serie A sides with the winners going through.   The later stages of the cup are played over two legs.   Parma's defeat was a repeat of last season's fiasco when they lost their opening cup match 3-0 to Palermo.   Roma, now coached by Argentine Carlos Bianchi and watched by Italian national coach Arrigo Sacchi, lost 3-1 to Cesena -- another repeat of last season when the Rome club also went out at the first hurdle.    Udinese, with Germany's Euro '96 hero Oliver Bierhoff in their lineup, completed the hat-trick of beaten serie A sides when they went under 2-1 to newly relegated Cremonese.   Milan's new Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez avoided the nightmare of defeat but faces a replay at home next Sunday.   Cup holders Fiorentina easily beat Cosenza 3-1 while European Cup holders Juventus also cruised through with a 2-0 win at small southern club Fidelis Andria.   Two other serie A sides lost at the weekend -- Piacenza and last year's losing finalists Atalanta.   Two cup matches could not be played on Wednesday due to argument over first round results.   Lecce's 3-0 weekend defeat of Genoa was expected to be overturned by a sporting judge on Thursday after the home club fielded an ineligible player.   That would set Genoa up for a second round match against local rivals Sampdoria.   Nocerina's 4-3 defeat of Piacenza was also subject to a complaint, later removed, that forced their second round match against serie A newcomers Perugia to be delayed. 
4438 !GCAT !GSPO  Goals from Thomas Helmer and Juergen Klinsmann helped Bayern Munich to a 4-2 home win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday and powered them to the top of the Bundesliga.   The comfortable victory gave Bayern 10 points from their first four games, a point ahead of second-placed Stuttgart, who have a game in hand.   Brazilian midfielder Paulo Sergio put Leverkusen ahead in the 25th minute but Alexander Zickler equalised just a minute later.   A header from Helmer and an acrobatic strike from Klinsmann gave Bayern a two-goal cushion at halftime.   But the pick of the 13-times champions' goals came from Ruggiero Rizzitelli, who beat three defenders to put Bayern 4-1 up.   Markus Feldhoff hit a consolation goal for Leverkusen.   Hansa Rostock brought Cologne's 100 percent record to an end with a 2-0 win over the Rhineside club while a Sean Dundee hat-trick inside seven minutes stood out in Karlsruhe's 4-0 demolition of St Pauli. 
4439 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Italian Cup second round   matches played on Wednesday:    Empoli  1 Milan  1    Spal 2 Reggiana 4    Lucchese  1 Vicenza  2    Cremonese  2 Udinese  1    Cesena  3 Roma  1    Bologna  2 Torino  1    Cosenza  1 Fiorentina 3    Avellino  0 Lazio  1    Bari 1 Verona  1    Pescara  3 Parma  1    Monza 0 Napoli  1    Chievo  2 Cagliari 3    Ravenna  0 Inter  1    Fidelis Andria 0 Juventus 2 
4440 !GCAT !GSPO  Summaries of Wednesday's German   first division soccer matches:   Karlsruhe 4 (Keller 18th minute, Dundee 56th 59th and 64th)   St Pauli 0.   Halftime 1-0.   Attendance 27,600.   Bayern Munich 4 (Zickler 26th, Helmer 37th, Klinsmann 44th,   Rizzitelli 48th) Bayer Leverkusen 2 (Sergio 25th, Feldhoff   54th).   3-1.   48,000.   Cologne 0 Hansa Rostock 2 (Akpoborie 5th and 59th).   0-1.   27,000.   Fortuna Duesseldorf 0 1860 Munich 0.   11,500.   Arminia Bielefeld 1 (Von Heesen 56th) Duisburg 1 (Hirsch 65th).   0-0.   15,000. 
4441 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading scorers in the French   first division after Wednesday's matches:   3 - Anton Drobnjak (Bastia), Vladimir Smicer (Lens), Miladin   Becanovic (Lille), Alain Caveglia (Lyon), Xavier Gravelaine   (Marseille), Robert Pires (Metz), Thierry Henry (Monaco)    2 - Christopher Wreh (Guingamp), Marc-Vivien Foe (Lens), Enzo   Scifo (Monaco), James Debbah (Nice), Patrice Loko (PSG),   Stephane Guivarch (Rennes) 
4442 !GCAT !GSPO  Euro 96 star Vladimir Smicer of the Czech Republic scored at the last second for Lens, allowing them to retain the lead in the French soccer league on Wednesday.   Smicer pushed the ball home in injury time to lead his team to a 3-2 victory over Montpellier, who were leading 2-1 until Cameroon's Marc-Vivien Foe equalised on a header in the 85th minute.   The win was the fourth in as many matches this season for Lens, who lead the table on 12 points.   In-form Paris St Germain, who dismissed Nantes 1-0, are second with 10 points.   Along with Smicer, Robert Pires was the star of the night in France, scoring the first hat-trick of the league season in Metz's 3-1 home victory over neighbouring Strasbourg.   Pires, one of the most promising strikers in the country, was called up for the first time this week by French manager Aime Jacquet for a friendly against Mexico on Saturday at the Parc des Princes.    Pires scored first with a powerful shot in the 35th minute before striking again from close range just before the break.   A solitary raid allowed him to score his third in the 74th.   Smicer's goal was as hard-won as his team's victory.   Spurred by Foe's leveller five minutes before, Lens pressed hard and Foe hit the crossbar in the dying seconds on another header.   The ball bounced back to Smicer's feet and he scored.   Montpellier seized an unexpected lead thanks to Kader Ferhaoui in the fourth minute after a blunder from Lens goalkeeper Jean-Claude Nadon.   The side from northern France, forced to fight an uphill battle from then on, pulled level thanks to Tony Vairelles in the eighth minute but young striker Fabien Lefevre made it two for Montpellier five minutes later.   League favourites PSG scored a convincing 1-0 win over Nantes and confirmed they would again be the team to beat this season.   Ironically, PSG's victory owed a lot to two former Nantes players, striker Patrice Loko, who scored on a brilliant shot in the 33rd minute, and defender Benoit Cauet, who started the one-two which allowed Loko to score.   The Parisians, who have yet to concede a goal, were without Brazil's Leonardo and Panama's Julio Cesar Dely Valdes, both called up by their national sides.   For Nantes, who shocked PSG to win the league crown two years ago, the fall is very painful.   The Canaries, who lost most of their key players within two years, have yet to win a match this season.   Reigning champions Auxerre had to settle for a goalless draw against Marseille on Tuesday. 
4443 !GCAT !GSPO  Summary of Dutch first division   soccer played on Wednesday:   Willem II Tilburg 1 (Van Hintum 69th penalty) RKC Waalijk 2   (Schreuder 39th, Van Arum 76th, 83rd).   Halftime 0-1.   Attendance   6,150.   Vitesse Arnhem 1 (Vierklau 85th) Sparta Rotterdam 1 (Gerard   de Nooijer 80th).   Halftime 0-0.   Attendance 5,696.   Utrecht 0 Twente Enschede 0.   Attendance 9,000.    Groningen 1 (Gorre 66th) Roda JC Kerkrade 1 (Vurens 3rd)   Halftime 0-1.   Attendance 10,000.    Feyenoord 2 (Larsson 73rd, Van Gastel 83rd penalty) Graafschap   Doetinchem 1 (Schultz 4th).   Halftime 0-1.   Attendance 22,434.   Volendam 1 (Jongsma 85th) PSV Eindhoven 3 (Marcelo 19th, 47th,   56rd).   Halftime 0-1.   Attendance 6,000.    Ajax Amsterdam 1 (Frank de Boer 30th) AZ Alkmaar 0.   Halftime   1-0.   Attendance 48,123.   Played on Tuesday.   Fortuna Sittard 2 (Jeffrey 7th, Roest 33rd) Heerenveen 4   (Korneev 15th, Hansma 24th, Wouden 70th, 90th).   Halftime 2-2.   Attendance 4,000. 
4444 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of German first division   soccer matches on Wednesday:    Karlsruhe 4 St Pauli  0    Bayern Munich  4 Bayer Leverkusen 2    Cologne 0 Hansa Rostock 2    Fortuna Duesseldorf 0 1860 Munich  0    Arminia Bielefeld 1 Duisburg  1   Standings (tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, against, points):    Bayern Munich 4 3 1 0 11 4 10    VfB Stuttgart 3 3 0 0 10 1 9    Borussia Dortmund  4 3 0 1 12 6 9    Cologne 4 3 0 1 7 3 9    Karlsruhe 3 2 1 0 9 3 7    Bayer Leverkusen  4 2 0 2 9 8 6    VfL Bochum 4 1 3 0 4 3 6    SV Hamburg 4 2 0 2 7 7 6    Hansa Rostock 4 1 2 1 5 4 5    Werder Bremen 4 1 1 2 5 6 4    Munich 1860 4 1 1 2 3 5 4    St Pauli 4 1 1 2 7 11 4    Fortuna Duesseldorf  4 1 1 2 1 7 4    Arminia Bielefeld  4 0 3 1 3 4 3    Schalke 04 4 0 3 1 5 9 3    Freiburg 4 1 0 3 6 13 3    Borussia Moenchengladbach 4 0 2 2 1 4 2    Duisburg 4 0 1 3 2 9 1 
4445 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of Dutch first division   soccer match played on Wednesday:    Vitesse Arnhem  1 Sparta Rotterdam  1    Utrecht 0 Twente Enschede  0    Groningen 1 Roda JC Kerkrade  1    Feyenoord 2 Graafschap Doetinchem 1    Willem II Tilburg  1 RKC Waalwijk 3    Volendam 1 PSV Eindhoven 3    Ajax Amsterdam  1 AZ Alkmaar 0   Played on Tuesday:    Fortuna Sittard  2 Heerenveen 4   Standings (tabulate under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, goals against, points):    PSV Eindhoven 3 3 0 0 11 3 9    Feyenoord Rotterdam  3 2 1 0 6 2 7    Vitesse Arnhem 3 2 1 0 4 1 7    Heerenveen 3 2 0 1 7 5 6    Ajax Amsterdam 3 2 0 1 2 2 6    Twente Enschede  3 1 2 0 4 2 5    RKC Waalwijk 3 1 1 1 7 6 4    Graafschap Doetinchem 3 1 1 1 5 5 4    Fortuna Sittard  3 1 1 1 3 4 4    NAC Breda 2 1 0 1 1 1 3    Roda JC Kerkrade  3 0 3 0 3 3 3    Utrecht 3 0 2 1 2 3 2    Sparta Rotterdam  3 0 2 1 1 2 2    Groningen 3 0 2 1 2 5 2    NEC Nijmegen 2 0 1 1 1 4 1    Willem II Tilburg  3 0 1 2 1 4 1    AZ Alkmaar 3 0 1 1 0 3 1    Volendam 3 0 1 2 2 7 1 
4446 !GCAT !GSPO  Summaries of French first division   matches on Wednesday:   Bastia 0 Lille 0.   0-0.   5,000.   Cannes 0 Monaco 2 (Henry 26th, 71st).   0-1.   7,000.   Le Havre 1 (Samson 24th) Caen 1 (Etienne Mendy 4th).   1-1.   12,000.   Lens 3 (Vairelles 8th, Foe 85th, Smicer 90th) Montpellier 2   (Ferhaoui 4th, Lefevre 13th).   1-2.   30,000.   Lyon 2 (Caveglia 23rd, Giuly 30th) Nancy 0.   2-0.   15,000.   Metz 3 (Pires 35th, 48th, 74th) Strasbourg 1 (Rodriguez 56th).   1-0.   14,000.   Nice 1 (Chaouch 64th) Guingamp 2 (Rouxel 10th, Baret 89th).   0-1.   4,000.   Paris St Germain 1 (Loko 33rd) Nantes 0.   1-0.   30,000.   Rennes 1 (Guivarch 27th) Bordeaux 1 (Colleter 86th).   1-0.   16,000. 
4447 !GCAT !GSPO  Finland beat Germany 8-3 in a World Cup ice hockey game on Wednesday and are now favourites to win the European group and qualify for the semifinals next month.   After two wins in two games they lead the European group with four points and an impressive 15-6 goal difference.   Dubbed the `Dream Team' in the local media, half the Finnish squad play for professional teams in the NHL.   In their last game, Finland play Sweden in Stockholm on Sunday.   Sweden earlier trounced Germany 6-1, but must still travel to Prague for a match on Friday against world champions the Czech Republic.   Canada, the United States, Russia and Slovakia are playing in the other group.   The World Cup is the successor to the Canada Cup, which was last played in 1991.   In Wednesday's game, veterans Hannu Virta and captain Jari Kurri put Finland two goals up after just six minutes.   Dallas forward Jere Lehtinen scored twice and his second goal in the mid-period was decisive.   Germany saw a faint ray of hope as Reemt Pyka pulled one back to 5-2 in the 37th minute, but Lehtinen hit home for 6-2 just 28 seconds later. 
4448 !GCAT !GSPO  Standings in the French first   division after Wednesday's matches (tabulate under played, won,   drawn, lost, goals for, against, points):    Lens 4 4 0 0 9 3 12     Paris Saint-Germain 4 3 1 0 4 0 10     Bastia 4 2 2 0 4 1 8     Auxerre 4 2 2 0 3 0 8     Monaco 4 2 1 1 7 4 7     Lyon 4 2 1 1 6 4 7     Metz 4 2 1 1 6 4 7     Lille 4 2 1 1 4 3 7     Guingamp 4 2 1 1 4 3 7     Cannes 4 2 1 1 4 4 7     Bordeaux 4 1 3 0 3 2 6     Marseille 4 1 2 1 5 4 5     Rennes 4 1 1 2 5 7 4     Strasbourg 4 1 0 3 2 7 3     Montpellier 4 0 2 2 3 5 2     Le Havre 4 0 2 2 2 4 2     Caen 4 0 2 2 2 6 2     Nice 4 0 1 3 3 7 1     Nantes 4 0 1 3 2 6 1     Nancy 4 0 1 3 2 7 1 
4449 !GCAT !GSPO  French first division soccer   matches on Wednesday:    Paris SG 1 Nantes  0    Lens 3 Montpellier 2    Bastia 0 Lille  0    Cannes 0 Monaco  2    Rennes 1 Bordeaux  1    Lyon 2 Nancy  0    Nice 1 Guingamp  2    Metz 3 Strasbourg 1    Le Havre 1 Caen  1   Played Tuesday:    Auxerre 0 Marseille  0 
4450 !GCAT !GSPO  Finland beat Germany 8-3 (period   scores 3-0 3-2 2-1) in their ice hockey World Cup, European   group match on Wednesday:   Scorers:   Finland - Hannu Virta (3rd minute), Jari Kurri (6th), Jere   Lehtinen (18th, 37th), Teemu Selanne (31st), Mika Nieminen   (35th), Mika Stromberg (45th), Saku Koivu (47th)   Germany - Daniel Nowak (25th), Reemt Pyka (37th), Jochen   Hecht (51st)   Standings (tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, against, points):    Finland  2 2 0 0 15 6 4    Sweden  1 1 0 0 6 1 2    Czech Republic 1 0 0 1 3 7 0    Germany  2 0 0 2 4 14 0   Remaining matches: Aug 29 Czech Republic v Sweden, Aug 31   Germany v Czech Republic, Sept 1 Sweden v Finland 
4451 !GCAT !GSPO  Portuguese champions Porto's top striker Domingos Oliveira underwent a knee operation on Wednesday and will be out of action for three months, a club doctor said.   "The operation went well but recovery will not take less than three months," Domingos Gomes said.   Domingos, the top league scorer last season, tore ligaments in his right knee during training. 
4452 !GCAT !GSPO  Organisers hope to persuade Britain's former Olympic 100 metres champion Linford Christie to join a "Dream Team" sprint relay in a special tribute to Jesse Owens at Friday's Berlin grand prix.   Christie, who is retiring from international competition at the end of the season, was not due to compete in the German capital but Berlin promoter Rudi Thiel said: "We are still hopeful of getting him to come."   Thiel has managed to get most of the Olympic 100 metres champions since 1948 to attend the meeting, which is being held in the stadium where Owens won four gold medals 60 years ago at the Berlin Olympics.   Canada's Donovan Bailey, the Olympic 100 metres champion and world record holder, and Namibian Frankie Fredericks, the silver medallist at the recent Atlanta Games, have already agreed to run in the 4X100 metres team.   Thiel said on Wednesday that he had also asked Olympic 200 and 400 champion Michael Johnson to run as well as Christie.   "Most of the Olympic champions of the past are coming including Britain's (1980 champion) Allan Wells.   Christie belongs to them.   It would be great to have him here.   "There is a good offer....My minimum would be that he just ran the relay," he said.   The 36-year-old Briton is still considering the offer and is expected to announce his decision later on Wednesday.   Owens's widow Ruth is not well enough to attend but a message from her will be read out during the meeting and one of the sprinter's relatives is expected to attend.   The relay race, which will include squads from Africa, the United States and Europe as well as the Owens' quartet, will be held at the end of the meeting.   Organisers had hoped to include 1984 and 1988 champion Carl Lewis in the squad but he injured himself in Brussels last Friday. 
4453 !GCAT !GSPO  After leading a record-breaking summer spending spree, it's make-or-break time for Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona on Saturday as the new league season kicks off.   Both sides have cleared the decks and reached for their cheque books after seeing their shared 11-year grip on the title unexpectedly loosened by Atletico Madrid.   In the wake of the Bosman ruling, Spain has practically abandoned rules limiting the use of foreign players, and the big-money teams have used their financial muscle to assemble an array of international stars that should restore their duopoly at the top.   Both have been bolstered by lucrative TV contracts ahead of a season that will bring live Monday night games to Spanish viewers for the first time.   The clear-out has started at the top.   Both sides will start the season under a new manager and, appropriately, neither is Spanish.   Former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello has joined Real, while ex-England boss Bobby Robson has moved from Porto to Barcelona.   Of the two, Capello has the most work to do -- the six-times European champions ended last season in sixth, thus failing to qualify for continental competition for only the second time in their illustrious history.   Real chairman Lorenzo Sanz has splashed out to avoid a repeat performance.   Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos, Dutch midfielder Clarence Seedorf, and overlapping full-back Carlos Secretario of Portugal all signed for Real in the close-season.   Real have also picked up a strike force that promises to be one of the best in Europe.   Montenegrin star Predrag Mijatovic, voted the best player in Spain while at Valencia last season, will be joined by Davor Suker, who shot to prominence in Croatia's Euro 96 campaign.   Such is Real's embarrassment of riches upfront that another Euro 96 player, Spanish international Alfonso Perez, has already been sold to Betis, while teenager Raul Gonzalez may struggle to hold his place at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.   Real start their bid for their 27th league title at Deportivo Coruna.   Bobby Robson's biggest problem at Barcelona is likely to be the long shadow cast by his predecessor, Johan Cruyff.   Robson inherits the Spanish international back four from the Dutchman and welcomes back one of the men axed by Cruyff, fiery Bulgarian World Cup hero Hristo Stoichkov.   But it's all change in the rest of the line-up, which begins its league campaign with a visit to Real Oviedo.   Portuguese international goalkeeper Vitor Baia has followed Robson from Porto, while utility player Luis Enrique Martinez joins from Real Madrid.   Upfront, Giovanni, who wore Pele's number 10 shirt at Santos, and former PSV Eindhoven star Ronaldo, are already putting fear into the hearts of defenders.   The Brazilian duo warmed up at the weekend by overrunning Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.   The 5-2 defeat added weight to the argument that Atletico lack the strength in depth to repeat last season's league and cup double.   Coach Radomir Antic has stuck by the 13-player core from that campaign, adding just two big-name signings -- volatile Argentine forward Juan Esnaider and Czech midfielder Radek Bejbl.   And Antic knows he may have to contend with the whims of irascible Atletico owner Jesus Gil, despite assurances from the hire-and-fire boss that he will stand by the Serbian.   A number of outsiders may not have much chance of taking the title, but will be in with a shout at one of Spain's four UEFA Cup slots.   Leading the group are last year's runners-up, Valencia, where Brazilian striker Romario is the big new attraction.   Deportivo hope to bounce back from a disappointing ninth place last season, while Real Betis, with former Ajax striker George Finidi, and neighbours Sevilla, where new coach Jose Antonio Camacho is sure to inject fresh ideas, are also teams to look out for.   The outsiders may push the big two sides hard, but as Spain's second 42-game season draws toward its climax, squad strength is likely to prove crucial.   The first division will be reduced to 20 teams again next year, with the bottom four automatically relegated and replaced by two second division sides. 
4454 !GCAT !GSPO  Sachin Tendulkar marked his debut as Indian captain with a patient 110 on Wednesday, but was upstaged by dashing Sri Lankan opener Sanath Jayasuriya whose 120 steered the world champions to a nine-wicket Singer Cup win.   Sri Lanka, playing in front of their home crowd for the first time since winning the World Cup last March, comfortably passed India's modest 226-5 from 50 overs in 44.2 overs.   The devastating opening pair of Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana shared a fine first wicket stand of 129 to the delight of the 25,000 fans.   Jayasuriya, whose first 50 included three sixes and three fours, went on to an unbeaten 120 and the man-of-the-match award.   Kaluwitharana, slow in comparison, was bowled by Tendulkar for 53, but Aravinda de Silva with 49 not out helped see Sri Lanka home.   Earlier, Tendulkar completed his ninth century in one-day cricket, taking 138 balls to do it before being run out.   The rest of the Indian batting was generally tied down by brilliant fielding and some fairly tight bowling, although ex-captain Mohamed Azharuddin chipped in with 58, adding 129 with Tendulkar off 28 overs, before being stumped.   The next match in the four-nation tournament is on Friday when Sri Lanka play Australia in a repeat of the World Cup final in Lahore where Sri Lanka won by seven wickets. 
4455 !GCAT !GSPO  Sri Lanka beat India by nine wickets in the second match of the Singer World Series one-day (50 overs) cricket tournament on Monday.   Scores: India 226-5 in 50 overs, Sri Lanka 230-1 in 44.2 overs. 
4456 !GCAT !GSPO  Scoreboard of the second Singer   World Series cricket match between India and Sri Lanka on   Wednesday:   India     A.Jadeja run out  0    S.Tendulkar run out 110    S.Ganguly c de Silva b Dharmasena 16    M.Azharuddin st Kaluwitharana b Jayasuriya 58    V.Kambli run out  18    R.Dravid not out  7    J.Srinath not out  1    Extras (b-1 lb-3 w-9 nb-3) 16    Total (5 wickets, 50 overs) 226   Fall of wickets: 1-4 2-57 3-186 4-217 5-217.   Did not bat: A.Kumble, N.Mongia, V.Prasad, A.Kapoor.   Bowling: Vass 9-2-35-0, Pushpakumara 6-0-23-0, Dharmasena   10-0-59-1 Muralitharan 10-0-42-0, Jayasuriya 10-1-39-1, de Silva   5-0-24-0.   Sri Lanka    S.Jayasuriya not out 120    R.Kaluwitharana b Tendulkar 53    A.de Silva not out 49    Extras (lb-3 nb-3 w-2) 8    Total (for one wicket - 44.2 overs)  230   Fall of wicket: 1-129   Did not bat: Arjuna Ranatunga, Asanka Gurusinha, Hashan   Tillekeratne, Roshan Mahanama, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas,   Muthiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Pushpakumara   Bowling: Kumble 10-1-40-0, Prasad 6-0-47-0, Srinath   8-0-33-0, Tendulkar 6-0-29-1, Kapoor 10-2-51-0, Jadeja   2.2-0-13-0, Ganguly 2-0-14-0   Result: Sri Lanka won by 9 wickets   Man-of-the-Match: Sanath Jayasuriya 
4457 !GCAT !GSPO  India won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the second day-night limited overs cricket match of the Singer World Series tournament on Wednesday.   Teams:   India - Sachin Tendulkar (captain), Anil Kumble, Ajay Jadeja, Sourav Ganguly, Mohamed Azharuddin, Vinod Kambli, Rahul Dravid, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad, Ashish Kapoor.   Sri Lanka - Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Asanka Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekeratne, Roshan Mahanama, Kumara Dharmasena, Chaminda Vaas, Muthiah Muralitharan, Ravindra Pushpakumara. 
4458 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Angola's former rebel movement UNITA rejected on Tuesday the position of vice- president in a unity government offered to its leader Jonas Savimbi.   "The third extraordinary congress of UNITA rejects the nomination of its president Jonas Savimbi as vice-president,'' UNITA's information secretary Marciel Dachala told a news conference in the central highlands town of Bailundo.   The vice-presidency, one of two in the proposed government, was offered to UNITA by Angolan President Jose Eduardo Dos Santos after he and Savimbi signed a peace accord in 1994 intended to put a final end to 20 years of bitter civil war.   Dachala said the week-long congress had resolved to transform UNITA into a political party without its armed wing, and with Savimbi as its leader.   "At this moment the presence of its president (Savimbi) is needed more than ever,'' he said.   Loud cheers and shouting in support of the decision on the vice-presidency broke out among the 1,500 delegates invited to attend the press conference.   Savimbi, 62, stayed seated on the stage at the announcement, keeping a straight face.   Portuguese media, quoting a UNITA communique, earlier reported that UNITA had accepted the vice-presidency for the party, although not for Savimbi.   TSF radio also reported the congress had suggested that UNITA's chief constitutional negotiator Abel Chivukuvuku, or vice-president Antonio Tembo, take the job.   But Savimbi would not be drawn during questions to say who would occupy the position, or if UNITA would take up the post at all.   "I am not here to discuss the vice-presidency...We came here to discuss the peace process so that political stability and peace can return to Angola,'' the UNITA leader told reporters.   Later, he said: "The vice-presidency is just one of the points we came to discuss.''   The civil war between UNITA and dos Santos' former Marxist MPLA began after Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975.   The two sides signed their peace pact in November 1994, agreeing to integrate their armies into a single national military force and proposing the unity government.   But implementation of the deal has been slowed by lingering suspicions.   About 6,500 United Nations troops, costing over $1 million a day, have been helping to implement the plan, especially the disarming of UNITA's fighters at assembly camps.   Savimbi said he wanted to play a vital role in restoring stability to his country.   "I have said that President dos Santos is the president of Angola and therefore he is my president.   But that does not mean necessarily that he has to give me a job.   "I can play an important role in bringing about peace and stability in Angola.   I am prepared to play that role alongside the president (dos Santos) and with other opposition parties,'' Savimbi said, without elaborating.   A government delegation will travel to Bailundo on Thursday to meet Savimbi to discuss a date for a meeting between Savimbi and dos Santos.   The government has proposed that the talks take place on September 15. 
4459 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Angolan press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JORNAL DE ANGOLA   - Princeton Lyman, the U.S. Under-Secretary of State for International Organisations, will on Wednesday continue his work in Angola visiting Bailundo, where he should be received by Jonas Savimbi, leader of Unita.   On Tuesday Lyman participated in a meeting of a joint-commission where he considered that the Angolan politicians should advance faster and find a way to cooperate.   In his opinion the quartering of Unita forces must be concluded in all the Angolan territory and the troops must be selected and integrated in the armed forces, the government forces must be concentrated in the principal units and the free circulation of people and goods must be reality in all the country. 
4460 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Malawian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   THE NATION   - Malawi government has paid 900,000 pounds sterling (20 million kwacha) to Fieldyork International, a U.K. based stationery supplier who in 1994, supplied millions of notebooks and pencils to Malawi in a controversial deal implicating former education minister, Sam Mpasu, as having received kick-backs.   Justice minister and attorney-general Cassim Chilumpha said payment was an out-of-court settlement with a Fieldyork attorney after Fieldyork scaled down an earlier demand for 1.9 million pounds sterling.   - Malawi police found an AK-47 assault rifle and two pistols in a hired car which crashed killing the daughter of a Zambian diplomat, a Zairean refugee and a Malawian.   - For the first time since the Malawi Stock Exchange Market began business in March 1995, government Local Registered Stock have traded in the secondary market brokered by Stockbrokers Malawi Ltd.    - - - -   THE STAR   - Secondary school students at Nkhotakota, in central Malawi, have requested government to legalise marijuana as part of their aspirations to boost the country's ailing economy by the year 2020. 
4461 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said on Wednesday it would subpoena persons accused of human rights violations to appear before it.   "We can subpoena anyone we want to, even the president of the country," spokesman John Allen told Reuters.   "Subpoenas are due to be served on a number of people this week."   Media reports have speculated that the commission, which is trying to heal the wounds of apartheid by confronting the past, could subpoena apartheid-era President P.W. Botha and former police generals Basie Smit and Johan Van Der Merwe.   In submissions last week to the commission National Party leader and former president F.W. De Klerk said he had received no co-operation from Botha in compiling his party's report.   Since it began work in April the commission has been hearing harrowing tales from the victims of apartheid-era abuses, by both the white minority regime and its opponents.   It also wants to hear from those who committed the abuses, to whom it can offer amnesty in return for frankness.    Hopes that reformed perpetrators would come forward voluntarily have faded but the commission has the legal power to force them to appear.   Allen declined to give say who would be subpoenaed.   "At the moment we have a preliminary list of less than 10 people, but this is just the beginning," he said.   The commission was set up last year to probe 30 years of human-rights violations during the apartheid era.   It is chaired by Nobel Peace winner, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu.   Allen said the commission could announce the names of subpoenaed persons on Monday next week. 
4462 !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa's black population increased by 713,200 between 1995 and 1996, 21 times more than the white population, the University of South Africa said on Wednesday.   From 1991 the number of blacks increased by 2.4 percent from over 28 million to 32 million, the university's Bureau of Market Research said in a statement.   In comparison, the white population increased by less than one percent from 5.1 to 5.2 million.   In the two other main population groups, Asians have added 13,500 to their numbers per year, while there are 48,600 more Coloureds (people of mixed-race decent) than last year.   The bureau estimates the country's population now totals 41.8 million, representing a growth of 810,000 (2.1 percent) for all population groups for one year since 1995.   "Illegal immigrants, most hailing from Africa, are an unknown factor and are not included in these calculations," said the bureau. 
4463 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said on Wednesday it would subpoena persons accused of human rights violations to appear before it.   "We can subpoena anyone we want to, even the president of the country," spokesman John Allen told Reuters.   "Subpoenas are due to be served on a number of people this week."   Media reports have speculated that the commission, which is trying to heal the wounds of apartheid by confronting the past, could subpoena apartheid-era President P.W. Botha and former police generals Basie Smit and Johan Van Der Merwe.   In submissions last week to the commission National Party leader and former president F.W. De Klerk said he had received no co-operation from Botha in compiling his party's report.   Since it began work in April the commission has been hearing harrowing tales from the victims of apartheid-era abuses, by both the white minority regime and its opponents.   It also wants to hear from those who committed the abuses, to whom it can offer amnesty in return for frankness.    Hopes that reformed perpetrators would come forward voluntarily have faded but the commission has the legal power to force them to appear.   Allen declined to give say who would be subpoenaed.   "At the moment we have a preliminary list of less than 10 people, but this is just the beginning," he said.   The commission was set up last year to probe 30 years of human-rights violations during the apartheid era.   It is chaired by Nobel Peace winner, retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu.   Allen said the commission could announce the names of subpoenaed persons on Monday next week. 
4464 !GCAT !GPOL  About 3,000 municipal councillors and officials will attend a local government summit in Durban in November to kickstart the drafting of a white paper on rural, town and city management, officials said on Wednesday.   Pravin Gordhan, African National Congress chairman of parliament's committee on provincial and constitutional affairs, said the committee would be invited to attend the conference scheduled between November 21 and 23.   Andrew Boraine, deputy director general of provincial affairs, told the committee the white paper, which will establish government policy on local government, should be tabled for cabinet ratification in April next year.   He said the white paper would propose specific fiscal controls, including fund raising options and mechanisms to limit expenditure increases.   He said a draft discussion document would be submitted to the November summit and the department would begin work on a draft white paper immediately after the meeting.   Boraine submitted a list of 15 goals and principles proposed by Minister of Provincial Affairs and Constitutional Development Mohammed Valli Moosa for attention in the white paper.   Apart from the top priorities of non-racialism and gender equality, the goals include:   - Restructuring the apartheid geography in towns, cities and rural areas;   - Social, political, economic and spatial integration;   - Reduction of social and economic inequalities;   - Transformation of local government institutions to be more effective, representative and accountable.   Moosa's goals include a reassessment of local government models to ensure effective delivery and financial viability. 
4465 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   HERALD   - Talks between the Zimbabwe Medical Association and the National Association of Medical Aid Societies over demands by doctors for pay increments and complaints about delays in making the payments are at an impasse with no agreement in sight.   - The Zimbabwe government is processing letters of dismissal for about 7,000 civil servants so far identified as having taken part in a nation-wide strike, pressing for hikes in salaries.   - Zimbabwe on Tuesday commemorated 50 years of commercial aviation with a challenge to operators to uphold the safety record so far achieved while striving to contribute positively to economic growth and prosperity.   - Several companies, including an Austrian company which set up a plant two months ago, are exhibiting their solar products at the annual Harare Agricultural Show which opened on Monday.   -- Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 28/9 
4466 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the South African press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   BUSINESS DAY   - Reserve Bank Governor expressed hope that South Africa's balance of payments difficulties would be solved without the need to raise interest rates again.   - South Africa's real GDP rose 3.5 percent in the second quarter compared with 3.3 percent in the first, as agriculture pulled its weight and the rest of the economy remained resilient.   - McDonald's Corp has won sole rights to its trademarks registered in South Africa, removing a symbolic obstacle to investment in South Africa.   - The long-awaited deal for the National Empowerment Consortium (NEC) to buy Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd's 48 percent stake in Johnnies Industrial Corp Ltd has been finalised.   - McCarthy Retail Ltd attributable income rose 25 percent to 184.5 million for the year to June, despite pressure on its motoring business.   - - - -   BUSINESS REPORT   - Reserve Bank Governor Chris Stals scotched any remaining hopes of relief from high interest rates in the near future and said tight monetary policy had to be maintained to discourage rising demand for credit.   - South Africa's GDP grew 3.5 percent in the second quarter, from 3.3 percent in the first.   - Liberty Life Properties said it would invest 350 million rand in six new hotels to be managed by Southern Sun.   - - - -   THE STAR   - Vlakplaas police cammander Eugene de Kock, found guilty on 89 charges including six of murder, is to plead post-traumatic stress syndrome in mitigation.   - Two policement attached to Pretoria's vehicle theft unit were gunned down on Tuesday.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
4467 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  Dr. Richard Salzmann, chief executive and chairman of the largest Czech bank, Komercni Banka a.s. , is widely viewed as the dean of the country's financial sector.   At 67, Salzmann is gearing as a candidate in November for the newly formed Senate representing Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus's Civic Democratic Party (ODS).   During the recent PGA golf tournament in this Czech spa town, Salzmann sat down with Reuters correspondent John Mastrini to discuss the health of the Czech banking system, the economy, and plans to run for office:   The following is a complete transcript of the interview:   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   Q: In general, what is the health of the Czech banking system?   A: As it concerns the big four, it is, for sure, very good, because all these big four banks in the last years have built up huge reserves.   It's true that we have an unusually high proportion of risky loans in our portfolios, which is partially inherited from the past.   Others were made in this era of eurphoria, after the change (the 1989 revolution ending Communism) came.   We were the first, Komercni Banka, and the other banks followed us in recognising the danger of not having covered or securitised those risky loans.   And so we went through the first shock in 1993 when international auditing showed us that instead of five billion crowns profit, according to international accounting standards we had a four billion crown loss.   So we recovered from the shock by building up huge reserves.   We shortened the profit by the consensus of our shareholders, and we provided the (reserves) so we can now say the we are secure.   We are out of the woods.   What we are doing now is pressing down both sides, both the bad assets and slowing the tempo of building up reserves.   The other banks followed us after one or two years, but now I would say that all of them -- especially Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka -- are in the same position (as Komercni) -- secure.   These banks are 80 percent of the (banking) market in the Czech Republic -- for sure.   And this remaining part is divided into the foreign banks, and the other smaller (Czech) banks.   Q: So the health of the Czech banking system is not in question?  :   A: No.   I would characterise it as a huge body with sharp wings, and the wings are in movement.   Q: Are the smaller banks, and the bigger banks for that matter, getting much better at risk assessment, and risk management?   A: As for us, we changed, absolutely, the methods of risk assessment, starting from the credit officer in a branch, and finishing with the head office.   Now we are in the final stage when we are now building a central risk assessment department, which supervises all kinds of risks, not only from credit but also from the capital market operations and from the foreign operations, or (looking for) possible attacks against the branches from criminality or frauds, and so on.   We are now able to finds risks expressed in mathematic formulae, and trying to get a real assessment of the global risk of the bank.   As ususual, we are going that way and the other banks are following us.   Q: Say with Kreditni and AB Banka and those which have failed, where was most of the blame to be found?   Was it pure risk assessment or were there more devious practices taking place?   A: I would say -- and I am now speaking only those who really failed not about those who remained because there are some of them who are in very good shape.   Some of the remaining smaller banks do their best to avoid these ends -- but I would blame mostly the founders of the banks, because they provided for themselves various kinds of privileges.   They were, in most cases in my opinion, those who did not come with the intention to rob the money and disappear or something like that, I don't say that.   But many of them founded the bank with false ideas that the bank founded by them would be able to provide for them easier conditions and lower prices for money -- for their internal use.   This was the start of the bad operations, and more and more other customers would be provided with non-decent conditions and not a fair price, and this snowballed for the naivete on the beginning.   And when combined with not very skilled management, and high dependence of the management on the owners, if you combine those to things...(he trails off).   Q: Do you think there is enough proper supervision from the central bank and the finance ministry over the banking system.   A: Its hard to say it is sufficient, but it is much, much, much, much more competant, much stricter, much more accurate than it was one year ago, and its uncomparable with its state three years ago.   Q: As a future senator, if you are successful (in the November election)...   A: If if if, please.   It's always written "Senatus Populus Qve Romanus"... it's on the people.   Q: But if the people do give you the mandate, will you press, in the Senate, for stricter regulation of the banking system and, for that matter, the capital markets?   A: As for the banking supervision, I don't think it is necessary to make any basic changes in the system, what is necessary is to enlarge the capacity of the supervision and to fill with more competent people.   But it is not easy to get people of that kind, because the competent people are in the banks.   It's not so easy to get them into supervision, because it is not so interesting and not so profitable for the people themselves.   As for the capital market, I, as the former chairman of the stock exchange that was the main reason of my resignation (as Stock Exchange chairman) because I felt that I was not able as a manager of a bank to work intensively on building up a better a more competent organisation of the capitial market.   What's necessary, without any discussion, is an independent or semi-dependent commission or authority to supervise the capital market.   That was my legacy to my successor Mr. Jezek who is my good friend and we are in complete understanding.   He agreed on that the destination should be on that (regulation) not specifically on the Stock Exchange itself, which works as a well functioning aparatus -- but what is needed from that point is to irradiate to the surroundings these ideas about the necessity of supervision.   My destination for my function in the senate, is to bring to this freshly introduced capitalism in this country more decency, more fairness, good behaviour, a better field for good business -- not in this suspicious movements of business -- but realistic fair business -- transparency.   As a partial question of that is better supervision and organisation.   Q: The economic indicators have not been so favourable recently in terms of inflation, in terms of, certainly, the trade balance, are you worried about the downturn in these indicators or do you think that the economy will work through this.   A: If this confirmed by the reality (of the economy), we have to be realistic, not romantic.   But I would say that there is not six percent of (GDP) growth, but 5.5, or inflation is not at eight percent, but 8.5 percent, in any case these are good numbers (relative to other reforming economies).   What could we expect in a two or four years period of the functioning of this system?   Q: Why did you decide to seek a seat in the Senate, and are you prepared for the inevitable questioning of the conflict of the interest between being in the Senate and still heading the country's largest bank?   A: If you are going slowly toward the end of the your life career, you are looking for a decent point for your final decisions.   I suppose the position of Senator, especially in a newly-made Senate, may be that kind of life satisfaction.   I was offered by, in total six of theses (local ODS) political assemblies...to candidate for them.   So the leadership of the party asked me to choose one -- they recommended to me one -- so I accepted.   The conflict, you know on one side a man of my influence and (recognition) in this society, may do something more efficient than in comparison with somebody who is less known.   You speak of the inevitable conflicts...   Q: I meant the enivatble questions about the conflicts.   Regardless of if your honesty is beyond reproach... but certainly those questions have been listed in the press:   A: I am old enough and seem more to the end of my period than to make myself an instrument of any indecent behavoiour in the Senate.   I will always be on the side of what is generally fair.   I will never support some special interest of my bank, and I doubt that this will come into question.   Q: But are you prepared for the beating that you will inevitably take in the press?   A: Of course, it will inevitably come...but questions connected with the system of banking and the capital market, they may come too in the Senate.   I will support all such measures to bring more fairness, decency, good manners, transparency, all those principals which are, of course, favourable for the banks.   So in that sense I will be perhaps in a conflict of interest.   There was too much romanticism here in the beginning (of reforms) too much of a creed in the general fairness of the people, which wasn't fulfilled.   So every kind of measures which will tighten the system and make it more reliable, including the selection of (politicians), I will always be the side of these principles.   Q: So would you support legislation that would define and create definite breaks between the banks and funds?   A: Yes, transparency, mandatory transparency.   Q: And between the political system and business?   A: The political system and business -- yes.   -- Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
4468 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  The head of the Czech Republic's largest bank is on a crusade to clean up the emerging post-communist banking sector from within and, he hopes, from a seat in the Senate.   Dr Richard Salzmann, the bow-tied president of Komercni Banka, says the Czech banking system is fundamentally sound and getting stronger despite a handful of recent failures among smaller institutions.   But, he says, the whole Czech economy needed a dose of "fairness and transparency" to clean up old habits of secrecy and ensure banks are not run as private fiefdoms.   He is standing for a seat in the newly-established Czech Senate at elections in November, saying he wants to help bring back "good manners" to the banking industry and restore the reputation of the Czech finance sector.   Better risk management is crucial, according to Salzmann.   He said that Komercni and the three other large banks -- which comprise about 80 percent of all Czech banking activity -- had bolstered their reserves to meet Western banking standards, and had developed more effective risk management techniques.   "As concerns 'The Big Four', (the situation) is, for sure, very good, because all these big four banks in the last years have built up huge reserves," Salzmann said during a visit to the PGA Czech Open golf tournament here recently.   "It's true that we have an unusually high proportion of risky loans in our portfolios, which is partially inherited from the past.   Other (bad loans) were made in this era of euphoria, after the (1989 revolution ending Communism)."   He said from branches to front office, Komercni has stepped up risk management techniques which have now been also adopted by Ceska Sporitelna, Ceskoslovenska Obchodni Banka, and Investicni a Postovni Banka -- the others in "The Big Four".   "Now we are in the final stage when we are building a central risk assessment department, which supervises all kinds of risks, not only from credit but also from the capital market operations and from the foreign operations."   FAILURES EXPOSE PROBLEMS   Salzmann said he believed the recent failure of Kreditni Banka a.s., a medium-sized bank which became the eighth to shut in the post-communist era, stemmed, like others before it, from greed and naivete.   "I would blame mostly the founders of the banks, because they provided for themselves various kinds of privileges.   They were, in most cases in my opinion, those who did not come with the intention to rob the money and disappear or something like that, I don't say that," Salzmann contended.   "But many of them founded the bank with false ideas that (their) bank would be able to provide themselves with easier conditions and lower prices for money for their internal use."   Salzmann said these bad lending practices spiraled until the banks were forced to raise their rates and tighten lending conditions for regular customers.   "This snowballed from the naivete at the beginning," he said.   Kreditni suffered losses reportedly at more than 10 billion Czech crowns ($381.1 million) through a series of large loan defaults and on August 8 the central bank withdrew its banking licence.   The local press has been ripe with allegations of mismanagement and murky loan operations at many of the failed institutions, but criminal investigations have yet to produce any charges.   Officials from Kreditni Banka have refused to comment on reasons for its failure, but its controlling shareholder, the large insurer Ceska Pojistovna, chalked it up simply to bad decisions by bank management on loans and loan guarantees.   Salzmann, 67, said problems in the banking system were part of a bigger problem of honesty and fairness throughout the economy.   He said that if elected, he would push to expand the enforcement power of regulators to police dubious practices in banks, investment funds, and on the capital market, which is consistently hampered by charges of insider trading.   BANKER SEEKS POLITICAL PLATFORM   "My (candidacy), is to bring to this freshly-introduced capitalism more decency...a better field for good business," said Salzmann.   The erudite banker, who often recalls the days of thriving Czech capitalism between wars, said he would work in the Senate to establish an independent capital market watchdog like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.   Salzmann resigned as the chairman of the Prague Stock Exchange earlier this year -- a mostly honorary position -- to allow his friend and party colleague Tomas Jezek to take over as a full-time, hands-on leader of the bourse.   Both Jezek and Salzmann will run for the Senate in separate constituencies, and both support starting up a market-supported watchdog beefed up from the currently understaffed and underfunded Finance Ministry regulation department.   But Salzmann, who said he cannot by contract retire from the bank for at least one more year, rejects charges that his membership in the Senate while heading the country's largest banking group would constitute a conflict of interest.   There is no legal requirement in the Czech Republic for legislators to suspend their business interests when they enter parliament.   Salzmann insists he would never use his Senate seat to gain advantages for his bank, but he makes no apologies about using his seat to try to improve the banking and business environment overall.   "I will support all such measures to bring more fairness, decency, good manners, transparency, all those principals which are, of course, favourable for the banks.   So in that sense I will be perhaps in a conflict of interest," Salzmann said.   When asked if that meant he would support laws which would separate the banks and their investment arms, many of which control major chunks of the Czech economy -- like at Komercni Banka -- Salzmann answered:   "Yes, transparency, mandatory transparency."   ($1=26.24 Czech Crown) 
4469 !GCAT !GCRIM  Poland's ombudsman on Wednesday criticised official procedures for ordering telephone taps, saying they were secretive and lacked adequate safeguards.   Tadeusz Zielinski said courts, prosecutors and the security service could apply wiretaps for almost any reason, without court control of their application, PAP news agency reported.   He said he was disturbed that the interior minister could order official eavesdropping in some cases without securing the prosecutor-general's agreement, no limits were set on the time taps remained in place, and objects of surveillance were never informed that they had been monitored.   "The concern is that a phone-tap, once installed, should not become a chance to impose permanent surveillance," PAP quoted him as telling a news conference.   He said he had been unable to get full statistics on the extent and effectiveness of such operations and current practices might threaten confidentiality of correspondence.   Zielinski, responsible for safeguarding citizens' rights, said he had conveyed his concerns to Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.   The ombudsman began an investigation earlier this year following complaints from citizens' rights groups.   Last month Interior Minister Zbigniew Siemiatkowski said that only people suspected of crimes could have their phones tapped and only after elaborate procedures.   He said that in the first six months of 1996, the UOP security service had applied phone taps and mail interception about 500 times, roughly the same level as in previous years. 
4470 !GCAT !GCRIM  Europe may have to face an increasing number of car thefts as the destruction caused by the wars in former Yugoslavia has strengthened demand for stolen cars, a senior Hungarian police official said on Wednesday.   "The Yugoslav crisis has destroyed a large part of the cars there, and they may try to fill part of the vacuum with stolen cars," Lieutenant-Colonel Tamas Simon, head of the National Police crime investigation department told a news conference closing a three-day meeting of international police experts.   The meeting was organised to collect and compare international police experience on the car theft and cross-border smuggling.   Simon said Hungary was among the countries which suffered most from car thefts in the 1990s as it is is located on important trade routes of illegal cross-border trade of cars, close to the largest markets of stolen vehicles.   Cars in Hungary became increasingly attractive to thieves in the past few years as more Western cars have been imported while the country still has few secure parking places, he added.   Up to 10 percent more cars are stolen in Hungary, relative to the total number on the roads, than the average of Western European countries.   The collapse of Communism and trade liberalisation at the turn of the decade caused demand for western-style cars to soar in the former Communist countries, whose drivers were keen to get rid of their inefficient East European models.   Simon said the "Russian-speaking territories" were the main markets of stolen cars in the early 1990s but southeastern Europe has become another important target since 1993.   Thefts rose to 12,500 in 1995 from 8,500 in 1993, but previously had reached a peak of 17,000 in 1992 before Hungary has made its customs regulations and control stricter.   Geza Katona, professor of Hungary's Police Officer College, said the renewed increase was a result of more sophisticated criminal gangs.   "The reaction of the criminals was that they searched for new illegal back doors, and they have found them," he said.   Katona said he was optimistic that the United Nations and the European Union would soon harmonize the car administration and customs regulations of their member countries to fight car thefts. 
4471 !GCAT !GVIO  No explosives were found on a Turkish airliner bound from Vienna to Istanbul, which landed at Sofia airport on Wednesday after receiving a bomb threat, an airport official said.   "The plane is now refueling and will take off for Istanbul at around 2000 (1700 GMT)," Sofia airport director Danyo Adanev told reporters.   Airbus 310 was flying from Vienna to Istanbul with 39 passengers on board and landed at Sofia at 1503 (1203 GMT) after traffic controllers in Sofia received a telephone call from Vienna saying there was an explosive on board.   After checking the plane and the passengers for explosives Bulgarian authorites found one piece of unclaimed luggage.    The check showed it contained computer and bicycle parts, police said.   The passengers which included 23 Turks of which four were deported by Austrian authorities, seven Kuwaitis, seven Austrians and two Japanese were scanned individually with their luggage for three hours.   A dozen local journalists and photographers were arrested for going through a security barrier at the airport to try to get a better view of the plane.   In March, a Turkish Cypriot airliner hijacked on a flight from northern Cyprus to Istanbul landed in Sofia airport to refuel before flying to Munich, where the hijacker was arrested. 
4472 !GCAT !GDEF  Hungarians will have an opportunity to buy excess equipment from the U.S. IFOR peacekeeping contingent based in Hungary, a U.S. Army official said on Wednesday.   The excess property - ranging from livestock to pontoon bridges - does not include military equipment, U.S. Army Colonel Greg Gustafson told reporters.   Most of the equipment, such as the pontoon bridges and winter clothing, is no longer needed as it was used during the initial phase of the IFOR operation at the turn of the year when the 20,000-strong U.S. contingent was brought into Bosnia through Hungary, he said.   Gustafson was unable to say whether the sale means that the U.S. contingent is leaving Hungary in December, when the current IFOR mandate for Bosnia is due to expire.   "This decision will be taken at a much higher level, it's a political decision," he said.   The sale will be mediated by the Hungarian Defence Ministry's Logistics Directorate.   Despite the exhaustive list of equipment on offer, some Hungarians are likely to be disappointed as it does not include any vehicles.   Hungarians were expecting to be able get their hands on the so-called Humvee, a jeep that rose to icon status during the Gulf war.   "The Hummer does not meet civilian safety regulations," Gustafson said. 
4473 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  The Czech government's tourism office on Wednesday forecast record income from foreign visits in 1996, as "Golden Prague" and its environs put a silver lining in otherwise dreary Czech trade figures.   Income from foreign visitors, crucial in stemming the Czech current account deficit, could surge to top $3.5 billion this year, up from a record $2.87 billion in 1995, director Jiri Cech of the Economics Ministry's tourism division told Reuters.   He said 1996 record revenue from tourism in the Czech Republic, which has yet to see any slowing in the flood of tourists which burst in after the end of Communism in 1989, would range "from $3.2 to $3.5 billion or more".   The Czech National Bank balance of payment figures for the first half of the year -- which will give clearer picture of the balance of services -- are expected to be released in the first half of September.   The tourism component of the first quarter balance of payments showed a net inflow of $261 million with total tourism receipts of $581 million, and analysts have forecast first half total tourism revenues at about $1.6 billion.   The overall current account however posted a $505 million deficit in the first quarter, mostly due to a ballooning merchandise trade deficit.   The trade deficit in goods has accelerated in recent months, and a record gap in July of 16.4 billion crowns ($627 million) raised the seven-month 1996 deficit to 85.3 billion crowns ($3.26 billion).   Economists are forecasting the 1996 current account deficit at between five to six percent of gross domestic product, compared with about four percent last year.   But just in the first half of the year, record tourist visits to the country, and especially to the historical centre of the capital Prague where tourists often outnumber residents in the high season, topped most expectations.   The overall number of tourist visits in the country was up 11.6 percent in the first half, year-on-year, to 44.7 million and airport arrivals were up 48.4 percent to 7.3 million, according to the Czech Statistical Bureau.   Czech foreign travel abroad rose 10.2 percent in the first half of the year to 4.3 million visits abroad for a country of 10.4 million residents.   Czechs spent $320 million abroad in the first quarter.   Independent analysts are forecasting a surplus in the Czech balance of services, including tourism of $1.8 to $2.0 billion this year.   ($1=26.17 Czech Crowns)   -- Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
4474 !GCAT !GVIO  A Turkish airliner on flight from Istanbul to Vienna on Wednesday landed in emergency at Sofia airport after receiving a bomb threat, said an airport official.   "The plane landed at Sofia airport at 1503 (1203 GMT) after receiving a signal that there is an explosive on board," the official, who declined to be named told Reuters.   The plane, surrounded by 11 fire-engines, is being checked for explosives at the moment.   Nothing has been found so far, added the official.   In March a Turkish Cypriot airliner hijacked while on a flight from northern Cyprus to Istanbul landed in Sofia airport to refuel before landing in Munich, where the hijacker was arrested. 
4475 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bulgaria's central electoral commission (CEC) said on Tuesday it has refused to register the presidential candidates of the ruling Socialist Party (BSP) and the anti-communist opposition because of legal inconsistencies.   The BSP's presidential candidate, American-born Georgi Pirinski, lacks a document showing how he obtained Bulgarian citizenship, CEC officials said.   They said there were inaccuracies in some of the documents of the opposition candidate Petar Stoyanov and commission members had rejected a proposal to give time to the opposition to remove the errors.   The presidential contest is set for October 27.   Foreign minister Pirinski was born in New York in 1948 of a Bulgarian father and an American mother.   Last month the Constitutional Court ruled he was not a Bulgarian by birth -- a condition the constitution sets for the country's president.   Stoyanov, a lawyer who beat current President Zhelyu Zhelev in Europe's first primary election in June, belongs to the main opposition Union of Democratic Forces.   The coalitions of the two candidates said they would appeal the CEC decision to the Supreme Court.   "The final decision (whether to register a candidate for the presidency) will be taken by the Supreme Court," CEC chairman Baicho Panev told reporters. 
4476 !GCAT !GCRIM !GTOUR  The head of a global anti-sex-tourism pressure group on Wednesday demanded that the travel industry play a part in combating the sexual exploitation of children.   A conference in Stockholm has heard the child sex trade is worth billions of dollars a year and that at least a million new children every year are forced into child prostitution, sold for sexual purposes or used in pornography, according to estimates by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF.   Officials say that sex tourism is an important source of sexual abuse of children in Asian countries.   Amihan Abueva, executive secretary of End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT), targeted the travel and tourism industry in an interview with Reuters.   "It's irresponsible for people who are indirectly earning millions of dollars from the child sex trade to say they have no responsibility in this area," she said.   "This is the type of industry where self-regulation is absolutely essential.   But if we recognise that legal systems are lagging behind, then it's time to try and find ways of catching up," she said.   Such action must not be limited to governments and bodies such as ECPAT, she said.   "I do feel that the private sector is one of the most important groups to reach.   The tourism industry, and airlines should all be held more responsible, and if they bring their resources to bear then we can tackle the problem."   Key customer groups for child prostitutes such as seamen and business travellers can also be prevented by employers from supporting the child sex trade, she said.   ECPAT was one of a handful of groups that took the initiative for the Stockholm congress that opened on Tuesday with over 1,000 delegates from 130 countries discussing ways of tackling the growing problem of the child sex trade.   The conference has been given added impetus by the revelations in Belgium's ongoing child sex scandal, in which the bodies of two children, abducted by a paedophile ring, have been found and two more children are missing. 
4477 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  German chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Wednesday that Europe's planned common currency must be introduced but that the launch must not be the result of political compromise.   Speaking at a private celebration in honour of Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer's 65th birthday, Kohl said, "The Euro must come but there should be no feeble compromises."   Kohl's comments were summarised to news agencies by a Bundesbank spokesman in a telephone conference.   The spokesman also quoted Tietmeyer as saying he backed European integration but warning that the basis must be right.    "I wholeheartedly back the integration, but the foundations must be the right ones," Tietmeyer was quoted as saying.   To secure the durability of the currency union, scheduled to begin with member nations which meet a list of entry criteria on January 1, 1999, Tietmeyer urged that an additional set of rules enforcing fiscal austerity be adopted.   "I hope the stability pact will become a basis for the currency union," Tietmeyer said, adding such a set of rules, seeking to punish nations which stray in fiscal matters, would enhance the union's credibility among markets and citizens.   European Economic and Monetary Union is set to start on January 1, 1999. 
4478 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The conservative government launched formal talks with its Catalan allies on Wednesday on the crucial 1997 budget, which will determine Spain's chances of joining a first wave into the EU's planned single currency.   "We are beginning the negotiation on budgets," Macia Alavedra, economy secretary in Catalonia's regional government, told reporters after meeting Budget Secretary Jose Folgado in Madrid.   "Our parliamentary support is absolutely necessary (for approval of the budget) and we shall provide it on the basis of specific ideas we must defend."   Spanish government bond prices closed firmer on Tuesday after Joaquim Molins, parliamentary spokesman for the Catalan nationalists, said there was broad agreement with Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's Popular Party on the 1997 budget.   Molins said that only relatively minor details of the budget were left to discuss.   Alavedra said however on Wednesday that health spending -- an area close to the Catalans' hearts -- required particularly close scrutiny.   The government is expected to submit its final budget proposals to parliament at the end of September.   -- Madrid Newsroom, +34 1 585-2160 
4479 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The European Commission on Wednesday gave the following official foreign currency rates for one European Currency unit (Ecu):    Belgian Franc  39.1720 US Dollar  1.28665    Danish Krone  7.35127 Canadian Dollar 1.75782    Deutsche Mark  1.90141 Japanese Yen  139.254    Greek Drachma  304.164 Swiss Franc  1.53561    Spanish Peseta 160.831 Norwegian Krone 8.25063    French Franc  6.51366 Icelandic Krona 85.1761    Irish Punt  0.794276 Australian Dollar 1.62764    Italian Lira  1947.24 New Zealand Dollar 1.85583    Dutch Guilder  2.13262 Maltese Lira  0.467872    Austrian Schilling 13.3799 Turkish Lira  110652.    Portuguese Escudo 195.094 Cyprus Pound  0.591562    Finnish Markka 5.77512 South African Rand 5.80150    Swedish Krona  8.51350 Hungarian Forint 198.684    Sterling  0.826470 Slovenian Tolar 169.106 
4480 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Volkswagen AG management board chairman Ferdinand Piech said he believed the German carmaker, which recently uncovered a secret surveillance camera at its test track, has been under surveillance about eight years.   Piech said information "went out systematically" over a period of about the last eight years.   Piech said he did not think photographers from news organisations were behind a secret infra-red surveillance camera found at the carmaker's Ehra-Lessien test track in northern Germany.   "We do not know who has done this," Piech told journalists on Tuesday night following the formal introduction of the new VW Passat sedan.   "But I cannot personally imagine that this was done by (professional news) photographers," he said, noting the expensive nature of the equipment found by VW officials.   Four unauthorised photographs of VW prototypes have appeared in car magazines in recent months, leading the Wolfsburg-based carmaker to suspect its security system been penetrated.   The camera, which apparently used heat sensors and sent photograhs by means of radio or satellite technology, had snapped footage of VW's new Golf, Passat and the EA-420 models.   The announcement of the camera's discovery was made on Saturday August 24.   VW also announced at the weekend it had taken on organised crime expert Dieter Langendoerfer as its new security chief after it discovered the camera following a six-month search.   "If he solves this case for me, he will have earned his salary for the rest of his life," said Piech of Langendoerfer, noting premature publication of prototype vehicles can cost the carmaker several million marks in lost sales.   Pictures of new models and prototypes are highly valued by specialist motoring magazines, and some photographers go to considerable lengths to get them.   --John Gilardi, Frankfurt Newsroom, +49 69 756525 
4481 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT !GPOL  Italian media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi won a reprieve on Wednesday for his Mediaset empire when the government passed a decree extending current laws on television ownership until January 31, 1997.   The decree plugs a legal void in which magistrates could have forced the former prime minister to take one of the three stations he controls off the air because of a court ruling that no single proprietor should be allowed to keep three channels.   Italy's constitutional court handed down the ruling in December 1994 and set midnight on August 27, 1996 as the deadline for a new legal framework on ownership to be in place.   The deadline lapsed without incident after a day of ministerial meetings to hammer out a compromise which gives parliament breathing space to pass new broadcast legislation.   Post and Communications Minister Antonio Maccanico told Berlusconi, who heads the opposition centre-right bloc, that unless a bill to shake up the media sector was passed by January 31, Mediaset would again face the prospect of a black-out.   "Fixing the date of January 31 means that the majority and opposition parties must approve the bill by that date, otherwise the ruling will take effect," Maccanico told a news conference after the cabinet's first meeting since the summer recess.   "We will not go beyond January 31 with further extensions," Prime Minister Romano Prodi added.   Prodi's centre-left government in July presented a controversial media bill to shake up the sector but debate in parliament, expected to be fierce, was delayed until September.   The bill will also establish a telecommuniations watchdog body ahead of the planned privatisation of the state phone monopoly Stet next spring.   Shares in Mediaset, which was floated on the Milan stock exchange in July, rose 0.53 percent on news of a reprieve.   But some politicians and newspaper commentators were already accusing the government of political horse-trading with Berlusconi's opposition alliance -- saving his skin now in exchange for centre-right support for the Stet privatisation. 
4482 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT !GPOL  Italian media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi won a reprieve on Wednesday for his Mediaset empire when the government passed a decree extending current laws on television ownership until January 31, 1997.   The decree plugs a legal void in which magistrates could have forced the former prime minister to take one of the three stations he controls off the air because of a court ruling that no single proprietor should be allowed to keep three channels.   Italy's constitutional court handed down the ruling in December 1994 and set midnight on August 27, 1996 as the deadline for a new legal framework on ownership to be in place.   The deadline lapsed without incident after a day of ministerial meetings to hammer out a compromise which gives parliament breathing space to pass new broadcast legislation.   Post and Communications Minister Antonio Maccanico told Berlusconi, who heads the opposition centre-right bloc, that unless a bill to shake up the media sector was passed by January 31, Mediaset would again face the prospect of a black-out.   "Fixing the date of January 31 means that the majority and opposition parties must approve the bill by that date, otherwise the ruling will take effect," Maccanico told a news conference after the cabinet's first meeting since the summer recess.   "We will not go beyond January 31 with further extensions," Prime Minister Romano Prodi added.   Prodi's centre-left government in July presented a controversial media bill to shake up the sector but debate in parliament, expected to be fierce, was delayed until September.   The bill will also establish a telecommuniations watchdog body ahead of the planned privatisation of the state phone monopoly Stet next spring.   Shares in Mediaset, which was floated on the Milan stock exchange in July, rose 0.53 percent on news of a reprieve.   But some politicians and newspaper commentators were already accusing the government of political horse-trading with Berlusconi's opposition alliance -- saving his skin now in exchange for centre-right support for the Stet privatisation.   Fausto Bertinotti, leader of the hard-left Communist Refoundation party, challenged Prodi and his government to deny any back-door deals.   Maccanico swiftly did.   "I categorically deny that the cabinet's decision was the result of negotiations with the opposition," he said.   Prodi's bill calls for Mediaset to transform one of its three terrestrial television channels to a cable or satellite network by August 1997 and also imposes restrictions on the amount of advertising airtime available to the group.   Mediaset cried foul and reckoned the measures would cost one trillion lire ($660 million) a year in lost revenues.   But Vincenzo Vita, undersecretary at the Post and Telecommunications Ministry, said in July the government would not back down on those key planks of its proposals.   Under the draft legislation, no company after would be allowed to have more than a 30 percent share of advertising revenues or licence fees in either the terrestrial, satellite or cable television market after August 1997.   The government says Mediaset has a 36 percent share of terrestrial TV revenues.   Italian television is dominated by RAI, which is supported by advertising revenue plus a licence fee, and the three Mediaset commercial stations.   Film mogul Vittorio Cecchi Gori also owns two stations, Telemontecarlo and Videomusic/TMC2.   ($1=1,513 lire) 
4483 !C22 !C32 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  The Venice Film Festival opened on a serious note on Wednesday with the world premiere of American film "Sleepers" which stars actors Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman for the first time together on screen.   The story of four boys from the rough Manhattan neighbourhood of Hell's Kitchen raises a host of moral questions: when is it right to lie?  ; when is revenge justified?  ; Does the U.S. penal system breed career criminals by allowing even its youngest inmates to be abused?   It was not a particularly uplifting or light-hearted start to one of Europe's most respected film festivals.   But a spirit of cinematic glamour surfaced at the opening news conference when photographers and television cameras besieged De Niro and Hoffman, along with fellow "Sleepers" stars Kevin Bacon and Italy's beloved Vittorio Gassman.   The film is directed by Barry Levinson, whose other films include "Good Morning America" and "Rain Man", and is based on the best-selling book by Lorenzo Carcaterra.   Carcaterra says the book is a true account of events that happened to him and three friends, although critics and other journalists have questioned its authenticity.   The first part of the nearly three-hour film is played by child actors who show the friends growing up poor and tough with only a kindly priest (De Niro) to give them guidance.   When a prank goes horribly wrong, the four boys are sent to a reform prison for violent juvenile offenders where they are beaten and raped by an evil guard (Bacon) and his associates.   The film then skips forward to the characters' young adulthood.   Two who have taken to crime run into their prison tormentor by chance and without hesitation shoot him down.   The remaining story is about how the other two, now an aspiring journalist and a prosecuting attorney, enlist a mob boss (Gassman), a drunken defence attorney (Hoffman) and the priest to help their jailed friends.   Because of the themes of the film, Levinson and the actors faced similar moral questions at the news conference.   De Niro was asked what he thought about his character, the priest, lying to a court of law.   "What my character did was just about as moral as can be in reality.   It was a good thing he did.   He's a saint," the actor responded.   Bacon defended his convincing portrayal of a child sex abuser but added: "As a father of two, nothing is as disturbing to a parent as this type of horrendous crime and yes, it tears me apart".   The most impassioned response came from Hoffman when he was asked how he justified appearing in a film with violent prison scenes when he in the past has criticised gratuitous violence.   "I can only speak for the U.S., but the prison system has been getting worse and worse and worse.   It's not about rehabilitation, anyone who has gone to prison comes out more dangerous," he said.   "Sleepers" is one of several big Hollywood films showing out of competition at Venice.   There are 17 films, with a heavy European presence, vying for the festival's Golden Lion prize which will be awarded on September 7.   Among the films in competition are Neil Jordan's controversial IRA film "Michael Collins," British director Ken Loach's political drama "Carla's Song" set in Nicaragua, and France's Jean-Luc Godard's latest "Forever Mozart". 
4484 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The union representing lumber workers at forestry giant MacMillan Bloedel Ltd said Wednesday it applied to the British Columbia Labour Relations Board to force the company to negotiate a single contract with its wood workers rather than separate deals at each operation.   Under the IWA-Canada union's application, six local unions representing 4,115 workers at sawmill and logging operations would form a council that would negotiate jointly with the company.   MacMillan earlier this summer withdrew from an industry body that had bargained a common contract on behalf of the forest companies with the union.    It aimed to negotiate separately with the union at each of its operations.   IWA-Canada president Gerry Stoney told reporters that this would be a "disastrous format" and warned of potential labor strife at the company.   Stoney said MacMillan's bargaining plan was a divide-and-conquer strategy to win a more advantageous contract deal.   The wood workers' union in June agreed with the two unions representing pulp and paper workers to coordinate bargaining strategies against MacMillan next year.   Province-wide bargaining in the pulp and paper sector was scrapped in 1993.    The current contract covering 29,000 lumber workers in British Columbia expires June 15, 1997 while the pulp contract expires April 1, 1997.   Stoney told reporters he expected the labor board to grant the union's request although a decision may take months.   He said MacMillan's plan would "destabilize" labor relations.   "If I were a shareholder of MB, I would be concerned about MB heading down the path to potential labor conflict," he said.   Stoney held out no hope of MacMillan rejoining industry-wide bargaining and vowed the company would not win a "cheaper deal" through solo bargaining.    "We have the highest-paid forestry workers in the world and we don't want to change that," he said.   The union is discussing a negotiating protocol with Forest Industrial Relations, the employers' bargaining group, that would ban any strike or lock out while negotiations are continuing.   The union is proposing to begin contract negotiations next May.   The union's aim would be to force MacMillan to accept a contract on the same terms as the one negotiated with Forest Industrial Relations.   -- Reuters Vancouver Bureau (604) 664-7314 
4485 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The U.S. Minerals Management Service Wednesday said it was disappointed with Tuesday's ruling by a U.S. appeals court that natural gas producers owed no royalties on money that pipelines paid producers to get out of long-term gas purchase contracts.   The government had sought to collect royalties on gas contract settlements, so-called take-or-pay settlements, stemming from the 1980s when federal regulations forced pipeline companies out of the gas sales business.   MMS said it was reviewing the decision together with the Justice Department to determine the appropriate next steps.   MMS said the valuation issues involved in the royalties dispute were extremely complex.   The agency said it and a number of companies had entered into agreements to settle gas contract settlment claims using MMS's Alternative Dispute Resolution process, resulting in collection of $132 million since 1993.   "MMS continues to believe that ADR is an effective method to resolve controversial issues," it said in a statement. 
4486 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Lawyers representing the tobacco industry on Wednesday argued that the state of Mississippi had systematically refused to hand over information needed to prepare for the industry's defense against a landmark lawsuit.   State lawyers countered that they were cooperating but demands by tobacco companies had become overly burdensome and unreasonable.   Tobacco attorneys on Wednesday asked Jackson County Chancery Judge William Myers to force the state to provide:    -- more descriptive information of expected expert witness testimony;   -- more information on the state's Medicaid expenditures contained in computerized records;   -- information on the attorney general and his representatives' communications with public officials, public employees about issues raised in the lawsuit;   -- Department of Corrections records on smoking policies;   -- minutes of the state's Department of Health meetings since 1945;    -- documents from state universities dealing with smoking policies and research grants dealing with tobacco, alcohol and drug-related issues.   "All we want is what we are entitled to under the Mississippi rules of civil procedure," said Pascagoula attorney Joe Colingo, who represented RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp's R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co and acts as liaison counsel for tobacco companies.   Colingo told Judge Myers that he had previous orders calling for the state to turn over much of the information months ago, and that the state had not complied.    "It's stonewalling, defying court orders and it's a continuation of conduct," he said.   State attorneys Charles Mikhail and Lee Young of Pascagoula said they had complied with the orders to produce most of the material, but the tobacco companies wanted more.   Young conceded the state had a misunderstanding with the out-of-state agency that produced some of the computerized records.   He objected to having to copy 50 years of Department of Health records.   The state also asked Myers to limit defense inquiries into the research conducted by the state's expert witnesses.    In March, tobacco company lawyers subpoenaed research documents prepared by medical economists Dorothy Rice and Wendy Max at the University of California, San Francisco.   That was more than five months before the state named them as expert witnesses.   Tobacco companies also subpoenaed research of San Diego physician David Burns on August 15, the same day the expert witness list was filed.   Mikhail named other researchers who have seen their work dissected by tobacco lawyers in other court cases.   "Unbridled discovery is rife for potential harassment of researchers," Mikhail said.   "The type of discovery they want will have a chilling effect on research." 
4487 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Lawyers representing the tobacco industry on Wednesday argued that the state of Mississippi had systematically refused to hand over information needed to prepare for the industry's defense against a landmark lawsuit.   State lawyers countered that they were cooperating but demands by tobacco companies had become overly burdensome and unreasonable.   Tobacco attorneys on Wednesday asked Jackson County Chancery Judge William Myers to force the state to provide: 
4488 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  U.S. House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt said Wednesday that representatives of McDonnell Douglas Corp and the International Association of Machinists will meet Thursday in his office in an effort to end the union's 85-day-old strike.   "I hope that the parties will come to Washington with the resolve needed to make real progress," the Missouri Democrat said.   Thousands of machinists and other McDonnell Douglas employees live in Gephardt's district.   The two sides have not met since August 16.   Union officials halted contract negotiations then, saying the company was unwilling to bargain on job security.   --Reuters Chicago newsdesk, 312-408-8787 
4489 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Tylan General Inc said that in response to slowing industry conditions, it is adopting cost-cutting measures including a 17 percent work force reduction.   The company, which also reported a $0.22 per share third quarter loss, said results were hurt by customer delays and cancellations.   Tylan makes integrated circuits.   It was not immediately know how many workers were going to be let go and when it will take place.    The company later said the staff cuts involved about 170 jobs, most of which had been eliminated over the past two weeks. 
4490 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  First Union National Bank of Florida, a unit of First Union Corp, will pay $24.1 million to car and boat buyers who were charged for excessive insurance, the Florida Attorney General's office announced Wednesday.   Jacksonville-based First Union and its predecessors Florida National Bank and First Union National Bank, will make cash payments or give credit of up to $2,000 to 110,000 existing and former borrowers who unknowingly paid for collateral protection insurance not authorized by their contracts.   American Savings Bank borrowers are also covered.   American was purchased by First Union last year.   Under the disputed contracts, lenders reserved the right to purchase insurance automobiles if the buyer failed to maintain adequate coverage.   Comprehensive and collision damage insurance was authorized under the contracts.   But borrowers in some cases also were paying for collateral insurance protection, including repossession expenses and full recovery costs not covered under their contracts, the attorney general said.   Under an agreement with the Attorney General's office, First Union did not admit liability but will pay $24.1 million to customers and another $2.1 million in costs for the two-year investigation.   "They were very cooperative," said Mary Leontakianakos, the assistant attorney-general handling the investigation.   "They've agreed to make full refunds.   It's a huge settlement in terms of the refunds going back to Florida residents."   First Union is the latest lender to agree to refunds for insurance overcharges.   Earlier this year, Ford Motor Credit Co. agreed to pay $8.5 million to 45,000 customers for similar overcharges.   First Union officials could not immediately be reached for comment. 
4491 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Dr. John Kapoor, former chief executive of Lyphomed Inc, said he filed a $30-million lawsuit against Japan's Fujisawa Pharmaceutical Co Ltd and some of its directors and officers in Illinois state court.   "The lawsuit arises out of Fujisawa's failed prosecution of a $100-million lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Dr. Kapoor," said Kapoor in a statement released by his publicists on Wednesday.    The lawsuit alleges "that Fujisawa sought to extort millions of dollars from (him) prior to filing its August 1992 suit and seeks recovery against Fujisawa for breach of its previous written agreements to hold Dr. Kapoor harmless," the statement said.   Fujisawa acquired Lyphomed in 1989.   The company in August 1992 sued Kapoor alleging he failed to provide adequate information about the company before the acquisition.   Fujisawa's suit was dismissed July 30 by U.S. District Judge Elaine Bucklo.   The company said earlier this month it has appealed the dismissal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago.   In response to Kapoor's lawsuit, Fujisawa USA general counsel Gary Schmidt said, "His latest lawsuit is entirely without merit and when the appropriate time comes, we'll file papers to that effect."   --Chicago Newsdesk 312-408-8787 
4492 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Norand Corp said Wednesday it signed a preliminary agreement to settle a securities class action lawsuit.   The settlement calls for payment of $4.5 million in cash and $4.5 million worth of Norand stock, subject to confirmatory discovery and approval by the Federal District court in Cedar Rapids.   Norand also said the settlement will result in an approximate $4.8 million charge, including additional legal costs, against the company's fourth quarter earnings related to the settlement not covered by insurance. 
4493 !C13 !C31 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !M14 !M143 !MCAT  The U.N. Security Council sanctions committee decided Wednesday to delay a decision on a Turkish request for Iraqi oil until it sees how the still to be implemented oil-for-food accord operates, according to a diplomat on the sanction panel.   At the same Wednesday meeting, the committee also reviewed evidence of possible sanctions violations by Iran.   The diplomat said the U.S. charged Iran with aiding Iraq with smuggling oil in violation of U.N. sanctions prohibiting such actions.   "Evidence will now be presented in written form as well, and then we will decide how to take it forward," said the sanctions committee member. 
4494 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  PacifiCorp's vast transmission network in the Pacific Northwest remained intact despite the ongoing rash of wildfires being battled in various parts of the western U.S., the company said Wednesday.   "There was no (major) damage to any of our transmission facilities," said company spokesman Dave Kvamme, despite nearby lightning strikes and forest fires in the past several days.    A fire last weekend in the area near the northern part of the North Umpqua River resulted in the shutdown of the 11 megawatt (MW) unit at PacifiCorp's Soda Springs hydroelectric station in western Oregon, Kvamme said.   "There had been concerns one of the lines was damaged," said Kvamme, adding the unit was shut for about 24 hours while repair crews examined the line.   On Monday, lightning ignited a fire near a 500 kilovolt (KV) line in Summer Lake, Ore., but it was quickly extinguished, he said.   On Tuesday, a brushfire burned down poles supporting a 69 KV transmission line near the town of Canby in Northern California, Kvamme said.   The brief loss of the line disrupted service to 100 customers, but power was soon restored, he said.   Kvamme said the locations of fires are in rural, mountainous regions, away from any major population centers.   --R Leong, New York Power Desk +1 212 859 1622 
4495 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  U.S. antitrust agencies on Wednesday announced revised guidelines for the health care industry designed to encourage doctors other providers to form joint ventures that promote competition and benefit consumers.   The guidelines, issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, are the third version pertaining to the fast-changing industry since 1994.   "We had been told that previous versions of the guidelines chilled the formation of pro-competitive networks," said Anne Bingaman, assistant attorney general for antitrust matters.    She told a news conference that the revised guidelines would encourage the formation of networks that were pro-competitive and expanded consumer choice.   "Such arrangements that offer consumers significant efficiencies and are reasonably necessary to achieve them will be reviewed under a flexible analysis rather than viewed as naked price-fixing agreements," the Justice Department said.   FTC chairman Robert Pitofsky said proposed networks would be viewed under a broadened "rule of reason."   He said he expected more new networks with the revision in place.    Agency officials said that under previous guidelines, for instance, doctors could be cited for anti-trust violations if they joined to set prices, and could appeal to the "rule of reason" to show their ventures would increase competition only if there was also some financial joining, such as using common computers.   But they said under the new guidelines, the doctors could set prices and could appeal to the "rule of reason" to show it benefited competition without having to show any common use of faciltiies.   They said a doctors' venture could be approved if the doctors could show that by forming a joint venture, with fixed prices, they could better compete with existing health maintenance organizations and insurance companies.   Pitofsky said that antitrust agencies would continue to police the market for price-fixing combinations that have no redeeming competitive effects or are designed to resist new ways of providing high-quality and fairly priced care. 
4496 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Acordia Inc and its parent, Anthem Inc said Wednesday they have reached an out-of-court settlement to a lawsuit brought in April by National Benefits Consultants LLC against Anthem and an Acordia unit.   The lawsuit, filed in April concerned what services National Benefits was to supply to Anthem, an Acordia spokesman said.   The settlement will have no material impact on Acordia's or Anthem's financial results, the spokesman said.   --Reuters Chicago newsdesk, 312-408-8787 
4497 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Chelsea Clinton smiled broadly and shook hands with runners and brokers in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Eurodollar futures trading pit Wednesday as the normally raucous throngs of traders cheered.   "Chelsea, Chelsea," they chanted as President Clinton's daughter put her arm around CME chairman Jack Sandner for an official trading floor photo.   The teenager took a stroll through the Eurodollar trading pit, where scores of yellow-jacketed runners and phone clerks reached to shake her hand.   She obliged, grasping nearly every outstretched hand.   "I'm kind of surprised by the reaction," one Eurodollar trader said.   "This isn't exactly a hotbed of Democrats and a rather piggish group as well."   CME traders -- who can have a reputation for rowdiness when a celebrity appears in the pit -- were relatively respectful of the president's daughter.   The younger Clinton almost completely stole the spotlight from Secretary of Treasury Robert Rubin, who was lunching with Chicago-area business leaders and economists in the upper trading floor viewing gallery.   Sandner left the luncheon to accompany Clinton to the balcony, then rejoined Rubin. 
4498 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Tropical Storm Fran, which could grow into a hurricane later in the week, risks blowing near Amerada Hess Corp's huge oil refinery on St Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, a closely-watched forecaster said.   "The main item of concern right now is the island of Saint Croix, due to the huge oi refinery operations there," said Jon Davis, a forecaster at Smith Barney in Chicago.   "Right now, it appears that Fran will move north of Saint Croix but this needs to be closely watched," Davis said.   Fran, now packing winds of 40 miles per hour (64.37 kph), is about 1,800 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. 
4499 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  In order to help him decide whether he should hear the case, a U.S. District Court judge Wednesday ordered the legal counsels of Biogen Inc and Berlex Laboratories, a subsidiary of Schering AG, deposed.   The tempest beyond the test tube involves allegations that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration violated the Orphan Drug law by allowing Biogen the right to sell its multiple sclerosis drug Avonex.   Berlex also charges that Avonex is so similar to its MS drug, Betaseron, that it is a patent infringement.   Both drugs are types of interferon.   One analyst said sales of Avonex had already cut into Betaseron market share.   BioVest Research, Inc's analyst Eddie Hedaya said, "Berlex sales are losing share like mad...my understanding of the marketplace is that they're below expectations."   He added Chiron Corp reported its sales of inventory to Berlex was down.   Chiron makes Betaseron; Berlex markets it, he said.   Biogen, in its Securities and Exchange Commission quarterly report for the period ending June 30, said it had earned $6.1 million from Avonex sales during the drugs first six weeks on the market.   When it approved Avonex in May, the FDA said both Biogen's product and Betaseron were developed under the incentives of the Ophran Drug Act which provides seven years of marketing exclusivity for products that treat rare diseases.   Avonex "has been allowed to enter the market because it differs from interferon beta-1b (Betaseron)..." the FDA said.   Now, U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf has ordered the chief counsel for Biogen, Michael Astrue, and Robert Chabora, his counterpart at Berlex be deposed about a May 21 meeting the two men attended to help him determine whether the lawsuit filed by Biogen against Berlex should be heard in Massachusetts.   Berlex filed a lawsuit against Biogen in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J. in July, but Biogen had already filed a suit against Berlex in Massachusetts in May.   Wolf ordered the depositions to determine if he or U.S. District Judge John Bissell of Newark should preside over the case. 
4500 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Canadian Auto Workers union's choice of Chrysler Corp as its strike target on Wednesday sets up a battle between General Motors Corp and Ford Motor Co to take the lead in bargaining with the larger United Auto Workers.   Currently, Ford appears to gaining an edge, analysts say.   Detroit's No. 2 automaker, viewed as least likely to be named the UAW's target a few weeks ago, has recenly made offers that show a willingness to work with the union on the thorny issue of outsourcing, analysts say.    "Ford is working hard to give the UAW a framework agreement," said Sean McAlinden, a labor analyst with the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation.   Now that the Canadian union has chosen Chrysler, it appears highly unlikely that UAW President Stephen Yokich will choose Chrysler as the U.S. target.   Traditionally, the two unions have chosen different targets and threaten each with a national strike to push negotiations along.   Pacts covering about 400,000 Big Three hourly workers in the United States and 53,000 in Canada expire on September 14.    McAlinden said Ford has offered the UAW some opportunities to move some parts manufacturing now done by outside suppliers back into Ford plants.   That's the opposite of the task that GM is trying accomplish -- shifting more of its parts work to outside suppliers to bring down its burdensome cost structure.   In addition, Ford earlier this year encouraged one of its suppliers, Johnson Controls Inc to allow some of its plants to be organized by the UAW -- a move that could help the union reverse declining membership rolls.    If Ford is chosen to negotiate the pattern agreement for the Big Three automakers in the United States, it could craft an agreement that would help meet its own needs, but that would hold back GM's cost-cutting progress.   "Ford may try to throw them a chicken bone to choke on," McAlinden said.   Yokich last week opted to delay the union's choice of a target and analysts said he could let GM and Ford compete for a while longer to be named the target.   In 1984, the union named the two automakers as "dual targets" and later negotiated the patern agreement with GM.    "A dual target is certainly possible, but it's hard to focus on two places at once," said Harley Shaiken, a professor of labor relations at the University of California-Berkeley.   "The UAW may just let it roll a bit longer and select the best offer sometime later."   Shaiken believes the Canadian Auto Workers' choice was probably dictated by the UAW's decision to eliminate Chrysler from consideration.   CAW President Buzz Hargrove's decision to focus on Chrysler "was a reluctant choice" since he had spent much of the summer talking tough to GM.   Some UAW leaders at individual Chrysler plants said they supported Yokich's apparent decision to focus on Ford or GM.   "I have full confidence that the UAW leadership is making the right decision," said Gary Kimbel, vice president of UAW Local 140 at Chrysler's Warren, Mich., truck plant. 
4501 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Medtronic Inc is worried that its business in Germany could be hurt by a government investigation there, said chief executive William George.   "Our biggest concern is that it could be disruptive to our business in Germany, which has been our third-largest country in the world in revenues," George said in a Reuters interview after the company's annual meeting here on Wednesday.   "Medtronic has not been charged with anything," George said, adding that the company does not expect any material financial liability in the case.   Medtronic shares were off 5/8 at 54-1/4 late Wednesday.    The probe by the prosecutor of the German state of Wuppertal alleges that 1,800 German physicians and medical employees took kickbacks and engaged in over-billing in schemes involving Medtronic, St. Jude Medical Inc and Sorin Biomedica SpA of Italy, the company said.   "We reject the allegations, but they have not been very specific," said Medtronic spokesman Dick Reid.   Like other companies in the drugs and medical devices industries, Medtronic supplies computers and other educational materials to doctors around the world.   It supports research, sponsors seminars and undertakes other activities. 
4502 !C12 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Checkpoint Systems Inc said Wednesday it has settled an antitrust lawsuit it filed against PolyGram Records in a dispute over the use of a specific technology that was used as a security tag on compact discs.   Under the agreement, PolyGram has agreed to suspend its practice of tagging CDs with what is known as single electronic article surveillance technology, Checkpoint Systems said.    Checkpoint disputes the use of electronic article surveillance to the exclusion of other technologies, including its own, which is known as radio frequency source tagging.   Checkpoint contends its security tags are less expensive.   It has a pending antitrust lawsuit against the National Association of Recording Merchandisers Inc related to the same technology.   That lawsuit is not affected by the settlement with PolyGram, Checkpoint said.   PolyGram Records is majority owned by Philips Electronics NV.    PolyGram issued a statement later Wednesday, saying it will determine on its own how long the suspension in using the disputed technology will last.   PolyGram said it paid no money as part of the settlement.   "We are confident our method of analyzing and choosing the available technology was well-executed and clearly within the law," PolyGram Group Distribution President Jim Caparro said in a statement.   "However, any innovation which disrupts the smooth flow of business is counterproductive."   "Once source tagging issues are more fully presented and developed, we will then determine the best way to proceed," Caparro added. 
4503 !C12 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Chiron Corp and two other companies have reached an agreement to settle litigation concerning tests for the hepatitis C virus (HCV), Chiron said on Wednesday.   The settlement is between Chiron, Murex Technologies Corp and Johnson & Johnson's Diagnostic Systems unit, which is also Chiron's immunodiagnostics partner.   As part of the agreement, Murex will be granted a license to sell HCV serotyping tests worldwide and other HCV tests in some countries outside of North America, the European Union and Japan.   Full terms of the settlement were not disclosed.    The deal also grants Chiron and Ortho rights to the Murex Sample Addition Monitor technology and an option to sell Murex's HCV serotyping tests.   The serotyping tests detect different strains of the HCV virus.   Murex also agreed to withraw its opposition to Chiron's HCV patents worldwide.   Chiron in 1987 discovered hepatitis C virus, which was later determined to be a major cause of liver disease.   The dispute with Murex arose when that company began marketing its own diagnostic tests that were not licensed. 
4504 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A lawsuit has been filed against Quantum Corp and certain of its officers on behalf of buyers of Quantum stock between February 26 and June 13, the law firm Milberg Weiss, representing the plaintiffs, said on Wednesday.   The purported class action suit, filed at the California Superior Court for Santa Barbara, alleges Quantum artificially inflated its stock price to as high as $26.125 with misleading statements about its "Bigfoot" computer disk drive product.   The suit alleges that Quantum said the "Bigfoot" disk drives were enjoying strong demand that would contribute to substantial revenue and earnings gains throughout fiscal 1997. 
4505 !GCAT !GODD  Technical delays slowed the scheduled lifting of the Titanic's hull from its watery grave, but a recovery ship was poised to pull up a 20-tonne slab on Wednesday.   Original plans called for the hull to be recovered from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, early on Wednesday but recovery equipment got stuck, said a spokesman for New York-based RMS Titanic Inc. that is sponsoring the expedition.   The problem, blamed on two malfunctioning heavy bags being used as counterweights, left a giant piece of the Titanic's hull hovering some 500 feet (152 metres) above the seabed.   The wreckage lies in water more than 2 1/2 miles (3 km) deep.   A mini-submarine was repairing the equipment and officials on board the recovery ship said they were optimistic the hull could be retrieved on Wednesday.   The steel-hulled Titanic, thought to be "unsinkable," struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, killing 1,523 of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board.   The wreck was located in 1985.   As part of the recovery expedition, more than 1,700 people, including three survivors of the doomed liner's first trans-Atlantic voyage, have sailed in two ships from Boston and New York to the site.   Plans call for the passengers, who have paid $1,500 and up for the nine-day cruise, to watch the recovery via closed-circuit video on board the ships.   RMS Titanic, which holds the exclusive legal rights to the ship's debris, has recovered some 4,000 artifacts since 1987.   It plans to bring the hull section to New York on Sept. 1 and hopes to use it as the centerpiece of an exhibition next spring and possibly a full-fledged Titanica museum.   The U.S.-based Discovery Channel on cable television, NBC television network and Britain's Channel Four all plan to release documentaries about the recovery mission. 
4506 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Theragenics Corp said on Wednesday a three-year study showed its TheraSeed implants perform equal to or better than conventional surgical treatment for locally advanced prostate cancer.   The results of the peer-reviewed study of were published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology and Physics, Theragenics said.   The study involved 73 patients for whom surgery "was no long an attractive option," said one of the study's researchers, Michael Dattoli, of the University Community Hospital in Tampa, Fla.    The study also showed prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels -- a common prostate cancer test -- following external beam radiation plus a boost of TheraSeed compare favorably to that reported after traditional external beam radiation alone, Theragenics said.   Dattoli said in the Theragenics statement that cancer-free rates in patients involved in the study appeared to stabilize at about 80 percent.   "These results have been updated to four years since we submitted our original study, and the numbers are still holding," Dattoli said.   TheraSeed is a rice-sized device used in treating localized prostate and other cancers with a one-time, minimally invasive procedure.   It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1987.   --New York Newsdesk, 212-859-1733 
4507 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  California's legislative leaders and members of a conference committee on taxes have agreed on a package of tax cuts to save businesses nearly $280 million, state official said on Wednesday.   The package of 24 tax cuts, totaling $278.9 million over three years, was approved 6-to-0 by the conference committee and has advanced to the Senate and Assembly floors, said Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward.   "The state's coffers have benefited from California's economic recovery," Lockyer said.   "The taxpayers are entitled to a share of this new revenue."    Lockyer said the tax cuts would be offset by an accompanying set of 11 tax changes raising $202 million.   The legislation would increase the business-based research and development tax credit from eight percent to 11 percent and double the university-based credit to 24 percent.   The research and development credit components of the legislation would be worth an estimated $55 million by 1999.   The legislation also provides for an aircraft repair sales tax exemption worth $25 million over three years and long-term care deductions worth $21 million.    In addition, the legislation provides for credits for small, independent oil producers, raises the limit for corporate charitable contribution deductions and credits for farmworker housing.   "These carefully designed changes have been crafted with specific consequences in mind," Lockyer said.   "They will spur economic growth, provide relief to taxpayers and won't harm schools."   In July, California Gov. Pete Wilson signed legislation to reduce the state's bank and corporation tax rate by five percent. 
4508 !C13 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  U.S. antitrust agencies on Wednesday announced revised guidelines for the health care industry designed to encourage hospitals and other providers to form joint ventures that promote competition and benefit consumers.   The guidelines, issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department, are the third version pertaining to the fast-changing industry since 1994.   "We had been told that previous versions of the guidelines chilled the formation of pro-competitive networks," said Anne Bingaman, assistant attorney general for antitrust.    She told a news conference that the revised guidelines would encourage the formation of networks that were pro-competitive and expanded consumer choice.   "Such arrangements that offer consumers significant efficiencies and are reasonably necessary to achieve them will be reviewed under a flexible analysis rather than viewed as naked price-fixing agreements," the Justice Department said.   FTC chairman Robert Pitofsky said proposed networks would be viewed under a broadened "rule of reason."   He said he expected more new networks with the revision in place.    Under previous guidelines, there was a perception that rule-of-reason treatment was only justified if the networks showed financial integration or constituted what in effect was a new product, he said.   Pitofsky said that under conventional antitrust analysis, agreements among providers that have an effect on price were illegal per se, without regard to purpose or the market power of the participants.    But he said that if price agreements are likely to benefit competition, such arrangements can be treated under a broader rule of reason in which the parties could justify their links by citing pro-competitive features.   Pitofsky said the new guidelines made it clear that more types of provider networks were allowed under antitrust law.   "For example," he said, "these statements (guidelines) clarify that where networks of physicians have the effect of containing cost and insuring quality of care, rule-of-reason treatment is appropriate."   To be sure, he said, antitrust agencies would continue to police the market for price-fixing combinations that have no redeeming competitive effects or are designed to resist new ways of providing high-quality and fairly priced care. 
4509 !C12 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  GTE Corp said on Wednesday it was to file an appeal in a U.S. circuit court against the Federal Communications Commission's interconnection ruling and asking the FCC for a stay on the ruling in the meantime.   The interconnection rules flesh out the detail for how the Telecommunications Act will bring competiton in the local markets of the local telephone firms.   GTE officials told a teleconference the FCC was exceeding its authority by overriding the marketplace.   It wants the individual states instead to play a greater role in detailed the connection of new competitors to existing networks.    GTE also said the price guidelines laid out by the FCC -- a 17-22 percent discount for resale of local lines, and a 0.2 to 0.4 cent range for the cost of using the switches of incumbent local providers -- did not reflect the true cost.   "We say it is below cost because the FCC says outright it cannot be based on the actual costs we have incurred," said William Barr, a GTE senior vice president and legal counsel.   GTE says it expects to be joined by the regional Bells in its petition for review in the U.S. appeals court.   If the FCC fails to grant a temporary prohibition pending a review by the court, the GTE said it will seek a court-ordered stay.    Southern New England Telecommunications Corp said it is joining GTE's legal action.   The local telephone companies have vociferously opposed the FCC rules, while long distance companies say even the FCC stipulated discounts for use of elements of local networks leave little room for competitors to make money. 
4510 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  By Rich Miller, Economics Correspondent   A senior White House official warned Japan and China on Wednesday against expecting any let-up in U.S. trade pressure if President Clinton wins re-election in November.   Laura Tyson, who heads Clinton's National Economic Council, said that breaking down trade barriers and promoting U.S. exports would remain a top priority in Clinton's second term as part of a broader program to spur economic growth.   "Japan and China in particular will continue to be priorities," she added.   Speaking to Reuters during the Democratic National Party convention here, Tyson also said she saw no reason why the 5-1/2-year-old U.S. economic expansion could not continue through a second four-year Clinton term.   Clinton, who will be officially anointed the Democrats' presidential candidate on Thursday, has a healthy lead in opinion polls over Republican rival Bob Dole.    "We have quite some time to go -- until 1998 -- before we match the record for the longest post-World War II expansion," Tyson said.   "There's no reason why we couldn't enjoy the longest post-World War II expansion as we enter into the next century," she added.   The longest post-war expansion was in the 1960s and lasted nearly nine years.   Tyson described the current expansion as "sound" and "balanced, without a build-up in inflationary pressures."   Wages are picking up, but they are not growing faster than productivity, she said.   The picture overseas also looks brighter.   Mexico seems to be a "very sound course" and Japan appears to have weathered the worst and is slowly expanding, Tyson said.   She listed balancing the budget and promoting education and training as top priorities for Clinton's second term.   But she also stressed the importance of trade.   That means pressing ahead for more open markets on the bilateral, regional and multilateral fronts, she said.    Some Japanese officials have been quietly hoping that the United States would shift its trade attention away from Tokyo following a spate of agreements between the two countries and a steady decline in Japan's surplus.   But Tyson made clear that would not be the case.   "Right now, there's more focus on enforcement (of existing trade pacts with Japan) than new agreements," she said.   But important issues are still outstanding, she said, singling out ongoing disputes in insurance and aviation.   Tyson also said that maintaining a sound U.S. economy would be key in helping to ensure the success of the controversial welfare reform legislation that Clinton signed last week.   That legislation is designed to move people off welfare into work, but liberal critics have charged that there will not be enough jobs to go around.    Clinton is expected to announce a $3.5 billion jobs program for the poor on Thursday to help ease the transition of welfare recipients off the dole and into work.   That plan will be part of some $8.5 billion in government programs that Clinton will announce this week, including Tuesday's measures to boost literacy.   Asked if there was more to come on top of that, Tyson replied, "I don't anticipate any other initiatives." 
4511 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Southwestern Bell and US Telco said on Wednesday they made a joint motion with the Texas Public Utility Commission to dismiss a complaint filed on June 19 by US Telco.   The complaint alleged that Southwestern, a subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc, was using unfair business practices that impeded US Telco from offering competitive local telephone service to Texas customers, the companies said in a joint statement. 
4512 !GCAT !GWEA  Powerful Hurricane Edouard remains only a threat to shipping at this time.   The storm, currently centered about 325 miles northeast of San Juan Puerto Rico, is moving west northwest at 14 mph.   Top winds are 130 mph and little change in strength is likely into Wednesday as the storm continues its track.   The current forecast track brings the storm north of the Caribbean Islands but large swells are expected over the coastal waters of the islands in the northeastern Caribbean over the next 24-48 hours.   The current forecast would keep Edouard east of the Bahamas' and the USA mainland, but it still bears watching.   Typhoon Orson continues to threaten shipping in the region about 900-950 miles southeast of Japan.   Top winds are about 80 mph at this time and further weakening is expected.   This system should remain well away from any land areas, at least through the next 72 hours.   Tropical storm Fran, with 40 mph winds, will mainly threaten shipping in the southern Atlantic during today and Thursday.   It may move into the far northeast Caribbean later Friday.   Locally heavy rains and gusty winds may cause a few problems in this area during that time.   Tropical depression 7 in the south Atlantic and tropical depression 22w in the western Pacific are mostly threats to shipping during the next couple of days. 
4513 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  The U.S. Minerals Management Service Wednesday announced its final proposed five-year plan for oil and natural gas lease sales from the Outer Continental Shelf which makes some changes from its first proposal made in February.   The plan excludes from leasing consideration 22 blocks in an area in the eastern Gulf of Mexico less than 15 miles off Alabama's coast because of state and local concerns that visible rigs would harm the tourist industry.    But it added 384 blocks in deep water 100 or more miles off the coasts of Alabama and Florida, and included one sale 15 miles offshore Alabama.   It also excluded from consideration 416 blocks east of Barter Island in Alaska's Beaufort Sea that are in a whale migration corridor.   But the plan retained nearshore Beaufort Sea areas that contain active leases and that are adjacent to areas where future Alaska state natural gas and oil lease sales are anticipated.    The proposal for 1997-2002 would cover 145.8 million acres and 16 sales, compared with the current program's 207.9 million acres and 18 sales.   The proposal considers leasing offshore acreage containing an estimated 45 trillion cubic feet of economically recoverable natural gas and more than 5 billion barrels of oil, with estimated net economic benefits of more than $8 billion, the MMS said in a statement.   It would schedule consideration of sales in seven areas of the OCS, with no leasing considered off the Atlantic or Pacific coasts.    "I think they've gone about as far politically as they think they can go," said Robert Stewart of the National Ocean Industries Association.   "If you look at the state of moratoria, if you exclude all that, what's left is what's in this five-year plan," he said.   The final proposal is the last step of the two-year process for the interior secretary to approve the plan after a 60-day notice period ends in October.   The plan has been sent to President Clinton and Congress, the MMS said.    The following is a breakdown of areas for proposed leasing consideration in 1997-2002:   Western Gulf annual lease offering, 6,514 blocks on 35.9 million acres in 8-3,000 meters water depth, with closest block nine miles offshore; Central Gulf annual lease offering of 9,109 blocks on 47.8 million acres in 4-3,425 meter depths, with closest block three miles offshore; and Eastern Gulf, offering in 2001, 994 blocks on 5.7 million acres in 10-3,010 meters depths with closest block 15 miles offshore.    Beaufort Sea offering in 1998, 362 blocks on 1.7 million acres in 1-2,000 meters depths, closest block three miles offshore; Cook Inlet/Shelikof Strait in 1999, 376 block on 1.9 million acres in 1-2,000 depths, three miles offshore; Beaufort Sea in 2000, 1,933 blocks on 10.1 million acres in 1-2,000 depths, three miles offshore;   Gulf of Alaska offering in 2001, 1,174 blocks on 6.4 million acres in 51-4,000 meters depths, three miles offshore; Chukchi Sea in 2002, 6,154 blocks on 33.7 million acres, in 21-3,000 depths, 10 miles offshore; and Hope Basin in 2002, 493 blocks on 2.6 million acres in 31-100 depths, 10 miles offshore.    In the western Gulf, 2,709 of the blocks were in shallow water and 3,805 in deep; in the central Gulf 3,937 blocks were in shallow water and 5,172 in deep, and in the eastern Gulf 84 blocks were in shallow water and 910 in deep. 
4514 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton will announce on Thursday a proposal to extend to all Americans the one-time $125,000 capital gains tax exemption on profits from the sale of a home, Clinton aides said.   The exemption is currently reserved for persons 55 years of age or older who theoretically turn their equity into a retirement nest egg.   Clinton's proposal, to be announced in his speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination, is a recycled version of an idea he had spoken of previously.   It was not expected to have much practical effect since most younger home sellers plow their profits into more expensive residences, and thus are exempt from capital gains tax on the sale.   Clinton's challenger, Republican Bob Dole, has proposed slashing the 28 percent maximum capital gains tax rate in half, reducing it to a 14 percent levy on profits from sales of stocks or other assets. 
4515 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  VISX Partner Inc said it has sued Summit Technology Inc on behalf of Pillar Point Partners in the U.S. District Court in Boston, Mass.   The lawsuit alleges that Summit has failed to meet certain royalty obligations contained in the License Back Agreement between Summit and Pillar Point Partners.   VISX said efforts by the parties to settle this disagreement through other dispute resolution mechanisms have been unsuccessful.    The company said the parties disagree about the ongoing calculation of net selling price, and about the obligation to pay equipment royalties on past sales.   It also alleges that Summit has failed to pay royalties on those systems it sold before receipt of FDA approval to market the Summit system for PRK.   Liz Davila, an officer of VISX Partner and a managing director of Pillar Point Partners, said, "We believe it is in the best interests of the Partnership to resolve this business dispute as soon as possible."   Summit Technology was not immediately available for comment.   --New York Newsdesk 212-859-1610 
4516 !C12 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Coastal Petroleum Co said Wednesday it petitioned Florida's First District Court of Appeal to order the state's Department of Environmental Protection to issue an offshore drilling permit to the company without further delays.   The company, a majority-held subsidiary of Coastal Caribbean Oils & Minerals Ltd, said the same court ruled last April DEP had no legal basis to deny its permit application.   Earlier this month, DEP announced it was ready to issue the permit, subject to the company's publication of the agency's Notice of Intent which could reopen public hearings.   Coastal said it contended DEP had no authority to impose such a requirement on the company, and that the permit should be issued forthwith, adding the agency then reiterated its demand that Coastal publish the notice.   The company said its petition argues the DEP has imposed an illegal requirement to stall issuance of the permit for the third time, and the Court should overrule the agency and order it to issue the permit immediately.   Coastal has a three-mile-wide leasehold, 7.4 to 10.4 miles offshore, that parallels Florida's Gulf Coast from Apalachicola Bay to Naples.   -- New York Newsdesk 212-859-1610. 
4517 !GCAT !GDIP  Commonwealth ministers said on Wednesday they would send top officials to Nigeria as soon as possible in a bid to persuade Abuja to change its mind and accept a mission investigating alleged human rights abuses.   Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy said he hoped the full fact-finding mission could visit the oil-rich African state before Commonwealth ministers meet in New York at the end of September to decide whether to impose sanctions on Nigeria.   "Time is very short," he told reporters after a meeting of the eight-nation Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), which has been charged with preparing a report on Nigeria's troubled transition to democracy.   The Commonwealth suspended Nigeria from membership last November after it executed author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority activists and said it wanted to see major human rights improvements before rescinding the suspension.   "We are sending these officials to see whether dialogue can start...There has been some deterioration in Nigeria which has implications for all of us," Axworthy said.   When the officials will fly to Nigeria has yet to be determined.   "We want political prisoners to be released and progress on setting up democratic institutions," added Axworthy, whose country is in the forefront of those CMAG members who want serious sanctions to be imposed on Nigeria.   But Nigeria accuses the Commonwealth of interfering in its internal affairs and CMAG cancelled its August 29/30 fact-finding mission after officials there made it clear the team would not be allowed to meet members of opposition groups.   Nigeria's military government on Wednesday insisted discussions with the group should be restricted to the country's suspension from the Commonwealth and the group should not visit as a fact-finding mission.   "CMAG proceeded to seek for an extension of their visit...with a view to holding discussions and meetings outside the framework of our agreement in London.   This is not only outside the mandate of the CMAG, but is also in contravention of the agreement reached at the London meeting," Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi told diplomats in the capital Abuja.   CMAG agreed a set of sanctions against Nigeria in May, including a ban on arms exports and a visa ban on Nigeria's rulers and their families, but agreed to suspend the measures until the New York meeting to allow the two sides to talk.   "If no progress is made on this mission we'll see real fireworks in September," said one senior Commonwealth diplomat who asked to remain anonymous.   CMAG chairman and Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge said he hoped the Nigerians would accept the visit of senior officials from the Commonwealth secretariat but conceded there was no guarantee they would agree.   "We want the CMAG stay in Nigeria to be as productive as possible in the time available," he told a news conference.   But Nigeria knows it has little to fear from CMAG sanctions since members are hopelessly split on the idea of imposing an embargo on oil exports, the one move which would cripple the country, since oil provides 90 percent of its export earnings.   Britain firmly opposes the idea, saying it would only harm ordinary Nigerians and not the country's rulers.   This has strained relations with Canada, which announced in June it would unilaterally impose sanctions on Abuja. 
4518 !GCAT !GDIP  Commonwealth foreign ministers said on Wednesday they planned to send a team of senior officials to Nigeria as soon as possible in a bid to persuade Abuja to accept a Commonwealth fact-finding mission.   Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy told reporters he hoped the full fact-finding mission could take place before Commonwealth ministers meet at the end of September to decide whether to impose major sanctions on Nigeria.   The timing of the senior officials' visit is still to be determined.   The Commonwealth fact-finding mission had been due to visit Nigeria on August 29-30 but the visit was scrapped after the Nigerians made clear they would not grant it access to opposition groups and private individuals. 
4519 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  British police on Wednesday questioned seven Iraqis who hijacked a Sudanese jet with 199 people aboard in a apparent bid for asylum as freed passengers described the terror they endured during their two-day ordeal.   "They had knives and we thought they wanted to kill people," Ahmed Abubasher told reporters.   The hijackers surrendered on Tuesday after eight hours of negotiations with British police.   "People were hitting each other and fighting with the terrorists," the 42-year-old businessman from Khartoum added.   After one passenger overpowered a hijacker, an accomplice threatened to blow up the aircraft unless his friend was freed, another traveller said.   Police said they were questioning the seven Iraqis who were arrested after they surrendered.   Six women, believed to be their relatives, were also in custody.   But police declined to comment on reports of violence.   "We are not prepared to discuss anything that could be part of our investigations," a police spokeswoman said.   "They will be interviewed in regard to their participation in the incident.   It is a long and delicate process."   The Iraqis, who claimed during the negotiations that they were "ordinary people persecuted by the regime of Saddam (Hussein)", left the Airbus A-310 airliner at Stansted airport north of London with their hands held high over their heads.   The hijack began on Monday when an Amman-bound plane was taken over shortly after it took off from Khartoum.   The hijackers threatened to blow it up during a refuelling stop in Larnaca, Cyprus, if they weren't taken to London.   After a search of the aircraft following the hijackers' surrender, police found only knives and fake explosives.   Home Secretary (Interior Minister) Michael Howard defended his decision to let the plane land in Britain and emphasised the gravity of the crime as the government faced a dilemma over whether the hijackers should be deported.   "I believe that those who are guilty of the serious offence of hijacking should be brought to justice for it," he told BBC radio.   "There is no question...of considering any claim for asylum until the claim for criminal proceedings has been resolved.   After that question has been resolved, then, if they make a application for asylum we are obliged to consider it."   If the Iraqis are prosecuted and found guilty of hijacking, they could face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.   Police declined to confirm press reports the men were Iraqi officials serving in Sudan.   "We are not identifying them in any way at the moment," the spokeswomen added.   Iraq quickly denied rumours that the hijackers were diplomats.   Abd-al-Samad Hamid, Iraq's ambassador in Khartoum, said the passenger list only included one diplomat who had nothing to do with the incident.   "On the contrary, that diplomat was harassed by the hijackers," INA, the Iraqi news agency, quoted him as saying.   The last hijacking at Stansted airport in 1982, in which the pilot of an Air Tanzanian aircraft was shot and wounded, resulted in a three-year prison sentence for Yassin Membar, one of the assailants.   He is still in Britain. 
4520 !GCAT !GPRO  There was a wave of sympathy in Britain's royalty-obsessed newspapers on Thursday for Princess Diana after the formal end of her marriage to Prince Charles.   Editorials and commentaries warned the heir to the throne that he could not expect to have a second marriage, to the love of his life Camilla Parker Bowles, and to succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth as monarch.   "For several years at least, the prince cannot marry his mistress without surrendering his right of succession to the throne -- stepping aside, in short, for his son William," Anthony Holden wrote in the Daily Express.   Holden wrote a biography of Charles in 1979.   "It seems highly unlikely that the British public will ever willingly allow him both the throne and the woman he loves," said London's Evening Standard in a fierce editorial attacking Charles as "the most spoilt of men".   The message was backed up by a telephone poll conducted by Sky television, in which 82 percent of callers said Charles should not allow himself a second marriage.   The calamitous marriage of the royal couple, launched amid pomp and ceremony at London's St Paul's Cathedral 15 years ago, ended when a clerk in the back office of a law court rubber-stamped their separation on Wednesday.   The couple have two children -- Prince William, 14, now next in line to the throne after his father, and Prince Harry, 11.   In contrast with their reluctance to see Charles remarry, some newspapers showed an eagerness to see Princess Diana find another man in her life.   "Do find a new husband and have more kids...Good luck, Di.   And good hunting," said the tabloid Daily Star.   Scores of readers wrote in to its rival, the Sun, to console Diana for the loss of the title Her Royal Highness.   It published half a page of their comments.   "If the Royal Family choose to let you go, it is their and the country's loss," said one tribute.   "You will always be the princess in our lives, for our hearts will be with you," another read.   The divorce has left Diana a wealthy woman, with a financial settlement estimated at 17 million pounds ($26.50 million).   She will continue to use London's Kensington Palace as her home.   But after losing the title of "Her Royal Highness", she is in the humiliating position of having to curtsey to her own sons and other royals including Charles.   Queen Elizabeth now regards Diana as a semi-detached member of the royal family and her ex-daughter-in-law will have to ask her permission before she accepts public engagements abroad.   The virginal Lady Diana Spencer and the sporty prince, 12 years her senior, seemed deeply in love after their 1981 marriage ceremony, seen by hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world.   But after only a few years, they found they had little in common.   She hated the outdoor pursuits he loved, while he could not comprehend her interests in fashion and pop music.   The prince returned to the arms of Parker Bowles, the woman he had loved long before he met Diana. 
4521 !GCAT  Following are some of the major events to have occurred on September 4 in history.   1241 - Alexander III, King of Scotland, born.   King from 1249-1286, he consolidated royal power, leaving Scotland united and independent.   1260 - The Ghibellines retook the city of Florence from the Florentine Guelfs at the battle of Monte Aperto.   1768 - Francois-Rene (Vicomte de) Chateaubriand born.   He was a politician, one of the first French romantic writers and ambassador to the British court.   He wrote "Rene", a seminal work in the French romantic movement and a famous autobiography "Memoires d'Outre Tombe".   1781 - Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers and named "El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles" (The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels).   1824 - Anton Bruckner born.   Austrian composer and organist, he wrote nine symphonies on a huge scale and three grand masses in the romantic tradition.   1870 - In France, the Second Empire was ended and Napoleon III was deposed after his surrender two days earlier in the Franco-Prussian war.   1886 - At Skeleton Canyon in Arizona, Geronimo, Apache chief and leader of the last great Red Indian rebellion finally surrendered to General Nelson Miles.   1892 - Prolific French modernist composer Darius Milhaud born.   He wrote a jazz ballet "La Creation du Monde" and scores for many films including an early version of "Madame Bovary".   1906 - German-born U.S. biologist Max Delbruck born.   Winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for work on the genetic structure of viruses that infect bacteria.   1907 - Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer best known for his "Peer Gynt Suite" and his Piano Concerto, died in Bergen.   1908 - U.S. film director Edward Dmytryk born.   Best known for his films "Crossfire" - one of Hollywood's first attempts to deal with racial discrimination and "Farewell My lovely".   1909 - The world's first Boy Scout Rally was held at Crystal Palace near London.   1944 - Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium were liberated by British and Canadian troops in World War Two.   1948 - Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 and throughout World Wars One and Two abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana.   1963 - Robert Schuman, French statesman, Prime Minister 1947-48 and Foreign Minister 1948-52, died.   He was responsible for the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community.   1964 - The Forth Road Bridge in Scotland, measuring 6156 ft, and with a centre span of 3300 ft, was opened by Her Majesty the Queen.   1965 - Albert Schweitzer, theologian, philosopher and organist died in Gabon where he had set up a hospital in 1913.   Acclaimed for his interpretations of J.S. Bach's works, he also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of the "Brotherhood of Nations" in 1952.   1972 - At the Olympic Games, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal, a record for a single Olympiad.   1974 - East Germany and the United States established formal diplomatic relations for the first time.   1977 - E.F. (Fritz) Schumacher, economic guru and author of the best seller "Small is Beautiful", died on his way to a conference in Switzerland.   1989 - Georges Simenon, writer of 84 books based on the detective character Inspector Maigret, died.   1992 - Bulgaria's former Communist leader Todor Zhivkov, deposed in 1989, was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of embezzling state funds.   1995 - Declaring "united Jerusalem is ours", Israel launched a 15-month celebration of the 3,000th anniversary of King David's proclamation of the city as the capital of the Jewish people.   1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women, the biggest U.N. gathering in history, began in China's Great Hall of the People with a U.N. declaration that sexual equality was the last great project of the 20th century. 
4522 !GCAT !GPOL  Britain's ruling Conservatives have cut the 24-point lead of the opposition Labour Party by three points over the past month, according to a poll published in Thursday's edition of the Times newspaper.   But Labour still enjoys a huge 21 point-cushion with at most nine months to go before a general election, the poll conducted by the MORI organisation said.   It gave the Conservatives the backing of 30 percent of Britons, up one point from July, against 51 percent for Labour, down two.   The Liberal Democrats were on 13 percent, up one point.   Prime Minister John Major has indicated he plans to hold a general election close to the last possible date of May 1997, hoping that economic growth will gradually attract electors back to his party despite its deep internal splits over Europe.   The poll, in which 1,705 people were interviewed, was conducted between August 20 and 25. 
4523 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  A special immune system protein that scientists thought offered hope for treating the HIV virus that causes AIDS may in fact make the infection worse, researchers said on Wednesday.   Beta-chemokines, proteins secreted by immune system cells to communicate with other cells, actually seem to help the HIV virus infect one type of immune system cell, Michael Bukrinsky and colleagues at the Picower Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York, said.   Reporting in the science journal Nature, they said other researchers should think twice before developing chemokines as a therapy against AIDS.   Scientists became excited about chemokines when they found some of the small percentage of people naturally resistant to HIV infection produced a lot of them in their blood.   Further research showed that when the HIV virus infects immune system cells, it uses some of the same cell receptors -- which resemble cellular doorways -- as beta-chemokines.   Therefore, they thought, chemokines might be able to "block the door" against the virus.   Other tests showed that the presence of chemokines seemed to block infection of T-cells, one of the class of immune system cells that HIV attacks.   And last month scientists found about one percent of people of European origin had a genetic mutation affecting one of these cell receptors.   But Bukrinsky said he had found that beta-chemokines helped the virus infect macrophages -- the cells that engulf and destroy invaders such as bacteria.   "In sharp contrast to their observed antiviral effects in T-cells, beta-chemokines actually stimulate the replication of primary HIV strains in macrophages, another target of this virus," Bukrinsky's group wrote.   They said they thought the beta-chemokines might be secreted by immune system cells as a "defensive manoeuvre".   "We want to warn against using chemokines as a therapeutic agent.   That could be very dangerous," Bukrinsky said in a telephone interview.   He said scientists still did not know how many cell receptors were involved in HIV infection.   The virus, he said, could use many different doors to break into a cell -- and could use different doors for different types of cells.   This could mean a different cell receptor was involved when HIV infects macrophages.   He also said the study that showed people resistant to HIV had higher levels of chemokines involved experiments in test-tubes -- not on a living person.   "I don't buy that even if they have high levels of chemokines that has anything to do with control of HIV infection," he said in a telephone interview.   He said a better route to controlling HIV would be to manipulate the receptors known to be used by the virus in some other way. 
4524 !GCAT !GENV  North American butterflies are fleeing north to escape the effects of global warming, a California ecologist reported on Wednesday.   Camille Parmesan of the University of Santa Barbara examined past and present populations of Edith's checkerspot butterfly, known scientifically as Euphydryas editha.   She found the insects were dying out in warmer areas and moving to cooler climes.   "Sites where previously recorded populations still existed were on average two degrees further north than sites where populations were extinct.   Populations in Mexico were four times more likely to be extinct than those in Canada," she wrote in a letter to the scientific journal Nature.   "Net extinctions also significantly decreased with altitude."   It would be clear whether global warming was affecting animal populations when more studies were done on different species, she said.   "Until this has been done, the evidence presented here provides the clearest indication to date that global climate warming is already influence species' distributions." 
4525 !GCAT !GPOL  Britain's ruling Conservative Party, limbering up for a big-spending general election campaign, said on Wednesday that a jump in donations had enabled it to pay off its multi-million-pound (dollar) bank overdraft.   Firms and individuals who feared that the opposition Labour party would win the election, due within nine months, increased donations in the year to March by 47 percent to 18.8 million pounds ($29.3 million).   As a result the party was able to reduce its bank overdraft from 11.4 million pounds ($17.7 million) to 1.95 million pounds ($3 million) over the year and has now wiped it out.   "The party's finances are in better shape than they have been for several years," deputy party chairman Michael Trend said.   "Significant progress has been made in preparing the party for the general election campaign so that the party organisation can face the forthcoming campaign with confidence."   Labour has criticised the Conservatives for accepting donations from sometimes unsavoury overseas businessmen trying to buy influence in Britain, but a senior party official said relatively little money had come from overseas.   Labour will reveal for the first time next week the names of all donors who have given it more than 5,000 pounds ($7,800) and called again on the Conservatives to do the same.   "Their refusal to reveal funding sources remains one of the great democratic deficits in British public life," Labour's campaign spokesman, Brian Wilson, said.   "Simply to assert that an 11.4 million pound overdraft has disappeared within a few months because donations have increased begs an awful lot more questions than it answers," he said.   The Conservatives, far wealthier than Britain's other political parties, have won the last four general elections and been in office since 1979. 
4526 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  The British government on Wednesday lowered the noise limits for London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports and announced it would make a bigger effort in detecting and fining violators.   The limits, effective from January 1, 1997, are reduced as much as possible while still complying with international obligations, a spokesman for the Department of Transport said.   The maximum noise level during the day is trimmed by three decibels to 94, while the night time level is reduced by two decibels to 87.    "It is a smaller reduction in terms of loudness than was sought by local people.   Nevertheless I am satisfied that the overall benefits will be worthwile," Lord Goschen, minister for aviation, said in a statement.   The ministry said it believed the new limits could be met with existing aircraft.   "They can be flown in quieter ways," a spokesman said.   The reduction in noise levels is the same as proposed in a consultation paper which was published in October 1995.   The present noise levels have applied at Heathrow, one of the world's busiest airports, since 1959 and at Gatwick since 1968.   The number of monitors will be increased and some will be repositioned to detect noisy planes.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
4527 !G15 !G151 !G155 !GCAT !GPOL  Britain on Wednesday underlined its determination to try to rein in the powers of the European Union by proposing that the principle of subsidiarity built into the Maastricht Treaty be strengthened.   Britain said it would present the idea to its EU partners at the September 3-4 meeting in Brussels of the working group on the rolling Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) considering changes to the Maastricht treaty.    It is suggesting a protocol to strengthen Article 3B of the treaty, which sets out the principle of subsidiarity -- that action should be taken at European level only when it will bring benefits that cannot be achieved by member states acting alone.   "If adopted, the protocol will help to improve the quality of European legislation, and curb some if its more intrusive aspects," the Foreign Office said.   It said Britain wanted to ensure that the principle of subsidiarity was applied consistently and coherently.    "A Community institution shall not adopt a measure unless it is satisfied that the objective of the measure is clearly established, that the objective is aimed at meeting one or more of the objectives of the Treaty, and that the necessary legal basis for its adoption exists," its paper says.   An EU institution would be required to justify its case for EU-wide action, and the executive Commission would be under an obligation to propose the simplest form of action possible.   Britain also wants the Commission to justify itself whenever it opts for binding, rather than non-binding, measures.   "In choosing the type of Community action, the Commission shall also explain, where appropriate, why preference was not given to proposals encouraging cooperation between member states, coordinating national action or to complementing, supplementing or supporting such action," the Foreign Office paper says.   The proposal is the latest in a series that Britain has put to the IGC.   Others covered the European Court of Justice, quota-hopping by fishermen, animal welfare, the quality of EU legislation, competition rules for farm products, Trans-European networks, and Common Foreign and Security Policy.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7950 
4528 !GCAT !GPOL  A big increase in donations has enabled the Conservative party to pay off its bank overdraft as it limbers up for the general election, deputy party chairman Michael Trend said on Wednesday.   Presenting the party's annual accounts, Trend said the party was back in the black in June and July.   As recently as March 31, the end of the party's financial year, it had an overdraft with the Royal Bank of Scotland of 1.95 million pounds.   Two years earlier it had stood at 15.8 million pounds, forcing the party to cut costs and lay off staff.    "The party's finances are in better shape than they have been for several years.   Significant progress has been made in preparing the party for the general election campaign so that the party organisation can face the forthcoming campaign with confidence," Trend said.   Donations in the year to end-March increased 47 percent to 18.8 million pounds.   The opposition Labour party has criticised the Conservatives for accepting donations from sometimes unsavoury overseas businessmen trying to buy influence in Britain, but a senior party official said relatively little money came from overseas.    The vast majority came from ordinary people and businesses in Britain, he said, adding that there had been a steady stream of what he described as medium-sized donations of the order of 10,000 stg.   -- London newsroom 44-171-542 7767 
4529 !GCAT !GSPO  Wellington field their third different front row in three matches in Sunday's national championship match as coach Frank Walker tries to find a settled combination.   Poneke tighthead prop John Tanner is the beneficiary of another lacklustre Bill Cavubati effort against King Country.   Cavubati finds himself in the reserves with time to consider his future if Tanner handles his difficult assignment well.   "Bill has to pick up his attitude and get more involved," said Walker today.   "On Sunday we'll look for a bit more mobility from Tanner."    It's a tough task for Tanner, marking Richard Loe first-up, but he has been the cornerstone of the club champion Poneke pack all season.   The other front-row change from the King Country match is Tala Leiasamaivao hooking in place of Tim Mannix.   In other changes, Filo Tiatia returns from injury in place of Martin Leslie and Chris Robinson comes in at first five-eighths ahead of Paul Moran.   It may not end there.   Lock Mike Russell and blindside flanker Inoke Afeaki trained only lightly and will have to take a full part in tomorrow's training to take their places.    If Russell doesn't make it, Andrew Gallagher will play at lock.   If both miss out, Upper Hutt's Kieran Martin will lock and Gallagher will play in Afeaki's place.   It's all a little unsettling leading up to a game which Wellington has to target as a win.   The speedy Robinson has been around Wellington club rugby for some time and is a talented ball player.   Moran has lost his place because of doubts about his defence, and it's likely Robinson will also have to do the goalkicking.    The teams are: Wellington: Tana Umaga, Steve Skinnon, Jason O'Halloran (c), Alex Telea, Kyle Byers, Chris Robinson, Joe Filemu, Isaac Feaunati, Filo Tiatia, Mike Russell, John Daniell, Inoke Afeaki, Jonathan Tanner, Tala Leiasamaivao, Mike Edwards.   Reserves: Tim Kareko, Mark Fatialofa, Karl Tenana; Tim Mannix, Andrew Gallagher, Bill Cavubati, Martin Leslie or Gordon Simpson.   Canterbury: Simon Forrest, Paula Bale, Daryl Gibson, Brad Fleming, Mark Mayerhofler, Graham Dempster, Barry Matthews, Paul Surridge, Angus Gardiner, Steve Lancaster, Craig Philpott, Craig Robertson, Stu Loe, Mark Hammett, Richard Loe. 
4530 !GCAT !GSPO  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN   Only hours before they announce the successful candidate, New South Wales rugby union powerbrokers will interview Waratah coaching hopefuls Alec Evans and Matt Williams.   Evans was assistant coach to Alan Jones on the Wallabies' 1984 Grand Slam triumph andis the favourite for the position.   Page 18.   --   Canadian head rowing coach Brian Richardson was yesterday appointed Australian Rowing's head coach through to the Sydney 2000 Olympics.   Richardson rowed in the Australian eight at the 1976 and 1980 Olympics and was a member of the Australia II crew that on the America's Cup in 1983.   Page 18.   --   Although rugby league star Julian O'Neill has re-singed to play with the Western Reds until the end of 2002, his five-year contract is dependent on a positive result for News Limited in its appeal against the Federal Court decision in favour of the AustraLian Rugby League.   Page 20.   --   SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   New South Wales Government representatives and racing industry officials met this week to discuss the privatisation of the NSW TAB.   Negotiations with Sky Channel over pay tv are still under way and country clubs were in Sydney yesterday for a meeing with the Australian Jockey Club over the issue.   Page 45.   --   Australian baseball champions, the Sydney Blues, yesterday announced American Major League player Rich Butler would be joining the team.   The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder will help the standard of the game, without preventing younger players from making pogress, according to Blues pitcher Mark Marino.   Page 47.   --   Newcomers Darren Lehmann, Brad Hogg and Jason Gillespie will get the chance to show their talent in Sri Lanka, with Australian cricket selectors deciding to play all 13 squad members at some stage of their tour.   Keen to win the Singer Cup series, which inludes three of the four semi-finalists in this year's World Cup, Australia will rotate players where it makes sense.   Page 48.   --   THE AGE   Becoming the first player in National Basketball League history to be suspended for abusing a referee, the Sydney Kings' Shane Heal is unlikely to face further punishment for calling the decision to suspend him "a disgrace".   Heal swore at referee Graham lark after the Kings lost to Brisbane 102-99 last weekend.   Page B6.   --   In an all-Australian match, youngster Mark Philippoussis defeated Mark Woodforde at the U.S. Tennis Open last night, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.   Philippoussis' win in the first-round match was helped by 29 aces, in a serving demonstration that Woodforde described as "awesome".   Page B6.   --   The Australian Football League yesterday released an official merger package for the proposed Melbourne Hawks.   Richmond Tigers president Leon Daphne renewed his attack on the salary cap issue, saying the additional salary cap was explained away as relocaton issues for Brisbane and Fitzroy, but that argument would not hold for Melbourne and Hawthorn.   Page B8.   --   HERALD SUN   Brownlow Medal punters will miss out on a possible A$250,000 pay-out after Collingwood champion Nathan Buckely was suspended last night, invalidating him for the medal.   Buckely received a one-match suspension for tripping an opponent last weekend.   Page 88.   --   Greg Williams' future in AFL hinges on the outcome of orthoscopic surgery on his troublesome right knee this week.   There is no guarantee that the surgery to assist the regrowth of cartilage lining the knee will enable Williams to resume his career.   Page 8.   --   Australian captain Ian Healy has described claims by Pakistan captain Wasim Akram that they are the best cricket team in the world as premature.   The claim by Akram follows its 2-0 win in the series against England.   Additionally Akram is claiming that Mushaq Ahmed is a better spinner than Shane Warne.   Page 86.   --   THE DAILY TELEGRAPH   Australian whiz kid Annabel Ellwood caused the upset of her career at the U.S. Tennis Open championships in New York, by defeating local favourite Jennifer Capriati 6-4, 6-4, all the while looking confident and aggressive against the big name player.   Page 8.   --   Roger Nebauer, chief steward of the Harness Racing Authority, was cleared last night of the charges of corruption and malpractice which have plagued the industry for several months.   The ICAC reported that there was no evidence to suggest illegal activities.   Page 88.   --   The fallout from the departure of Chris Hawkins from the role of NSW Waratah coach, dumped because of a decision to employ a full-time rugby coach for the now professional game, means likely new forward coach Steve Lidbury's plans to improve the Waratah game will be put on hold.   Page 84.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
4531 !GCAT !GSPO  Mark Philippoussis beat fellow Australian Mark Woodforde 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 6-3 6-3 in a men's singles first round match at the U.S. Open on Tuesday.   The two Davis Cup team-mates were pitted against each other after last week's controversial redraw of the men's singles competition.   Philippoussis is on course for a third round meeting with world number one Pete Sampras of the United States, whom he beat at the Australian Open last January.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4532 !GCAT !GSPO  England have been given a final chance to remain in the Five Nations' championship despite striking an exclusive television deal with Rupert Murdoch's Sky television.   In a statement on Wednesday, the Four Nations TV Committee said dates had been set for a competition involving Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France next year.   "Between now and then, discussions will take place in one final attempt to persuade the Rugby Football Union to save the Five Nations' championship in its current form," the statement said.   No further details were immediately available.   England infuriated their championship colleagues when they decided to sign a 87.5 million pounds sterling ($135.8 million) deal giving Sky television exclusive rights to rugby union matches in England.   The present contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation was shared between the four home nations while France have their own television deal.   Last month Five Nations' committee chairman Tom Kiernan said England would be thrown out of the competition "unless circumstances change in the near future". 
4533 !GCAT !GSPO  World Cup cricket champions Sri Lanka will play two tests and three one-day internationals in a tour of New Zealand next March, officials said on Wednesday.   New Zealand Cricket said the Sri Lankans would play tests in Hamilton and Wellington and one-dayers in Auckland, Christchurch and Dunedin, following hard on the heels of a tour by England.   New Zealand will also line up against Sri Lanka and Pakistan this November in a one-day champions trophy competition in Sharjah.   The team will go one to tour Pakistan, playing two tests and three one-day internationals. 
4534 !GCAT !GSPO  World number five Simon Parke blamed a controversial new seeding system for his surprise first-round defeat by Ireland's Derek Ryan in the Hong Kong Open on Wednesday.   England's Parke, on the comeback trail after chemotherapy to fight testicular cancer, lost 15-11 15-11 2-15 15-11 to the world number 15.   Parke said he was a victim of the new seeding system brought in by the Professional Squash Association which sees highly-ranked players meeting each other in the first round of events.    "It's a product of the system that I met him in the first round but the way I look at it if I did not play him in the first round I would have met him in the second," said Eyles, after his 15-6 8-15 15-10 7-15 15-12 victory.   "It was not a great performance but considering I have not had a match since May it's good to get through.   He had a good night -- when he gets a sniff of a chance he does not give up."    "I did not vote for the change," said Parke.   "I do not think it was needed - everyone wants to change it back."   The win was sweet revenge for Ryan who was beaten by Parke in the Al Ahram tournament in Egypt in May when the Englishman was not fully fit following his fight against cancer.   "I feel fine," the 24-year-old Parke said.   "I have recovered from the chemotherapy and have been playing a series of exhibition matches against Del Harris."   Second-seed Rodney Eyles of Australia struggled to beat Zarak Jahan Khan of Pakistan, who is ranked just eight places below him. 
4535 !GCAT !GSPO  The African Football Confederation (CAF) on Wednesday formally confirmed Burundi's disqualification from the African Nations Cup following the team's inability to travel for a qualifier against Central African Republic.   The Burundi team were unable to leave their troubled country for a preliminary round first leg match in Bangui earlier this month because of an air ban imposed in a recent set of internationally-sponsored sanctions.   The Central African Republic qualified on a walkover to play in group four with Guinea, Sierra Leone and Tunisia.   "After examining the dossier of the Burundi-Central Africa match, we decided...to disqualify the national team of Burundi from the 21st African Cup of Nations...as a result of the absence of this team from the match," CAF said in a statement. 
4536 !GCAT !GSPO  India scored 226 for five wickets in their 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the second day-night limited overs match of the Singer World Series tournament on Wednesday. 
4537 !GCAT !GPOL  ESTONIA GOVERNMENT LIST (960828)    *************************************************************    * 28 Aug 96 - Estonia will hold the next round of an  *    * inconclusive state presidential race on  *    * September 20 1996.   *    *************************************************************    President (Apptd 5 Oct 92).......................Lennart MERI    - - - - - - -   GOVERNMENT:(Formed 5 Nov 95)    Prime Minister (Re-Apptd 17 Oct 95)...........  Tiit VAEHI (CP)    Deputy Prime Minister........................Siim KALLAS (RP)   (Also Foreign Minister)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture............................ Ilmar MAENDMETS (KMU)    Culture.......................................Jaak ALLIK (CP)    Defence....................................  .  Andres OOVEL (CP)    Economics...............................  .  Andres Lipstock (RP)    Education..................................Jaak AAVIKSOO (RP)    Environment...............................  Villu REILJAN (KMU)    Finance......................................Mart OPMANN (CP)    Foreign.............................See Deputy Prime Minister    Interior......................................Maert RASK (RP)    Justice.......................................Paul VARUL (CP)    Social Affairs............................Toomas VILOSIUS (R)    Transport & Communication.....................  .  Kalev KUKK (R)    - - - - - - -   JUNIOR MINISTERS:    European Affairs.........................Endel LIPPMAA** (CP)    (**Resigned 6 Aug 96)    Regional Affairs.............................Tiit KUBRI (KMU)    - - - - - - -    State Chancellor............................Uno VEERING (KMU)   (NOTE: not technically in cabinet, but can vote)    - - - - - - -   PARTY AFFILIATIONS:    Coalition Party -- (CP)    Rural Union -- (KMU)    Reform Party -- (RP)    - - - - - - - -    Bank of Estonia (Central Bank) President..........Vahur KRAFT    - - - - - - - - - -     NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this    government list, please contact the Reuter    Editorial Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542    7968.    (End government list) 
4538 !GCAT !GPOL  ZAMBIA GOVERNMENT LIST (960828)    President (Sworn in 2 Nov 91)..........Frederick J.T. CHILUBA    Vice-President...............................  .  Godfrey MIYANDA    - - - - - - -   MOVEMENT FOR MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY (MMD) GOVERNMENT     (Formed 7 Nov 1991, reshuffled 29 May 1996)   MINISTERS:    Agriculture & Fisheries..........................  Suresh DESAI    Commerce, Trade & Industry.............Siamukayumbu SIAMUJAYE    Community & Social Development..................Paul KAPING'A    Defence.............................................Ben MWILA    Education....................................  .  Alufeyo HAMBAYI    Energy & Water..................................Edith NAWAKWI    Environment...............................  .  William HARRINGTON    Finance.........................................  .  Ronald PENZA    Foreign Affairs...............................  Christone TEMBO    Health.........................................  Katele KALUMBA    Home Affairs....................................  Chitalu SAMPA    Information & Broadcasting................  .  Amusa MWANAMWAMBWA    Labour & Social Services.......................Newstead ZIMBA    Lands.........................................  Peter MACHUNGWA    Legal Affairs..............................Luminzu SHIMAPONDA    Local Government & Housing.....................  Bennie MWIINGA    Mines...........................................Keli WALUBITA    Science & Technology.......................Dr Kabunda KAYONGO    Sport & Youth Development.....................  .  Samuel MIYANDA    Tourism.........................................  .  Gabriel MAKA    Transport & Communications.....................  Dawson LUPUNGA    Without Portfolio...............................  .  Michael SATA    Works & Supply............................Patrick KAFUMUKACHE    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor............................Jacob MWANZA    - - - - - - -     NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this    government list, please contact the Reuter    Editorial Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542    7968.    (End Government List) 
4539 !GCAT !GPOL  TOGO GOVERNMENT LIST (960828)   President (re-elected 25 Aug 93)...General Gnassingbe EYADEMA    - - - - - - -   GOVERNMENT (Formed 27 Aug 96)    Prime Minister (Apptd 20 Aug 96)................  Kwassi KLUTSE   ( & Minister for Regional Development)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS OF STATE:    Economy & Finance.........................Barry Moussa BARQUE    Trade & Industry............................Elom Kwami DADZIE    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture, Livestock & Fisheries...........  Kokou Dake DOGBE    Communication & Civic Education................  .  Solitoki ESSO    Decentralisation, Town Planning & Housing.....Kossivi AYASSOU    Defence..................................Bitokotipou YAGNINIM    Education & Research....................Kodjo Maurile AGBOBLI    Employment, Civil Service, Labour...........  .  Liwoibe SAMBIANI    Environment & Forests..........................  Yaovi KOMLANVI    Foreign Affairs & Cooperation..............Pierre Koffi PANOU    Health.............................................Koffi SAMA    Interior & Security.......................Colonel Seyi MEMENE    Justice & Human Rights........................Ephrem DORKENOU    Mines, Public Works, Transport &     Posts & Telecommunications................  Andjo TCHAMDJA    Regional Development.......................See prime minister    Relations with Parliament.....................  .  Komi AMOUDOKPO    Technical Education &    Professional Training & Crafts....Bamouni Stanislas BABA    Tourism & Leisure..................................Dafo ELIAS    Women & Social Protection........................Kissem WALLA    Youth, Sports & Culture........................Agbogboli IHOU    - - - - - - - - -   SECRETARIES OF STATE:   At the Prime Minister's Office, charged with    Planning & Regional Development..........Tcha Gouni ATI-ATCHA   At the Finance Ministry, charged with    Finance & Budget........................Assiba Amousou GUENOU   At the Mines, Public Works, Transport, Posts &   Telecommunications Ministry, charged with    Transport & Water Resources.....................  .  Komlan KADJE    - - - - - - -   Central Bank Governor (Central Bank of    West African States)...................Charles Konan BANNY    (Ivory Coast)    - - - - - - -     NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this    government list, please contact the Reuter    Editorial Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542    7968.    (End government list) 
4540 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Manitoba Pool Elevators' chief executive said Wednesday he was pleased a union contract was ratified and said salary increases are in line with inflation.   "We're pleased we reached a long-term agreement with our employees.   The result is, I think, a fair settlement for both sides," MPE chief executive Greg Arason said.   The three-year agreement covering about 350 Grain Services Union elevator operators at MPE set an average overall pay increase of around two percent a year and ends in January 1998, Arason said.   The GSU said earlier Wednesday members ratified the deal.   Asked how the pay rise affects MPE's bottom line Arason said: "I think that's in the ball park, that's consistent with current levels of inflation and with the restructuring of the pay package, I think it was fair."   MPE is a privately held cooperative owned by about 16,000 Manitoba farmers.   The firm handled 2.8 million tonnes of products in crop year 1994/95 (Aug/July) with net earnings before taxes of C$7.7 million, down from C$9.42 million in 1993/94.   It plans to trim 20 elevators in 1996 to 110 from 130.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
4541 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Canada is fast-tracking immigration applications from Chinese dissidents in Hong Kong before the British colony reverts to China's control next year, the Vancouver Sun reported on Wednesday.   The applications are being "fast-tracked in the sense that we are processing them and the ones who have been referred to us have been interviewed," the newspaper quoted Garrett Lambert, Canada's high commissioner in Hong Kong, as saying.   "A small number already have preliminary indications as to what the disposition of their cases are and so I suppose in that sense, I guess we have given them some preferential treatment," Lambert said.   He declined to say how many people were being considered for asylum.   Canada's ministry of foreign affairs in Ottawa had no immediate comment on the report.   About 80 Chinese dissidents are believed to be living in exile in Hong Kong.   Their fate after the territory reverts to Chinese rule is unclear.   Britain hands Hong Kong back to China at midnight on June 30, 1997, after 150 years of colonial rule.   Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Lloyd Axworthy said after meeting Hong Kong Gov. Chris Patten last month that Canada may grant asylum to dissidents who have fled to Hong Kong from China.   Chinese officials have said such dissidents may not become Hong Kong permanent residents since they entered the territory illegally but have also said their status would be decided by the post-1997 local Hong Kong administration. 
4542 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Manitoba Pool Elevators employees ratified a three-year contract offering which increases severance pay in the event of lay offs and a salary increase of two percent a year, a union official said.   "A tentative agreement was accepted by the membership," Grain Services Union Local 2000 representative Lawrence Mair told Reuters.   The 350 GSU members voted on the tentative agreement last week while MPE directors voted on the deal last Wednesday.   MPE officials were not immediately available for comment.    "While there probably won't be any resounding cheers going up from the members about the agreement, they're willing to work within it and, like I said, the improved job security had everything to do with the acceptance," Mair said.   A new salary schedule will see elevator managers and assistant managers' pay rise while other employees remuneration will remain unchanged.   Overall, employee compensation will increase two percent a year over the course of the three-year collective agreement, he said.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
4543 !GCAT !GVIO  An aid agency said rebels in southern Sudan had freed six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, on Wednesday after holding them for nearly two weeks.   But Catholic church officials said they had no confirmation of the report and would have to wait until Thursday to be sure.   "Our people there say they were released.   They have definitely returned to the mission compound and the situation is calm," Graham Wood, acting Sudan director of Norwegian People's Aid, told Reuters.   "I understand all of them are fine.   They are obviously a bit tired and anxious but otherwise fine," said Wood, adding heavy rain at Mapourdit village in southern Sudan might delay their evacuation.   Two of the nuns were in their 60s and 70s.   But asked in Nairobi to confirm the report, Monsignor Caesar Mazzolari, apostolic administrator for Rumbeck diocese in southern Sudan, said:   "I have received no confirmation so do not want to state anything incorrect.   We must wait until Thursday morning."   The three nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest were taken by rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) on August 17.   The rebels accused four of the group of being spies and agents of Islam after the rebels reportedly found a quotation from the Koran on a bookmark in a Bible belonging to the nuns.   The three Australian nuns, who were teaching at a school for 1,500 in Mapourdit when they were taken captive, may also have tried to resist an effort by the rebels to recruit students.   The SPLA has fought Khartoum's government forces in the south since 1983 for greater autonomy or independence of the mainly Christian and animist region from the Moslem, Arabised north.   Australian Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, Mary Batchelor, 68, and Maureen Carey, 52, were detained with American Father Michael Barton, 48, Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28.   Mazzolari and the rebels said on Tuesday all six had been reunited in the mission compound at Mapourdit village on Monday night after four were transferred from a nearby SPLA prison.   Wood suggested this report was wrong.   Mazzolari said earlier on Wednesday he could confirm that an order from SPLA leader John Garang had been received by the senior regional commander but it still had to be passed on to the local commander.   Asked what would happen when they were freed, Mazzolari said the group were supposed to leave Sudan for a holiday last week and he would ask the nuns to come out for a break anyway.   "I will see what the fathers want to do but we will not leave the mission.   The mission will keep operating," he said.   The United States on Tuesday said it had urged the SPLA to ensure that the local commander freed them all immediately. 
4544 !GCAT !GVIO  An aid agency said six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, were freed by rebels in southern Sudan on Wednesday after being held for nearly two weeks.   But Catholic church officials said they had no confirmation of the report and would have to wait until Thursday to be sure.   "Our people there say they were released.   They have definitely returned to the mission compound and the situation is calm," Graham Wood, acting Sudan director of Norwegian People's Aid, told Reuters.   "I understand all of them are fine.   They are obviously a bit tired and anxious but otherwise fine," said Wood, adding heavy rain at Mapourdit village in southern Sudan might delay their evacuation.   But asked in Nairobi about the report from the aid agency the six had been freed, Monsignor Caesar Mazzolari, apostolic administrator for Rumbeck diocese in southern Sudan, said:   "I have received no confirmation so do not want to state anything incorrect.   We must wait until Thursday morning."   The three nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest had been held by rebels at Mapourdit in the mainly Christian and animist south of Sudan since August 17. 
4545 !GCAT !GVIO  A rebel order for the release of six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, reached a rebel commander in southern Sudan on Wednesday but they have not yet been freed, church officials said.   Monsignor Caesar Mazzolari, apostolic administrator of the diocese of Rumbek in southern Sudan, said he was still waiting for word of the release by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).   "We hear the order from (SPLA commander) John Garang has been received and was entrusted to a senior person who delivered it to the senior SPLA commander in the area," Mazzolari said.   "But he has to pass it on to the commander responsible for the detention of the six and will have to get it implemented," he added.   "If they have not yet been released, this is a step closer."   The three nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest have been held by SPLA rebels at Mapourdit in the mainly Christian and animist south of Sudan since August 17.   Mazzolari said he understood the order for the release of the six was in the hands of Commander Daniel Deng Manydit and he still had to pass it on to Commander Nuour Marial in Mapourdit village.   He said an initial report the six were freed now appeared premature.   He said he might hear more later on Wednesday.   An SPLA spokesman earlier on Wednesday said the rebels were still trying to pass on an order from Garang for the immediate release of the six but communications were poor because of heavy rains and a lack of sunshine for rebel solar-powered radios.   Australian Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, Mary Batchelor, 68, and Maureen Carey, 52, are held at the mission compound in Mapourdit along with American Father Michael Barton, 48, Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28.   Asked what would happen when they were freed, Mazzolari said earlier the group were supposed to leave Sudan for a holiday last week and he would ask the nuns to come out for a break anyway.   "I will see what the fathers want to do but we will not leave the mission.   The mission will keep operating," he said.   The missionaries' captors accused four of the group of being spies and agents of Islam after the rebels reportedly found a quotation from the Koran on a bookmark in a Bible belonging to the nuns.   The three Australian nuns, who were teaching at a school for 1,500 in Mapourdit when they were taken captive, may also have tried to resist an effort by the rebels to recruit students.   The United States on Tuesday said it had urged the SPLA to ensure that the local commander, Marial, who is holding the six missionaries at Mapourdit should free them all immediately.   The SPLA has fought Khartoum's government forces in the south since 1983 for greater autonomy or independence of the mainly Christian and animist region from the Moslem, Arabised north. 
4546 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Thousands of Zimbabwean civil servants, sacked by the government for going on strike, staged protest marches around the southern African country on Wednesday to press their demands for higher wages.   In the capital Harare, 5,000 marchers -- including nurses, junior doctors, mortuary attendants, prosecutors and firefighters -- chanted slogans and waved placards.   Some read: "Give us our dues - decent wages" and "No to government intimidation".   Riot police kept a low profile.   Some of the marchers said they were were incensed that President Robert Mugabe had left the dispute unresolved for an official visit to Kenya.   Public Service Association (PSA) union officials say 70 to 80 percent of Zimbabwe's estimated 180,000 civil servants are on strike for pay rises of between 30 and 60 percent needed to keep up with high levels of inflation.   Annual inflation is currently running at 22 percent.   The strike began on August 20.   The government responded by sacking all striking workers.   Hospitals are struggling to cope without staff and bodies are piling up in mortuaries.   The state news agency, ZIANA, reported that patients were dying of simple ailments at government hospitals which have been handling emergency cases only.   "Patients are now dying from simple ailments that can be cured, but because of the delays and the lack of proper care, it is difficult now to save lives," it quoted a doctor at one Harare hospital as saying.   Authorities there and government officials were unavailable for comment.   ZIANA also reported that a major hospital in the country's midlands province closed three wards due to shortage of staff.   The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), an umbrella group of independent unions, said on Tuesday it might call a general strike if the government failed to resolve the crisis by Friday.   "The ZCTU are supporting us so the struggle for higher pay continues," PSA spokesman Shadreck Chaparadza told Reuters.   "We are waiting for 72 hours to lapse then the private sector will join us.   Then we will grind the economy to a halt."   The ZCTU represents only 20 percent of the formal labour force of just over one million, but normally enjoys majority support of even non-unionised workers during industrial actions.   The union is strong in the key mining, textile, tourism and farming sectors.   Despite the government's tough public stance in sacking the strikers, officials say the government is making desperate efforts behind the scenes to find a compromise.   "The ZCTU's stance has added further pressure on the government.   Politically, the sums are not looking good for it," said Charles Rukuni, editor and publisher of the Insider, an independent monthly newsletter on Zimbabwean politics.   "What you are looking at is a government that has lost public support on the strike, and is increasingly looking lonely and not enjoying that position," he told Reuters.   Rukuni, a former editor of the ZCTU's monthly Worker newspaper, said however he doubted the umbrella group would try to call a general strike. 
4547 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  An Ivorian journalist spent a third day in custody on Wednesday and investigators were demanding that he reveal the source of an official document published in his newspaper, colleagues said.   Raphael Lapke, publication director of Ivorian newspaper Le Populaire, was taken in for questioning on Monday over an article about the public prosecutor and has been detained since then.   Colleagues said he had been charged with theft of administrative documents.   "He is being asked for the source of his information and who gave him this confidential document," one colleague told Reuters.   Three journalists from the Ivorian opposition daily La Voie are serving two-year prison terms for insulting President Henri Konan Bedie.   A court sentenced two in December and the third in January.   La Voie published an article suggesting the presence of Bedie had brought local team ASEC bad luck during their defeat by Orlando Pirates of South Africa in the final of the African Champions Cup in December.   The United States embassy in Abidjan and international press organisations denounced the sentences as excessive.   Last year, Bedie pardoned four journalists jailed for the same or similar offences.   They included one of the three La Voie journalists.   Bedie pardoned two other journalists jailed for incitement to disturb public order. 
4548 !GCAT !GVIO  Sierra Leonean rebels killed 31 villagers and seven soldiers in an attack on the eastern village of Foindu, Eastern Region Brigade Commander Major Fallah Sewa said on Wednesday.   Sewa said the rebels overran Foindu despite the presence of government troops in the village on the highway between Mano Junction and the diamond town of Tongo Field.   An army spokesman in Freetown said Monday night's attack was the third on a military post in the past week.   Rebels of the Revolutionary United Front agreed a ceasefire in April.   Continuing attacks are generally ascribed to renegade soldiers or uncontrolled bands of rebels and refugees displaced by the fighting starting to return to their homes.   Peace talks in Ivory Coast began in February.   Diplomats say they are deadlocked over the RUF's insistence that foreign troops helping the government army should leave, and that they should have some say in the allocation of budget spending. 
4549 !GCAT !GVIO  An aid agency said six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, were freed by rebels in southern Sudan on Wednesday after being held for nearly two weeks.   But Catholic church officials said they had no confirmation of the report and would have to wait until Thursday to be sure. 
4550 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  A Rwandan former senior administrator, whose extradition is sought for his alleged role in the 1994 genocide there, pleaded not guilty at a court hearing in Burkina Faso on Wednesday.   Charges against Colonel Alphonse Ntezilyayo say that while he was prefect of Butare he held meetings of Hutu interahamwe militias and the presidential guard to plan massacres, helped killers escape to a safe zone controlled by French troops, and later used death threats to force other Hutus to leave Rwanda.   Ntezilyayo, who pleaded not guilty at the extradition hearing, said he had only been prefect of Butare from June 20 to July 2, 1994 and his main preoccupation had been to help Hutus and Tutsis flee the combat zone.   He said he feared the new Tutsi-dominated government in Kigali had accused him because he was the kind of educated Hutu they wanted to wipe out.   "As a Hutu, with an intellectual training which places me among the elite, having left a large quantity of property and land in my country, I believe I would be condemned to death if I ever returned to Rwanda," he said.   The presiding judge expressed concern at procedural irregularities, saying the summons had been signed by a state prosecutor and not an examining magistrate.   He said the court must either declare the procedure invalid or agree to Ntezilyayo's extradition to appear before the United Nations international tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, adding that he was concerned that Ntezilyayo would not receive a fair trial if he returned to Rwanda.   "We have concerns about what is happening in Rwanda, we have no guarantee that he will be judged by an impartial court and we have no right to hand over someone whose life is in danger," he said.   The tribunal was set up to try perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in which up to a million minority Tutsis and allied moderate Hutus were slaughtered in a campaign led by the then Hutu-dominated government.   The court will deliver its opinion on September 4 but extradition can only be ordered by President Blaise Compaore. 
4551 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Supporters of Gambia's military leader Captain Yahya Jammeh on Wednesday described Commonwealth criticism of election preparations as insulting and damaging to the democratic process.   The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) said last week rules for presidential elections next month and parliamentary polls in December were obviously flawed and would allow the military leaders to strengthen their grip on power.   Jammeh has banned Gambia's three main political parties from contesting the elections and excluded anyone who served as a government minister from independence in 1965 until his July 22, 1994 coup.   "This news release was totally unnecessary and can best be inimical to the very democratic process that CMAG is purportedly trying to promote in the Gambia," the July 22 Movement said.   Its statement described CMAG chairman Stan Mudenge's remarks as "an insult to the intelligence of the people of the Gambia and the Commonwealth".   "The July 22 Movement in collaboration with the revolutionary government of the AFPRC wishes to make it clear that it will not stand idly by to see the corrupt and morally bankrupt reactionary renegades of the decadent PPP, NCP, and GPP continue to serve the interests of external forces that will only promote their evil agendas once more."   Jammeh plans to contest next month's presidential election as a civilian and has launched a political party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), linked to his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC).   So far his main declared opponent is prominent barrister Ousseynou Darboe.   Two smaller political parties have also said they plan to put up candidates.   Jammeh lifted a two-year ban on all political activity on August 14, then announced two days later that the country's three main parties would be excluded.   The ban covers all who served as ministers under Sir Dawda Jawara, head of state from independence until 1994, and excludes Jawara's People's Progressive Party, the National Convention Party and the Gambia People's Party.   Jammeh has said there would be no point in uncovering the corruption of the former government if those responsible were allowed to resume political careers.   Gambia voted against the Commonwealth's decision last year to suspend the membership of army-ruled Nigeria. 
4552 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Wednesday said ethnic problems had torn the world's poorest continent and urged Africans not to let themselves be influenced by ethnic divisions.   "We must not lend ourselves to the forces that have torn apart our continent at the expense of prosperity and economic prosperity of our people," said Mugabe, speaking at an agricultural fair in the coastal resort of Mombasa.   "What is a greater principle in society than that which unites the people towards a destiny," added Mugabe, known to be a close friend of Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi.   Mugabe gave no specific examples.   Mugabe repeatedly praised Moi, describing Kenya as a symbol of stability and prosperity in Africa.   Mugabe arrived in Kenya on Tuesday at the start of a three-day official visit.   It was not immediately known whether the Zimbabwean leader, recently remarried, was using the trip as his honeymoon as well.   "I am not campaigning for President Moi but the truth of the matter is that it is only Kenya and Tanzania in Africa that have remained stable since independence," Mugabe said.   Mugabe made no reference to marches by civil servants his government has sacked for what it calls an illegal strike.   He said his country had good rains this year and was now expecting a bumper maize crop, including a possible surplus.   Mugabe confirmed his government's resolve to acquire land held by white commercial farmers.   He said acquired land was earmarked for "landless African masses". 
4553 !GCAT !GDIP  Nigeria's military government on Wednesday insisted discussions with a Commonwealth group should be restricted to the country's suspension from the Commonwealth and the group should not visit as a fact-finding mission.   "CMAG (Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group) proceeded to seek for an extension of their visit...with a view to holding discussions and meetings outside the framework of our agreement in London.   This is not only outside the mandate of the CMAG, but is also in contravention of the agreement reached at the London meeting," Nigerian Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi told diplomats in the capital Abuja.   The latest diplomatic row between Nigeria and the club of Britain and its former colonies erupted over the terms of a visit by Commonwealth ministers to discuss Nigeria's suspension from the organisation.   Nigeria last week said the team would be restricted to a two day meeting from Aug 29-30 with government officials, to continue discussions begun in London in June.   But the Commonwealth had insisted on meeting other groups, including those opposed to the government, and said the visit was off.   A meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers in London on Wednesday said it planned to send a team of senior officials to Nigeria as soon as possible to persuade Abuja to accept a fact-finding mission.   The timing of that visit is still to be determined.   Africa's most populous nation was suspended from the Commonwealth in November after the hanging of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists for murder in defiance of international pleas for clemency. 
4554 !GCAT !GCRIM  South Africa's fight against spiralling crime and illegal immigrants flooding across its borders was hampered by a moratorium on recruitment to the police force, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.   Police Commissioner George Fivaz told a parliamentary committee on safety and security the shortage of officers meant the country's borders were virtually uncontrolled, detectives were overworked and too officers were on the beat, while guards protecting VIPs were demoralised.   Crime is one of the worst problems facing President Nelson Mandela's government, contributing to investor wariness and a flight of skilled emigrants to safer pastures.   Nearly two million serious crimes were reported last year, including 36,888 rapes, 18,983 murders and 66,838 robberies.   A cost-cutting moratorium on police recruitment has been in force for three years.   Referring to border controls, Fivaz said: "As a result of lack of human resources, we feel some points of entry are not adequately controlled, or control is non-existent."   The committee heard that 740 police officers were assigned to border control duties, against the 1,600 needed if the force was to carry out the task effectively.   Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi complained last week that millions illegal immigrants pouring into the country from neighbouring countries, mainly Mozambique, were depriving South Africans of access to services. 
4555 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Rwanda said on Wednesday it hoped large numbers of the 1.1 million Rwandan refugees in Zaire would not start returning home until after high-level talks in about three months time.   Rehabilitation Minister Patrick Mazimhaka said Rwanda was taking a threat of an imminent massive repatriation by Zaire seriously as Zairean troops had expelled 15,000 refugees last year.   "In the next three months we might get an exchange of visits (between Rwanda and Zaire) at a high level...We might get into the camps...repatriation should then accelerate after such a (high-level) visit," he told Reuters in an interview.   "We are still waiting for an invitation (from Zaire)."   Zairean Prime Minister Kengo wa Dondo said at the end of a visit to Rwanda last week that both governments agreed on an "organised, massive and unconditional repatriation" of Rwandan refugees.   He said the repatriation would be carried out swiftly and would be enormous starting with the closure of refugee camps.   The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said it had not been consulted about the plan and hoped it would be voluntary.   A Hutu refugee lobby group said it feared expulsions would soon start.   "We have had contacts with the (Zairean) prime minister and there is growing confidence in our government on the part of the Zairean authorities," Mazimhaka said.   He said Zairean authorities were consistently saying that they wanted all the Rwandan refugees out of the country in the next six to eight months before elections could be held.   "If this message is consistent we can expect a good flow of refugees before the end of the year.   We expect to be able to get (high-level) visits (to Zaire) within three months," he said.   The final Rwandan refugee camp in Burundi closed on Tuesday when the last of what were more than 100,000 refugees at the start of the year returned home in the biggest movement since they left.   Many of the 1.1 million Rwandan Hutu refugees in Zaire and nearly 600,000 in Tanzania refuse to go home, saying they fear reprisals for the 1994 genocide of up to a million people by Hutus.   Mazimhaka said a joint statement after Kengo's Kigali talks showed a better understanding of the problem by Zaire but it was a question of selling that to "partners in the Zairean power structure".   He was apparently referring to Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko, who intervened to stop expulsions last year and has been accused by Kigali of backing Rwandan Hutu leaders in exile.   "Former (Hutu) authorities must be stopped from interfering with the will of refugees to return.   The arrests of intimidators is a warning to the authorities not to intervene," he said.   Zaire last week expelled what it said were 43 troublemakers in the camps to Rwanda.   U.N. agencies had called for action to be taken against hardliners intimidating refugees not to return.   Mazimhaka said reintegrating the refugees was simple but justice was the most difficult problem.   Rwanda screens returnees and arrests any suspected of involvement in the 1994 genocide. 
4556 !GCAT !GVIO  Three policemen have been killed in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province in the past two days, a spokesman said on Wednesday.   The latest killings push the number of police officers killed while on duty to at least 42 since January in the KwaZulu-Natal region, police Inspector Vish Naidoo told Reuters.   Midlands police spokesman Superintendent Henry Budhram said suspected robbers had opened fire on two officers investigating an armed robbery outside Pietermaritzburg earlier on Wednesday.   The officers died in a hail of bullets from a bus the suspects had boarded after an armed robbery in Howick.   "It would appear the suspects learned that the police were following the bus and one of them ordered the bus driver to stop," Budhram said.   One suspect had been killed in a shootout when the officers returned fire, he said, adding a second suspect had been taken into custody.   Budhram said a 25-year-old policeman was also shot dead while attempting to arrest a group of thieves stealing empty drums from a chemical factory in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands region on Tuesday night.   A factory employee and one suspect were also killed in the incident.   "It is tragic that lives should be sacrificed for the sake of a few empty drums worth 100 rand ($22) each," the company, Thor Chemicals, said in a statement.   ($=4.50 rand) 
4557 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Burundi's Hutu rebels destroyed electricity pylons supplying the capital on Wednesday and threatened to shoot down any plane breaking regional sanctions by flying into Bujumbura.   Officials at state-run electricity company Regidiso told Reuters that rebels pulled down pylons just as engineers were about to restore power to the city cut off since Saturday when rebels cut power lines in northern Bubanza province.   "The sabotage has continued.   There is no technical problem restoring power to the capital, but when we are nearly finished they come and pull down the pylons again," a senior Regidiso official said by telephone.   The sabotage has forced the sanctions-hit city to draw upon dwindling fuel stocks to keep basic water supplies, hospitals and schools running.   Regional leaders imposed sanctions on landlocked Burundi after a July 25 army coup against civilian Hutu president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya by Pierre Buyoya, a retired Tutsi army major.   In the Kenyan capital Nairobi, the exiled main Hutu rebel group threatened to shoot down any plane flying into Bujumbura.   "We have information some foreign planes are landing in Bujumbura in defiance of regional sanctions," Innocent Nimpagaritse, East Africa representative of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), told Reuters.   "From today onwards, any plane flying into Bujumbura without clearance from our forces will be shot down," he said.   CNDD is the political wing of the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD) which is waging a ferocious guerrilla war against the Tutsi-dominated army.   Aid workers say 1,000 people are dying monthly.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in ethnic bloodletting in Burundi since the country's first elected president, a member of the Hutu majority, was killed by Tutsi soldiers in an attempted coup.   In another statement CNDD accused Burundian businessmen of breaking sanctions by flying to the northern provinces of Ngozi and Kirundo and then infiltrating into Rwanda with the complicity of local authorities.   Jean-Luc Ndizeye, a spokesman for Burundi's military leader, rejected the latest CNDD statement.   "They don't have the technical capacity to do that and if they do shoot a plane coming in or out of Bujumbura then it will just be another one of their crimes," Ndizeye told Reuters.   Burundi's new Tutsi-dominated government invited the United Nations to send more human rights monitors to the small tea and coffee-growing nation.   "On behalf of the government I am requesting a considerable increase in the number of human rights observers in Burundi," Foreign Minister Luc Rukingama said in a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.   His request followed charges by the London-based human rights group Amnesty International that the army was carrying out widespread killings despite Buyoya's pledge to end the carnage.   Amnesty said last week 4,050 unarmed civilians were buried across Giheta area after being killed by the army between July 27 and August 10. 
4558 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Chad's government has signed a peace deal with an armed rebel faction in the south, giving it in return a role in the political life of the nation, state radio reported on Wednesday.   Under the deal, the Patriotic and Democratic wing of the Armed Forces for the Federal Republic (FARF), renounces the use of force in pursuit of its aims and will become a political party under the name the Patriotic Front for Democracy (FPD).   The government undertook to ensure legal recognition of the new party and the faction's fighters will disarm and gather at assembly points with a view to taking their place in society, whether in the security forces or as civilians.   The deal offered an amnesty for the group's members except for previously investigated offences.   The FARF, led by Laoukein Barde Frisson, was the one southern rebel group that did not rally to a 1994 peace deal.   The latest deal was signed by Laoukein's deputy Mbailemal Michel in the prime minister's office in N'Djamena, the radio said.   President Idriss Deby, a northern Moslem, seized power in a 1990 French-backed coup but won election as president in July, pledging to unite the sprawling and arid nation.   Parliamentary elections are planned for November.   Deby named a new 21-member cabinet under Prime Minister Djimasta Koibla on August 12, bringing in his former staunch opponent Saleh Kebzabo as foreign minister.   Chad, though poor, has largely unexploited oil reserves.   Before Deby seized power, it had been racked for more than two decades by civil war or conflict with neighbouring Libya. 
4559 !GCAT !GVIO  Burundi's main Hutu rebel group threatened on Wednesday to shoot down any aircraft flying into the Burundian capital Bujumbura in defiance of regional African sanctions.   "We have information some foreign planes are landing in Bujumbura in defiance of regional sanctions," Innocent Nimpagaritse, East Africa representative of the National Council for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD), told Reuters in Nairobi.   "From today onwards, any plane flying into Bujumbura without clearance from our forces will be shot down," he added.   CNDD is the political wing of the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD).   In a statement earlier on Wednesday, CNDD accused Burundian businessmen of breaking sanctions by flying to the northern Burundian provinces of Ngozi and Kirundo and then infiltrating into Rwanda with the complicity of local authorities.   Regional leaders imposed sanctions on landlocked Burundi following a July 25 army coup against civilian Hutu president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya by retired Tutsi army major Pierre Buyoya. 
4560 !GCAT !GVIO  Hutu peasants in one small area of central Burundi have shown reporters mass graves which they say contain the bodies of 77 villagers killed by the Tutsi-dominated army after its coup on July 25.   Peasants in one area of Giheta district in the troubled province of Gitega said on Tuesday they buried and had made lists of the names of the dead -- 75 Hutus and two Tutsis.   A few graves, hidden in banana plantations, were marked by simple Christian crosses woven from reeds.   Others were unmarked.   "The soldiers came and they installed an armoured personnel carrier on the top of the hill.   When my mother saw it she fled and they shot her and she died," said Gaspar Berakumenya, adding she was killed at Gisarara hill, next to Kariba hill.   The journalists were not able to verify reports by civilians that other recent mass graves littered the surrounding hills.   The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last week 4,050 unarmed civilians were buried across Giheta after being killed by the army between July 27 and August 10.   It said troops came ostensibly to obtain information on rebel movements but apparently after villagers said they knew nothing soldiers gathered them together and gunned them down.   It said the 4,050 killed by the army were among more than 6,000 people killed in Burundi since the coup which deposed Burundi's president, a member of the Hutu majority.   Burundi's new Tutsi military ruler, Pierre Buyoya, who has said elements of the army were guilty of excesses, denied the Amnesty International report as exaggerated.   But he added he could not be expected to bring peace to Burundi overnight.   He says the coup was aimed at putting an end to killings.   Soldiers escorted the journalists to Giheta district and took notes, questioned and listened to witnesses, apparently underlining Buyoya's promise to tackle long-standing impunity in Burundi.   The Hutu peasants, watched by the soldiers, pointed out the mass graves near Kiriba and explained how their relatives were killed.   "Around 10 a.m. we were building a house for my son who was going to get married," said an old man at Kiriba hill who declined to give his name but said his son Antoine was killed.   "Suddenly we heard gunfire and everyone building the house fled.   But my son didn't have time to flee.   When I came back some days later I found his body."   The peasants said outrage led them to break the silence that normally surrounds killing in one of Africa's most violent but least visible wars.   "The truth must be known," a villager told Reuters.   Farmers said they listed 25 people buried at Kiriba hill and 35 on a section of neighbouring Gishuha and Gisarara hills.   There were also graves for 10 women and children and graves for seven other people, including two Tutsis.   Soldiers at Kiriba accused the Hutu peasants of manipulating the numbers in a bid to exaggerate the extent of the killings.   They said they had retrieved a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a pistol and two-way radio at Kiriba after battling Hutu rebels.   "Local civilians are used as human shields (by rebels) and sometimes they get caught in the crossfire," said Buyoya's spokesman Jean-Luc Ndizeye in the capital Bujumbura on Tuesday.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in massacres and three years of vicious civil war in Burundi which have prompted fears among international leaders of an outbreak of killings on a scale similar to neighbouring Rwanda's genocide in 1994. 
4561 !GCAT !GPOL  Zambian President Frederick Chiluba shuffled his cabinet on Wednesday to fill a vacancy left after the sacking of Legal Affairs Minister Remmy Mushota.   Mushota was fired a month ago after a government tribunal found he tried to withdraw cash from state coffers without authority.   The president's office said in a statement that Lands Minister Luminzu Shimaponda had been appointed Legal Affairs Minister, while Deputy Foreign Minister Peter Machungwa would take over from Shimaponda. 
4562 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The South African government is drafting interim legislation that will include a mechanism to cap municipal budget increases, a senior official said on Wednesday.   Deputy director general of provincial affairs Andrew Boraine told a parliamentary portfolio committee the Finance Ministry would be given formal authority to cap the percentage increase in municipal expenditure.   "It's for the interim period.   In the white paper we are working on, we will look at a much more thorough budgeting system and the issue of zero-based budgeting will come up there," he told Reuters later.   Boraine said the measure would be part of bridging legislation likely to be published next month to determine the form and detail of local government until parliament approves a policy on town and rural management in a white paper due next year.   "The proposal is to formalise the way in which, every year, the Minister of Finance sets limits to how big an increase local governments can have on budgets in percentage terms.   "It's part of the mechanism to achieve macro-economic stability in terms of spending, part of the way of dealing with expenditure in the whole country," he said.   Provincial budgets are determined by the national government, but local authorities raise up to 80 percent of their own finance and fall outside the direct fiscal control of parlaiment.   Boraine said the Minister of Finance would be authorised to set national growth limits separately for local government expenditure on capital and consumption items.   Municipalities would be free to juggle expenditure between separate consumption items, such as salaries and services, but would have to keep the aggregate increase under the prescribed ceiling.   One effect would be to impose limits on wage and salary negotiations, he said.   Boraine said it would be important to have the legislation in place before next year's wage bargaining round. 
4563 !E21 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Guinea launched a drive on Wednesday to rid the civil service payroll of fictitious workers as part of new prime minister Sidia Toure's campaign to cut government spending.   Deputy Minister for Finance Ousmane Kaba said teams of inspectors would check government offices in the capital and the provinces to root out civil servants who drew salaries but had left their jobs, were dead, or had never existed.   Some 50 million Guinean francs ($50,000) has been pumped into the exercise to deter the inspectors from taking bribes.   Kaba told reporters the annual wage bill of 171 billion Guinean francs represented 50 percent of current state expenditure, "whereas the acceptable proportion in countries similar to ours is one third".   Toure, who took office last month, has said he plans to cut public service spending by 30 percent by the end of the year as part of measures to revive the economy.   Guinea is rich in minerals and has a vast potential for hydroelectric power generation but it faces stiff competition from its West African neighbours for foreign investment.   President Lansana Conte appointed Toure, a former senior civil servant in Ivory Coast, last month to clean up the administration and reform the economy following February's bloody army revolt.   ($=1,000 Guinean francs) 
4564 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Ruth Perry, the woman with the task of uniting Liberia's squabbling factions around the latest peace plan, will be formally installed as head of the ruling State Council next Tuesday, a Council statement said.   Perry, a Liberian Senate member during the 1980s, returned to Monrovia on August 22 after West African leaders nominated her for the job under a peace deal signed in Nigeria's capital Abuja five days earlier.   The formal inauguration had been due to take place this week but was put back.   There was no official explanation but politicians said faction leaders and State Council vice-chairmen Charles Taylor and Alhadji Kromah were unable to attend because they were travelling.   Liberia's civil war, launched by Taylor in 1989, has killed well over 150,000 people.   Faction fighting and an orgy of looting in the capital Monrovia in April and May killed hundreds of people.   Over a dozen peace deals have collapsed.   The latest sets a timetable for disarmament by the end of January and elections by May 30.   West African leaders have threatened individual sanctions against faction leaders to ensure compliance.   Freed American slaves founded Liberia in 1847. 
4565 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB !GPOL  A Nigerian human rights group said on Wednesday that four members of a recently banned university union had been arrested.   "The Constitutional Rights Project (CRP) believes that William Istafanus, Elisha Shamay, O.K. Likkason and Jerome Egurugbe were arrested because of their role in the ongoing ASUU (Academic Staff Union of Universities) strike," the group said in a statement.   The CRP said the four were arrested on Monday night at the northeastern Tafawa Balewa University.   The main academic union, ASUU, along with two smaller university unions, was banned by Nigeria's military government last week, because of a four-month strike by teachers for better working conditions.   Nigeria is under fire from many Western countries for human rights abuses and lack of democracy.   Dozens of people opposed to the government are in detention.   Commonwealth foreign ministers are to meet in London on Wednesday to discuss what action to take, after a visit to Nigeria was called off when the government imposed strict rules on whom the mission would be allowed to see.   Nigeria was suspended from the club of Britain and its former colonies in November after the hanging of nine minority rights activists for murder in spite of international pleas for clemency. 
4566 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A committee to monitor sanctions imposed on Burundi after the coup there said on Wednesday it would meet for the first time next week in Tanzania.   But the chairman, Tanzania's High Commissioner (ambassador) to Kenya Major-General Mrisho Sarakikya, told Reuters the meeting in the northern town of Arusha would only check compliance with the sanctions.   "It will be a review meeting to assess how effective the sanctions against Burundi have been so far," Sarakikya said.   He said the committee -- the ambassadors to Kenya of Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zambia and Zaire -- would meet from Wednesday together with Organisation of African Unity (OAU) officials.   Burundi's latest crisis was triggered by a July 25 army coup against civilian Hutu president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya, by retired Tutsi army Major Pierre Buyoya.   Ntibantunganya remains holed up in the U.S. ambassador's residence in the capital Bujumbura.   Regional leaders imposed sanctions on landlocked Burundi on July 31, demanding a return to constitutional rule and peace negotiations between Hutu rebels and the Tutsi-dominated army.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels which leaders fear could turn into mass slaughter on a scale similar to neighbouring Rwanda's 1994 genocide of up to a million.   Sarakikya dashed hopes by international aid agencies seeking waivers for their work in the tea and coffee-growing nation, saying his committee had no powers to deal with such issues.   "The power to grant or not to grant waivers for humanitarian aid lies with the foreign ministers.   Our job is to monitor, ensure compliance, and where there is no compliance recommend action against those involved," the retired army general said.   U.N. officials said U.N. Special Envoy to Burundi Marc Faguy would meet Sarakikya later on Wednesday to discuss sanctions.   The United Nations wants a waiver to allow humanitarian aid to reach some 255,000 people displaced by guerrilla war between Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebels.   The U.N., which has taken no stand on regional sanctions, says its main priority is air access to Burundi for its staff, non-governmental organisations and the diplomatic community.   U.N. agencies on Tuesday said they had started to share fuel and pool resources to survive the embargo, compounded since Saturday when rebels cut the main power lines to the capital.   The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday started sending fuel to other other U.N. agencies to keep them working.   Aid agencies in Burundi usually require about 180,000 litres (40,000 gallons) of fuel per month, but U.N. agencies, by far the largest organisations, have only 25,000 litres.   Mediator Julius Nyerere said on Tuesday that a wide-scale civil war could break out in Burundi and spread to neighbouring states if the army failed to open talks with its opponents.   Nyerere arrived in Rome on Tuesday amid speculation that a Roman Catholic group was willing to sponsor talks to promote peace.   Diplomatic sources said in Italy the former Tanzanian president would have contacts with the Sant' Egidio Community, a Catholic peace organisation. 
4567 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Sudanese rebels said on Wednesday they were still trying to contact a rebel commander in south Sudan to order the release of six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, held for nearly two weeks.   But a church official said the problem was very close to a resolution and he expected them to be freed within a few days.   "We have not reached the local commander but are still trying.   Communications are very bad with the area," said George Garang, Nairobi spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).   "We hope he hears that the leadership wants them released."   The three nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest have been held by SPLA rebels at Mapourdit, in mainly Christian and animist south Sudan, since August 17.   Australian Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, Mary Batchelor, 68, and Maureen Carey, 52, are held at the mission compound in Mapourdit along with American Father Michael Barton, 48, Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28.   Monsignor Caesar Mazzolari, apostolic administrator of the diocese of Rumbek in the south, said the church had received lots of promises but there was no resolution to the problem.   "They should be released immediately.   We are waiting to hear if the SPLA have managed to contact the local commander.   I, of course, hope they will be released today but we are waiting and I estimate it might take today or tomorrow," he told Reuters.   "It is a very delicate situation but we are very close to a resolution.   It is taking time as communications are very poor."   Asked what would happen when they were freed, Mazzolari said the group were supposed to leave Sudan for a holiday last week and he would ask the three nuns to come out for a break anyway.   "I will see what the fathers want to do but we will not leave the mission.   The mission will keep operating," he said.   The missionaries' captors accused four of the group of being spies and agents of Islam after the rebels reportedly found a quotation from the Koran on a bookmark in a Bible belonging to the nuns.   The three Australian nuns, who were teaching at a school for 1,500 in Mapourdit when they were taken captive, may also have tried to resist an effort by the rebels to recruit students.   The United States on Tuesday said it had urged the SPLA to ensure that the local commander, Nuour Marial, who is holding the six missionaries at Mapourdit free them immediately.   The SPLA has fought Khartoum's government forces in the south since 1983 for greater autonomy or independence of the mainly Christian and animist region from the Moslem, Arabised north. 
4568 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Veronique Akobe, Africa's version of reprieved Filipina maid Sarah Balabagan, returned home to Ivory Coast with a quiet thank you for those who supported her -- and a plea to be allowed to forget and get on with her life.   "I am not a hero, I was a victim and I reacted...I am not a star, or a personality," said the shy and unassuming 32-year-old, who said she killed after being sexually assaulted.   "I have committed an act which was very regrettable, I have paid (for it) and I believe I have paid enough.   I do not want to use this misfortune to become a star."   Akobe, like Balabagan one of millions of Third World women and men who take menial jobs abroad to escape poverty, was addressing a news conference last week, her first formal public appearance at home after a hitherto discreet homecoming.   Her only other public appearance, with her mother and members of her family, was at a mass of thanksgiving at a Roman Catholic church in Ivory Coast's commercial capital Abidjan.   Balabagan, a 15-year-old when she went to work as a maid in the United Arab Emirates, was sentenced to death for killing her 70-year-old Arab employer, whom she accused of rape.   After an international outcry, the Emirates president intervened, the court cut the sentence to a year in jail and Balabagan returned to the Philippines in August to a rapturous state welcome of the kind normally reserved for movie stars.   Movie offers and gifts of money flooded in as the South East Asian nation, where many families have seen poverty force their daughters to take similar jobs abroad, expressed relief.   Akobe, who went to work in France as a maid, was jailed in 1990 for 20 years for killing her employer's son, and the attempted murder of her employer.   She accused both men of raping her.   France, unlike the United Arab Emirates where Balabagan was convicted, no longer has the death penalty.   The prosecution cited extenuating circumstances and recommended a maximum of 15 years jail, but a jury sentenced Akobe to 20 years.   Following the furor over the Balabagan case, Akobe's case became something of a cause celebre in Ivory Coast, which won independence from France in 1960.   A support committee grew up and lobbied, both at home and in France, for her release.   Women's and rights groups in France took up the case.   French President Jacques Chirac agreed to pardon Akobe in July during an extended stay in France by Ivorian President Henri Konan Bedie.   Akobe had spent nine years in jail, some before sentencing.   Ivorian television made much of the release.   "Veronique, we love you," Levy Niamke, anchorman of the main evening news, told Akobe over a scratchy, live telephone link to France.   Akobe, as during her news conference, seemed overawed and embarrassed by the spotlight thrust on her.   Her homecoming was low-key.   No fanfare, no ecstatic airport welcome.   "Veronique Akobe...is currently paying a discreet visit to our country," the support committee said in a statement, announcing the news conference.   The main news carried no footage from her homecoming.   Akobe told journalists that when she first arrived she was afraid to go out.   "I felt a stranger in my own country," she said.   She plucked up courage to go out and visited friends of her sister where she saw a small child looking at her.   "Mummy," the child said.   "It's her."   The mother replied: "Yes, it's her," and the child threw itself into Veronique's arms.   Akobe, whose father is dead but whose mother lives in Bedie's home town Daoukro, said she would have been happier remaining silent.   "But how could I not say thank you to all those who supported me during my misfortune?"   she said.   She listed Bedie and Balabagan -- "my sister in suffering, thanks to (whose plight) my case received special attention".   Millions of migrants from the Third World, particularly South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Africa, flee poverty at home to take low-paid jobs abroad.   Some leave home with false papers to work as maids or in clubs and bars in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.   Some find new lives, often marrying foreigners.   Many find menial jobs.   In some cases, unscrupulous employers abuse them sexually or otherwise and sometimes force them into prostitution.   Many are trapped, unable to scrape together the fare home.   The scars of Akobe's experience remain.   She blames racism and bias against women but she, at least, seems on course for a happy ending.   She and philospophy teacher Jean-Jacques Le Dehevat, a Frenchman who was her prison instructor, fell in love and married.   It remains to be seen whether they settle in Ivory Coast or in France. 
4569 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Nigerian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY TIMES   - Federal government to launch economic plan for next 15-20 years.   - Government rekindles hopes of creation of new states to supplement the 30 already in existence.   - Commonwealth has yet to decide on whether to visit Nigeria.   THE GUARDIAN   - New military governor of Lagos state freezes accounts until financial position left by his predecessor is made clear.   - Insurance industry may face bad debts of 2.5 billion naira as a result of granting cover on credit.   ($1=80 naira)   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2630317 
4570 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Ivorian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   FRATERNITE MATIN   - Labour Minister Atsain Achi makes unannounced visit to government offices to check on attendance levels.   - Cellular phone company, Societe Ivoirienne de Mobiles, 70 percent owned by France-Telecom unit France Cable Radio, promises to be operational by end-October.   Three operators are waiting for the government to come up with an interconnect accord setting out technical and financial terms for connection to the public network.   LA VOIE   - Army officers detained in connection with a reported coup attempt on the eve of presidential elections last October write to the armed forces chief of staff and to President Henri Konan Bedie protesting at the length of their detention without trial.   - Abidjan international trade fair postponed to November 1997 from February 1997.   LE JOUR   - Parliament meets today to discuss law giving security forces extended search powers.   -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90 
4571 !GCAT !GPOL  Togo's new prime minister Kwassi Klutse has named a 24-member cabinet drawn mainly from President Gnassingbe Eyadema's party and keeping key figures from the previous administration, an official statement said.   Togo's main opposition party and the party of former prime minister Edem Kodjo had declined to join the broad-based government Klutse promised after his appointment on August 20.   Sources at the prime minister's office described the new government named on Tuesday as a team of technocrats and proven politicians.   The list includes 10 ministers from the previous government and four figures from outside politics.   The former secretary-general of the presidency, Pierre Koffi Panou, replaces Barry Moussa Barque at the foreign ministry, while Barque moves to the finance portfolio.   Defence Minister Bitokotipou Yagninim retains his post.   Kodjo resigned on August 19 after Eyadema's Togolese People's Rally (RPT) took an outright majority in the national assembly by winning three by-elections.   Klutse, minister of planning and regional development in the outgoing government, has said he plans to focus on developing Togo's economy.   Real Gross Domestic Product grew 8.3 percent in 1995, the second highest rate in Africa after Malawi.   Eyadema, an army general, seized power in 1967 and was elected in 1993 in polls boycotted by Kodjo's Togolese Union for Democracy (UTD) and the main opposition Action Committee for Renewal (CAR).   Kodjo broke with opposition allies in 1994 to accept Eyadema's offer of the post of prime minister.   His party governed in coalition with the RPT but the alliance has become increasingly fragile in recent months.   The RPT now has 38 seats of its own in the 81-seat parliament, plus five from allied parties and independents, giving Eyadema a comfortable majority. 
4572 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Kenyan press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY NATION   - Zimbabwe President Mugabe arrives in Mombasa for two-day visit during which he will open Mombasa agricultural show.   - 38 companies at Wilson Airport in Nairobi threaten to sue Kenya Airports Authority after allocation to private developers of part of land on which their businesses stand.   - Opposition FORD-Kenya legislator Raila Odinga says government plans to disenfranchise eligible voters from certain ethnic groups in next general election.   EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   - 10 Kisii councillors in Western Province of Kenya take Local Government Minister William ole Ntimama to court over controversial mayoral election.   - Government has refused to register Kenya University Students Organisation because it is likely to jeopardise peace.   - Kenya Human Rights Commission condemns current wave of police shootings, saying most victims were innocent bystanders.   KENYA TIMES   - Racketeers fleecing business community in Nairobi of huge sums with cheques purported to come from Barclays Bank in name of Sarova Hotels. 
4573 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Car hijackers shot dead the father of one of South Africa's top soccer stars in the latest high-profile crime to stun South Africans, police said on Wednesday.   Four gunmen attacked Alkiem Khumalo, once a soccer celebrity in his own right whose superstar son Doctor Khumalo now plays in the United States, outside his Soweto home late on Tuesday.   They left him gravely wounded and made off with his Volkswagen Jetta car.   Khumalo, who was known to his fans as "Pro" in the 1960s and 70s, was rushed to hospital in the sprawling and violent black township outside Johannesburg, but died from his wounds.   Local radio said his son, a national hero who moved this season to play for Columbus Crew in the new U.S. soccer league, was flying back to South Africa.   "I am still devastated by the sad news of the untimely death of Doctor's father, I still can't believe it now," said Kaizer Motaung, managing director of Soweto's Kaizer Chiefs soccer team for which both father and son played.   Police said a woman caught driving the stolen car in Johannesburg later on Tuesday had been arrested and was being questioned. 
4574 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Gold Fields Namibia Ltd said on Wednesday that the copper smelter at its Namibian subsidiary Tsumeb Corp Ltd (TCL) had been badly damaged by action by striking mineworkers and would be out of action for a long time.   "The company does not expect the copper smelter to be reactivated for a considerable period of time as it is certain that very extensive damage has been caused," Gold Fields said in a statement.   The strike at TCL remains in force and strikers continue to prevent acess to all mines and the smelter complex, it added.   However, pumping has resumed and some other essential services are being performed.   Strikers last Friday took control of certain key areas of TCL, including the copper smelter and Kombat property.   TCL sold 6,789 tonnes of copper and 12,142 tonnes of lead in the quarter to end-June.   The company obtained an urgent interim court interdict last Thursday declaring the strike unlawful but Namibian police have found it difficult to enforce the court order.   -- Johannesburg newsroom, +27-11 482 1003 
4575 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Columns of Russian soldiers and equipment trundled out of the Chechen capital on Wednesday as Russian and rebel commanders made more progress in talks on implementing the ceasefire deal.   Russian headquarters was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying around 8,000 soldiers had been withdrawn from Grozny and from southern Chechnya, fulfilling the conditions of a ceasefire brokered by security supremo Alexander Lebed last week.   Some 2,300 troops had left Grozny itself and around 4,200 south Chechnya, the agency added.   As detachments of troops, their trucks and armoured personnel carriers belching black smoke, rolled out, people enjoyed the return of some normality to the city.   The ceasefire ended some of the worst fighting in the 20-month war after an August 6 rebel assault designed to humiliate President Boris Yeltsin three days ahead of his inauguration for a second term in office.   At least one column of troops was bound for the Russian military base at Severny airport, a few km (miles) from the centre of Grozny.   Jubilant soldiers in a second column cheered as they drove past.   "We are going home, back to Russia," one soldier said.   In Novye Atagi, 20 km (12 miles) from Grozny, Russian commander Vyacheslav Tikhomirov and Chechen chief of staff Aslan Maskhadov made progress in implementing the ceasefire deal.   Tikhomirov and Maskhadov agreed on the handover of 16 Russian soldiers and that the Russians would soon return an equal number of Chechen prisoners, Interfax said.   But disagreement arose over allegations the Chechens were setting up their own structures to administer the country, including the capital city.   Lebed's Security Council office said in Moscow that the formation of such bodies was out of the question.   The truce is so far Lebed's main achievement and his efforts to find a political solution to the war are stalled in Moscow.   The political aspect is the hardest part of Lebed's task as he must meet the seemingly incompatible demands for Chechen independence with Moscow's aim to keep it part of Russia.   Lebed returned to the Russian capital on Sunday with the main aim of securing Yeltsin's backing for his political plans but he has had to wait as the president went on holiday.   Yeltsin's spokesman on Wednesday gave no clear guidance on the president's stance on Lebed's blueprint.   "The president has thoroughly studied the plan and issued corresponding orders," Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky told a specially-called press briefing of local and foreign journalists.   "The president's new orders make the old ones more concrete and are aimed at consolidating the peacemaking process and leading it towards constructive decisions," he added.   Yeltsin's seeming reluctance to see Lebed, his special envoy to Chechnya, has prompted speculation about his health or is waiting to see if Lebed's peace plans collapse.   Lebed earlier said delays in solving the political aspect of the war could derail the peace process.   He said he was preparing to return to Chechnya and might leave on Thursday or Friday.   In Grozny, Russian officers and Chechen fighters said they hoped for a lasting peace.   "This war should have been finished long ago, but nobody knew how to go about it," said Russian lieutenant-colonel Igor Grudnov.   "The troops must withdraw, it is the correct decision.   Peace had to come some time and it did.   Our soldiers and officers did not want to fight."   "We have found a common language, it is time to end the bloodshed," said separatist Sultan Miniyev.   "They don't want to wage war and neither do we.   I think this peace is stable."   Groups of fighters swept through Grozny's rubble-strewn streets in commandeered Russian armoured personnel carriers, showing the rebels are clearly in command of the city.   Interfax news agency quoted the Russian headquarters as saying 4,500 rebels were in Grozny, backed by six tanks, 25 armoured personnel carriers and three heavy field guns. 
4576 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian Croats on Wednesday rejected a call by their Moslem federal partners for refugees to boycott Bosnia's first postwar elections until alleged voter registration abuses are rectified.   "Parties have the right to make their own decisions.   But I oppose any kind of boycott.   We need these elections.   Without them we don't have Bosnia," Jadranko Prlic, foreign minister of the Croat-Moslem federation, told Reuters.   "All members of parties who are against elections are against Bosnia," Prlic said after a pre-election rally held by the dominant Croat HDZ party in the Moslem-controlled northeastern city of Tuzla.   "Boycott threats create an unhealthy atmosphere on the eve of (the September 14) elections," he added.   Of some 640,000 refugees abroad who will be voting in 55 countries this week, 136,550 are in Croatia.   Roughly 80 percent of them are believed to be ethnic Croats likely to vote for the HDZ, with the rest mainly Moslems.   Under the 1995 Dayton peace treaty, Moslems, Serbs and Croats living as refugees abroad or displaced within Bosnia may vote for representative bodies in their pre-war homes.   But they may also opt to vote for municipalities where they were resettled during or after the war or where they "intend" to live in the near future.   As a result, Western monitors say, authorities in Serb-controlled territories have coerced Serb refugees to vote for districts where they are now -- rather than where they came from -- to "repopulate" towns that once had Moslem majorities and prevent original inhabitants from ever coming back.   Diplomats say the aim of such "electoral engineering" is to secure undisputed political control of strategic locations inside the 49 percent of Bosnia known as the Serb Republic, thwarting the reunification goal of the election.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is staging the elections, reacted to alleged Serb abuses on Tuesday by postponing the municipal level of the voting.   But it said elections for cantonal assemblies, separate Serb and Moslem-Croat parliaments, a national House of Representatives and a three-man presidency would go ahead.   However, the SDA party of Bosnian Moslem President Alija Izetbegovic and two Moslem-led opposition parties then urged refugees not to vote at all unless the alleged irregularities in the Serb Republic were resolved.   Federation President Kresimir Zubak, a Croat, said the OSCE should have postponed the entire election if it was not prepared to punish the Serbs now.   "Now it turns out that the very same people who opted to vote under the change of residence rule have a right to vote for central organs of power, federal or Serb bodies, and at the same time they are denied the right to vote at a municipal level," Zubak told Reuters in Tuzla.   "This is unprincipled ... In that case, these people shouldn't be allowed to vote at all." 
4577 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Bosnian elections took a potentially ominous turn on Wednesday when three political parties urged refugees living abroad not to cast ballots until voter registration irregularities are resolved.   The international organisation supervising elections "strongly disagreed" with the boycott call and some diplomats dismissed it as political posturing by Moslem politicians.   About 640,000 Bosnian refugees are registered to vote in 55 countries around the world during the week beginning on Wednesday, August 28.   Election day in Bosnia is September 14.   The elections are being run by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).   Wednesday's boycott call was led by the ruling Moslem nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), headed by Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.   An SDA party statement said it was calling for a boycott because of a lack of clarity in an OSCE decision on Tuesday postponing municipal elections because of numerous problems, including registration irregularities.   Elections for cantonal assemblies, separate Moslem-Croat and Serb parliaments, a national House of Representatives and a collective Presidency were not affected by that OSCE decision.   SDA said it needed more time to consult with the other parties competing in the elections.   "We disagree strongly that any party should opt out of the democratic process," OSCE spokeswoman Agotha Kuperman said of the boycott suggestion.   "We have addressed the registration concerns by postponing the municipal elections."   SDA was joined in its position by the Party for BH, headed by Bosnia's popular war-time prime minister Haris Silajdzic, and by a third party headed by former Bosnian army commander Sefer Halilovic.   All three parties appeal primarily to Moslems but Silajdzic makes a multi-ethnic pitch on the campiagn trail.   The parties complained on Wednesday that the OSCE's decision to postpone municipal elections sidestepped a larger problem of fraud in voter registration.   At least one diplomat on Sarajevo interpreted the move as a ploy by some Moslem party leaders to see if, having won a concession on municipal elections, they could wring anything more out of the international community.   "I suspect we'll see more of this sort of posturing between now and election day as all the factions try to gain a bit of advantage," said a Western diplomat who asked not to be named.   "Time has run out for major changes in the electoral process if there is going to be a vote on September 14.   The Moslems know that as well as anyone else."   Independent observers, including those from OSCE, charge that Serb authorities actively discouraged Serb refugees from registering to vote in municipalities where they lived before the Bosnian war broke out in 1992.   Instead, the monitors say, Serb refugees were steered to register in pivotal towns which once had Moslem majorities but which are now underpopulated after having been "ethnically cleansed" during the war.   Diplomats explain that the Serb object in this electoral engineering is to secure undisputed political control of strategic locations inside the 49 per cent of Bosnia known as the Serb republic.   Winning such control would amount to an important way- station on the road to independence from Bosnia and affiliation with neighbouring Serbia, which is what Bosnian Serbs fought for during the war.   Bosnian Moslems who share an uneasy federation with Croats in 51 percent of Bosnia won a victory of sorts on Tuesday when the OSCE postponed the municipal elections.   But they argue that so long as refugees are allowed to vote in places other than their pre-war residence, and so long as they are prevented returning to their homes as envisioned under the Dayton peace agreement, Bosnia is on the road to partition. 
4578 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  An unclaimed package was found on a Turkish airliner bound from Vienna to Istanbul, which landed at Sofia airport on Wednesday after receiving a bomb threat, an airport official said.   "One piece of luggage was found which none of the passengers acknowledged," Sofia airport general director Danyo Adanev told reporters.   He said the Airbus 310 was flying from Vienna to Istanbul with 39 passengers on board and landed at Sofia at 1503 (1203 GMT) after traffic controllers in Sofia received a telephone call from Vienna saying there was an explosive on board.   The plane was surrounded by 11 fire engines after landing, and was being checked for explosives.   The passengers and the luggage were being scanned individually.   The unclaimed piece of baggage was being checked for explosives, said Adanev.   The airliner was expected to continue its flight for Istanbul after the check was completed.   "We must ensure the plane is clean," said Adanev.   A dozen local journalists and photographers were arrested for going through a security barrier at the airport to try to get a better view of the plane.   In March, a Turkish Cypriot airliner hijacked on a flight from northern Cyprus to Istanbul landed in Sofia airport to refuel before flying to Munich, where the hijacker was arrested. 
4579 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  A Turkish airliner on a regular flight from Istanbul to Vienna landed at Sofia airport on Wednesday after receiving a bomb threat, an airport official said.   "Airbus 310 on flight number THY884 with 39 passengers on board landed at Sofia airport at 1503 (1203 GMT) after receiving a signal that there is an explosive on board," the official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.   The plane was surrounded by 11 fire engines, and was being checked for explosives.   The passengers and the luggage were being scanned individually.   Nothing had been found so far, the official said.   The airliner was expected to continue its flight for Vienna after the check is completed at around 1800 (1500 GMT) the official said.   "We must be 100 percent certain the plane is clean," said the official.   A dozen local journalists and photographers were arrested for going through a security barrier at the airport to try to get a better view of the plane.   In March a Turkish Cypriot airliner hijacked on a flight from northern Cyprus to Istanbul landed in Sofia airport to refuel before landing in Munich, where the hijacker was arrested. 
4580 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Columns of Russian men and equipment trundled out of the shattered Chechen capital on Wednesday as Russian and Chechen commanders sat down for more talks on implementing the ceasefire deal.   Grozny, returning to a semblance of normality after some of the bloodiest fighting for more than a year, was quiet as detachments of troops, their trucks and armoured personnel carriers belching black smoke, rolled out of the city.   At least one column was bound for the Russian military base at Severny airport, a few km (miles) from the centre of Grozny.   Jubilant soldiers in a second column cheered as they drove past.   "We are going home, back to Russia," one soldier said.   As the troops left the city, Russian commander Vyacheslav Tikomirov and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov sat down for more talks on implementing the ceasefire in the rebel-held village of Novye Atagi, some 20 kms (12 miles) from Grozny.   The two men made no comment as they went in for the new round of discussions, Reuters correspondent Dmitry Kuznets said.   The truce is the main achievement so far of peace envoy Alexander Lebed, whose efforts to find a political settlement for the 20-month war appear to have been frozen in Moscow.   Interfax news agency quoted a Russian military source as saying talks would look at the pace of fulfilling the ceasefire deal, exchanging prisoners and demilitarisation of Grozny.   Tikhomirov also wanted to know why Chechens were setting up administrative structures which were not part of the ceasefire.   In Grozny Russian officers and Chechen fighters said they hoped for a lasting peace.   "This war should have been finished long ago, but nobody knew how to go about it," said Russian lieutenant-colonel Igor Grudnov.   "The troops must withdraw, it is the correct decision.   Peace had to come some time and it did.   Our soldiers and officers did not want to fight."   "We have found a common language, it is time to end the bloodshed," said separatist Sultan Miniyev.   "They don't want to wage war and neither do we.   I think this peace is stable."   The pullout, a ceasefire and joint Russian-Chechen military patrols in battered Grozny are key elements of the military agreement hammered out last week by Lebed and Maskhadov.   Lebed halted talks with Maskhadov on Sunday and flew to Moscow to get Yeltsin's backing for his plans for a political settlement to end the 20-month conflict.   He is still waiting for a response from the president, who is on holiday outside Moscow.   A political deal will be the most difficult part of his mission as Lebed must reconcile Chechen demands for independence with Moscow's insistence that the region stay part of Russia.   Lebed said he was preparing to return to Chechnya and might leave on Thursday or Friday.   He said delays in the political talks with the rebels might disrupt the military agreements.   Yeltsin's seeming reluctance to see Lebed, his special envoy to Chechnya, has prompted speculation he is out of touch with reality or is waiting to see if Lebed's peace plans collapse.   The latest ceasefire, reached after the separatists seized much of Grozny in an August 6 raid which humiliated the Russian military, has lasted for almost a week, but rebel fighters are clearly in control of the city.   Groups of fighters swept through Grozny's rubble-strewn streets in commandeered Russian armoured personnel carriers.   Interfax news agency quoted sources at Russia's military headquarters as saying 4,500 rebel fighters were in Grozny, backed by six tanks, 25 armoured personnel carriers and three heavy field guns.   But life in Grozny, disrupted by fighting which forced tens of thousands to flee, was slowly returning to normal.   Kiosks have opened up again and the range of goods on offer is rising.   In one street a middle-aged woman wearing a pink and white headscarf said she was going to visit friends.   It seems like we can smell peace.   People are already starting to visit each other," she said. 
4581 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Bosnian elections took a potentially ominous turn on Wednesday when three parties, two of them Moslem, urged refugees living abroad not to cast ballots until voter registration irregularities are resolved.   About 640,000 Bosnian refugees are registered to vote in 55 countries around the world from Wednesday, August 28.   The in-country election day for Bosnia is September 14.   Wednesday's boycott call was led by the ruling Moslem nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), which is headed by Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic.   Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) officials in charge of the elections were not immediately available for comment.   An SDA statement said it wanted a boycott because of a lack of clarity in the OSCE's Tuesday decision to postpone municipal elections over numerous problems including registration irregularities.   Elections for cantonal assemblies, separate Moslem-Croat and Serb parliaments, a national House of Representatives and a collective Presidency were not affected by the OSCE decision.   SDA also said it needed time to consult with other parties contesting the elections.   The SDA call for a refugee boycott was joined by the Party for BH, led by Bosnia's war-time Prime Minister Haris Silajdzic.   The Bosnian Patriotic Party, headed by former Bosnian army commander Sefer Halilovic, also called for refugees not to vote and termed the elections a "cunning fraud".   The SDA and the Bosnian Patriotic Party are principally Moslem.   The Party for BH makes a multi-ethnic appeal for voters.   Together, the party leaders are among Bosnia's most prominent Moslems.   The parties complained on Wednesday that the OSCE's decision to postpone municipal elections sidestepped the larger problem of Serb fraud in voter registration without addressing or resolving it.   Independent observers, including those from OSCE, accuse Serb authorities of actively discouraging refugees from registering to vote in municipalities where they lived before the Bosnian war broke out in 1992.   Instead, the monitors say, Serb refugees were steered to register in pivotal towns which once had Moslem majorities but which are now underpopulated after having been "ethnically cleansed" during the war.   Diplomats explain that the aim of the electoral engineering is to sieze undisputed political control of strategic locations inside the 49 per cent of Bosnia known as the Serb republic.   Winning such control would amount to an important way- station on the road to achieving the Bosnian Serbs' war-time goals of independence from Bosnia and affiliation with neighbouring Serbia.   Bosnian Moslems, who share an uneasy federation with Croats on the other 51 per cent of Bosnia, won a victory of sorts on Tuesday when the OSCE postponed the municipal elections.   But they argue that so long as refugees are allowed to vote in places other than their pre-war residences, and so long as they are prevented from returning to their homes as envisaged under the Dayton peace agreement, Bosnia is on the road to partition. 
4582 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's ruling Moslem nationalist party on Wednesday urged refugees living abroad not to cast absentee ballots in Bosnian elections until voter registration irregularities are resolved.   A statement issued by the Party of Democratic Action (SDA) said its refugee voters abroad should not mark their ballots and, if they have already done so, should not mail them.   Refugee voting was supposed to begin on Wednesday.   More than 641,000 Bosnian refugees have registered to vote in Bosnian elections for which in-country balloting begins on September 14.   The majority of refugees are Bosnian Moslems.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is supervising balloting in Bosnia, cancelled municipal-level elections on Tuesday, citing voter registration irregularities among other problems.   The SDA cited its need to consult other parties, and the lack of clarity in the OSCE's Tuesday decision, as the reasons for its suggested refugee voting boycott.   The OSCE chief in Bosnia, U.S. Ambassador Robert Frowick said he was putting off the municipal election until the spring of 1997, to give the organisation time to address problems with the registration of Serb refugees.   International observers have accused Serb authorities of pressuring the refugees to register in towns under Serb control but that had pre-war Moslem majorities.   The observers say the effect of the manipulation would be to stack the local electorate in the Serbs' favour so they win political control over districts they conquered and ethnicly cleansed in war.   There have been conflicting statements from Bosnian Serbs about their attitude to the OSCE's decision.   On Wednesday, the Bosnian Serb newsagency quoted Aleksa Buha, the head of the ruling Serb Democratic Party (SDS), as saying the party would probably accept the the OSCE's move, even though it violated the Dayton peace accord.   But in an earlier report, SRNA quoted the Serb deputy prime minister Miroslav Vjestica as saying: "The government of the Bosnian Serb republic will, in keeping with a decision by the national assembly, hold full elections -- meaning also municipal - as envisaged by the rules of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe." 
4583 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Russia pulled more soldiers out of the Chechen capital Grozny on Wednesday in line with recent peace accords and the city began returning to normal after the bloodiest fighting in more than a year.   Columns of Russian men and equipment, their trucks and armoured personnel carriers belching black smoke, trundled out of the city in the morning, at least one of them bound for the Russian military base at Severny airport.   Jubilant soldiers on a second column cheered as they drove past.   "We are going home, back to Russia," one soldier said.   Russian officers and Chechen fighters working together to coordinate the withdrawal said they hoped for a lasting peace.   "This war should have been finished long ago, but nobody knew how to go about it," said Igor Grudnov, a Russian lieutenant-colonel.   "The troops must withdraw, it is the correct decision.   Peace had to come some time and it did.   Our soldiers and officers did not want to fight"   Separatist Sultan Miniyev, who was helping with the withdrawal, agreed.   "We have found a common language, it is time to end the bloodshed," he said.   "They don't want to wage war and neither do we.   I think this peace is stable."   The pullout, a ceasefire and joint Russian-Chechen military patrols in battered Grozny are key elements of a military agreement hammered out last week by Russian envoy Alexander Lebed and Chechen chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov.   Lebed, in Moscow to seek President Boris Yeltsin's backing for a political solution to the 20-month-old conflict, said on Wednesday he was preparing for new talks in the rebel region later this week and might leave on Thursday or Friday.   But Lebed told RIA news agency that further delays in the political discussions with the separatists could disrupt the military accord.   "I hope to receive an answer from the president today," Lebed said.   Yeltsin, on vacation outside Moscow, has declined to meet his security adviser since Lebed's abrupt return from Chechnya at the weekend, prompting speculation that he is out of touch with reality or is waiting for Lebed's plan to collapse.   Aides say they have no information on Yeltsin's plans.   The latest ceasefire, reached after the separatists seized much of Grozny in an August 6 raid which humiliated the Russian military, has lasted for almost a week, but rebel fighters are clearly in control of the city.   Groups of fighters swept through Grozny's rubble-strewn streets in commandeered Russian armoured personnel carriers.   Some fighters have set up their own checkpoints to see who is entering and leaving various districts of Grozny.   Interfax news agency quoted sources at Russia's military headquarters as saying that around 4,500 rebel fighters were in Grozny, backed by six tanks, 25 armoured personnel carriers and three heavy field guns.   "At least half of them will stay in the town, pretending to be members of the civilian population," the source grumbled.   But life in Grozny, disrupted by the fighting which forced tens of thousands to flee, was slowly returning to normal.   Kiosks, shuttered during the recent violent clashes, have opened up again and the range of goods on offer rises every day.   In one street a middle-aged woman wearing a pink and white headscarf said she was going to visit friends.   "It seems like we can smell peace.   People are already starting to visit each other," she said. 
4584 !GCAT !GCRIM  Marc Dutroux, the chief accused in a Belgian child murder and sex abuse scandal, is suspected of murdering a young Slovak woman, the Slovak office of Interpol said on Wednesday.   Rudolf Gajdos, head of Slovak Interpol, told a news conference Dutroux was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman.   "One of the police versions in the case of the murder of young gypsy woman in Topolcany, western Slovakia, this July, is a suspicion that Mark Dutroux could have been involved in the murder," Gajdos said without elaborating on the age of the victim and on the other versions.   Slovak police, Interpol, and Belgian police have been following leads on Dutroux's activities in Slovakia and the neighbouring Czech Republic where he is known to have made frequent visits.   Gajdos said the police sketch of the suspected murderer was "60 percent identical with Dutroux's portrait", and that Dutroux was known to have been in Topolcany around the time of the woman's murder.   "Topolcany and the area around this town were reported to have been the most visited places by Dutroux and his accomplices in Slovakia," Gajdos said.   Dutroux, a convicted child rapist and unemployed father-of-three, led police 11 days ago to the bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in the garden of another of the six houses he owns around the southern Belgian city of Charleroi.   "The Belgian police also informed us that Dutroux, together with one other man, had (also) planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman," Gajdos said.   "The plan apparently failed due to difficulties in crossing the border," he added, but did not elaborate.   The Slovak police are also investigating visits by about 10 Slovak women, aged 17 to 22, to Belgium, at the invitation of Dutroux.   The women said they went to Belgium voluntarily and police suspect they were used to act in pornographic films, Gajdos said earlier this week.   But he added they had difficulty remembering what happened during their visits to Belgium, perhaps because of drugs, and were unsure whether they were filmed for pornography.   Dutroux, 39, who was charged last week with the abduction and illegal imprisonment of two girls aged 14 and 12, is also suspected in the disappearance of Belgians An Marchal, 19, and Eefje Lambrecks, 17, who went missing a year ago. 
4585 !GCAT  Here are highlights from Polish newspapers this morning.   RZECZPOSPOLITA   - Some of Poland's car makers including Fiat and Hyundai units, will have to temporarily stop production due to recently introduced limitations on duty-free imports of auto parts.   - According to a recent survey by the PBS polling institute, 79 percent of Poles think that women are not discriminated against at their work-places while 17 percent are convinced they are.   - Poland's Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee opposition members have harshly criticised the candidates for ambassadors in Russia and Belarus Andrzej Zalucki and Ewa Spychalska for incompetence and communist roots.   - Warsaw Prosecutor lifted a wanted notice for Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski yesterday.   Kuklinski defected to the West in 1981 to pass martial law plans to the United States.   - "Poland and Slovenia share their views on new Europe as well as attitudes to the problems of European security and NATO pact enlargement", Poland's President Aleksander Kwasniewski said at his meeting with Slovenia's President Milan Kucan in Ljubljana yesterday.   - Lodz municipal transport company will buy 41 city buses from Sobieslaw Zasada Centrum SA worth 29 million zlotys.   The purchase will financed by an issue of municipal bonds.   NOWA EUROPA   - State-owned PKO BP bank will cut its base rate to 19.5 percent on September 1, the bank said in a statement.   - Gdynia-based PBK SA municipal bank wants to enter the main floor of the Warsaw bourse, bank representatives said.   - Poland sold 23 million zlotys worth of index-linked one- year bonds after investors bid for 75 million zlotys worth of the paper, the treasury said.   - Polish tobacco makers are raising cigarette prices even though the excise tax on tobacco products has not changed since April.   "The price rise this time is solely caused by growing production costs, especially tobacco prices", a spokesperson for the Krakow-based plant owned by Philip Morris said.   - According to Poland's Central Statistical Office (GUS), food prices remained flat in the period from 10 to 20 August after rising 0.2 percent in the previous 10 days.   GAZETA WYBORCZA   - The government has proposed keeping this year's real wage growth rate in the public sector in 1997 but intended to increase teachers and health service employees pay at the expense of high-rank administrators.   Solidarity unions demanded 50 percent more than the government was ready to pay.   - TPSA, Poland's telecommunications monopolist, signed a 33 million zloty contract with Alcatel, which will deliver three telephone exchanges for the Katowice province network.   - Daewoo Heavy Industries and Daewoo Corporation jointly hold 78 percent of votes in the Warsaw-based Daewoo-FSO plant as of last Saturday, Daewoo press officers said.   - According to a survey by the Demoskop polling institute, 53 percent of Poles buy food staples and cleaning products in small shops, 10 percent shop in supermarkets and nine percent at open air markets.   - National Bank of Poland (NBP) President Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz says Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko violated last year's budget provisions by borrowing $300 million abroad.   ZYCIE WARSZAWY   - A duty free fuel import quota of 300,000 tonnes may be introduced on 31 October 1996 together with fuel prices liberalisation, Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said.   - The oppposition socialist Union of Labour (UP) will not back the current government, if a vote of confidence is held in parliament.   The UP will not vote in favour of the NBP central bank's annual report for 1995, UP deputy chairwoman Wieslawa Ziolkowska said.   PARKIET   - Elblag-based EB breweries have reported the biggest beer output of all Polish breweries over this year's first half, which amounted to 1.315 million hectolitres.   The second largest beer producer Browary Tyskie brewed 0.9 million hectolitres in the same period.   - The BOS environment protection bank's issue prospectus has been initially approved by the Polish Securities' Commission (KPW).   BOS's public offer may start next month.   - Wadowice-based Ponar hydraulics maker wants to increase share capital through a rights issue, hoping to earn between 2.6 and 5.2 million zlotys, Zachodni National Investment Fund (NFI), which controls the firm, said.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
4586 !GCAT  DELO   - The cooperation between Poland and Slovenia has greatly intensified in the past couple of years due to common domestic and international interests of the two countries, said Slovenian president Milan Kucan after meeting his Polish counterpart Aleksander Kwasniewski in Ljubljana on Tuesday.   - Slovenian and Hungarian traffic ministers signed a memorandum on establishing a railway connection between the two countries.   Construction of the railway should start next year and is expected to be finished by 1999.   - Slovenia and Croatia have not yet agreed on the border line in the area of Hotiza near to their borders with Hungary.   - The electricity supply crisis, that started last week when part of power plant Stostanj broke down, is over.   But electricity producers and distributors still lack money for necessary renovation, state secretary of energy said.   DNEVNIK   - Nearly all Slovenian ministers and parliamentary members will be listed as candidates at the general elections, which are due to take place by December, experts said.   REPUBLIKA   - According to unofficial information gathered by Republika, several members of the Bank of Slovenia council offered to resign due to disagreement over the liquidation of Komercialna banka Triglav.   FINANCE   - Slovenian Payment Agency said the privatisation of the country's largest tourist agency Kompas was incorrect and therefore three companies, derived from Kompas, will have to increase the state's stake in them.   - Auditing of business results of troubled metal producer Jeklotehna show the company's loss in 1995 was twice as big as unaudited results showed.   Jeklotehna's major owner is the Slovneian Development Fund, whose task it is to push the company back into profit.   - The honorary court of the Ljubljana bourse said procedures in its case against financial consultancy Dadas, which was accused of rigging prices by trading among its affiliated companies, will not be open to the public. 
4587 !GCAT !GVIO  Russian troops began again to withdraw from the Chechen capital Grozny on Wednesday as Moscow commanders and separatist fighters prepared for new talks on a peace deal for the rebel region.   Interfax news agency, reporting from Grozny, said Russian military commander Vyacheslav Tikhomirov had briefed troops there on detailed plans for the pullout, part of a truce agreed between Russian envoy Alexander Lebed and the rebel command.   About 2,000 soldiers would be withdrawn on Wednesday, Itar-Tass news agency said.   Lebed, who struck his deal with rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov last week, is in Moscow waiting for President Boris Yeltsin to consider his plan to solve political aspects of the 20-month-old war.   Maskhadov and Tikhomirov said on Tuesday they had finally agreed on all details of the military deal signed last Thursday.   The two men are due to meet again at 3 p.m. (1100 GMT), Tass said.   "There will be no more obstacles to the continuation of our task," Tikhomirov said after talks on Tuesday in the village of Novye Atagi, 20 km (12 miles) south of Grozny.   The deal, which provides for a truce and Russian withdrawal from Grozny and southern regions of Chechnya, had been delayed after a group of Chechens disarmed a Russian column on Saturday.   But Tikhomirov said the seizure of the weapons would no longer block the deal.   Russia has also been pulling soldiers out of southern Chechnya, mountainous regions which it never fully controlled throughout the conflict.   Both sides have said the truce is broadly holding, although Russian news agencies said Moscow's troops came under fire half a dozen times overnight.   Nobody was hurt.   Hopes of a rapid political solution to the conflict faded after Yeltsin, on vacation in the Moscow region, declined to meet Lebed, his chief security adviser and his special representative in Chechnya.   Interfax quoted Lebed's spokesman as saying documents outlining a "comprehensive plan" and an account of Lebed's weekend talks with separatist leaders had been passed to Yeltsin.   "Russian society is being forced to accept that there are no winners in the Chechen war," Pravda daily newspaper wrote on Wednesday.   Lebed has disclosed no details of his plans to end the conflict which has already killed tens of thousands of people.   But Russian media have said the decision on the most painful issue of the conflict -- whether Chechnya should become independent as the rebels want or remain part of Russia -- would be put off until the region recovers from the war.   Yeltsin's delay in meeting Lebed has prompted speculation that the president, who sent troops to crush Chechnya's bid for secession in December 1994, could be too unwell to deal with the matter or that he was waiting to see if Lebed succeeded. 
4588 !GCAT  SME - The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) has rejected ideas of devaluation of the crown, saying it would not reverse the current decline in the country's trade balance.   - The NBS said its hard currency reserves, at present, represent three-and-a-half months of imports.   - Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar has rejected lthe notion that he was preparing the dismissal of Ivan Lexa, the head of the Slovak secret service (SIS).   NARODNA OBRODA - The Slovak state-run telecommunication monopoly ST s.p. is preparing to lower tariffs for international phone calls, effective October 1.   ST also plans to introduce special tariffs for hours between 1900 to 0700, which should be lower by some 20 percent compared to the rest of the day.   - The National Property Fund (NPF), the state privatisation agency, at present, registers 245 aplications for approval of the purchase of privatisation bonds.   The applicants are those who have yet to pay off their debts to the NPF for privatisation of state property.   NARODNA OBRODA - The NPF on Tuesday approved the privatisation of another 33 companies, including 30 percent of the chemichal firm Duslo Sala for 179 million crowns.   - The state telecom ST plans to increase the density of the Slovak telephone network to about 35 percent in the year 2000, from a current density of 20.85 percent.   - The telephone network should be 77.5 percent digitalised by the year 2000, compared to current digitalisation of 25.6 percent.   - Some 55 percent of Slovak industrial companies reported an increase of production in July compared to previous month, while about 10 percent of industrial firms said their production had decreased.   - The export-import subsidiary of steel producer VSZ Kosice posted turnover of 22.86 billion crowns in the first seven months of this year.   - Turnover on the Bratislava Stock Exchange totalled around 50 billion crowns in the first six month of this year, an increase of 20 percent compared with the full 1995 result.   - The bourse's market capitalisation increased by 20.23 percent in the first half of this year.   -- Bratislava Newsroom, 42-7-210-3687 
4589 !GCAT  These are some of the main stories in Sofia newspapers today.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   STANDART   -- Bulgaria's central electoral commission refused to register the presidential candidates of the ruling Socialist Party and the main anti-leftist opposition over legal inacurracies in their documents.   Both the socialists and the opposition said they would appeal the commissiion's decision before the Supreme Court.   -- South Korea's Daewoo Corporation is expected to buy a 67 percent of the five-star Sheraton Hotel in Sofia for $22.3 million, under a deal approved by Bulgaria's Privatisation Agency.   -- Bulgaria's Bank Consolidation Company (BCC), which manages state equity in commercial banks, will sell stakes in Bulgaria's state-owned banks to foreign buyers, BCC executive director Valentin Tsvetanov said.   24 CHASA   -- The Bulgarian National Bank is expected to discuss tomorrow a hike of its main interest rate by 12 points to a historic high of 120 percent in a bid to halt the sharp dollar rise on the local forex market, a central bank official said.   -- Bulgaria's Euroenergy Holding will provide $140 million credits for the debt-ridden Plama refinery if it buys the Pleven-based refinery, the holding's president Atanas Kolarov said.   TRUD   -- The International Monetary Fund's mission currently in Bulgaria has demanded that the Bulgarian government should not guarantee citizens' deposits in cases of future bankruptcies of commercial banks, trade union leader Krastyo Petkov said after talks with the mission leader Anne McGuirk.   PARI   -- Bread prices are expected to rise by some 12 percent from August 30 due to flour, fuels and energy prices hike, an official said.   -- Sofia Newsroom, (++359-2) 981 8569 
4590 !GCAT  HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Farmers who wish to sell their wheat to the state must uphold certain quality levels according to a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture.   - Workers at the Poldi Ocel steelworks in Kladno are carrying out a general physical inventory in the first few days after their return to work.   - Exports of automobiles to Germany, generally the most important export to that country, increased by 60 percent in 1995 to 4.31 billion crowns.   Exports of automotive spare parts increased by 100 percent to 3.5 billion crowns to place second.   PRAVO - An offer from the Iranian government for the delivery of 150,000 tonnes of steel to the Poldi Ocel Kladno plant has given the plant another chance to renew production according to a representative from Poldi.   - SPT Telecom is offering a new toll free service to customers.   The service, common in many parts of the world, began June 1.   Czech toll-free numbers begin with 0606 which is followed by five numbers.   MLADA FRONTA DNES - The first round of debate on the form of the 1997 state budget ended with a partial settlement.   Government ministers decided on the total level of state expenditures.   - While the environment in the Czech Republic has improved, most important environmental indicators generally are below average in comparison with more developed European countries.   - Problematic sales of textile machines and poor economic results have led the management of Zbrojovka Vsetin to undertake extensive layoffs and a number of organizational changes.   Last year the company, which includes five daughter companies and employs over 4,000 people, posted a 167 million crown loss.   - The largest domestic tyre manufacturing plant, Barum Otrokovice, should become one of the most important plants of Germany's Continental.   Continental is planning on closing a number of European plants due to their inability to compete on world markets.   - The construction of small power plants, with capacities of 300 to 600 megawatts, at the beginning of the next millenium in order to cover rising electricity consumption is inevitable according to representatives from CEZ.   -- Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
4591 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Wednesday morning's Albanian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   KOHA JONE   - Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi says the government will approve in August the IMF-monitored privatisation strategy for the National Commercial Bank and the Rural Commercial Bank.   The state will retain majority control and foreign and local investors can buy shares with low-value privatisation vouchers.   - Alleged Islamic fundamentalists have scratched with knives and inscribed fundamentalist slogans on 24 300-year-old frescoes in an Orthodox Church.   - Greek authorities have have deported 5,000 Albanians in five days.   - The ruling Democratic Party has not accepted a suggestion by the U.S. Republican Institute to change the ratio of seats allocated to various parties in election commissions.   - Albania has charged a British citizen with sexually abusing two minors.   - Leni Fischer, the head of the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, denies as baseless accusations allegations that the Albanian government had given her copper concessions.   - Six Council of Europe rapporteurs have arrived in Albania to start the stalled dialogue between the governing parties and the opposition after the disputed May 26 general election.   - Oil workers staged a one day strike and threatened to go on strike indefinitely in September if they were not payed delayed wages and a 20 percent rise they were supposed to receive since April.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - Albania is a paradise for both for foreign and local paedophiles and the situation is as bad here as in Asia.   - Big amounts of forged $20 and $100 dollar bills believed to have been produced in Switzerland are circulating in Albania.   They are so sophisticated they can not be detected by bank machines.   - Albania's Helsinki Human Rights Committee protests against the deportation of Albanian immigrants from Greece.   - The National (Monarchy) Legalist Party has changed its name into the Conservative Party.   RILINDJA DEMOKRATIKE   - Albania and Turkey have started joint naval military exercises. 
4592 !GCAT !GVIO  Russian troops have been pulling out of the Chechen capital Grozny and southern parts of the breakaway region ready to meet the weekend deadline set by a military deal between Moscow and separatist rebels.   Peacemaker Alexander Lebed, stranded in Moscow waiting for President Boris Yeltsin's authorisation of his plan to sort out political aspects of the 20-month war, has warned that any delay in talks could be hazardous.   Interfax news agency quoted Russian military headquarters in the region as saying on Wednesday that more than 8,000 Russian servicemen had left southern Chechnya and Grozny leaving the city to the care of joint Russian-Chechen patrol groups.   The headquarters said altogether 3,900 troops and Interior Ministry forces had left Grozny itself and around 4,200 of them had been withdrawn from southern Chechnya under the deal struck by Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov last Thursday.   Interfax said that 2,000 rebels left Grozny as part of the deal, which also provided for a truce and an exchange of prisoners of war seized by both sides in the conflict which had killed tens of thousands people.   As the military deal had started working, Lebed warned that delays in further talks with Chechen rebels aimed at sorting out political roots of the conflict could disrupt earlier gains.   RIA news agency quoted Lebed as saying he hoped for a reply from Yeltsin to his blueprint for a political settlement in the separatist region.   Lebed, who has said he and Maskhadov came close to finalising a formula which would meet both separatists' demand of independence and Moscow's desire to keep Chechnya as a part of the Russian Federation, abruptly broke the talks in Chechnya on Wednesday and flew to Moscow for consultations with Yeltsin.   Both Lebed and Maskhadov kept tight lipped about the plan.   The Kremlin leader, who had not been seen in public for weeks sparking rumours about his bad health, ordered Lebed from his vacation retreat near Moscow to provide a written account of his talks and a blueprint of a possible political deal.   Yeltsin's spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said on Wednesday that the 65-year-old president had familiarised himself with papers provided by Lebed.   "The president has thoroughly studied the plan and issued corresponding orders," Yastrzhembsky told a press briefing of local and foreign journalists.   "The president's new orders make the old ones more concrete and are aimed at consolidating the peacemaking process and lead it towards constructive decisions," he added.   Yastrzhembsky said that his chief needed additional expert advice on Lebed plans.   He said that Yeltsin, who had ordered Lebed to restore peace in Chechnya, had no immediate plans to meet him.   As the Chechen peace talks, third since Russia sent troops to quell Chechnya's independence bid in late 1994, have become an issue of political bargaining in Moscow, soldiers and rebel fighers in Chechnya praised the long-awaited halt in fighting.   In Grozny, Russian officers and Chechen fighters said they hoped for a lasting peace.   "This war should have been finished long ago, but nobody knew how to go about it," said Russian Lieutenant-Colonel Igor Grudnov.   "The troops must withdraw, it is the correct decision.   Peace had to come some time and it did.   Our soldiers and officers did not want to fight."   "We have found a common language, it is time to end the bloodshed," said separatist Sultan Miniyev.   "They don't want to wage war and neither do we.   I think this peace is stable." 
4593 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  International officials said turnout was extremely low on the first day of voting for Bosnian refugees in rump Yugoslavia with some voters complaining they never received election material.   "Not too many voters came to polling stations today according to the reports from election supervisors," said Jerome Lyraud of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is overseeing Bosnia's first post-war election.   "But everything is running well," he told Reuters on Wednesday.   Lyraud, who coordinates a team of 30 monitors supervising the refugee vote at 60 polling stations in the rump Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro, said he expected more refugees to cast their ballots over the seven-day voting period.   About 640,000 Bosnian refugees are registered to vote in 55 countries around the world from Wednesday, August 28.   The in-country election day for Bosnia is September 14.   Refugees began voting on Wednesday by mail.   Polling stations have been set up for refugees in Yugoslavia, Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey and Hungary, OSCE officials said.   Even before the voting began, reports that the registration process was marred by widespread manipulation in Yugoslavia and Bosnian Serb territory cast a shadow over the election.   Citing irregularities with voter registration, the OSCE mission in Bosnia on Tuesday postponed municipal polls which were originally scheduled to coincide with national elections on September 14.   A day after the decision, three Bosnian political parties called on refugees abroad to boycott the election until voter registration problems were solved.   Human rights workers say Serbian and Bosnian Serb authorities coerced refugees into registering to vote only in Serb-controlled territory in a bid to seal the results of wartime expulsions and military conquest.   At a polling station on Terazije street in Belgrade's city centre, only one voter -- a woman from the western town of Glamoc -- had cast a ballot in eight hours, officials said.   "There were a lot of people who came to inquire about election material.   We told them they would get it by mail," said Radimila Kecman, head of the Terazije polling station.   Leyraud said any refugee who had not received election materials would get them within days in the mail.   "It's not at all an issue.   They still have six days to vote," he said.   Under terms of the Dayton peace accord, refugees have the right to vote in the municipality where they lived before the war began in 1992.   They may also opt to register where they have resettled or where they "intend" to live in the future.   Serb authorities are accused of registering large numbers of refugees in disputed towns to stack the odds in their own favour.   One OSCE monitor, Ninko Miric, said he had not been given the addresses of polling stations to visit until midday, five hours after the polls opened in Serbia.   He also said some refugees from the western Bosnian town of Drvar reported they had never been provided with forms to allow them to register to vote in their town.   "They wanted to vote in the municipality of Drvar which is in the (Moslem-Croat) federation," Miric told reporters.   "They said they were sent voting slips only for the Bosnian Serb republic." 
4594 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  The Hungarian parliament will hold an extraordinary session on September 3 to discuss a treaty which Hungary plans to sign with Romania next month, Zoltan Gal, Chairman of the Parliament said on Wednesday.   The accord, which lays new foundations for their relationship, is vital for both countries' ambitions to join NATO and the European Union.   The extraordinary session was initiated by the left-wing opposition to Hungary's ruling socialist-liberal coalition.   According to the original schedule, the parliament should only assemble in the second week of September.   Hungarian opposition leaders and representatives of Hungarian communities in both Romania and Slovakia have accused Budapest of neglecting the interests of millions of Hungarians living in neighbouring countries.   The focus of their anger is a footnote to the treaty agreed with Romania as a way out of the deadlock which they allege limits the scope of autonomy for Hungarian ethnic minorities living in the neighbouring countries, such as Romania and Slovakia.   The government said the treaty would guarantee the rights of Hungarian ethnic minorities and Hungary would sign the accord with Romania despite the criticism.   The ruling coalition holds more than two-thirds of the votes in parliament, and that is enough for the parliament to approve the treaty despite opposition protests. 
4595 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  The Kremlin, fighting to quash rumours about President Boris Yeltsin's health problems, said on Wednesday the Kremlin leader was "in working condition" and was ruling the country from his holiday retreat.   "Even on holiday, Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) remains an active president," Yeltsin's spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky told a news briefing.   "There should be no doubt that decisions on key issues of internal and foreign policy are being taken by him," he added.   Asked directly whether Yeltsin was well, Yastrzhembsky said: "The president is working and is preparing for a meeting with (German Chancellor Helmut) Kohl, so one can say he is "in working condition'."   Yeltsin's departure for a holiday, announced on Monday in the middle of an effort by security aide Alexander Lebed to negotiate an end to the 20-month war in rebel Chechnya, has sparked rumours about the president's health.   Since late June, Yeltsin has only been seen in public once, when he made a brief appearance at his inauguration ceremony for a second term of office on August 9.   He is currently holidaying at the private Rus hunting lodge, some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow.   The Kremlin has aggressively denied media reports that the 65-year-old president, who had two mild heart attacks last year, was ill again and needed serious treatment.   Kremlin aides say Yeltsin has to rest after an exhausting re-election campaign when he had to fight hard to beat a communist rival.   Yastrzhembsky also announced that Kohl would visit Yeltsin on September 7 in an unspecified presidential residence near Moscow but gave no details.   He said the visit was arranged in two telephone conversations between the German and Russian leaders this week.   "These were long enough, substantial, constructive conversations," Yastrzhembsky said, clearly stressing that Yeltsin was in good physical shape.   Yeltsin's latest disappearance has alarmed many analysts in Russia and some newspapers said an early race to replace him was already under way.   "An unannounced, under-the-carpet presidential campaign has started in the country," the respected newspaper Izvestia said.   Lebed, who came a solid third in the first round of the Russian presidential election, backed Yeltsin in the crucial runoff vote on July 3, giving millions of extra votes for the Kremlin leader's victory.   Izvestia said the Chechnya mission would have a strong impact on Lebed's future.   "If he stops this shameful war, he will become a national hero with strong chances of becoming a hero with official powers in the future," Izvestia said.   Lebed, appointed as special envoy to Chechnya just two weeks ago, already has a military deal with the separatist rebels and agreed with them that Russian troops would leave the regional capital Grozny and southern parts of the breakaway province.   He has started talks with the rebels on the problem at the heart of the war -- how to square rebel demands for independence with Moscow's insistence the region stay part of Russia.   Yeltsin has so far failed to express a view on Lebed's military deal and to the planned political agreement.   "The president has thoroughly studied the plan and issued corresponding orders," Yastrzhembsky said.   "The president's new orders make the old ones more concrete and are aimed at consolidating the peacemaking process and lead it towards constructive decisions," he added.   "To our great regret the Chechen problem is not one which can be resolved in one hour.   The president has needed additional expert advice," he added.   RIA news agency earlier quoted Lebed as saying more delays in the political talks could disrupt the delicate peace process.   Asked about a meeting between Yeltsin and Lebed, Yastrzhembsky said: "Up to 7 p.m. (1500 GMT), I have no information that such a meeting will take place." 
4596 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Poland's Trilateral Commission, grouping government officials, trade unions and employers, agreed on Wednesday that wages in the public sector will rise by 5.5 percent in real terms in 1997, PAP news agency said.   It said the wages would rise by an average of 149 zlotys next year and increases would be higher in the education, health, social service and culture sectors.   The Solidarity trade union had demanded that public sector employees such as teachers, doctors and police, have their pay increased by 10 points above inflation in 1997, while the government last week was offering a four-point rise.   Average wages in the public service sector are about 80 percent of those in the enterprise sector, which totalled 967 zlotys in July, about 31 percent higher than in July 1995.   Year-on-year inflation in July was 20.4 percent.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
4597 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  U.S. ambassador to NATO Robert Hunter on Wednesday praised Romania for its efforts to win early NATO membership but said a decision on enlarging the Western alliance was unlikely before next year.   "The record of Romania in the Partnership for Peace (PFP) has been superb and that counts a lot at NATO headquarters," Hunter told participants in Bucharest at a round-table meeting discussing Romania's bid to join the Western security alliance.   Since the 1989 fall of communism Romania has built its entire foreign policy on striving for NATO and European Union membership.   It was the first ex-communist country to sign up for the PFP programme of military links between NATO and East Europe.   Hunter also hailed a recent agreement between the Romanian and Hungarian governments over the text of a long-delayed bilateral treaty, saying the accord boosted regional security.   The accord, agreed two weeks ago, is expected to end years of disputes over the status of Romania's large ethnic Hungarian minority.   It will allay Romanian fears over Budapest's alleged designs on the Transylvania region, once ruled by Austro-Hungary, as well as Hungarian concerns over its kin in Romania.   Foot-dragging over the treaty was seen as a major obstacle for both countries' chances of admission to NATO and the EU.   "It is now impossible for Hungary and Romania to go to war," Hunter said.   Although Hunter refrained from open support of Romania's bid for early NATO membership, his warm remarks will hearten Bucharest, which fears Romania's security would be jeopardised if it were not in the first wave of ex-Warsaw pact entrants.   Hunter stessed the Western alliance had not yet identified which countries would be invited to join NATO in its first phase of post-Cold War expansion into eastern Europe.   He said NATO foreign ministers were expected to meet in Brussels over December 10-11 to chart the course of NATO's future enlargement.   However, the Brussels meeting would not identify possible new NATO members, Hunter said.   "I do not expect individual countries to be named or invitations issued.   So far, we have not discussed who might join.   The field remains wide open," he said.   A NATO summit in 1997 might take formal decissions on the enlargement process and single out the countries likely to become new partners in the alliance, he said.   "We will probably take in more than one (country) at a time," Hunter said. 
4598 !GCAT !GVIO  Russian armoured vehicles trundled slowly along a muddy mountain track as they abandoned their frontline camp in southern Chechnya on Wednesday, a snaking convoy that left behind more than a bloody battlefield.   The 506th motorised infantry regiment had made its mark on the picturesque landscape in other ways.   Wrecked military equipment, hundreds of spent cartridges, piles of rubbish, dirty trousers hanging on a line and a discarded soldier's boot lay scattered around.   No sooner had the last armoured personnel carrier pulled out of the camp in the Vedeno district, in the rebels' southern stronghold, than the scavengers moved in.   "Its good that the Russian troops have gone, but they have left such a mess behind," said Musa Idrisov, a middle-aged local man.   "Just take a look at what they have left here."   In Vedeno, 45 km (30 miles) southeast of the Chechen capital Grozny, Moslem fighters with thick black beards bent down to pray on the damp grass as the convoy of 275 vehicles passed.   Some 450 had already left on Tuesday.   On the gun turret of one armoured vehicle soldiers had painted "Homeward Bound".   The withdrawal is part of a peace agreement brokered last week by Kremlin peace envoy Alexander Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov.   It calls for the troops to head north to Khankala, the main Russian base in Chechnya, just outside Grozny.   President Boris Yeltsin had called for a partial withdrawal from the breakaway region to be completed by the weekend.   The pullout, part of Yeltsin's pre-election plan to bring peace to Chechnya, looked as if it might not take place following the capture by rebels of most of Grozny on August 6.   But the rebel offensive spurred the Kremlin into new peace efforts and Lebed was sent as special envoy to the region.   He has arranged a deal with the rebels that has returned hope to the north Caucasus region in the past week.   Senior rebel commander Akhmed Zakayev told Reuters television in Grozny that there was now mutual understanding and the willingness to implement the latest peace accord.   "There are no victors or vanquished in this war," said the bearded Zakayev, wearing the rebels' familiar green headband.   "The Russian-Chechen war is already history.   The question of peace in Chechnya has already been decided," he added.   As he spoke, rebel fighters boarded buses and abandoned some of their posts in two districts of Grozny.   They were leaving them in the hands of joint Russian-Chechen units created to keep the peace after the August 6 assault sparked some of the heaviest fighting in near two years of war.   Russia sent troops into Chechnya in December 1994 to crush the region's three-year bid for independence.   Tens of thousands of people have been killed but Russian forces have failed to quell rebel resistance.   One rebel observer of the withdrawal waved the black-and-white flag of the most radical Chechen fighters.   Chechen deputy commandant of the Vedeno district, Sultan Sidiyev, was also smiling as the last troops moved out and rebels joined civilians in scouring the abandoned camp.   Some carried out scrap metal and spare parts from military hardware but most of the debris was useless. 
4599 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Russian President Boris Yeltsin failed on Wednesday to give any clear response to plans by peace envoy Alexander Lebed to end the Chechen war although Lebed has said any delays could derail the whole peace process.   Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky, speaking at a briefing for local and foreign journalists, was not even sure when Yeltsin would meet Lebed, whom he appointed two weeks ago to solve the Chechnya crisis.   "The president has thoroughly studied the plan and issued corresponding orders," Yastrzhembsky said.   "The president's new orders make the old ones more concrete and are aimed at consolidating the peacemaking process and leading it towards constructive decisions."   Asked whether Yeltsin's orders were aimed at Lebed, the spokesman said they only included the former paratroop general.   Lebed aborted talks with Chechen chief-of-staff Aslan Maschadov on Sunday and flew to Moscow expressly to get Yeltsin's backing for his plans on Chechnya's political future.   Lebed brokered a ceasefire but is now dealing with the most difficult part of his mission -- finding a political settlement that reconciles rebel demands for independence with Moscow's insistence that the region must stay part of Russia.   The Kremlin briefing took place amid persistent rumours over the health of the 65-year-old president, who suffered two minor heart attacks last year and has not been seen in public since his August 9 inauguration for a second term in office.   Asked about a meeting between Yeltsin and Lebed, Yastrzhembsky said: "Up to 7 p.m. (1600 GMT), I have no information that such a meeting will take place."   He explained the delay in arranging a meeting by saying the Chechen issue could not be solved quickly.   "To our great regret, the Chechen problem is not one that is resolved in one hour.   The president has needed additional expert advice," he said.   Lebed, quoted by RIA news agency, said earlier that more delays in talks on Chechnya's political status could disrupt the delicate peace process.   He said he hoped to get a reply from Yeltsin on his plans for resolving the question of the region's political status.   Yeltsin's failure to meet Lebed at such a key time has fuelled rumours that he is too ill to deal with the details of solving the crisis.   But some commentators say he is simply distancing himself from a process that may fall apart.   The ceasefire, signed by Lebed and Maskhadov last Thursday, has mainly held.   It ended some of the bloodiest fighting in the 20-month war after the separatists attacked the regional capital Grozny on August 6. 
4600 !GCAT !GCRIM  A man knifed to death international model Agnieszka Kotlarska outside her home in Wroclaw, western Poland, Polish television said on Wednesday.   The man, who said he had once been engaged to her, first knifed Kotlarska's husband in the leg, then stabbed her three times in the chest when she tried to intervene during the incident on Tuesday.   She died in hospital.   Kotlarska, who was 24 and had a three-year-old child, was Miss Poland in 1991 and went on to a U.S.-based modelling career that included working with Italian designer Gianni Versace and Vogue magazine, the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper said.   She had been due to fly on a TWA airliner which exploded near New York last month, but had cancelled her booking, the newspaper said.   Her attacker, identified only as Jerzy L., 36, was arrested by police and will appear in court on Thursday morning, television reported.   It said he had admitted the attack but had denied intending to kill Kotlarska. 
4601 !GCAT !GDIP  Albania asked Greece on Wednesday to explain why it was deporting more Albanian immigrants, Foreign Minister Tritan Shehu said.   The Albanian daily Koha Jone reported earlier that Greece had deported about 5,000 Albanians in the last five days.   "The Foreign Ministry is trying to find out from the Greek embassy why Albanian refugees have been deported from Greece," Shehu told Reuters.   Athens and Tirana signed an accord in May to legalise the status of Albanian immigrant workers, estimated at 350,000, and remove a long-standing stumbling block in relations between the two Balkan neighbours. 
4602 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  Police have arrested 12 men for digging up a road in northern Poland in the belief that it contained hashish, PAP news agency reported on Wednesdy.   It reported that police earlier handed 15 tonnes of confiscated hashish to a chemical plant to be incinerated and sold as ash for road construction.   Reports that two workers at the plant had been arrested for keeping some half-burned hashish for sale sparked rumours that more of the drug had survived, and prompted the 12 to dig up a recently-laid road near Szczecin. 
4603 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Briton detained in Albania on charges of sexually abusing two young boys has denied all the allegations, his Albanian lawyer said on Wednesday.   "We absolutely do not accept the charges and I can say there is no proof that he committed any abuse," lawyer Delo Isufi told Reuters.   Paul Thompson, 34, was arrested on Sunday in a hotel in the Adriatic resort of Durres, 45 km (30 miles) west of Tirana.   He could face up to five years in jail if convicted.   Isufi said Thompson, who is divorced, befriended the boys, both aged under 10, because they reminded him of his own children who live with his former wife in London.   Albania, still shaking off nearly half a century of rigid communist control, remains Europe's poorest country.   Hundreds of children are sent by their families to beg on the streets, especially in areas visited by foreigners.   Isufi said he had offered to hand over Thompson's passport if the authorities would allow him out of jail pending further investigations but the plea was rejected.   "We even offered to pay for a policeman to guard him at the Dajti Hotel or somewhere else.   The prison atmosphere is naturally making him anxious," he added.   Isufi and a British embassy official, who had been in contact with Thompson, said they were satisfied with the conduct of the state prosecutor and said investigations were likely to be over within the week.   Officials said on Tuesday Thompson lived in Wiltshire but legal sources said on Wednesday he came from Devon and now lived in London. 
4604 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Romania has revised its 1996 state budget to bring it into line with higher inflation and costs, a government official said on Wednesday, but declined to provide details.   "The government approved an ordinance to rectify the 1996 state budget," cabinet spokesman Ioan Rosca told a news conference.   Wage and pension rises were the main extra costs.   He said revised budget data should be released early next week.   In July Finance Minister Florin Georgescu said that under the revised budget state spending should rise by some 566 billion lei.   No new deficit forecast has been issued so far.   Romania's state budget deficit jumped sharply in June, pushing its six-month figure to 1.24 trillion lei from 596.5 billion lei in January-May, latest statistics showed.   The state budget deficit was originally forecast at 3.19 trillion lei for the whole year.   The government counted on non-inflationary means to finance the increased budget deficit, Rosca said without elaborating.   In the original state budget, approved in March, revenues were envisaged at around 16.98 trillion lei and expenditures 20.17 trillion lei for 1996.   The government has seen year-on-year inflation at 30 percent in 1996, up from a previously forecast 20 percent.   It also revised upward the forecast rise in gross domestic product this year to 4.8 percent from a previous 4.5 percent.   Inflation quickened to 7.5 percent last month after price increases for energy, fuel and bread.   This pushed year-on-year inflation to 40.3 percent in July.   July's prices upswing was followed by a 6.0 percent wage and pension indexation which will hit the budget hard.   ($=3,161)   -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
4605 !GCAT !GENT !GODD !GREL  The Vatican has told Albanian diplomats that a 16th century book, the earliest example of written Albanian, had not been lost but could not be found at the moment, Albanian news agency ATA said on Wednesday.   "Reports that the 'Book of Mass' by Gjon Buzuku had been lost were untrue," ATA quoted Leonard Boyle, the Vatican Library prefect, as telling the Albanian embassy in Rome.   Boyle said he was sure the original copy of the book, the first major document published in the Albanian language in 1555, was in one of their pavilions and they had assigned three employees to hunt it down.   Albanian newspapers said last week that scholar Musa Hamiti had told Vatican radio's Albanian section that officials of the Holy See reported the book lost.   "It is in the nature of our work to move around the books, which number millions," Boyle said.   The library had just found a book it had been looking for since 1905, he added. 
4606 !GCAT !GPOL  Former president Lech Walesa urged Poland's Solidarity trade union on Wednesday to cooperate with the liberal centrist opposition rather than the radical right in parliamentary polls next year.   Opinion polls suggest that an electoral alliance Solidarity has formed with dozens of small opposition parties will play a pivotal role in attempts to oust the ruling coalition, dominated by ex-communists, which has been in power since 1993.   But Solidarity has so far fought shy of a formal understanding with either the largest opposition party in parliament, the liberal Union for Freedom (UW), or with the new right-wing Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland (ROP).   Walesa, who in 1980 launched Solidarity's long struggle against communist rule, told Reuters in an interview that the UW was a better bet than ROP, despite Solidarity's policy differences with the liberal grouping.   "The strongest party is the Union for Freedom, whether we have complaints about it or not.   ROP is an outlet needed by the nervous and by windbags," Walesa said in an interview.   The UW groups many of the intellectuals who backed Solidarity before its 1989 victory over communism and saw through the tough "shock therapy" market reforms of the first democratic governments in the early 1990s.   ROP, by contrast, combines strong patriotism and support for the Roman Catholic church with populist economic policies such as a mass share-out of remaining state assets -- ideals shared by many of Solidarity's two million members.   Solidarity's decisions on election tactics could help determine whether a future government continues the broad trend of post-1989 reforms, or adopts ROP-style policies.   Walesa, who is due to address a major opposition rally in the port city of Szczecin on Thursday, stressed that Solidarity representatives should hold seats in parliament but trade unionists should leave government to political parties.   Opposition parties including the UW should start talks now about a future government, said Walesa, who narrowly lost Poland's presidency to ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski last year and has since kept a relatively low profile.   Walesa, who retains influence over Solidarity's leaders, said that before the union-led alliance goes to the polls it should prepare drafts of legislation.   These should include bills on privatisation, reform of the social security system and the health service, a new tax law, greater decentralisation, and changes in justice and education.   Solidarity and its allied parties plan a major anti-government street demonstration in Warsaw on Saturday. 
4607 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Uzbekistan's human rights record has shown "limited improvement", a well-known Uzbek dissident back from exile said on Wednesday.   Abdumannob Pulatov returned to Uzbekistan last week after living in exile in the United States since 1993.   He was invited back by Uzbek President Islam Karimov during a Washington visit last June.   "My view from Washington is that there has been a limited improvement (in human rights) in the last six months," Pulatov, a human rights campaigner and opposition politician, said in the Uzbek capital Tashkent.   He is the first dissident to return to the Central Asian nation since the government began a crackdown on opposition figures in 1992.   "I think his return is very important," said John Macleod, Tashkent representative of U.S.-based Human Rights Watch/ Helsinki.   "Up until a year ago the authorities would physically attack and lock up members of the opposition," he said.   But Uzbekistan's tightly controlled newspapers and broadcast media have been silent on Pulatov's return.   Pulatov told Reuters he had lowered his democratic expectations since leaving Uzbekistan in 1993.   "I don't believe my generation will enjoy the freedoms I want but I am hopeful the next generation will live with free elections, a free media and power sharing," Pulatov said.   Karimov, the republic's former communist boss, has ruled Uzbekistan with a rod of iron since independence in 1991 and is known as "Papa" in the desert nation of 22 million.   Speaking in the garden of a private home in the capital Tashkent, Pulatov said: "He (Karimov) personally guaranteed my safety in all situations and even guaranteed that I would be able to continue my political activities here."   A member of the outlawed nationalist opposition movement Birlik (Unity) and a leading human rights campaigner, Pulatov was kidnapped by Uzbek security agents at a human rights conference in the neighbouring republic of Kyrgyzstan in 1992.   Jailed for "insulting the president", he was released after 52 days in prison after international protest.   He moved to Moscow, but sought asylum in the U.S. in 1993 after he and colleagues feared the Uzbek security service -- which paid little heed to the former Soviet Union's new international boundaries -- might try to kidnap him in Moscow.   The improvement comes as Karimov strives to build relations with the United States, which he sees as the main guarantor of Uzbekistan's five-year-old independence.   "The authorities have moderated their behaviour -- a lot of it is simply PR but there are some real steps forward," Human Rights Watch's Macleod said.   He said an estimated three political prisoners were released before Karimov met U.S. President Bill Clinton in Washington and a further four were freed under a general amnesty earlier this month to mark Uzbekistan's fifth anniversary of independence.   The government says there are no political prisoners in Uzbekistan.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is hosting a regional human rights seminar in Tashkent next month. 
4608 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The organisation supervising Bosnia's elections dissociated itself on Wednesday from calls by three political parties for refugees to boycott balloting until voter registration problems were resolved.   "We disagree strongly that any party should opt out of the democratic process," said Agotha Kuperman, spokeswoman for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is overseeing the elections.   Election day in Bosnia is set for September 14 but 640,000 refugees dispersed in 55 countries around the world were supposed to start voting on Wednesday.   The complaining parties, two of them predominantly Moslem and the third multi-ethnic, called for the boycott because of unresolved issues concerning alleged voter registration irregularities among Serb refugees.   The OSCE on Tuesday postponed municipal elections, partly in response to concerns about the refugee registration problem, but said elections for cantonal assemblies, separate Serb and Moslem-Croat parliaments, a national House of Representatives and a three-man presidency would go ahead.   "The OSCE believes that is would be appropriate for all parties to follow the decision taken yesterday (to cancel municipal elections) and to participate in all higher elections," Kuperman told Reuters.   "We have addressed the registration concerns by postponing the municipal elections."   The parties demanding a boycott accused the OSCE of sidestepping the registration issue rather than resolving it.   They argued that as long as refugees are allowed to vote from places other than their pre-war homes the electoral process could be manipulated to reinforce Bosnia's ethnic division.   One Bosnian Party, the Joint List, said it disagreed with the boycott proposal.   "If we started urging people not to vote now some voters, like those in Croatia, would be deprived of their right to vote altogether because in that country voting lasts for two days only," said party spokeswoman Nagorka Idrizovic.   "We do not join this call...We've been warning about that (refugee registration problem) before and six months should have been enough to deal with it." 
4609 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Czech government on Wednesday approved a finance ministry plan to cut 9.3 billion crowns from remaining 1996 spending in order to balance the budget by the year's end, Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik said.    "It's important to maintain the budget balance and through that to maintain the credibility of the Czech Republic," Kocarnik told a news conference.   "Under the conditions of stronger than expected inflationary pressures the government cannot afford to add additonal demand impulses by deficit spending," he added.   The finance ministry said last week it planned to make the cuts evenly from all ministry's discressionary spending in order to make up for 6.6 billion crowns shortfall in expected revenues and a 2.7 billion crown overspending.   The plan said the cuts would be made from investment and non-investment expenditures but would not affect civil services wages or social payments.    The central bank recently tightened monetary policy as domestic demand drove year-on-year inflation back above nine percent from less than 8.5 percent earlier in 1996.   The country's trade deficit and current account deficit has also been worsening, and Kocarnik said it was necessary for the country's credibility to have a balanced budget.   -- Jan Lopatka, Prague Newsroom, 42-2-2423-0003 
4610 !GCAT !GDIP  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who spoke to President Boris Yeltsin by telephone on Wednesday, plans a trip to Moscow on September 7 and will visit Yeltsin at his vacation home near Moscow, Interfax news agency said.    Interfax, quoting Yeltsin press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said Yeltsin and Kohl had discussed bilateral relations and international issues on the telephone.   Yeltsin had told Kohl about efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Russia's breakaway Chechnya region, Interfax added.   Yeltsin, who left on vacation on Monday, is staying at an exclusive private hunting lodge some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow.   Germany has been one of the loudest critics of Russia's military intervention in Chechnya, a 20-month-old conflict in which tens of thousands of people have been killed. 
4611 !GCAT !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin's press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky will brief reporters at around 6.30 p.m. (1430 GMT) on Wednesday, a Kremlin spokesman said.   The Kremlin gave no topic for the news briefing, to which some Russian and foreign correspondents have been invited.   Yastrzhembsky, appointed earlier this month, has frequently briefed correspondents in the early evening, in time for Russia's evening news broadcasts.   Yeltsin is on vacation outside Moscow and the Kremlin has denied a string of rumours that he is ill. 
4612 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Romania's President Ion Iliescu, in power since the 1989 fall of communism, prepared on Wednesday to launch a campaign for another term in November polls amid opposition charges his candidacy is unconstitutional.   Aides say Iliescu, 66, will try to project a new image as a Western-orientated statesman who can steer a safe course for his country through painful reforms needed to put the Balkan state on a free market footing.   Supporters from his leftist ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) will gather in a communist-era palace in southern Bucharest to hear their candidate announce his platform for presidential and parliamentary polls on November 3.   Iliescu, a former communist functionary who swept to power by ousting dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania's violent 1989 revolution, is still the country's strongest political player and the PDSR's trump card, analysts say.   Opinion polls show him leading rivals, but suggest the presidency will only be decided in a second-round vote.   Iliescu will have to fight opposition accusations he wants to cling to power at all costs and will further slow reforms, as well as nationalist charges he has sold out to the West.   Opposition leaders say Iliescu's candidacy breaks constitutional rules limiting presidents to two terms and have vowed to challenge him in the courts.   Iliescu argues his first term, from 1990 to 1992, predates the current constitution.   His campaign will be managed by a posse of diplomats, led by the ambassador to Switzerland, with Iliescu seen distancing himself from unpopular elements in the PDSR which is tarnished by corruption scandals.   Wednesday's ceremony will project Iliescu as a national father figure and set the tone for a hard-fought campaign, expected to abound in political muck-raking, despite pledges from politicians they will remain well-mannered.   "The campaign will be gentlemanly, because we will be heavily scrutinised from abroad," his campaign spokesman, Mircea Ioan Pascu said on Wednesday.   Electioneering officially starts on September 4.   Iliescu's main rivals are Emil Constantinescu, an academic standing for the opposition Democratic Convention bloc, and Romania's first post-communist premier, Petre Roman.   Polls give Iliescu a lead of 36 percent, against 28 percent for Constantinescu and 21 for Roman in the presidential race.   Managers of his party, which fared poorly at local elections earlier this year, hope that Iliescu's popularity will buoy the PDSR's chances at the November ballot, just as it he did in the last election in 1992. 
4613 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GENV  Activists from a Norwegian environmental organisation presented a report on the hazards of Russia's atomic fleet on Wednesday, hoping to persuade Moscow that it does not contain state secrets.   One of the report's authors, former Russian naval officer Alexander Nikitin, has been in jail in St Petersburg for more than six months on suspicion of treason.   He has not been formally charged, but a court in the city on Friday extended his term in custody until October 6.   If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.   The FSB or Federal Security Service, successors to the KGB, say Nikitin cannot be granted bail because of the seriousness of the case, but relatives are worried about his health, which they say has deteriorated sharply since he has been in jail.   "The main point of issuing this report is to show that all the information in it is based on open sources," said the Bellona environmental organisation's Nils Bohmer, adding that the report was scrupulously referenced.   Speaking by telephone from the Arctic port city of Murmansk, home of Russia's Northern Fleet, Bohmer said Bellona hoped the report would help prove Nikitin had not given away state secrets.   Photographs of Nikitin's latest court appearence published in the English-language St Petersburg Times newspaper showed a striking change since the last hearing in August.   In the latest picture he looks dazed and thin, showing none of the defiance of the photograph of his previous appearance.   "His sight has worsened and he also gets headaches quite often.   He has also lost a lot of weight," said Bohmer.   The Murmansk FSB raided Bellona's office in Murmansk last October and confiscated three computers.   Its head, Gennady Gurylev, said two of them contained classified information.   Nikitin was later arrested.   Gurylev said the FSB's actions did not represent a witch-hunt against Bellona, whose reports contain detailed information about the nuclear submarines, their fuel and waste.   But the Bellona activists say authorities have taken a strange attitude to what they argue are state secrets.   The report presented in Murmansk was reconstructed thanks to computer disk copies and brought to Russia from Norway.   "Our people were allowed into Russia yesterday with the submarine report, but at the same time one of its writers is in prison in St Petersburg," said Bellona's Tomas Nilsen.   "If there had been spy material in the report, stopping it from being distributed would be the first thing the Russian authorities would have done," he said in Oslo.   The report is the finished version of one released at an international nuclear summit in Moscow in April and Bomer said Russian security chief Alexander Lebed had repeated material contained in it at a news conference on August 12.   "He was mentioning the same numbers and figures as we did in the report and he was very concerned about how they should handle these problems," Bohmer said.   "When Alexander Nikitin makes this he is sent to jail but Alexander Lebed is aware of these problems and is using the same numbers as in our report so it looks like they are reading it."   Lebed sounded the same alarm bells at the news conference as Bellona has been ringing for some time with its reports on radioactive contamination from the ageing, underfunded fleet.   The gruff former paratrooper, who has asked the prosecutor general to consider a request by parliamentarians to look into Nikitin's case, called for more funding for safety and condemned those he said had tried to cover up the problems.   "As usual some heroes came forward to cover up the stupidities and crimes of others," Lebed said. 
4614 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian refugees in Hungary, the first to vote last weekend in their country's first post-war election, found the rules confusing and some had no idea who they voted for, refugees and officials said on Wednesday.   "For the most part they really didn't understand what was going on," the director of the Nagyatad camp Lajos Horvath told Reuters on Wednesday.   "It was confusing, they had no experience of voting, many of the refugees are only semi-literate and none of them knew anything about the candidates," he said.   "They just voted along ethnic lines where they could."   The Bosnian election is set for September 14 and voting began on Wednesday for most of the 600,000 Bosnians living abroad.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which is running the election, allowed the ballot to be held on Sunday in four Hungarian refugee camps.   Some Moslem refugees among the 385 registered voters Hungary's largest camp Nagyatad have written to the OSCE complaining that they were unable to vote in contests for the president or assembly of the Bosnian-Croat Federation, where most Moslems live.   This was because their pre-war homes are now in the Serb-controlled territory, so they were voting for the national assembly of the Republika Srbska, most of the candidates for which are Serbs.   For the foreign powers which back last year's Dayton peace agreement, the main point of the election rules is that by voting as though they were still in their pre-war homes, Bosnians should override the effects of ethnic cleansing and reassert the concept of a single multi-ethnic state.   But Adem Hodzic, one of the refugees who signed the letter of complaint, told Reuters:   "We only realised after voting that we were being denied the rights of other Bosnian Moslems to choose our president.   This vote seals the division of my country."   Under the election rules citizens vote for a three-man presidency and House of Representatives for all Bosnia-Hercegovina and for assemblies and cantonal seats in either the Moslem-Croat Federation or the Republika Srbska.   On Sunday voters in Hungary also cast ballots for municipal councils but these will be invalidated following the cancellation of local elections by the OSCE on Tuesday.   Husein Micijevic, who also signed the letter, alleged that elderly voters were directed who to vote for by Hungarian translators who stood in the polling booth to help them.   "Probably 100 refugees were shown where to put their cross," he said.   Seventy eight-year-old Mandolina Zelic, a Bosnian Croat who has spent the last five years in Nagyatad, told Reuters she had cast her ballot because she'd been told to by the camp authorities but had no idea who she voted for.   "At first the organisers wouldn't let anyone help me but when they saw I didn't understand a young translator ringed the names I had to mark," she said.   "I don't know who I voted for."   Maria Szabo of the Hungarian office organising the elections on behalf of the OSCE told Reuters on Wednesday her office was studying the letter but said they had followed OSCE instructions very carefully.   "The envelopes, each with the five different voting slips, were sealed until voting and had written instructions on how to vote," she said.   "But of course those who could not read had to be shown." 
4615 !GCAT !GPOL  Five years after independence, the Baltic state of Estonia is still struggling to find a single voice, with bickering politicians failing to rise above party politics.   Three attempts to elect a new president to head the former Soviet republic failed this week when factional squabbling in the 101-strong parliament blocked unified action, with not even the three-party governing coalition agreeing on a candidate.   The next round of the inconclusive presidential race will be held on September 20, parliamentary officers ruled on Wednesday.   Incumbent Lennart Meri was rebuffed, failing three times to win backing for a second term as head of state.   Neither he nor rival candidate Arnold Ruutel gained the necessary 68 votes for a clear mandate.   Diplomatic sources in the Estonian capital told Reuters that politicians' inability to pull together was threatening the stability of the government and could delay Estonia's bid to join the European Union (EU).   "All political energy in the coming month will be devoted to the presidential problem and this could create tensions between factions, so the day-to-day working of parliament after the election becomes impossible," one senior diplomat said.   "This might also delay some of the preparations to join the EU which have to be ready by the middle of 1997 if Estonia is to be among the first group to start negotiations."   Parliament's popularity has already suffered since it took over the running of the most northerly Baltic state, which spent 51 years under the rule of Moscow until 1991.   A recent public opinion poll found the parliament was the least liked of all public offices while that of current president, the charismatic Lennart Meri, was the most popular.   This week's failure to form a large enough majority to either re-elect Meri or vote in arch-rival Ruutel was expected to add to its unpopularity.   "In the public eye parliament is not doing its job," said one Western diplomat.   "No one would be surprised if the coalition government collapsed in coming months .  .   with stability already rocked by political division over agricultural subsidies."   Weaknesses in parliament in its first faltering years since independence have given Meri the opportunity to build the presidency into a stronger role than defined in the new 1992 Constitution.   Under this, the president's office was de-politicised, making the president head of state, a representative in international relations with the ability to act to ensure the smooth functioning of the Constitution -- but no more.   Meri, 67, has made his mark on the international stage through charm and wit, but has angered MPs since he first won the presidency in 1992 by taking too much power and even acting without consulting parliament.   "He has only appeared in parliament four times in the past four years.   This is king-like behaviour," one of parliament's deputy Speakers, Tunne Kelam, told Reuters.   "We could not have had a better president for the times but things have now changed and people fear if (Meri) is re-elected no-one will be able to stop him for the next five years."   Diplomatic sources said the friction within parliament could hold back Estonia, which has been the most economically successful of the Baltics, surpassing Latvia and Lithuania.   "Estonia has portrayed itself with some success as a small but businesslike, modern country but this course of developments contradicts that," a diplomat said. 
4616 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Bulgaria's two biggest trade unions said on Wednesday they rejected a threat of air traffic controllers to launch a strike in September, accusing them in immorality.   The Bulgarian association of air traffic controllers (Bulatka) said on Monday it would go on strike on September 3 demanding higher pay.   Leaders of the independent Podkrepa trade union and the Bulgarian Labour Confederation called the 350 air controllers to abide a collective labour agreement which they have signed with their employer this year.   "Their striking declaration is the peak of dishonesty," said the chief of the Podkrepa's transport sector Alexander Anguelov.   He added that the average monthly wage of the air controllers for the first seven months of this year was more than 510,000 levs ($4,374 at an average rate for the same period).   Bulatka has said they were demanding the monthly wage be increased from some $230 to some $1,000 per month.   They also demand the financial separation of the 350 air controllers from the technical staff.   "We think that such a manifestation (their demands) will do a bad favour both to the air traffic service and to them," Makavei Makaveev, an engineer at the air traffic service who is also from the Podkrepa trade union, said.   He said that if the Transport Ministry meets their demands the technical staff which is more than 1,000 would also call a strike demanding higher pay.   The director general of the air traffic service Valentin Valkov said last week that a controllers' strike would be illegal due to breaking the legal procedures.   Valkov said he could not curb the summer charter flights of national carrier Balkan Airlines, who carries thousands of foreigners to the Bulgarian Black Sea resorts.   More than 1,500 planes per 24 hours fly over Bulgaria, in a strategic location between Europe and the Middle and the Far East, Bulatka's chief Stefan Raichev said, adding that a strike would paralyse traffic which has increased by 10 percent since last year.   -- Liliana Semerdjieva, Sofia Newsroom, 359-2-84561 
4617 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Estonia will hold the next round of an inconclusive state presidential race on September 20, parliamentary officers of the Baltic state ruled on Wednesday.   This comes after three votes in the 101-strong parliament on Monday and Tuesday failed to give either incumbent Lennart Meri or rival candidate Arnold Ruutel the necessary 68 votes for a clear mandate.   The outcome was a rebuff for Meri, failing three times to win backing in his bid for a second term as head of state of the former Soviet republic.   Parliament's press officer told Reuters that Speaker Toomas Savi will convene an electoral college involving 101 MPs and and 273 local government representatives on September 20.   Both Meri, 67, and Ruutel, 68 will automatically be listed as candidates but the election will also be open to new nominations with the backing of any 21 members of the college.   The winner has to secure a majority from the college within two rounds of voting otherwise the election will go back before the parliament. 
4618 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Russian security chief Aleksander Lebed faces an almost impossible task in Chechnya and is likely to be sidelined, Polish Foreign Minister Dariusz Rosati was reported as saying on Wednesday.   According to best-selling daily Gazeta Wyborcza, Rosati told the Polish parliament's foreign affairs committee on Tuesday that the fact Lebed had been charged with resolving the conflict in Chechnya showed he would be marginalised.   "It is almost impossible to gain success in this," it quoted Rosati as saying during a committee debate.   "Lebed has no diplomatic experience.   Yeltsin sent him there to compromise him.   This tactical manoeuvre also shows that in the ruling circle there is no unity of action," he said.   Lebed, who has arranged a military truce with separatist rebels in the southern Russia region, was in Moscow this week seeking support for a deal on Chechnya's political status.   But Russian President Boris Yeltsin has seemed unwilling to meet his envoy and went on holiday on Monday.   Gazeta Wyborcza quoted Rosati as saying Yeltsin was very ill and effectively on leave, but for now retained control in Russia although matters were passing into the hands of his close collaborators.   Rosati said Russia's July polls, in which Yeltsin won re-election, showed democracy had passed an important test and the Russian people had chosed the path of further reforms.   But he said a power struggle in Russia's ruling circles could not be ruled out, which could harm further reforms.   He expressed concern over problems in the Russian economy, saying this could lead to social unrest, the daily reported.   On Moscow's foreign policy, Rosati said it had changed its stance on NATO's eastward expansion and was preparing itself for Poland's inevitable entry into the Western alliance.   He also reportedly criticised Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, saying his style of work resembled that of the Soviet-era 1970s and 1980s. 
4619 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Skopje press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DNEVNIK   - After resolving differences among the ruling coalition members Macedonia will have 120 municipaities instead of the existing 33.   The agreement was reached after a week of negotiations.   - Moscow is pressuring Skopje to buy Russian arms, while the Macedonian Defence ministry is denying that the defence minister will visit his Russian counterpart by the end of the year.   NOVA MAKEDONIJA   - The opposition's objections to the proposed changes in the local elections law is nothing but a "western movie gag" said Justice Minister Vlado Popovski.   - New parliament session starts with endless questions by MPs on the role of the police in the so-called grey economy, problems of farmers, construction of highways and the adoption of the denationalisation law.   -- Skopje newsroom +389 91 201196 
4620 !GCAT  The following are the reports carried by Estonia's newspapers on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy:   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - Parliament failed to elect the president in the second and third rounds of voting yesterday.   SONUMILEHT   - The government decided yesterday to establish the Secretariat of the Baltic Council of Ministers in Estonia.   EESTI PAEVALEHT   - Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy visited Estonia briefly yesterday and discussed relations between Canada and Estonia.   - President Lennart Meri appointed several new ambassadors yesterday.   POSTIMEES   - Leaders of the ruling coalition parties Tiit Vahi and Siim Kallas said that their parties were not responsible for the indecisive presidential election.   ARIPAEV   - Five firms are competing in the privatisation of Estonia's largest chemical company RAS Kiviter.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
4621 !GCAT  Lithuanian newspapers carried the following reports in their Wednesday editions.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   LIETUVOS RYTAS   - The share price of the biggest private financial instituation in Lithuania Vilnius Bank rocketed to 1000 litas at the National Stock Exchange on Tuesday.   - Finance Minister Algimantas Krizinauskas expects to finance the country's 700 million litas budget deficit in September through loans from foreign banks.   RESPUBLIKA   - 54,000 students will start their studies in 15 universities on September 1.   - Following an article about skinheads last week a Respublika journalist was beaten up by ultra-rightests in the center of Vilnius.   LIETUVOS AIDAS   - The negotiatians over a disputed zone in the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Lithuania continued in Vilnius until late Tuesday night.   - Economy ministry data shows that the inflation rate this year wll be 20-22 percent compared with 35.7 percent last year.   The GDP will increase by 3.5 percent and unemployment will remain at its current level of 6.8 percent.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
4622 !GCAT  These are the main stories in Latvian newspapers on Wednesday.   Prepared for Reuters by the Co-operation Fund.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy:   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - From September 1 of this year local governments will be responsible for teachers' salaries.   - By adopting the declaration on Latvia's occupation the parliament has reduced the likelihood of the Prime Minister's visit to Moscow.   - The Latvian delegation negotiating with Lithuania over a disputed zone in the Baltic Sea is reported to have come forward with a new proposal, which is not revealed so far.   The position of the Lithuanian side regarding the proposal will be made clear soon.   DIENA   - The director of the Riga Central District Board, Josifs Zagants, who was accused of violating the law when he made decisions concerning the denationalisation of residential buildings, will stay in his office.   NEATKARIGA RITA AVIZE   - Yesterday in Paris Latvia and Andorra signed an agreement on establishing diplomatic relations.   BIZNES & BALTIYA   - Oded Ben-Gur, Israel's new ambassador to the Baltic States, arrived yesterday in Riga.   DIENAS BIZNESS   - RAF, the financially-troubled Latvian mini-bus maker, has received orders to assemble more than 200 ambulances in Russia and Byelarussia.   - According to a draft estimate by Coopers&Lybrand, the price of Ventspils nafta may be about 200 million lats.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
4623 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Preparations for the Bosnian election swung into high gear on Wednesday as Greek army trucks rumbled to a Sarajevo warehouse at dawn to collect loads of ballot boxes and voting screens for delivery across the country.   A few hours later the first of 1,200 election supervisors from around the world landed at Sarajevo airport and began dispersing throughout Bosnia in preparation for the September 14 balloting.   Greek NATO soldiers in flak jackets and battle helmets directed Bosnian and Swiss forklift operators as the trucks were loaded at a warehouse crammed from floor to ceiling with paraphenalia for the elections.   Cartons of pencils and pens, scissors, pencil sharpeners, tape, ballot box seals, ballot sacks, ink stamps, polling station posters and the like were all being packed into kits and readied for transport to polling stations.   But the focus on Wednesday was on pallets of cardboard ballot boxes and privacy screens, stacked flat.   NATO-led peace forces are providing logistical support to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is coordinating Bosnia's first post-war elections.   The troops were scheduled to begin delivering the first of 22,500 ballot boxes to NATO bases around the country in preparation for later distribution to regional election centres and individual polling stations.   A decision by OSCE on Tuesday to postpone municipal elections due to voter registration irregularities reduced the NATO workload.   Voters will still elect candidates to cantonal assemblies, separate Moslem-Croat and Serb parliaments, a national House of representatives and a three-man Presidency.   But instead of five ballots for different offices voters will now cast only four.   As a result, NATO has to deliver just 17,600 ballot boxes -- four for each of 4,400 polling stations instead of five.   "We've been looking at all sorts of things that could go wrong but so far everything is fine," said Robert Green, the OSCE logistics officer in charge of the Sarajevo warehouse.   A total of about 400 election supervisors were expected to land in Sarajevo on Wednesday.   NATO has committed to transport them by road and air to the 29 OSCE regional field offices across Bosnia.   To gain flexibility and mobility in the run-up to elections NATO has added an extra 20 troop transport helicopters to its fleet in Bonsia and is bringing in military police to help provide security on election day.   "When violent crowds or other obstacles appear we will lock onto the problem and lead in directing efforts to resolve the situation and help voters reach the polling stations," NATO spokesman Major Brett Boudreau told reporters.   "We have a mandate... to prevent interference with civilian populations... Our driving principle will be to contain or remove any barriers voters face to enable citizens to proceed (to vote)." 
4624 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  President Boris Yeltsin, on vacation outside Moscow, signed a decree on Wednesday regulating the export of goods and equipment which could have a military use, the president's press office said.   "The Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed the decree today," a press office statement said.   The press office had no information about Yeltsin's planned activities during his vacation.   "We do not have any information about the president because he is on holiday," a spokesman said.   Yeltsin's repeated disappearances have prompted speculation that he is ill or is losing control of Russia's political scene.   The press service has denied all rumours and says Yeltsin is in control of events in Russia. 
4625 !GCAT !GPOL  Russia's security chief Alexander Lebed warned on Wednesday that further delays in political talks with Chechen rebels could disrupt a military accord signed last week, RIA news agency said.   The agency also quoted Lebed as saying he hoped for a reply from President Boris Yeltsin to his blueprint for a political settlement in the separatist region on Wednesday.   He said he would fly to Chechnya on Thursday or Friday to resume talks.    Lebed, Yeltsin's personal envoy on Chechnya, reached the military agreement with the rebels last week.   But on Sunday, he abruptly flew back to Moscow to get support for a broader deal tackling the sensitive isssue of Chechnya's political status.   Yeltsin, who has given Lebed sweeping but undisclosed powers over Chechnya and who offered him general backing in a late-night phone call on Friday, has seemed unwilling to meet his envoy.   The president went on holiday on Monday.   The Kremlin says Yeltsin is at a state residence some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow and has not met any officials there.   Implementation of the military deal resumed on Wednesday as some Russian troops pulled out of the capital Grozny, most of which was captured by the rebels on August 6. 
4626 !GCAT  These are the main stories in Croatian newspapers on Wednesday.   VJESNIK   - OSCE postpones municipal elections in Bosnia scheduled for mid September due to irregularities in registration of voters in Serb-controlled area, representative Robert Frowick says.   - Tourist season exceeds expectations.   Statistics show this year's tourist yield as most successful since the country declared independence in 1991.   - Free movement of people and goods between Croatia and former Yugoslavia may start after full diplomatic relations are established in early September.   - Companies' current debts in July amounted to 7.6 million kuna.   Situation most grave in wholesale, retail and agriculture sectors.   VECERNJI LIST   - State steps up anti-smoking campaign.   250 inspectors hired to ensure cigarette smoking banned from working place as of January next year.   - Croatian National Security Council says this year's production growth rate at 7 percent means the country has achieved relative economic stability and predicts quicker recovery in 1997.   - World bank to extend a $42 million loan for protection of Croatian Mediterranean forest, says aide to minister of agriculture Franjo Prebanic.   - Highest investments in the first six months this year were recorded in telecommunications and lowest in banking system, Institute for Financial Transactions says.   Biggest investors are still state-owned companies.   - Predicted four percent growth in industrial production in autumn does not indicate strengthening of the development cycle since investment rates stay too low, Center for Economic Analysis says.   - Domestic production of oil and natural gas unlikely to meet demand in the next two decades.   Imports may become increasingly important.   - Companies in Slavonia in eastern Croatia are active again in old markets in Bosnia, but risk still seen too high for investments.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - High kuna rates created a "monetary illusion" where most foreign currency profits from tourism or elsewhere are used to preserve solvency of banks instead of investments in industry, says analyst Mladen Rakelic.   - Unemployment may become a key problem by the end of the year as a number of jobless could hit as high as 300,000, some statistics predict.   -- Zagreb Newsroom, 385-1-4557075 
4627 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Sarajevo press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   OSLOBODJENJE   - Bosnian Federal Governement begins discussion on draft laws on privatisation, customs, and tenant's rights to purchase their flats.   - The first class of students of a new BBC school of journalism in Sarajevo received its diplomas on Tuesday.   DNEVNI AVAZ   - Of 10,000 Bosnian refugees living in Australia, 3,000 will be unable to vote in September elections because they were not on the approved voter registration list, OSCE reports.   - Regular railway traffic from Sarajevo to the south of the country is due to start on September 1, rail official says.   - The first of 1,200 international election supervisors arrives on Wednesday in Sarajevo.   --Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864. 
4628 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Belgrade press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified them and does not vouch for their accuracy.   POLITIKA   - Yugoslav Foreign Minister Milan Milutinovic meets Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini and Prime Minister Romano Prodi in Rome.   Italy agrees to promote Yugoslavia's reintegration in international organisations.   - Turkey and Yugoslavia agree to restore economic cooperation soon, following Yugoslav delegation visit to Izmir.   Cooperation was suspended after the outbreak of war in Bosnia.   - Serbian government introduces quotas for the supply of cigarettes without sales tax to Bosnian Serb republic and the Srem-Baranja area in Croatia.   - PTT Serbia and Politika sign agreement on joint construction of telecommunication facilities for Politika.   - Presidents of the Serbian Trade Union Association and the Serbian metal workers Union call on the union of the Zastava arms factory to resolve problems through dialogue and ask for a meeting with Yugoslav Prime Minister.   - Serbian teachers agree to postpone strike if the republican government fulfils promise to pay outstanding June wages by September 1.   - Belgrade tourist firm Putnik is negotiating with Croatian transport firm Samoborcek on establishing direct bus links with Zagreb.   Belgrade's Lasta announced last week it would restore the bus link in cooperation with Panturist from Osijek.   - President of Serbian Chamber of Economy Vlajko Stojiljkovic says talks in Sarajevo were successful and announced opening of reciprocal Serbian and Moslem-Croat federation offices in Sarajevo and Belgrade in fifteen days.   NASA BORBA   - There are signals that Serbia will schedule republican elections for November 3, the same day as federal and local elections in Yugoslavia.   President Slobodan Milosevic may decide to disband the Serbian parliament, Nasa Borba has learned.   - Workers of the Zastava arms factory decide to start hunger strike, says trade union president Zoran Nedeljkovic.   - Bosnian Serb Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Vjestica says the Serbs will hold full elections despite postponement of local elections by the OSCE.   - The Civil Alliance of Serbia (GSS) calls meeting of democratic opposition to negotiate a compromise solution to form opposition coalition for elections.   - Delegation of Mercedes Benz Ag visits Priboj Car factory FAP to examine continuation of cooperation with the factory.   - Workers of Loznica minerals processing plant start strike on Tuesday over wages outstanding from November 1995.   - Average wage in Belgrade in July was 819 dinars, which is 109.5 percent up on the same month last year, says the Belgrade statistics office.   - Belgrade newsroom, +381 11 224305 
4629 !GCAT  Here are highlights of stories in Romania's press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   Business:   ROMANIA LIBERA   - Employees of ONT Carpati SA national tour operator plan to buy 49 percent of their company when privatisation of ONT gets under way.   ADEVARUL   - Cigarette prices went up by 55 percent after application in May of government decree on compulsory use of cigarette stamps.   - Trade unions in energy sector say electricity price should go up as sole way of reducing Renel RA electricity authority's losses registered due to higher coal prices and depreciated leu currency.   AZI   - Troubled Banca Dacia Felix SA has only 7.0 billion lei in its accounts at National Bank.   It will be able to pay depositors' money back only when it has 10 billion lei.   ZIUA   - Foreign investors show less interest in Eurobonds Romania's central bank launched recently due to unfavourable economic indicators.   LIBERTATEA   - Securities regulator CNVM has key role in creation of capital market.   It should set clear rules which investment funds should observe, says in interview George Danielescu, former president of SAFI-Invest SA which manages troubled FMOA investment fund.   - Renasterea Creditului Romanesc Credit Bank SA, which National Bank took to court for reorganisation or liquidation after it had stopped financial support to troubled bank demanded damages worth 2.4 billion lei which it said it lost due to central bank.   JURNALUL NATIONAL   - Depreciation of leu is long-term devastating process.   Leu's arch enemy are huge production capacities which are not used or are used only partially, financial analyst Alexandru Mihail says in interview.   General:   ROMANIA LIBERA   - Supreme council of magistrates replaced Romania's chief prosecutor Vasile Manea Dragulin, who resigned over personal reasons, with his former deputy Nicolae Cochinescu.   - Adrian Munteanu, journalist who admitted to have made certain changes in interview with Emil Constantinescu, opposition Democratic Convention (CDR) presidential candidate, was sacked.   - President Ion Iliescu, officialy launching his candidacy for a new presidential term in the November 3 polls commits a historic rape, reads headline, alleging this would be his third mandate in breach of the constitution which allows only two.   - "From proletarian dictatorship to Iliescu's dictatorship", reads headline on a one-page anaylsis of President Iliescu's new candidacy for presidency.   - River Danube turned into an asylum for more than 600 abandoned ships.   ADEVARUL   - Adrian Nastase, executive president of ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) favours a rise of threshhold for parties to enter parliament from present three to five percent to reduce number of rightist parties to enter new parliament and leave the opposition CDR without allies.   - Tudor Mohora, head of Socialist Party (PS) officialy launches his candidacy for presidency at Exhibition hall on September 1.   EVENIMENTUL ZILEI   - Hungarian Reformist church has better conditions and more assets than the Orthodox one, says statement by Ilie Fonta, Cults minister.   - Parliamentary party leaders to debate with President Iliescu the draft Romanian-Hungarian treaty on Thursday.   LIBERTATEA   - PDSR executive president Adrian Nastase urges National Unity Party (PUNR) to withdrow its four ministers from the cabinet, following an appeal by PUNR leader Gheorghe Funar to suspend President Iliescu for having accepted the draft Romanian-Hungarian treaty.   - Newspaper says Kurdish troops take refuge in Romania.   CRONICA ROMANA   - Ioan Mircea Pascu, deputy defence minister and spokesman of President Iliescu's campaign staff, says in interview the debates for the 1996 general polls must be professional ones.   - Ovidiu Sinca, campaign manager of ruling PDSR says parliamentary elections will be in "atmosphere of purely professional competition".   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - Dumitru Mazilu, former dissident under late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, says President Iliescu has the right to a new presidential mandate.   DIMINEATA   - PDSR executive president Adrian Nastase says in interview the next government after the November 3 polls would probably be a coalition one, but not a centre right one.   ($=3,161) -- Bucharest Newsroom 40-13120264 
4630 !GCAT  Here are highlights of stories reported by Hungary's press, based on information by Nepszabadsag's Hungary Around the Clock service.   For further details on how to subscribe to Hungary Around the Clock, please contact Monica Kovacs at (361) 351 2440 or fax your request to (361) 351 7141.   ALL PAPERS   - Prime Minister Gyula Horn Tuesday nominated Privatisation Minister Tamas Suchman for the post of minister of industry to replace outgoing minister Imre Dunai, said Socialist Executive Vice President Magda Kovacs Kosa.   - Parliament's house committee is scheduled to meet today to discuss a proposal to hold a special session to debate issues relating to the imminent conclusion of the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty.   - Political State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture and Education Zoltan Szabo and representatives of the historical churches agreed Tuesday on a further HUF 950 million over and above the originally earmarked HUF 900 million toward the public educational institutions of historical churches.   - Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabor Szentivanyi Tuesday described the draft Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty as the result of a useful compromise that is beneficial for both sides.   - While economic equilibrium is improving steadily and the still-high level of inflation is being trimmed month by month, the economy's overall performance continues to be lackluster, according to a Finance Ministry report.   MAGYAR HIRLAP   - The coalition consultative council will hold an extended session within the next few days, the presidents of the two coalition partners agreed on Tuesday.   - In a telephone interview, NATO spokesman Jimmy Shea expressed great contentment Tuesday over the finalisation of the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty.   - TUV Rheinland Hungaria has extended by three years the international quality guarantee certificates previously issued to several key production units at the chemicals manufacturer TVK.   - Budapest police have confiscated more than 200 forged passports and dozens of other fake documents over the past few days at a Budapest flat occupied by a Romanian man believed to have been one of the capital's most talented forgers in recent years.   VILAGGAZDASAG   - Minister of Transport, Communications and Water Management Karoly Lotz and his Slovenian counterpart Igor Umek signed a statement of intent on establishing direct rail links between Hungary and Slovenia.   - The State Privatisation and Holding Co. is expected to complete the draft of a privatisation tender for Hungarian Credit Bank today, and to publish the tender on September 2.   NEPSZABADSAG   - The French TF1 TV network broadcast a lengthy report Tuesday from Budapest, claiming it is the "Bangkok of Europe".   - More than 1,000 personnel in the Defence Ministry and the Hungarian Armed Foirces will be subject to security screening.   -- Budapest newsroom (36-1) 266 2410 
4631 !GCAT !GCRIM  One man was killed and another wounded in a shootout on Tuesday between security guards and gunmen outside the home of a senior official of Mexico's Attorney General's office, officials said.   The gunfight began moments after the wife of Armando Salinas Torre, the private secretary of Attorney General Antonio Lozano, arrived at her home, according to a statement by the Attorney General's office.   Officials said it was not clear if the incident was a deliberate attack on Salinas or his family.   One assailant, identified as Porfirio Alejandro Jimenez, was wounded in the gun battle and later checked himself in to a public hospital, where he died.   A police agent assigned to protect Salinas' wife, who had entered the home safely moments before the shootout, was wounded in the gunfight.   He was reported in stable condition at a local hospital, the statement said.   "There was a shootout in front of (Salinas') home just as police agent Adrian Sanchez Montes was closing the garage door, shortly after the wife of Mr. Salinas Torre had entered the home," the statement said.   "We are reviewing the evidence.   To say that this was a deliberate attack would be jumping to conclusions," said a spokesman at the Attorney General's office, who wished to remain anonymous.   Lozano told a group of international journalists earlier on Tuesday that his office had received threats following the firing last week of 737 members of the Federal Judicial Police, the country's top police force, which was widely accused of drug-related corruption.   Lozano dismissed the threats as a "natural reaction" to the firings and said he had not stepped up his personal security. 
4632 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Interior Minister Horacio Serpa said Tuesday the government was prepared to hold talks with leftist rebels on their demands for the nationalization of Colombia's oil industry.   "We agree to discuss this and any other topic in a broad and participatory manner," Serpa said in an address to a forum on peace prospects in Colombia, partly sponsored by the country's powerful oil workers union.   He was responding to an offer of partial peace talks made at the forum by Manuel "El Cura" Perez, a former Spanish priest who has served as one of the leaders of Colombia's National Liberation Army (ELN) since it was founded in 1966.   Perez, who spoke to the forum by radio telephone from an undisclosed location, called for talks on the nationalization of Colombia's oil industry and the revision of all production and oil exploration contracts currently in effect with foreign firms.   In exchange for the talks, and eventual progress at the negotiating table, he and the other "comandantes" suggested that the ELN would be prepared to halt its long-running and costly campaign of economic sabotage.   The ELN is Colombia's second-largest guerrilla group.   Apart from kidnappings, it specializes in violent attacks on oil and coal projects, especially those being developed by multinational companies.   A similar proposal for talks about the future development of Colombia's oil industry -- and tighter state control over the jealously guarded resource -- was made at the forum by Hernando Hernandez Pardo, leader of the USO oil workers union.   The union has long been known for its fiercely nationalistic stance and calls for U.S. oil companies, in particular, to leave Colombia.   In his surprising response to the proposals, which are sure to add to jitters of foreign oil firms, Serpa said "partial accords taking immediate effect" could lead to broader talks aimed at putting an end to more than three decades of armed conflict in Colombia.   "The government is interested in carrying out any task related to obtaining fundamental (peace) accords," Serpa said.   Earlier Tuesday a spokesman for the foreign oil companies operating in Colombia said there was widespread concern about proposed legislative reforms that could reduce the profit margins of multinationals and give more power to the state oil company Ecopetrol.   Government officials said the reforms had been brought forward by a small group of lawmakers acting without the support of the central government. 
4633 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Chilean Senate rejected President Eduardo Frei's nomination of Carlos Massad to the Central Bank's five-member ruling board, congressional spokesmen said.   The 21-20 vote, with rightists leading the opposition to Massad, dealt a major political blow to Frei and threw the succession at the Central Bank back into uncertainty.   The vote was in secret session at the Senate in Valparaiso and came on a second ballot.   Senators split 20-20 on the nomination, with one abstention, in the first vote.   Spokesmen told reporters of the results later.    Rightists opposed the nomination on the grounds that, as Frei's former health minister, he was too close to the president's Christian Democratic Party to guarantee Central Bank autonomy.   Government leaders accused opponents, led by Senator Sebastian Pinera of the center-right National Renewal party, of trying to use the nomination to settle old political scores.   Although the nomination was technically to fill one seat on the five-member board, officials had said publicly they intended Massad to be elected later by the board to be bank president.    The bank's previous president, Roberto Zahler, resigned in June in a dispute with the rest of the board over how to handle negotiations with private banks on their roughly $5 billion debts with the Central Bank.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 X211 
4634 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Nicaraguan President Violeta Chamorro on Wednesday dispelled rumours she was going to resign after undergoing surgery on her lower spinal column.   "I'm completely ready to continue and I'm not resigning because I haven't done anything wrong," Chamorro said in a telephone call from the United States broadcast over state-owned Radio Nicaragua.   Doctors at Johns Hopkins Medical Institute in Baltimore successfully operated on Chamorro on Monday to correct a chronic spinal infection called osteomyelitis, which had caused her pain in her back and right leg.   Her outlook for a complete recovery was "excellent" but she would require continued antibiotic treatment, doctors said.   She was expected to be discharged in one week and would be able to return to Nicaragua in 10 days, doctors said.   Chamorro, 66, suffers from osteoporosis, a disease that weakens the bones, and has repeatedly flown to Baltimore for treatment.   She will end her term in office in January after almost seven years as president. 
4635 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Chilean government will offer economist Carlos Massad's nomination to the Central Bank board for another vote in the Senate after it was narrowly rejected Tuesday, Finance Minister Eduardo Aninat said.   Aninat, speaking after a clear majority of senators asked President Eduardo Frei to resubmit the nomination, said he expected lawmakers to vote again on Massad by next Tuesday.   "We are now preparing the papers to place Massad's candidacy before the Senate again," Aninat told reporters.   Aninat was speaking after 25 senators -- an absolute majority in the 47-member body -- sent Frei a letter asking him to resubmit the nomination, saying the 21-20 vote against Massad did not represent the chamber's true feeling.   If approved, Massad would join the bank's five-member board to replace Roberto Zahler, the bank president who quit in June.   The board will then elect a president.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
4636 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  The Costa Rican government said on Wednesday that a Dutch couple abducted over the weekend from a tree farm in northern Costa Rica was kidnapped by former Nicaraguan guerrillas.   "Even though it's an act of common delinquency, the case could take a difficult turn because former Nicaraguan guerrillas are involved," Security Minister Bernardo Arce told reporters.   Earlier this year, a German tourist and a Swiss tour guide were kidnapped from the same general area in northern Costa Rica near the Nicaraguan border.   They were held for 71 days before relatives paid a ransom to free them.   Two Nicaraguan former guerrillas have been arrested in the case.   Because of the apparent threat to foreigners in Costa Rica near the Nicaraguan border, Arce said the government has advised many to take additional security measures on their own.   Hurte Sierd Zylstra and his wife, Jetsi Hendrika Coers, both 50 years old, were seized late on Saturday or early on Sunday from a teak tree plantation they manage by at least two heavily armed men who took the two off in their own car, leaving behind a ransom note demanding $1.5 million.   The plantation is owned by Dutch citizen Ebe Huizinga, who has since arrived in Costa Rica to deal with the matter. 
4637 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  A top judicial official and critic of President Ernesto Samper accused the government of indifference on Wednesday over efforts to lift Colombia's five-year-old ban on extradition.   "It would seem that the subject of extradition is unworthy of an opinion from the government," Deputy Prosecutor-General Adolfo Salamanca said.   Constitutional reforms were proposed on Tuesday by two senators, one of them a member of Samper's own Liberal Party, aimed at lifting the ban on extradition introduced in 1991.   U.S. Ambassador Myles Frechette applauded the move, saying it could prompt the Clinton administration to remove Colombia from a list of outcast nations that have failed to cooperate in U.S. counternarcotics efforts.   Samper -- who weathered a year-old crisis stemming from charges he financed his 1994 election campaign with drug money -- appeared less than enthusiastic, however.   "Extradition is not on the government's legislative agenda," he told reporters on Tuesday.   He added that he did not oppose the idea of opening a public debate over the issue.   But he fell far short of endorsing the idea of putting Colombian drug lords onto U.S.-bound flights to serve stiff penalities in American prisons.   Salamanca, who spoke at a meeting on kidnapping in Colombia, has said in the past that there was ample evidence to prove that Samper's campaign received millions of dollars in contributions from the country's top drug lords. 
4638 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  Argentine Cabinet Chief Jorge Rodriguez announced plans Wednesday to streamline the administration's 50 social plans into seven projects.   "In order to make the programs more efficient and to avoid the dispersion of our efforts it's better to concentrate our work in the different specialist ministries," said Rodriguez, according to state news agency Telam.   In total, the program includes some $3.165 billion of expenditure.   Rodriguez said the streamlining "does not mean a reduction in the spending but only that there will be some small transfers of resources from one area to another."   Rodriguez said the streamlining of the programs will reduce the amount of administration required for each project.   The funds put aside to the programs are split between $2.066 billion which will be invested by central government and $1.098 billion allocated to the provinces.   The plan includes infrastructure, youth, unemployment and education projects.   -- Axel Bugge, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 54 1 3180668 
4639 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Twenty-five Chilean senators asked President Eduardo Frei to renominate former health minister Carlos Massad to the Central Bank board, giving a clear sign the nomination would pass after lawmakers narrowly rejected it Tuesday.   The 25 senators formed an absolute majority in the 47-member Senate, virtually guaranteeing Massad's appointment would pass if it came up for another vote.   The Senate rejected Massad by 21 to 20 in a secret vote late Tuesday, with a couple of the president's allies absent.   The defeat amounted to one of the most embarrassing political defeats of Frei's 30 months in office and threw the Central Bank succession back into uncertainty.   In a letter to the president, all 21 senators of the ruling center-left Concertacion coalition, three military-appointed senators and Senator Francisco Javier Errazuriz of the center-right UCCP party asked for Massad's name to be resubmitted for a new vote.   "This petition is based on the certainty that the vote of August 27 (rejecting Massad) did not represent the true feelings of the majority of the Senate," said the letter.   The vote shocked the government and financial markets and threw the Central Bank back into uncertainty it faced after bank president Roberto Zahler resigned in June.   If Massad were approved, he would join the bank's five-member board, which would then elect a president.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
4640 !C17 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Mexico's largest debtors organization, El Barzon, said it would protest against bank credit policies outside the stock exchange on Thursday, beginning at 6.45 a.m. local time/1145 GMT.   It was not clear whether the organization was planning to block access to the stock exchange, but some traders said they were ordered by their employers to be at the Bolsa at six a.m. before the protest started.   "The Barzon will conduct an act of protest against the economic policy of the bankers because they don't want to solve the past-due loan problem," the movement said in a statement.   Support for El Barzon, originally started by farmers to protest unpayable debts, has mushroomed since the December 1994 peso devaluation that pushed up interest rates higher than 100 percent.   Last week, a protest by students at the Bolsa prevented trading for three hours, but market participants said the electronic trading system SATO was now operational and they foresaw few problems on Thursday.   "The last time we were taken by suprise and we had to improvise," said Gerardo Enriquez, a trader at Abaco brokerage.   At that time many firms were not connected to the SATO system, he said, but now it is fully operational.   -- Karina Balderas, Mexico City newsroom +525 728-9560 
4641 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Mexican manufacturing employment grew 2.9 percent in June compared with the same month last year, its third consecutive monthly rise, the National Statistics Institute (INEGI) said on Wednesday.   It said in May the index rose 1.9 percent year on year and in April 0.6 percent.   Employment grew strongest in the textile sector, up 9.2 percent, followed by: basic metal industries, up 6.7 percent; metal products, equipment and machinery, up 6.6 percent; wood and wood products, up 2.4 percent; and chemical substances, up 2.0 percent.   It declined in non-metalic mineral production, down 3.6 percent; paper, down 1.8 percent; and food, drink and tobacco, down 0.3 percent.   The index of man-hours worked in the manufacturing sector was up 1.3 percent in June from the same month in 1995.   -- Henry Tricks, Mexico City newsroom +525 728-9560 
4642 !GCAT !GVIO  At least 500 demonstrators, angered by a recent wave of violence which they blamed on Haiti's disbanded military, marched in the streets on Wednesday, burning tires across the capital.   Clouds of dense smoke billowed through the downtown streets within minutes after gangs of young boys split off from the marchers, torching piles of tires at virtually every intersection in the capital.   U.N. peacekeeping troops scrambled from corner to corner, trying to contain the resulting chaos and put out the fires.   "We're burning Macoutes," said one young demonstrator who was gleefully igniting tires near the National Palace, referring to the feared Tontons Macoute militia formed under the late Haitian dictator Francois Duvalier.   The tenuous security maintained by international peacekeepers since the 1994 return of Haiti's first democratically elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, has deteriorated rapidly in the last 10 days.   Aristide was ousted in a bloody 1991 military coup and restored to power by U.S. troops three years later.   On his return he disbanded the military, which was replaced by the internationally trained Haitian National Police force.   Many who witnessed three years of repressive military rule following Aristide's ouster, during which an estimated 4,000 people were killed, fear the ex-soldiers are vying for the upper hand once again.   Wednesday was the second anniversary of the assassination of Jean Marie Vincent, one of the top leaders of the Lavalas political movement -- an association of grassroots political groups that backed Aristide to victory in 1991.   President Rene Preval marked the anniversary by visiting a northern region of the country where bodies of coup victims were known to have been dumped.   Wednesday's march came after a recent wave of violent acts which have fuelled a build-up of tension.   On Aug. 19, a group of alleged ex-soldiers wearing military fatigues attacked the Port-au-Prince police station and parliament building with automatic weapons and grenades.   The next day, a leader and a member of the Mobilisation for the National Development party, which is associated with the ex-military, were assassinated.   On Sunday, shots were fired at a vehicle and two residences of international police trainers in the southern port city of Petit Goave, U.N. spokesman Eric Falt said.   Petit Goave is known to be a stronghold of ex-soldiers and the MDN.   The same day, assailants in four cars attacked one of Preval's security guards as he left the palace in a car, firing through the windscreen and striking him in the chest.   He escaped harm only because he was wearing a bullet-proof vest, according to palace officials.   The assailants attacked in four cars, one of which was a U.N. vehicle without license plates, witnesses said.   U.N. spokesman Eric Falt said that "more than seven or eight" U.N. vehicles had been stolen and that many have not been recovered.   A homemade bomb was found in a Petionville auto parts store on Tuesday and destroyed by U.N. peacekeeping troops.   Grenades have been lobbed at gas stations near the Port-au-Prince airport.   Only one grenade exploded, causing minor damage to a building and slightly wounding two people, according to Falt.   Three other grenades were found earlier this week, when an ex-soldier tried to sneak them into the Petionville prison in a thermos. 
4643 !GCAT !GENV  A moderate earthquake measuring 5.0 on the Richter scale shook Costa Rica on Wednesday during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, but there were no reports of casualties or damage, officials said.   The quake struck at 11.16 a.m. (1716 GMT) and was centred 10 miles (16 km) south of the port of Quepos, which is 90 miles (140 km) south of the capital San Jose, the Costa Rican Volcanic and Seismologicial Observatory said.   The quake was felt for about seven seconds in most of the country but preliminary reports said no one was hurt, it added.   The quake took place a few minutes before the end of a welcoming ceremony at Juan Santamaria airport for Hashimoto, who was starting a three-hour visit as part of a Latin American tour.   Hashimoto, who arrived at 11 a.m. (1700 GMT), showed no sign of having felt the quake, witnesses said. 
4644 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GJOB  Tens of thousands of Chilean hospital workers walked off the job on Wednesday to press their demands for higher wages, bringing the country's public hospitals to a halt.   About 40,000 striking workers took to the streets, shutting down public hospitals, which serve about 70 percent of the country's 14 million people, for some 13 hours.   The government declared the strike illegal, allowing it to fire strikers if it chose to, and asked Chileans not to make non-emergency visits to public hospitals.   Health Minister Alex Figueroa warned that the strike would only fuel calls for Chile's public health system to be privatized, as the pension fund system was in the early 1980s.   A union leader, Humberto Cabrera, said the strike would draw attention to poor conditions in public hospitals, where "there's no operating equipment, there's no medicine ... and the budget has been stagnant since 1994."   The walkout followed plans announced by workers at state-owned Salvador copper mine to start an indefinite strike on Saturday and a march by teachers to demand wage increases. 
4645 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF  Venezuela approved on Wednesday $44.60 million in new spending on military supplies, Information Minister Fernanado Egana said.   The National Guard will receive some $27 million, including $20 million for the purchase of six M-28 "sky truck" aircraft; ground forces will receive $12.4 million, while the air force has been allotted $5 million to refurbish engines.   Funds will be drawn down from the government's "umbrella" or public credit law, Egana said.   The law allows the government to take on a maximum of 230 billion bolivars in internal debt and $983 million in external debt over the course of 1996.   -- Caracas newsroom, 582 834405 
4646 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  National Police Chief Gen. Rosso Jose Serrano on Wednesday called for the death penalty for kidnappers in Colombia, which has one of the highest abduction rates in the world.   "We should revive proposals aimed at establishing the death penalty for kidnappers," he told a meeting sponsored by the private Fundacion Pais Libre (Free Country Foundation), which offers counselling to kidnap victims and their families.   Capital punishment does not exist in Colombia, but Serrano said it was needed for kidnappers because leaders of criminal organisations continue to order abductions from their jail cells.   Calls for the death penalty have been made by Serrano and President Ernesto Samper in the past, but Congress has shown little or no interest in the issue.   Pais Libre is headed by Francisco Santos, a prominent newspaperman kidnapped by gunmen in the pay of notorious Medellin cartel drug lord Pablo Escobar in 1990.   He told the meeting 641 people were kidnapped in Colombia between January and July, down slightly from the 665 cases reported during the same period last year.   Of the total number of victims, 193 have been freed so far, 117 were rescued and 35 were killed by their captors, Santos said.   Between January 1995 and July 1996, kidnap victims have included 74 foreigners, he added, saying "the trend is toward an increase in the kidnapping of foreigners."   Leftist guerrillas and common criminals reponsible for most of Colombia's kidnappings were expected to earn more than $127 million in ransoms this year alone, Santos said. 
4647 !GCAT !GCRIM  Mexican authorities said on Wednesday a shooting incident at the home of a senior official of the Attorney General's office was a failed robbery attempt rather than a deliberate attack.   One man was killed and another wounded in a shootout on Tuesday between security guards and gunmen outside the home of Armando Salinas Torre, the private secretary of Attorney General Antonio Lozano.   "With the information and statements we have, it is possible to state that this was an incident motivated by robbery and not an attack," Lozano's office said.   The shooting had sparked speculation that some of the 737 police fired by Lozano last week for lacking the "ethical profile" for their job had decided to carry out a revenge attack.   The statement said a taxi driver who helped the gunmen get away had been arrested and had confessed to police that he and his colleagues regularly carried out armed robberies in the area.   On this occasion they had planned to steal the Salinas family's car, he told police.   One assailant was wounded in the gun battle and later checked himself in to a public hospital, where he died.   A police agent assigned to protect Salinas' wife, who had entered the home safely moments before the shootout, was wounded in the gunfight.   Salinas was not at his home when the shooting took place.   Lozano told a group of international journalists on Tuesday that his office had received threats after the mass firings last week but dismissed them as a "natural reaction." 
4648 !C13 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Eduardo Frei signalled he would not rule out asking the Senate to vote again on his nomination of Carlos Massad to the Central Bank's governing board, after the Senate narrowly rejected it.   Asked if the government could resubmit Massad's nomination after it lost by one vote Tuesday, Frei said "We are going to evaluate things and announce our decision when the time comes."    The rightist-controlled Senate rejected Massad's nomination to the five-member board by 21 to 20.   Rightists charged Massad's ties were too close to Frei's Christian Democratic Party to guarantee bank autonomy.   The vote, which dealt a stinging political blow to Frei and shocked local financial markets, called into question the right's trustworthiness in living up to its political agreements, Frei told reporters.   "I think this vote damages, in a way, the trust that lies behind the agreements and dialogue between the government and opposition," Frei said.   "This is a loss for the country."    One center-right senator who said he voted for Massad said the executive branch should call the nomination up for another vote -- but this time in public, instead of behind closed doors.   "I propose the president nominate Mr. Massad again, and this time let's vote on it out in the open," said Senator Francisco Javier Errazuriz.   Finance Minister Eduardo Aninat, who took much of the heat for what looked like a serious political miscalculation, hinted the government might try again after more lobbying in favor of Massad before considering new nominees.    "I have suggested to the president that we keep all options open.   Let's not rule out anything and try to break this gridlock in some way," Aninat told reporters.   But local news media were already speculating on possible new nominees, including Catholic University economist Felipe Larrain and economists Juan Andres Fontaine and Felipe Morande.   All names being bandied about were those of well-known economists without obvious political connections and who could be presented to Congress as consensus candidates.   Massad would replace Roberto Zahler, the bank president who resigned in June in a dispute with the rest of the board on how to negotiate private banks' $5 billion in debts with the Central Bank.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
4649 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Colombia's print and broadcast media urged the government on Wednesday to lift curbs on television coverage of peasant protests in the country's southern coca growing region.   The restrictions were announced by the state-run National Television Commission last Friday during clashes between protesters and security forces in Caqueta province in which at least four people were killed.   They include a ban on broadcasting any information from unofficial sources about Caqueta and neighbouring Putumayo province.   TV stations are also barred from showing any "images that reflect situations of extreme human suffering."   Images of bloodied and fatally wounded protesters have been broadcast repeatedly over the last month during sporadic outbreaks of violence stemming from demonstrations against the government's U.S.-backed drug crop eradication programme.   The starkest image was of a blood-soaked young man on a stretcher in Caqueta pleading with his rescuers not to let him die.   He bled to death soon after.   Monica De Greiff, a senior member of the commission, told a congressional panel on Tuesday she approved the curbs on TV coverage in a bid to help restore law and order in the area.   She said the curbs would be lifted once order was restored.   Her remarks, in which she insisted the government was not really censoring the press, prompted one lawmaker to storm out of the hearing after branding her comments "worthy of a Franco, a Mussolini or a Goebbels."   Asomedios, a politically powerful group representing major Colombian media organisations, called for the lifting of the censorship measures on Wednesday, saying they "limit the most sacred right in a democracy, the right to information."   The controversy came as several staunch supporters of President Ernesto Samper in Congress were seeking to change the rules governing broadcast licensing in Colombia.   Those reforms could cause a shakeup in the ownership of top television news programmes.   Critics are already calling this a reprisal for their coverage of the drug corruption scandal dogging Samper's government since last year. 
4650 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The budget and finance committee of Argentina's lower house of Congress gave its approval Wednesday to the government's austerity measures and passed them on for debate in the Chamber of Deputies.   "There was a favorable decision by the Peronist majority in the committee," committee president Oscar Lamberto of the ruling Peronist party told reporters.    The Peronist lawmakers approved the increase in VAT to a set of services with only minor changes, and the hike in the price of gasoline, the package's two biggest revenue-boosting measures.   But it decided to maintain the system by which income from gasoline is distributed proportionally among the provinces and central administration, opposing the government proposal to allow for a larger share of revenue to go to central coffers.   Economy Minister Roque Fernndez announced the belt-tightening measures three weeks ago in an effort to reduce the country's fiscal gap.    The Chamber of Deputies should begin discussing the austerity package in seven to 15 days, said Lamberto.   He said the measures will be examined simultaneously in the Senate.   Analysts said the measures could be passed sometime in September.   -- Daniel Helft, Buenos Aires Newsroom 541 318 0663 
4651 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Paraguay's main unions and peasant groups went on strike on Wednesday to demand a 26 percent pay rise for private sector workers and land grants for peasants.   The strike, planned for eight hours, is the first in a series of planned protests by unions and peasants leading up to a 72-hour general walkout in November, if their demands are not met.   Public transport stopped running and strikers massed in different parts of the capital Asuncion and elsewhere in the country.   No incidents had been reported by mid-day.   The strikers are also demanding the suspension of the planned privatisation of social security and the Yacyreta hydroelectric dam.   There have been three general strikes since May 1994, with violence by both protesters and police increasing each time.   Five demonstrators have died in the three strikes so far.   The government said it respected the right of workers to strike but deployed 10,000 police on Wednesday in case trouble broke out.   Union leaders warned their members would respond in kind to any police violence. 
4652 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The coffee crop in Colombia's central province of Risaralda was not affected by a storm of unusual intensity that hit the provincial capital over the weekend, an industry official said.   Alejandro Cano, chief of the Risaralda Coffee Growers Committee, said the storm -- packing gale-force winds and torrential rains -- was centered on a working-class district on the outskirts of the capital, Pereira, and had little or no affect on the countryside.   "There was no damage to the coffee crop," Cano said in a telephone interview.   Cano said the harvest beginning next month in Risaralda and ending in November was expected to be about 25 to 30 percent below average, however, because of unusually heavy rains during the flowering period earlier this year.   "It's not going to be a good one," he said.   -- Bogota newsroom, 571 610 7944 
4653 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Chilean state copper company Codelco's executive president Juan Villarzu urged workers at the Salvador mine to reconsider their decision Tuesday to reject the firm's final pay offer and go on strike.   "They should reconsider their position as the offer is very good and guarantees the long-term viability of the Salvador division which has the highest operating costs in Codelco," Villarzu told reporters.   Miners at the pit, the smallest of Codelco's four divisions, voted by a wide majority to reject the corporation's offer of a three percent increase.    If the strike occurs, it will not cause Codelco difficulties in meeting its supply contracts, said Villarzu.   "We don't have problems with that (meeting contracts).   We always leave a margin of production to deal with problems like this which gives us flexibility," he said.   Although the exact time of the start of the strike is unclear, Codelco officials said it could start as early as first shift on August 30.   Union officials and Codelco's negotiating committee were holding separate meetings Wednesday morning to decide their next move, said officials.    "It's not clear if the company will talk with the unions.   This was definitely the last offer," said spokesman Luis Lodi by telephone from the mine.   Salvador, which lies near the northern town of Copiapo, produced 42,901 tonnes of fine copper in the first six months of the year.   If the stoppage goes ahead, it would be the second major labor dispute at Codelco this year, after a strike paralyzed the giant Chuquicamata pit for 10 days in early May.   -- Margaret Orgill, Santiago newsroom, 562-699-5595 x212 
4654 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Nearly one million Venezuelan public sector workers are striking Wednesday in an attempt to pressure the government to make good on promised wage bonuses, Public Sector Union President Carlos Borges said.   Under an April 29 agreement, Venezuelan public sector workers were to receive a one-off bonus worth eight month's pay, as well as a 25 percent wage increase.   But Borges said workers have not yet received any of the government-pledged 62 billion bolivars ($130 million).   Only a one day stoppage is planned.   Venezuela employs nearly 1.3 million public sector workers.   -- Caracas newsroom, 582 834405 
4655 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Brazilian Planning Minsiter Antonio Kandir was due to meet with leaders of political parties in the Senate on Wednesday to call for the quickest possible approval of a bill cutting taxes on exports.   The bill, which would exempt exports from the so-called ICMS tax, was approved late Tuesday in the lower house.   It would also extend ICMS exemption to purchases of machinery, power and other goods used in manufacuturing.   Dep.   Luiz Carlos Hauly, who was in charge of getting the bill through the Chamber of Deputies, said the government had not set a deadline for approval of the legislation but wanted it to be given the most urgent treatment.   Hauly told reporters the legislation represented the most important boost to the Brazilian economy since the July 1994 launch of the government's stabilization program, the Real Plan.   Analysts have estimated the bill could boost Brazilian exports by four percent in 1997 when it is due to come into effect.   -- William Schomberg, Brasilia newsroom 5561 2230358 
4656 !C13 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Brazilian firm Hebron S.A. said on Wednesday it did not have World Health Organization approval to market the world's first birth-control pill for men but insisted the drug, Nofertil, is safe.   "The WHO was not involved in our studies and they have not approved it," said Luiz Francisco Pianowski, Hebron's chief pharmacist and industrial director.   He said Hebron, which plans to begin producing Nofertil in mid-1997 at its Caruaru plant in northeastern Brazil, will prove the pill is safe when it seeks Brazilian Health Ministry approval next month to market the drug.    "We will provide studies showing it is neither toxic nor poses genetic risks," he said.   His comments came after WHO on Tuesday denied links to Nofertil, saying its mandate did not include approving drugs for marketing.   It also reiterated a 1981 finding that the drug's main agent, gossypol, poses a toxicity risk and raises concerns about the complete reversibility of its anti-fertility action.   Gossypol, a cotton extract, works in Nofertil by deactivating the enzyme responsible for producing sperm.   Pianowski said Hebron studies show the gossypol level in Nofertil is safe for all but five to 10 percent of men, "those with a predisposition for infertility."   Previously he said the company's studies had WHO backing, but he has since acknowledged the firm merely built on WHO studies discontinued in 1981 and followed agency norms in developing Nofertil.   -- James Craig, Sao Paulo Newsroom 5511 232 4411 
4657 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Heavy two-day rains across the vast majority of central and northern Mexico are a welcome relief for crops, weather forecasters said Wednesday.   A forecaster for TV network Televisa said satellite images showed thick cloud from the central states of Guanajuato and Queretaro to the northwestern states of Sinaloa and Sonora.   Guanajuato and Sonora are the top wheat states.   "There is a lot of rain and humidity and that is very good for agriculture," said the forecaster on Televisa's daily breakfast show "Al Despertar".    An update from the National Meterological Service also said the rains would continue across most of the country with various weather fronts, aside the tropical front affecting central and northwestern states, bringing rains to other zones.   The service said one smaller front was over the west of the Yucatan Peninsula, affecting Chiapas and Oaxaca states and that another belt of rain was moving slowly across the the northeastern states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila.    A third humid front was hanging over central Mexico, causing light rain in Mexico City and other central states such as Morelos.   Good rains, with the occasional electric storm, were also predicted Wednesday over the southern states of Oaxaca and Chiapas, the service said.   The two states are among the top coffee producing zones.   Mexico's northern states have suffered a long-lasting drought, with certain zones not seeing rainfall for the last four years.   These rains, alongside others recorded last week from Hurricane Dolly and others in early August, are first respites for the areas, home to much of Mexico's non-irrigated crops, such as sorghum, and are huge livestock rearing states too.   --Chris Aspin, Mexico City newsroom (525) 7289530. 
4658 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  A bill paving the way for privatization of Brazilian mining conglomerate Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) is unlikely to be put to a vote on the floor of the Senate before September, an official said.   The bill, drawn up by Sen. Vilson Kleinubing, is on the Senate's schedule for later Wednesday but would probably be postponed because some members want to negotiate the transfer of cash raised by selling CVRD to their respective states, he said.   Kleinubing's legislation does away with a requirement included in a previous, left-wing version of the bill that would have made CVRD's sale subject to approval by the Senate.   Instead, his draft states that all revenues from the selloff be used in infrastructure projects in the six states where CVRD operates and for other sorely needed projects around Brazil.   The officials said negotiations were continuing with senators representing the six states over the mechanics of carving up CVRD's privatization revenues, expected to total around $6.0 billion.   The six states where CVRD operates are Minas Gerais, Para, Espirito Santo, Maranhao, Bahia and Sergipe.   -- William Schomberg, Brasilia newsroom 5561 2230358 
4659 !GCAT !GDIP  Japan's Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto left Peru on Wednesday for Costa Rica, the final leg of his 10-day Latin American tour, local radio reported.   Hashimoto, who has already visited Mexico, Chile and Brazil, spent three days in Lima.   During his visit to Peru the Japanese prime minister signed three loan agreements worth around $615 million for hydroelectric, road and environmental projects. 
4660 !GCAT  These are the highlights of the main Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro newspapers this morning.   GAZETA MERCANTIL   -- NATIONAL MONETARY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS REDISCOUNT, LEASING   The National Monetary Council will meet in the afternoon to discuss expanding the use of rediscount lines to banks and consider freeing up consumer leasing restrictions.   -- GRUPO BRADESCO INSURANCE TO POST 202 MLN REAIS PROFIT   Grupo Bradesco Insurance will post a 202 million reais profit when it announces its first half earnings on Friday.   The figure will represent a 52.19 percent gain over the same period last year.   -- BEAR STEARNS CONFIDENT IN BAMERINDUS   U.S. investment bank Bear Stearns recommended buying in the secondary market three Eurobonds issued by Banco Bamerindus, saying the market had not adequately considered the "implicit support of the Brazilian government for the bank."   - - -   O GLOBO   -- TAX EXEMPTIONS APPROVED FOR EXPORTS   The Lower House approved last night by a vote of 303 to 70 a bill that would exempt some exports from the ICMS tax.   -- SCHOOLS SEEK PROTECTION FROM BANKRUPT PARENTS   A national schools federation is organzing to create a special credit-checking service they could use to screen parents before accepting children into schools.   FOLHA DE SAO PAULO   -- BASIC TELEPHONE SERVICE COSTS TO SOAR   Basic telephone service costs will rise by about 200 percent from November.   Telebras said the minimum cost of such service would rise to 11 reais from 3.74 reais.   -- John Miller, Sao Paulo newsroom, 5511 232-4411 
4661 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Mexico's largest labour unions will ask the government for a wage rise of at least 20 percent during forthcoming talks to renew a national economic recovery plan, state-owned news agency Notimex said on Tuesday.   Notimex quoted Enrique Aguilar Borrego, vice-president of the Labor Congress umbrella of pro-government labour unions, as saying workers will demand the rise   Aguilar said in an interview with Notimex the unions would be willing to accept a two-part payment similar to one granted last year.   Unions will also ask the government to exempt income taxes from workers earning up to five times the minimum wage, Aguilar said.   The government normally sets out its economic goals for the forthcoming year, including inflation targets and wage rises for some sectors, during early November.   -- David Luhnow, Mexico City, Newsroom 525 7289565 
4662 !GCAT !GVIO  One person died and several others were injured on Tuesday during violent protests and looting in the eastern Costa Rican port city of Limon, officials said.   An unidentified man was killed by gunfire as he and several others looted a store in Limon, some 75 miles (120 km) east of the capital San Jose, police said.   Another looter was also wounded during the incident, said Limon police spokesman Miguel Ramirez.   Local television Channel 7 said three others were wounded by gunfire during widespread looting in the port city and showed images of police scrambling for cover amid the repeated sound of automatic gunfire.   Looting began after police removed several makeshift barricades on the area's roads placed by shipyard workers, who were protesting a recent government concession to private companies to run the port's facilities.   The workers, who also opposed a government bill in the legislature to partly privatise the nation's roads, airports and ports, said they planned a general strike in the coming days.   Limon, a city bordering the Caribbean Sea, handles about 80 percent of Costa Rica's shipping cargo. 
4663 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GWELF  Argentina's top business leaders and Economy Ministry officials agreed on Tuesday to change the government's proposals to reduce family benefits and abolish tax exemptions on shopping tickets.   "There was a satisfactory agreement and when we have the outlines ready we will meet again," the state news agency Telam quoted Daniel Ponce, the Economy Ministry chief spokesman, as saying.   The agreement was reached after a meeting between top businesses and Economy Ministry officials including Economy Minister Roque Fernandez.   The leading businessmen, known locally as the "Group of Eight" represent Argentina's main agricultural, industrial, banking and commercial interests.   Argentines have given a cool reception to the measures, which include abolishing tax exemptions on shopping tickets received by more than a million workers as a large part of their pay packets and reduce family benefits to families earning less than 1,000 pesos.   The proposals were unveiled by former Economy Minister Domingo Cavallo.    A general strike has already been staged in protest over these and more recent government measures, including a tax increase on diesel.   Another strike is planned for September.   Argentine businesses want changes to the proposals because they fear the recessionary impact that will result from the reductions in disposable income of many workers.   The Economy Ministry will start working on changes to the plan on Wednesday to come up with a new proposal Ponce was quoted as saying.   -- Axel Bugge, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 54 1 415 2571 
4664 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Codelco will decide on Wednesday whether to renew wage talks with unions at its Salvador mine after workers voted by a wide margin to go on strike from Saturday, a spokesman for the state-owned company said.   "The company will make a decision tomorrow on whether it will renew conversations," said spokesman Luis Lodi by telephone from the copper mine in Chile's northern Third Region.   "It is possible we will decide to renew talks," he said.   He was speaking after workers at the mine's five unions voted 2-to-1 to strike as of Saturday to demand Codelco make concessions in stalled wage talks.   Union officials were unavailable for comment on whether they would agree to return to the negotiating table.   Salvador is Codelco's smallest, remotest and highest-cost division, producing about 80,000 tonnes of copper a year including 25,000 tonnes from a cathodes plant opened a year ago.   The strike would be the second major labour dispute at Codelco this year, following a two-week walkout at Chuquicamata in May.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
4665 !GCAT !GVIO  An ammunition dump exploded on Tuesday at a military base in the Peruvian jungle, killing six soldiers and injuring 17 army officials said.   The explosion, whose cause was unknown, occurred during "military exercises inside an anti-terrorist base" around 315 miles (500 km) northeast of Lima in the Huallaga region, an army statement said.   The Peruvian military maintains a large presence in the Huallaga area to fight the drug -trafficking and guerrilla operations that are rife in the jungle region. 
4666 !GCAT !GVIO  Guatemalan government officials met on Tuesday for a new round of peace talks with leftist rebels that both sides hope will bring an end to Guatemala's 36-year civil war by the end of this year.   For the third time since June, peace negotiators discussed strengthening Guatemala's civilian government, the peacetime role of the army and the political future of the guerrillas as they come out of the hills and home from exile.   "We are quite close in our positions and while there are a few outstanding points to discuss, they are easily surmountable," Gustavo Porras, head of the government delegation, told Mexico's state-owned news agency Notimex after the latest talks began at a Mexico City hotel.   When the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unit (URNG) met earlier this month they signed an agreement to conclude negotiations by the end of the year.   "We hope we will make significant advances on this theme of the strengthening of civil power and the theme of the role of the army," Porras told reporters in Guatemala City Monday.   The war has killed more than 100,000 Guatemalans and an estimated 40,000 have disappeared.   Peace negotiations, mediated by the United Nations, were stalled for most of 1995 but got into gear early this year when the rebels announced a unilateral ceasefire and President Alvaro Arzu ordered the army to cease counterinsurgency campaigns.   During five years of on-and-off talks both sides have signed six agreements on social themes, economic issues and indigenous rights.   Before a final peace is signed the government and the URNG commanders, who live in exile in Mexico, must sign accords on constitutional and election reforms, a schedule for implementation of peace accords and a definitive ceasefire.   They must also resolve the touchy issue of whether the government will grant a blanket pardon for army soldiers and officers accused of human rights abuses and guerrilla fighters accused of treason and other crimes. 
4667 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Workers at Chilean state mining company Codelco's Salvador copper mine voted to begin an indefinite strike as of August 31 to demand wage increases, a union leader said.   "A majority of workers voted to reject the company's offer and go on strike as of the first morning shift, August 31," said Hector Villalobos, secretary of Salvador's Number One union.   The vote to strike was 1,454 to 708 and included workers in all five unions at the copper mine and nearby Potrerillos processing plant, said Villalobos.    All five unions will join the strike, Villalobos told Reuters by telephone from the mine in arid northern Chile.   The mine produced 42,901 tonnes of fine copper in the first six months of this year, making it the smallest of Codelco's four mines.   If the strike happens, it would be the second major labour dispute at Codelco this year, after a strike paralysed the giant Chuquicamata pit for about two weeks in early May.   --Roger Atwood, Santiago newsroom +56-2-699-5595 x211 
4668 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Addressing a meeting of Asia Pacific Energy Ministers in his first major speech on APEC in Sydney last night, Prime Minister John Howard proposed the adoption of free trade in primary energy products by 2000 and called for greater coordination in the market-opening plans to be embraced by the forum's 18 economies.   Page 3.   --   Deputy Opposition Leader and Shadow Treasurer, Gareth Evans, has urged the Federal Government to put reducing unemployment ahead of cutting the deficit and accused the Coalition of ignoring A$17.2 billion of promises over four years following last week's budget.   Page 4.   --   The Australian Private Hospitals Association has rejected the proposed application of competition reform in the health sector, claiming the Trade Practices Act protects the market dominance of health insurance funds at the expense of small private hospitas.   In a submission to a Senate Committee, the    APHA said small hospital groups should be allowed to negotiate contracts with major health insurance funds collectively.   Page 5.   --   Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released as a part of Australia's quarterly international investment position reveal net foreign equity investment in Australia mounted to a record A$94.6 billion and net foreign debt climbed to A$187.8 billion during the June quarter.   Page 5.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   Prime Minister John Howard has warned private health funds against undermining the Government's health rebates after five of the biggest funds increased premiums by up to 10 per cent.   Howard is determined the full tax rebate benefit of last week's Budget will flow through to health fund members.   Page 1.   --   Tougher means testing signals the Federal Government's intention to slash payments to 170,000 unemployed job seekers as a result of the Budgetary spending clampdown.   As the Government aims to make unemployed people more self-reliant, credit schemes to assit pensioners and unemployed people will also be    abolished.   Page 1.   --   Three New South Wales Police officers were yesterday given permission to sue the State Government for negligence after a shootout with dangerous criminals five years ago.   Counsel for the officers argued to the Supreme Court the men had been forced to confront heavily armed robbers despite a plan devised by specialist police to protect them.   Page 3.   --   The Federal Government has conceded the '"appalling" conditions some Aborigines live in will not be solved before the Sydney 2000 Olympics.   The admission was made as a Queensland Government Minister warned Australia would face international condemnation over the treatment of indigenous people.   Page 3.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   The health insurance rebate announced in the Federal Budget is likely to be off-set by a jump in fee rises by the major insurers.   At least nine funds were given Federal Government approval to lift fees by up to 17.5 per cent weeks before the    rebate scheme aimed at cutting the cost of health insurance was revealed.   Page 1.   --   The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released figures revealing the level of foreign ownership in Australia surged by A$18 billion last year, confirming speculation that Australia is holding a fire sale of assets to finance the current account deficit.  The increase was three times the A$6 billion rise in net foreign debt last financial year.   1995-96 figures show Australia owes A$437 billion to the rest of the world.   Page 1.   --   The New South Wales Government has issued a health warning after a freak outbreak of meningococcal disease, a potentially lethal condition which can develop into meningitis and septicaemia.   Health authorities believe the source is a Penrith nightclub whee seven of the 10 people infected are believed to have contracted the disease.   Page 1.   --   According to new research by the Environment Protection Authority, The Hawkesbury-Nepean River system is experiencing a massive build-up of a toxic dinoflagellate, an exotic micro-organism thought to have been introduced from ship's    reach the multi-million-dollar target.   Page A1.   --   Bureau of Air Safety reports show that since 1990 four commercial airliners, including at least two fully laden 747 passenger jets, have been redirected from Essendon Airport by air traffic control after mistaking the airport for Melbourne's Tullamarine Arport.   According to Federal member for Wills, Kelvin Thomson, Essendon is not equipped to handle emergencies involving large airliners and if there was an accident, nearby housing would be at risk.   Page A1.   --   ballast water.   The increasing level of Alexandrium dinoflagellate could contaminate filter-feeding marine animals such as commercial species of oysters and mussels and lead to public health bans.   Page 3.   --   THE AGE   Estimates by Melbourne Major Events reveal that the 2006 Commonwealth Games would cost Melbourne up to A$146 million, plus an extra A$50 million to upgrade sports facilities.   The Victorian State capital would rely on corporate sponsorship, ticket sales, merchandising and "coin and stamps projects" to    Justice Department criminal records and allowed to monitor phone calls from prisons, according to a State Government paper.   Page A3.   The Federal Government is now expected to pay possibly two-thirds of the States' and Territories' costs for the national gun buy-back scheme, after Attorney-General Daryl Williams was forced to revise his original offer to pay 50 per cent following opposiion from Police Ministers.   Page A3.   --   Federal Privacy Commissioner Kevin O'Connor has criticised the planned move by Victoria's private prison operators to hire their own intelligence officers to collect information on prisoners, staff, visitors and anyone of interest to the prison system.   The intelligence officers would be given access to    -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4669 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Confronting the worst result in Burns Philp & Co Ltd's 113-year history, managing director Ian Clack gave himself a one-year deadline to turn the struggling group around, after the global food group posted a net loss of A$61.8 million after writedowns.   Page 1.   --   Shares in cinema giant Hoyts Cinemas Ltd finished their first day of trading at A$2.55 - a 27.5 per cent premium to the A$2 issue price - in what was the most successful big listing on the Australian Stock Exchange this year.   The stockmarket performance added A$70 million to the profit made by major shareholders Hellman & Friedman and Lend Lease Corp.   Page 1.   --   Optus Communications has given this year's float a boost with its first full-year profit of A$60 million, compared with last year's A$17 million loss.   Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 130 per cent to A$456 million.   Page 17.   --   Although average international zinc prices declined by US$23 a tonne in the year, Pasminco Ltd recorded its best profit result since 1990 of A$40.8 million.   The result prompted an increase in the group's dividend payout from two cents a share to three cents a share and sparked a minor share rally    yesterday.   Page 18.   --   Investor demand for quality health-care companies was underlined yesterday with a spectacular debut on the stockmarket by Australian Hospital Care.   Its shares first traded at A$1.62, a large 29 per cent premium to the A$1.25 issue price.   Page 18.   --   Newcrest Ltd remains A$40 million down on its investment in the newly reconstructed Normandy Mining Ltd but is in no hurry to sell, according to managing director John Quinn.   Newcrest yesterday revealed a weak A$20.8    million after-tax profit.   Page 19.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   Four years after starting business in Australia, telecommunications carrier Optus Communications yesterday posted its first annual profit of A$60 million in the year to June and forecast further growth in a booming telecommunications market.   Optus' pay-TV offshoot Optus Vision posted a loss of A$150 million, however this figure was not included in the parent company's financial results.   Page 21.   --   Burns Philp & Co Ltd managing director Ian Clack has remained silent on whether the global spice and yeast group could improve profits this financial year after the announcement of a A$61.8 million loss after abnormals for the 12 months to June this year.   Page 21.   --   Shell Australia Ltd has backed the development of the huge Gorgon gas resource in the Timor Sea.   Entering a partnership with the existing North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project, the estimated development costs for the mega-consortium have been set at between A$7 billion and A$8 billion.   Page 21.    --   The Federal Government has persisted with the implementation of big Budget cuts to key export programmes despite evidence the schemes have been effective.   The Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce has raised concerns about the extent of the cuts to exort assistance agency Austrade.   Page 21.   --   The Australian Stock Exchange is to impose a three per cent levy on annual listing fees with the aim to streamline Australian and overseas accounting standards.   The levy is expected to raise A$1 million and will apply next year and in    1998.   Page 22.   --   Newcrest Mining Ltd's net profit has been slashed by over 50 per cent to A$20.8 million from A$42.4 million in the previous year.   Managing director John Quinn sourced the reduction in profits for the mining giant to lower production and higher costs.   Page 22.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   Major Coles Myer shareholder, the Myer family, has revived tensions on the board by criticising the retailer's performance and indicating it wants representation on the board.   The criticism came from an address by the head of the Myer family, S.B. "Bails" Myer at a dinner party for Coles directors.   Page 25.   --   Hoyts Cinemas Group splashed onto the sharemarket yesterday at a 27 per cent premium to its issue price as it launched what is expected to be one of the biggest films of the year, Independence Day.   Page 26.    --   A full-year net loss of A$61.8 million has signalled an end to Burns Philp's second-half dividend.   The diversified ingredients group's result came on the back of a 21 per cent fall in earnings before abnormals and tax to A$102.9 million.   Page 27   --   Bank of Melbourne has shrugged off the intense competition in the home lending market to report a 17.1 per cent increase in annual profits to a net profit of A$84.1 million.   Managing director David Airey said the result was an improvement    in every sector from last year.   Page 27.   --   The BHP board has been strengthened by the appointment, announced yesterday, of Australian banker Don Argus as a director of the Melbourne-based global resources group.   Argus, managing director of National Australia Bank will take up his seat in November.   Page 27.   --   Production increases and metal price premiums allowed the big zinc producer Pasminco to shake off the effects of lower prices in the June year, with its profit rising to A$40.8 million from A$12.2 million.   Managing director David Stewart said the result ws obtained by improving the business regardless of how the metal prices were travelling.   Page 29.   --   THE AGE   Revenue from mobile and long-distance telephony has given Optus Communications its first annual profit.   The maiden A$60 million profit on revenues of A$1.94 billion has paved the way for the long-awaited A$5 billion listing.   Page B1.   --   Despite increased competition in the home lending market, Bank of Melbourne has posted a 17.1 per cent increase in profit to A$84.1 million for the year to June.   The profit was boosted by A$2.5 billion in new lending, up 21.5 per cent for the year.   Page 2.   --   Newcrest Mining managing director John Quinn said yesterday the expansion of the Telfer operation in Western Australia and new developments in New South Wales and Indonesia would see Newcrest producing at a one-million-ounce-plus rate at the end of calendar 1998.  .   Page B2.   --   Operating 851 screens in 132 sites, including 634 screens in the US, Hoyts Cinemas made their debut on the Australian Stock Exchange yesterday at A$2.40, a 20 peer cent premium to their issue price of A$2.   Page B2.   --   Zinc producer Pasminco yesterday reported a profit of A$40.8 million, reflecting the benefits of concentrating on improving business irrespective of metal prices.   According to the group's managing director David Stewart, the result was generated by an inrease in product premiums and volumes.   Page B2.   --   The Australian Stock Exchange will impose a three per cent levy on annual listing fees in 1997 and 1998 to fund a project designed to bring Australia into line with international accounting standards.   The move will raise about A$1 million in    funds to be sed by the Australian Accounting Standards Board and the Australian Accounting Research Foundation to advance the project.   Page B2.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4670 !GCAT  DOMINION   Front Page - Rape, sex attacks in welfare custody    - Shipley backs GPs approving abortions    - Lomu's tour ends in disappointment    - 325,000 voters still unregistered    Page two - Labour earmarks $2.3b for health    - American interest in Cooks tax deal   Editorial - Human rights law is an ass    Business - Fletcher makes $490m despite volatile prices    - Port of Tauranga expects big profit rise    Sport  - Out go Moran and Cavubati   CHRISTCHURCH PRESS   Front Page - Belfast father battles to raise family    - $2m Square facelift turned down    - NZ First army-work plan backed    - Teens lead police on car chase    Inside - Che, union to probe claims    - Labour unveils $2.3b health plan    - Minister pledges funds for roads    Business - E Adams ahead of budget    - Cardinal Labs bought    Sport  - Conflict over clash of rugby, cricket dates   NEW ZEALAND HERALD    Page 1 - Steel mill future uncertain    - Rugby toughs leave their boot marks    - Waiheke Islander takes on Telecom and wins    - Whacko Jacko set for November gig    Page 3 - Abortion call decried by Christian Coalition    - Protesters welcomed by Fletcher    - Massey Students give Bolger a raspberry   Editorials - Suddenly the parliamentarians are gone    Sport  - Lomu out of all rugby for at least a month    Business GPC performs well 
4671 !GCAT  **BIRTHDAYS**   American writer and scientist OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES was born in 1809.   He wrote "Man has his will - but woman has her way".   Australian Labor Prime Minister ANDREW FISHER was born in 1862.   He offered to support Britain to "the last man and the last shilling", if World War I broke out.   West Australian world billiards champion WALTER LINDRUM was born in 1898.   The great Swedish movie actress INGRID BERGMAN was born in 1915.   She died of cancer on her 67th birthday in 1982.   Her romance with ROBERTO ROSSELLINI, by whom she had a child in 1948, scandalised her American fans and the US Senate called her "a powerful force for evil".   During her long career she won two Academy Awards.   Great English actor and film director Sir RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH was born in 1923.   His work included "In Which We Serve", "The Great Escape" and "Gandhi".   American actor ELLIOT GOULD, who starred in "M*A*S*H", was born in 1938.   Sir JULIUS CHAN, Papua New Guinea prime minister, was born in 1939.   American actor RICHARD GERE was born in 1949.   His best known movies include "An Officer And A Gentleman" and "Pretty Woman".   American entertainer MICHAEL JACKSON was born in 1958.   He became a star during his childhood as the lead singer of the family group The Jackson 5 and then from 1976 with The Jacksons.   The early hits with the group included "I'll Be There", "ABC", and "The Love You Save", all in 1970.   His early success as a solo artist included hit songs such as "Rockin' Robin", "Ben", "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough", "Rock With You", "Billie Jean" and "Beat It".   His album "Thriller" sold 45 million copies and is the best-selling album of all time.   He published his autobiography "Moonwalk" in 1988.   JACKSON married LISA MARIE PRESLEY, the daughter of the "King of Rock" ELVIS PRESLEY, in 1994.    **EVENTS**    1835 : JOHN BATMAN bought land from Aborigines to   officially establish Melbourne.    1842 : The Treaty of Nanking was signed by the British   and Chinese, ending the Opium War.    1882 : England's cricket team was humiliated for the   first time with a loss in a test match to Australia.   The defeat was considered such a disgrace that "The Sporting Times" newspaper carried an obituary.   "In affectionate remembrance of English cricket, which died at the Oval ... the body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia."   The legendary trophy, the Ashes, were born.    1885 : The first motorcycle was patented by GOTTLIEB   DAIMLER in Germany.    1918 : More than 6,000 British police went on strike,   demanding better pay.    1945 : The war crimes trials began in Nuremberg with   GOERING and HESS heading the list of 24 Nazis to be tried.   The charges included waging a war of aggression, violating the laws and customs of warfare, and crimes against humanity.   At the end of the 15 months of evidence, 12 Nazis were sentenced to death, HESS was sentenced to life imprisonment, five were jailed for shorter terms and three were acquitted.    1945 : The Allied occupation of Japan began.    1947 : United States scientists announced the discovery   of plutonium fission suitable for nuclear power generation.    1957 : The first breathalyser known as the "drunkometer"   was tested in the United States.   The machine was the first to measure the amount of alcohol on the breath.    1960 : Australia's DAWN FRASER became the first woman to   retain the Olympic 100 metres freestyle title.    1966 : The Beatles played their last live concert at   Candlestick Park, California.    1967 : Ex-child star SHIRLEY TEMPLE announced she was   standing for Congress.    1974 : The ALAN BOND yacht "Southern Cross" won the right   to challenge for the America's Cup.   The Australians beat the French 4-0.   The "Southern Cross" went on to be defeated by the defender "Courageous" in the Cup.    1990 : Mohawk Indians ended their blockade of a bridge   over the Lawrence River in Canada.    1995 : Georgian leader EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE survived an   assassination attempt when a car exploded near his motorcade.   (Compiled from ABC ARCHIVES, ABC RADIO NATIONAL, "On This Day" published by REED INTERNATIONAL BOOKS LIMITED, "The Chronicle Of The 20th Century" published by PENGUIN BOOKS and "Rock And Pop (Day By Day)" published by BLANDFORD BOOKS)   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4672 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Australian government's index of skilled job vacancies rose 0.7 percent in August.    The index stood at 145, down 9.9 percent on August 1995, the Department of Employment, Education and Training said on Thursday.   "Increases were recorded in seven of the 16 occupational groups, five groups decreased and four remained unchanged," the department said.   The biggest increases were recorded for health diagnosis and treatment practitioners, up 8.4 percent, natural scientists (4.8 percent) and medical and science technical officers and technicians (1.8 percent), it said.    The biggest falls were recorded for vehicle trades, printing trades, engineering and building associates and technicians, and computing professionals, all down one percent.   Among the states, the skilled vacancies index rose 24.2 percent in Tasmania, due mainly to annual recruiting by the state government.   It rose seven percent in South Australia and and 1.1 percent in Victoria.   The index fell 2.1 percent in the Northern Territory, 1.7 percent in New South Wales and 0.4 percent in Western Australia.   The index for Queensland remained unchanged.    The monthly index series studies job vacancies advertised in major metropolitan newspapers.   -- Canberra bureau 616-273-2730 
4673 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Hong Kong Financial Secretary Donald Tsang said on Thursday he was interested in New Zealand's example of public sector reform and privatisation.   "The public sector reform which has taken place in this country is probably the most advanced in the world," Tsang told a news conference after meeting New Zealand Finance Minister Bill Birch in Wellington.   He said he was interested in New Zealand's experience in public expenditure control, taxation and its adoption of accrual-based government accounting.    New Zealand has created a leaner and more efficient public sector since the mid-1980s by corporatising or privatising government departments.   Tsang said in reply to a question that the Hong Kong government was not currently considering any sales of state assets in view of the impending transition next year from British to Chinese rule.   However, he said this was "certainly a thing we have to consider".   The Hong Kong public sector accounts for about 18 percent of GDP, he said.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 471-4277 
4674 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Hong Kong Financial Secretary Donald Tsang said on Thursday that talks with China on the 1997/98 budget spanning the colony's handover from Britain were going smoothly.   Tsang said he had had three sets of meetings so far with Chinese authorities.   "They have been pretty smooth," he told a news conference during a visit to New Zealand.   "None of our basic precepts have been challenged."   Hong Kong's financial year starts on April 1 and the handover from Britain to China takes place at midnight on June 30, 1997.    Tsang described the talks to date as "so far, so good".   He pointed out that after the handover, Hong Kong would retain its own currency, run its own financial and monetary policy entirely and have control over its own foreign exchange reserves.   It would have no responsibility to contribute any taxation to Beijing, he said.   Hong Kong would remain a member of international fora such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the World Trade Organisation.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 471-4277 
4675 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Four work stoppages ended in April 1996, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday.   Two were complete strikes and the other two were partial strikes.   "Together these involved 1,902 employees and resulted in the loss of 263 person-days of work...and about NZ$29,000 in wages and salaries," SNZ said.   There were 70 stoppages which ended in the year to April 30, resulting in the loss of 30,256 person-days of work.   This compared to 39,394 days lost in the year to April 1995.    There were 14,306 employees involved in the stoppages that ended in the year to April, down on the 28,091 in the year to April 1995.   An estimated NZ$3.7 million in wages and salaries was lost by these employees in the year to April 1996, compared with $5.1 million the previous year.   Of the 70 stoppages recorded, 60 were complete strikes, nine were partial strikes and one was a complete lockout.   Twenty eight occurred in the manufacturing industry, 14 were in the education industry, and 42 were in the private sector.   The remaining 28 were in the public sector.    Total private sector losses, of $415 per employee in wages and salaries and 3.55 person-days at work, were more than four times greater than public sector losses, at $98 per employee and 0.65 days.   As well as the four stoppages ending in April, 13 others were still in progress, including industrial action by secondary school teachers.   --Wellington Newsroom (64 4) 4734746 
4676 !GCAT  NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN   Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd and four other Japanese aircraft manufacturers plan to join in the development of a successor to the Boeing 747 jetliner.   They are expected to take up a total 15 to 20 percent of the development and manufacturing of the aircraft, mostly components of the main wing assemblies for the 747-500 and 747-600 versions.   The other Japanese firms are Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd, Japan Aircraft Manufacturing Co Ltd and ShinMaywa Industries Ltd.   Japan's Trade Ministry plans to extend financial aid for their work from the fiscal year starting April 1, 1997.    ----   Foreign banks, which had stayed away from Japan due to higher costs, are bringing back their strategic operations to Tokyo, backed by the weaker yen and progress in the nation's deregulation.   Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Corp plans to begin building its own office in Tokyo in September.   Major French bank Societe General, which moved its foreign exchange dealing operations to Singapore in 1993, will bring these back to Tokyo.   ----    Supermarket operator Jusco Co Ltd's parent current profit in the half-year to August 31, 1996, is expected to increase by 18 percent from a year earlier to 12.5 billion yen, helped by an increase in the number of new outlets.   ----   Thirty major Japanese card companies surveyed by the Japan Consumer Credit Industry Association said spending by credit card holders in the first half of calendar 1996 rose by 13.6 percent from the same period a year earlier, helped by strong sales of personal computers and home appliances.   ----    Hoya Corp agreed with International Business Machines Corp to jointly develop large-capacity glass magnetic disks for 2.5-inch hard disk drives.   The two firms plan to develop disks for hard drives, including large magneto-resistive devices, over three to five years.   ----   Nippondenso Co Ltd and a Chinese investment company have set up a venture in China to manufacture ignition systems for motorcycle engines from the summer of 1997.   The venture will target annual output of 200,000 sets in the year 2000.    Nippon Investment & Finance Co, a Tokyo-based venture capital affiliate of Daiwa Securities Co Ltd, plans to invest in a private Russian maker of aluminium window frames, becoming the first Japanese financial institution to do so.   The company has already received permission from Russian authorities.   The total investment cost will be $1.2 million.   ----   Major retailer Mycal Corp plans to set up a large storage and processing facility for imported goods at the foreign access zone (FAZ) in Kanagawa prefecture, near Tokyo.   It hopes to have 80 billion yen worth of products, including domestic goods, pass through the facility in the first year. 
4677 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Philippine government and Moslem negotiators talked late into Wednesday night, trying to settle the final issues of an accord that would end 24 years of bloody rebellion in the south of the country.   Delegates said the talks were proceeding smoothly, with the main emphasis on the integration of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels into the Philippine armed forces.   "The question remains on numbers, qualifications and what to do with those who are not integrated, and their weapons," one delegate said.   He said a "gentleman's agreement" was likely to avoid holding up the signing of the peace accord next week if a consensus was not reached and put down on paper.   The negotiators were settling the last issues on Wednesday and Thursday and editing the text of the accord, which is to be initialled before Indonesia's President Suharto in Jakarta on Friday.   The formal signing of the peace agreement to end the revolt, which has cost some 125,000 lives in the Mindanao region, is to take place in Manila next Monday.   "We are now at the end of the road and this is the road to peace," MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari told Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.   Participants split into three groups after the formal opening that an Indonesian source said were putting "the final touches" to the draft, discussing military integration and considering the future role of mediators from Moslem states.   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that facilitated the peace talks to end the revolt.   The five million Moslems on Mindanao regard the area as their ancestral homeland, although they are now outnumbered three-to-one by Christian migrants.   Christian politicians and their followers have vowed to fight the peace deal, which involves a three-year interim Council for Peace and Development followed in 1999 by a plebiscite leading to an autonomous regional government.   The Philippine army said it killed seven rebels in a shootout on Wednesday in Zamboanga city when Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas ambushed a patrol.   The MILF is a breakaway Moslem faction seeking an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.   Philippine delegation leader Manuel Yan has acknowledged that some people oppose the peace accord.   "But those are in some areas only, and I believe the majority of the people there are for this council to be set up as a transitional structure leading towards regional autonomy," he told Reuters.   Alatas said the most important breakthrough in the run-up to a settlement had been agreement on how to implement the peace accord through the creation of the Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development.   "We have finally come to the end of the road of negotiations that will provide an end to conflict and tension in the southern Philippines," he told reporters. 
4678 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda played cat-and-mouse on Wednesday with hundreds of banner-waving protesters who sought compensation for Japanese war crimes in Hong Kong.   About 300 demonstrators trampled effigies of Japan's wartime leaders and marched to Tokyo's consulate to seek reparations for victims of Japan's World War Two atrocities.   The protesters greeted the minister as he began a two-day visit to the British colony.   Ikeda dodged demonstrators who waited outside the consulate hoping to corner him.   Brandishing placards and wearing red banners over their shoulders, the demonstrators, many of them elderly and accompanied by children, began their march by stepping on effigies of World War Two premier General Hideki Tojo and the late emperor Hirohito.   "They distorted history and glorified their crimes," the protesters yelled as they tore apart the effigies.   "We're against Japanese militarism and against those shameful politicians."   Wednesday's demonstration was the latest of several recent protests demanding that Japan compensate women forced into sex slavery during the war and those who hold worthless Japanese occupation military scrip and currency.   "We hope the Japanese will take the opportunity during (Ikeda's) visit to Hong Kong to apologise to the Hong Kong people," said Ng Yat-hing, spokesman for the Reparation Association of Hong Kong.   Handing a petition to Japanese Vice-Consul Takahiro Maeda, Ng said: "We urge your foreign minister to take prompt action to resolve this issue."   He also said that Hong Kong people had been cheated out of billions of dollars that they were forced to exchange for Japanese military currency.   A Japanese foreign ministry official later told a news briefing the issue of war reparations did not come up during the meeting.   One protester, 90-year-old Lee Sum, said his family had been cheated out of $50,000 (US$6,500).   "I want them to return our money as soon as possible," he said.   The protesters waited in vain for the foreign minister outside the central government offices, where Ikeda met acting Hong Kong Governor Anson Chan.   "The Japanese foreign minister is a turtle hiding in his shell," they yelled as Ikeda was whisked through a back door.   "If you have the guts, come out and take our petition."   The foreign minister again avoided protesters when he departed several hours later.   Japan invaded Hong Kong from mainland China, crossing the border on December 8, 1941.   The colony held out for more than two weeks before it fell on Christmas Day.   Britain regained control over the territory at the end of the war in 1945.   On Monday, Hong Kong's British garrison for the last time marked the anniversary of the liberation from Japanese rule.   China resumes sovereignty in the middle of next year. 
4679 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GPOL  Japan's Supreme Court ordered Okinawa on Wednesday to forcibly appropriate land for U.S. military bases, rejecting an appeal by the island's governor that the military presence was unconstitutional.   The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court's 15-member Grand Bench effectively closed the door on Okinawa's legal battle against the central government over the bases, paving the way for Tokyo to continue securing land for them.   In an unexpected addendum to the ruling, seven of the 15 judges said they understood the Okinawan people's plight but that they had to make their decision on purely legal grounds.   "It is true that military facilities are concentrated on Okinawa which is just 0.6 percent of Japan's total land," said Judge Itsuo Sonobe in his addendum.   "But this does not mean the judiciary can make judgments out of the ordinary on the constitutionality of these land appropriations," he added.   In his court presentation, Governor Masahide Ota had argued the concentration of U.S. bases on his island violated the constitutional right of citizens to a peaceful livelihood and the principle of equality before the law.   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's central government said a provincial governor had no right to block leases for military bases, since local governments were not responsible for defence.   "I am dismayed by the fact that the Supreme Court did not hear any of our serious appeals," Ota told a news conference.   Ota said he would consult his lawyers before making a decision on whether to follow the court's orders.   The case before the court involved 35 landowners who own plots on eight of 40 U.S. military facilities.   About 3,000 Okinawans lease land to 13 of the 40 bases, some of it tiny plots only a few square metres (yards) in area.   The decision by no means puts an end to the bitter row between Okinawa and Tokyo, which erupted last year after the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.   The rape was a flashpoint for discontent that Okinawa is home to 75 percent of U.S. military bases in Japan and houses half of the 47,000 U.S. forces stationed in the country.   On September 8, Okinawans will vote in a non-binding referendum which will decide whether the bases should be phased out by 2015.   Okinawa labour union leader Masahiro Toguchi blasted the Supreme Court for what he called "a political decision" that cast doubt on the independence of Japan's judiciary.   At a Tokyo park near the court, some 3,500 activists protested the ruling and called for solidarity with Okinawans.   Wednesday's ruling was over Ota's appeal against a lower court decision instructing him to sign documents necessary for the continued lease of private property by the U.S. military.   "This court does not regard the Special Land Appropriations Law for the U.S. military as unconstitutional nor application of the said law in Okinawa Prefecture," the decision said.   "The Supreme Court has betrayed Okinawans," said Tokunobu Yamauchi, mayor of Yomitan village, host to one of the bases.   "The judges know nothing of our long suffering and I must say that this decision is nonsense," he said.   The central government appealed for Ota to back down and go ahead with signing documents for the appropriation of land.   "I hope Okinawa will take into consideration today's court decision and cooperate with the government," said Seiroku Kajiyama, the top government spokesman.   Inside the dark, sombre Supreme Court room, the session was over in a matter of seconds because Judge Miyoshi chose not to read the statement explaining the judgment.   "You Chief Judge!   You are not human!"   shouted an anti-base activist from the spectators' gallery.   "Re-do the trial!" 
4680 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  The ousted leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Megawati Sukarnoputri, failed to reach an out-of-court settlement with the government and political rivals on Wednesday, her lawyer said.   The news that talks had failed came as the official Antara news agency reported that the Attorney General's office had secured President Suharto's permission to question Megawati further in connection with riots in Jakarta on July 27.   Police have already questioned Megawati twice in relation to subversion charges against a number of activists from the left-wing People's Democratic Party (PRD), who the government has blamed for the riots, the worst in more than two decades.   "There is no (out-of-court) agreement, so the case will continue.   We will tell the judge about it tomorrow and the suit will be read at the court hearing," R.O. Tambunan, head of Megawati's legal team, told Reuters by telephone.   Megawati, the eldest daughter of Indonesia's late founding president Sukarno, was ousted as leader of the PDI in June by deputy parliamentary speaker Surjadi at a rebel congress in Medan, north Sumatra, backed by the government.   The riots broke out after police raided the PDI headquarters to oust supporters of Megawati who had occupied the building.   She has sued Surjadi, Interior Minister Yogie Memet, Armed Forces Chief General Feisal Tanjung and national police chief Lieutenant-General Dibyo Widodo and demanded that the court rule the Medan congress illegal.   The chief judge at the Jakarta Central District Court adjourned the hearing for a week and urged all the parties to seek an out-of-court settlement.   The hearing is expected to resume on Thursday.   Tambunan, who declined to give other details, said the defendants' lawyers were adamant that the Medan congress was legal, while Megawati's insisted it was invalid.   Neither side gave ground in the 2 1/2-hour meeting.   Megawati was elected PDI chief in 1993 for a five-year term.   Suharto has since officially recognised Surjadi as leader of the PDI, one of three parties allowed to contest Indonesia's general election due in the middle of next year.   Megawati is a member of parliament and police require presidential approval to question her.   Political analysts have said the government wanted to depose Megawati as PDI leader over concern for her vote-drawing power ahead of general elections next year.   There was also concern she might challenge Suharto, who has been elected unopposed six times, in a 1998 presidential poll. 
4681 !GCAT !GVIO  Russian patrol boats fired on two small Japanese fishing boats in waters around the disputed Southern Kurile Islands on Wednesday, injuring two fishermen, the Japanese coastguard and Russian navy said.   The shooting occured off Cape Nosappu, close to the Habomai islets, a spokesman for Japan's Maritime Safety Agency said.   Russian Pacific Coastguard commander Colonel-General Vitaly Sedykh confirmed the shooting but said his men ordered the fishermen several times to leave the area and fired warning shots.   Russian Itar-Tass news agency quoted him as saying the fishermen were poaching in Russian territorial waters.   Sedykh had no information on the casualties, the agency added.   Japan's Maritime Safety Agency spokesman said the two men were seriously injured and taken to hospital in the nearby Japanese port of Nemuro, where they were in stable condition.   Kunio Horiuchi, 44, the sole crewman of the four-tonne No. 28 Shokyu-maru, received a bullet in his back, while Akira Takiguchi, 54, from the other one-man boat, the 4.9-tonne No. 52 Taki-maru, took a round through his thigh.   The Shokyu-maru was hit by about six rounds from the Russian patrol boat, the spokesman said.   It was not clear whether the boats were on the Russian side of the demarcation line, the spokesman said.   Last year, Russian patrol boats opened fire on Japanese trawlers on eight separate occasions, injuring one fisherman.   In 1994, three fishermen were hurt in as many shooting incidents, most of them in waters around the disputed islands.   Tass quoted Sedykh as saying this was the eighth time this year Japanese boats entered Russian territorial waters but the first time that Russian patrol boats had opened fire.   Moscow has repeatedly accused Japanese fishing boats of poaching in Russian waters.   Japan demands that Russia return the Southern Kurile Islands, which it calls the Northern Territories and were seized by the Soviet Army in the last days of World War Two.   Japan has refused to sign a World War Two peace treaty with Moscow without the return of the islands, located northeast of the main island of Hokkaido, but has normalised relations. 
4682 !GCAT !GPOL  The leader of a revolt within Japan's coalition government said on Wednesday he would launch a new party next month to end Tokyo's "political stagnation."   Yukio Hatoyama said he would quit New Party Sakigake, a junior member of the three-party coalition, as early as Thursday "to break with the vested interest politics of the Liberal Democratic Party and to replace Japan's bureaucracy-dominated policymaking with real democracy."   The Sakigake row has caused jitters in the coaltion's other partners, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the smaller Social Democratic Party.   But analysts said the dispute was unlikely to destabilise the government as Sakigake has so few seats that the loss of its support would not lead to a general election.   Hatoyama revealed his resignation plans at a news conference after marathon talks with party leader Masayoshi Takemura failed to resolve the dispute over its future in the face of elections expected as early as October.   Seated next to Hatoyama, a dejected Takemura told reporters: "Given the situation with Mr. Hatoyama and his colleagues...I've realised that we could not find a third way."   Takemura, finance minister until the start of this year, had earlier promised to resign the party leadership to keep it together.   He founded Sakigake in 1993 as a reform-oriented LDP splinter group.   Takemura argued that Sakigake should merge with the like-minded Social Democrats to form a liberal grouping that would be a counterweight to the conservative LDP and the opposition Shinshinto (New Frontier) Party.   But Hatoyama, the 49-year-old grandson of a 1950s prime minister, publicly opposed Takemura as a founding member of the new party because many potential allies considered him tainted by his senior role in the LDP-dominated coalition.   Takemura earlier helped pass an unpopular plan to use taxpayer funds to wind up failed housing loan firms, and his presence has stalled Hatoyama's efforts to attract defectors from the opposition, analysts said.   The reform rebels also shied away from the Social Democrats because they felt the party had lost its credibility with voters when it joined hands with the LDP in 1994.   On Wednesday, Hatoyama's younger brother, Kunio, said he would quit Shinshinto and join the new party.   But Hajime Funada, another Shinshinto lawmaker belived planning to revolt, said he would not join the Hatoyama brothers.   Media reports say no more than 10 of the 23 Sakigake members and a handful of Social Democrats will follow Hatoyama when he bolts, far short of the 50 lawmakers needed to topple Hashimoto's eight-month-old government.   Hashimoto, who returns from a 10-day Latin American tour on Saturday, must call a general election by mid-1997.   He has said he will not call an early poll, but many analysts think he will dissolve parliament soon after it reconvenes in early October. 
4683 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda played cat-and-mouse on Wednesday with hundreds of banner-waving protesters who sought compensation for Japanese war crimes in Hong Kong.   About 300 demonstrators trampled effigies of Japan's wartime leaders and marched to Tokyo's consulate to seek reparations for victims of Japan's World War Two atrocities.   The protests greeted the minister as he began a two-day visit to the British colony.   Ikeda dodged demonstrators who waited outside the consulate hoping to corner him.   Brandishing placards and wearing red banners over their shoulders, the demonstrators, many elderly and accompanied by children, began their march by stepping on effigies of World War Two premier General Hideki Tojo, and the late emperor Hirohito.   "They distorted history and glorified their crimes," the protesters yelled as they tore apart the effigies.   "We're against Japanese militarism and against those shameful politicians."   Wednesday's demonstration was the latest of several recent protests demanding that Japan compensate women forced into sex slavery during the war and holders of now worthless Japanese occupation military scrip and currency.   "We hope the Japanese will take the opportunity during (Ikeda's) visit to Hong Kong to apologise to the Hong Kong people," said Ng Yat-hing, spokesman for the Reparation Association of Hong Kong.   Handing a petition to Japanese Vice-Consul Takahiro Maeda, Ng said: "We urge your foreign minister to take prompt action to resolve this issue."   He also said that Hong Kong people had been cheated out of billions of dollars that they were forced to exchange for Japanese military currency.   One protester, 90-year-old Lee Sum, said his family had been cheated out of $50,000 (US$6,500).   "I want them to return our money as soon as possible," he said.   Outside the central government offices, where Ikeda met acting Hong Kong Governor Anson Chan, the protesters waited in vain for the foreign minister.   "The Japanese foreign minister is a turtle hiding in his shell," they yelled as Ikeda was whisked through a back door.   "If you have the guts, come out and take our petition."   The foreign minister again avoided protesters when he departed several hours later.   Japan invaded Hong Kong from mainland China, crossing the border on December 8, 1941.   The colony held out for more than two weeks before it fell on Christmas Day.   Britain regained control over the territory at the end of the war in 1945.   On Monday, Hong Kong's British garrison, for the last time, marked the anniversary of the liberation from Japanese rule.   China resumes sovereignty in the middle of next year. 
4684 !GCAT !GVIO  A fire bomb was thrown into the grounds of the U.S. Consulate-General in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya but no one was injured, a mission official said on Wednesday.   Craig Stromme, U.S. embassy spokesman in Jakarta, 700 km (430 miles) west of Surabaya, confirmed the Tuesday morning attack.   "Somebody threw a molotov cocktail over the fence.   It did not hit anybody.   The molotov cocktail broke a window in a guard house and there was a small fire that was quickly extinguished," Stromme said.   A police officer in Surabaya said three employees of the consulate had been interviewed in relation to the incident, but nobody was arrested.   "They have been interviewed and allowed to go home," he said by telephone.   He declined to give other details.   The official Antara news agency reported on Wednesday that the man who threw the fire bomb was believed to be in his thirties.   It quoted eyewitnesses as saying that the man, who escaped by taxi, had shouted hysterically: "I really hate the United States!"   Stromme said there was no immediate explanation for the attack or any information on those responsible.   Antara quoted an Indonesian official at the embassy named Farida as saying that the consulate had yet to calculate the damage caused by the incident. 
4685 !GCAT !GVIO  Philippine government and Moslem rebel negotiators took their final steps down the road to peace on Wednesday, anticipating a smooth end to 24 years of a bloody guerrilla war in the southern part of the country   "We are now at the end of the road and this is the road to peace," said Nur Misuari, leader of the Moslem separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).   Participants split into three working groups after the formal opening of the ninth mixed committee meeting in Jakarta.   An Indonesian source said the groups were putting "the final touches" to the draft peace agreement, discussing details of the integration of MNLF guerrillas into the Philippine armed forces and police.   They were also considering the continuing role of mediators from Moslem states, including a team of observers.   The fourth round of formal peace talks will be held on Thursday to approve the work of the mixed committee.   The leaders of the government and MNLF teams will then initial the peace accord before Indonesia's President Suharto on Friday, ahead of the formal signing of the agreement in Manila next Monday.   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which has facilitated the peace talks to end the revolt in the southern Philippines which has claimed some 125,000 lives.   The five million Moslems on Mindanao regard the area as their ancestral homeland, although they are now outnumbered three-to-one by Christian migrants.   Christian politicians and their followers have vowed to fight the peace deal, which involves a three-year interim Council for Peace and Development, to be followed in 1999 by a plebiscite leading to an autonomous regional government.   Manila delegation leader Manuel Yan conceded on Tuesday there were opponents of the peace accord.   "But those are in some areas only, and I believe the majority of the people there are for this council to be set up as a transitional structure leading towards regional autonomy," he told Reuters.   Indonesian Foreign Minister Alatas said various points of contention had already been settled, including the numbers of MNLF guerrillas to be integrated into the armed forces and composition of a police force for Mindanao.   He said the most important breakthrough had been agreement on how to implement the peace accord through creation of the Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development.   "We have finally come to the end of the road of negotiations that will provide an end to conflict and tension in the southern Philippines," he told reporters.   Alatas said the peace agreement was also a success for the seven-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which comprises Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.   "By this agreement, ASEAN countries have once again shown their capacity for peaceful resolution of problems in their region," he said.   Islamic states had sought to mediate in the conflict in the mid-1970s, but it was only in 1993 that concrete moves towards peace got under way with Indonesia chairing the OIC ministerial committee. 
4686 !GCAT !GDIP  China thanked Nepal's King Birendra on Wednesday for his support of Beijing's policies towards Tibet.   President Jiang Zemin, in a meeting with the king at the Diaoyutai state guest house in Beijing, said the two nations already had close political cooperation and they should seek to expand economic ties.   "The king has always clearly supported China's stance on Tibet.   We offer our highest gratitude and deepest appreciation," state television quoted Jiang as saying.   The tiny Himalayan nation shares a border with the vast region of Tibet, which China says it has ruled since the 13th century -- a claim that many Tibetans reject.   Thousand of Tibetans fled their homeland along with the region's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, after an abortive uprising against Chinese rule in 1959.   While the Dalai Lama has been living in Dharamsala in northern India, many Tibetan refugees remain in Nepal, which has come under pressure from Beijing to curb "anti-China activities" on its soil.   Nepali police arrested 200 human rights activists and Tibetan refugees in March, ending their plans for a protest march against what they say are human rights abuses in Tibet.   Nepal also blocked a planned peace march from Dharamsala to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa through its territory last year.   China gave Nepal an $8.5 million grant for road maintenance, electric buses and equipment for a cancer hospital last year. 
4687 !C13 !C17 !C173 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Approval for a $50 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan for a hydroelectric dam in Laos might be delayed by a report suggesting it could lead to major environmental damage, ADB officials said on Wednesday.   The loan for construction of the Nam Leuk dam was due to be considered by the bank's board on Thursday, but could be delayed for about a week, James Rocket of the ADB's energy division told reporters in China's southwestern city of Kunming.   The delay would enable the bank to look into a report from International Rivers Network, a non-government organisation that on Tuesday described earlier assessments of the dam's environmental impact as fallacious and untenable.   The group said research into the 60-megawatt power plant had been carried out by consultants who would profit from its construction, using environmental data that was weak and limited.   Loss of oxygen in the reservoir could kill fish, make it a haven for malarial mosquitoes and spur the growth of toxic algae that could threaten the lives of local people, it added.   Rocket said electricity from the dam would be a boon to Laos, one of the Mekong region's poorest countries, allowing it to cut expensive energy imports.   But he added that the decision to issue the critical report late in the loan's 120-day consultation period showed the group had hidden motives.   "To send that kind of communication two days before board consideration of the loans, that is below the belt," he said. 
4688 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Singapore's health minister has charged several members of the leading opposition party with contempt of parliament for allegedly fabricating data on health care costs, according to a letter of complaint made public on Wednesday.   If found guilty, the opposition members could be imprisoned, fined, barred from parliament or simply reprimanded.   Most prominent among those charged is Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan, considered a likely candidate for parliament in the next general elections.   Three other SDP members were also named in Health Minister George Yeo's letter, which said that they and Chee "acted in contempt of parliament by fabricating data and presenting false and/or untrue documents with intent to deceive" a parliamentary committee on health care costs and subsidies.   Yeo's complaint, which has been referred to parliament's privileges committee, also said "members of the SDP team committed further contempts by (a) committing perjury, (b) wilfully giving false answers, (c) prevaricating, and (d) misconducting themselves".   One key issue in the complaint centres around an SDP allegation that the government's share of total health expenditure had dropped from 40 percent to five percent over a 20 year period.   The latter figure should have been 25 percent.   Chee said the mistake was the result of a typographical error.   Yeo's letter says Chee's "explanation of how the typographical error occured shows that he had presented the committee false documents with intent to deceive".   Chee was not immediately available for comment.   Singapore officials are known for taking legal action against opposition politicians and the media when they believe the government or office-holders have been libelled or defamed.   The People's Action Party (PAP) has ruled the island-republic's single-chamber parliament since independence in 1965.   In the last general election in 1991, the opposition won four seats -- including three by the SDP -- and the opposition percentage of the vote increased.   But the opposition has since had factional conflicts and has no single leader.   The PAP has until April, 1997 to call the next election.   Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong said recently there would be no polls before November. 
4689 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Armed guards have been posted along a railway line in China's northwestern Gansu province to curb the number of robberies aboard freight cars, the Legal Herald said on Wednesday.   There were now 65 police and 100 security guards, armed with machine guns, rifles and handguns, guarding freight trains that transport goods such as electrical appliances, grain and cotton along the line running between Lanzhou and Tianshui, it said.   Since the patrol started in April, the number of robberies had dropped by 75 percent and the number of break-ins by 92 percent, it said.   There had been three major robberies and 33 break-ins since April, the newspaper said.   Ten police had been injured and one killed during attempted robberies.   The line was particularly vulnerable to thieves because it ran through a mountainous area and trains had to slow down at certain points, the newspaper said. 
4690 !GCAT !GPOL  Followers of breakaway Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary said on Wednesday they had spurned an offer by the Cambodian government to deploy troops in areas the rebels control.   Sources close to Ieng Sary said the offer was rejected during ongoing peace talks in the Phnom Malai area, northwestern Cambodia, with government negotiators led by deputy armed forces chief of staff General Nhek Bun Chhay.   General Nhek had made the overture in talks with Sok Peab, the local commander of the dissidents, the sources said.   "Our leader said that government troops will be allowed to be deployed in the liberated zones only after the next general election, when our faction also plans to file candidates," said Long Norin, general secretary to Ieng Sary.   A general election is due in 1998.   Ieng Sary on Wednesday formally announced his split with top Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, and said he had formed a rival group called the Democratic National United Movement.   He broke with the mainstream Khmer Rouge several weeks ago and has pledged to work for national reconciliation in Cambodia. 
4691 !GCAT !GDIP  Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda told the Hong Kong government on Wednesday that Tokyo was urging Beijing to maintain the territory's systems and institutions beyond its 1997 transition to Chinese rule.   Ikeda told Hong Kong Chief Secretary Anson Chan that Japan would stand by and support the British territory in the run up to the handover and beyond, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.   "(Ikeda) said he has been telling leaders of mainland China that it was important that Hong Kong's systems and institutions be maintained," said the official, who requested annonymity.   Japan regarded as essential that free and open economic systems and institutions which made Hong Kong what it is today be maintained after 1997, he told a news briefing.   But he refused to comment on Beijing's plan to scrap the colony's elected legislature and to replace it temporarily with an appointed council, saying the matter was still being discussed by Beijing, London and Hong Kong.   "We hope that these differences, these issues are settled in a manner that is conducive to maintaining and enhancing confidence of the international community, of international businessmen in other countries, in Hong Kong," he said.   Beijing says electoral reforms enacted without its consent that led to Hong Kong's first fully-elected legislature were improper and has vowed to install a new council.   London and Washington have deplored Beijing's plan, and the colonial administration has refused to help in the formation of the appointed provisional legislature.   Ikeda met Chan on Wednesday during a visit to the colony to exchange views on Hong Kong's 1997 transition.   The foreign ministry official quoted Chan as telling Ikeda there was no cause for concern regarding Hong Kong's economy.   "But if there was cause for concern, she said it was human rights and freedom of the press and things like that.   She said that there was some concern regarding that," the official said.   Chan further pointed out that for Hong Kong to maintain its promised high degree of autonomy, it was important for the territory's trading partners to treat it as such, he said.   Ikeda also told Chan Tokyo was considering whether to grant visa exemptions to people holding passports issued by the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR).   "In view of the fact that Hong Kong will have a special status after 1997, Japan would be granting the holders of SAR passports treatment which is different to the treatment accorded to ordinary Chinese passports.   "Although Japan perhaps (may) not be able to grant visa exemptions, he (Ikeda) said that he would like to make sure the comings and goings between Japan and Hong Kong would be effected smoothly after 1997," the official said.   The official said Japan was particularly concerned with Hong Kong's continued stability and prosperity and the maintenance of its role as a regional centre due to close economic ties.   Japan was the second largest investor in Hong Kong following China, and more Japanese banks had branches here than in any other city abroad, he said.   -- Hong Kong Newsroom (852) 2843-6441 
4692 !GCAT !GCRIM  Thai airport police arrested a British bartender for allegedly attempting to board a flight for Amsterdam with nearly 4.4 kg (9.68 lb) of heroin in his luggage, police said on Wednesday.   Police said James Lee Williams, 28, was stopped at a Bangkok airport departure lounge on Monday after officials found the drug in a bag that Williams planned to carry onto the plane.   Williams' hometown was not immediately available.   The maximum sentence for heroin trafficking is the death penalty, although it is normally commuted to life imprisonment. 
4693 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Dissident Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary confirmed on Wednesday that he had broken with Pol Pot and other hardliners of the Maoist guerrilla group and formed a rival movement.   Ieng Sary, in his first statement on a split in the notorious rebel group, said that the new movement to be called the Democratic National United Movement (DNUM) would seek an end to civil war and work towards reconciliation with the Cambodian government.   "I would like to inform you about my decision to break away from Pol Pot, Ta Mok, Son Sen's dictatorial group," he said in a copy of the statement obtained by Reuters.   "We believe that our country will be reduced to nothing if the Khmer people continue to fight against each other indefinitely.... For this reason we decided to break away from that dictatorial group and found a movement named 'Democratic National United Movement'," he said.   Ieng Sary was sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the mass genocide in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge "killing fields" rule of terror between 1975-1979 when over a million people were executed or died of starvation, disease or overwork in mass labour camps.   The French-educated, former brother-in-law of Pol Pot was foreign minister in the Khmer Rouge government then and was seen as the group's second in command.   The Khmer Rouge were driven out of government and into the jungles by Vietnamese troops who moved into Cambodia in early 1979.   The Vietnamese left in early 1989.   Clandestine Khmer Rouge radio has attacked Ieng Sary, now in his 60s and known to be in poor health, as a traitor.   It has called for his destruction as well as the arrest of two field commanders loyal to him in northwestern Cambodia's Pailin and Phnom Malai areas.   "This decision is not a tactical move which aims at regaining power...The DNUM objectve is to put an end to war, realize national reconciliation and national union and national reconstruction under a democratic regime," Ieng Sary said in his statement to explain the split.   "The current situation of our country is very complicated.   So, we have not to add further problems to this complicated situation," he said.   He said the unity of all Khmers under the umbrella of Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk was paramount.   "This monarchy must be preserved and has to be on par with the democratic regime," he added.   Ieng Sary denied involvement in the Khmer Rouge's mass murders in the 1970s in an interview with a Thai newspaper earlier this week.   He also said he often had disagreements with Pol Pot and could not be implicated because his job as foreign minister kept him away from decision making.   Cambodian First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh said he doubted Ieng Sary's statement of non-involvement in genocide.   However, the premier said he would support an amnesty for Ieng Sary and members of his dissident faction if the Cambodian national assembly decided to grant one.   Co-premier Hun Sen said in Phnom Penh on Wednesday that the government was keeping the door open to the banned Khmer Rouge.   "Even though the government outlawed the Khmer Rouge, the government is still keeping the door open for them," he said.   King Sihanouk said last weekend that he agreed with a proposal that he grant a mass amnesty on his 74th birthday on October 31, fuelling speculation that Ieng Sary may be pardoned.   A team of Cambodian officials have been holding peace talks with Ieng Sary's breakaway group and supporters in the Phnom Malai area after initial news of the Khmer Rouge split. 
4694 !GCAT !GCRIM  China's chief justice has lashed out at foreign influences that he says have led to a rise in hedonism and "money-worship" and allowed international drug cartels to bore their way into the nation's social fabric.   Ren Jianxin, president of the Supreme People's Court, warned that decadent capitalist ideology had seriously damaged social values, the Legal Daily reported on Wednesday.   "Prostitution, drug addiction, drug trafficking and other ugly social phenomena are spreading and becoming more intense," he was quoted as saying.   International drug cartels were increasingly using China as a route for drug trafficking, and drugs were becoming a growing problem in several regions of the country.   The newspaper did not say where Ren made the remarks but an alarming rise in criminal activity has been a frequent theme of government and Communist Party officials of late.   China had nearly eradicated drugs and prostitution in the early years after the Communists took power.   But economic reforms begun in 1979, which while raising living standards have also unleashed a resurgence of crime as the government relaxes its grip on society.   Ren said that between 1991 and 1995, China cracked more than 145,000 narcotics cases, seizing 17.1 tonnes of heroin, 10.8 tonnes of opium and 3.6 tonnes of marijuana.   He said that 46,000 people were arrested and that 7,000 of them were "severely punished".   In the same period, police investigated 677,000 cases of prostitution, involving 1.34 million people.   Ren was quoted as saying that China must continue its struggle against crime.   "We have the determination, the confidence and the means to eliminate these social evils," he said.   Since the launch of a nationwide "Strike Hard" campaign in April this year to curb rising crime, China has arrested tens of thousands and executed more than 1,000 people. 
4695 !GCAT !GVIO  Philippine troops killed seven Moslem rebels in a gunbattle on Wednesday on the eve of a final round of talks to end 24 years of war in the southern Philippines.   The army said members of its elite Scout Ranger special force were on patrol in South Cotabato province when guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) opened fire on them, wounding one soldier.   The army responded with a mortar barrage which killed seven of the attackers, military spokesman Major Fredesvindo Covarrubias told reporters.   The other attackers fled, leaving their comrades' bodies behind.   The MILF is a breakaway rebel faction which seeks an Islamic state in the southern Philippines.   The clash occurred a day before a government panel and the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) were to hold what officials said would be a final round of talks on a proposed peace deal ending the MNLF's revolt for self-rule in the southern Mindanao region.   The talks are to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, which chairs an Islamic panel mediating the negotiations.   The MILF is not taking part in the talks but has indicated it will abide by the accord if it would lead to substantial autonomy for Moslems.   The proposed accord is expected to be initialled in Jakarta on Friday and formally signed in Manila on September 2.   It calls for the setting up an MNLF-led administrative council to administer development in 14 southern provinces and the integration of 7,500 guerrillas into the Philippine armed forces.   The council is to serve as a precursor to a Moslem autonomous region to be installed after three years.   President Fidel Ramos said on Wednesday he expected the Jakarta talks to proceed smoothly.   "We do not foresee any last minute hitches," he told a news conference in Manila.   "Anyway, let's just hope for the best."   "We welcome any legal challenge to the peace process formula," Ramos added, referring to plans by a group of Filipino Christian politicians to challenge the peace deal as unconstitutional.   The country's five million Moslem minority regard Mindanao as their ancestral homeland although they have become a minority in the area after decades of Christian migration. 
4696 !GCAT !GCRIM  South Korean riot police stormed university campuses across the country in surprise raids on Wednesday aimed at dismantling a radical student organisation, a national police spokesman said.   Altogether 347 students were detained in an operation in which a total of about 12,000 police hit 23 universities in major cities and provinces, including 11 campuses in Seoul, the spokesman said.   Police also combed the offices of Hanchongryon, the Korean Federation of University Student Councils behind recent bloody protests demanding reunification with communist North Korea.   They seized 10 truckloads of steel pipes and petrol bombs, leaflets and literature supporting the communist ideology which were to be used in demonstrations, the spokesman said.   Capitalist South Korea, still technically at war with the Stalinist North since the 1950-53 Korean war, bans communist activities under its draconian national security law.   Hours after the police raids, government security officials discussed measures to deal with Hanchongryon, a Seoul prosecution official said.   The officials pleged to disband the student federation and agreed to launch a joint investigation to quell the federation and leftist elements pulling strings behind it, he added.   Since its inauguration in 1993, Hanchongryon has been blamed for fomenting hundreds of violent student demonstrations, including outlawed rallies earlier this month at Seoul's Yeonsei University.   Police detained more than 5,000 students and nearly 400 Hanchongryon members were formally arrested in weeklong violent protests to back demands for reunification with communist North Korea which riot police finally crushed on August 20.   Hanchongryon claims it has several hundreds of thousands of members under its umbrella but police said only thousands are actually taking part in its activities. 
4697 !GCAT !GCRIM !GREL  Citing concerns about moral decay, the central Malaysian state of Selangor will close all illegal video games outlets and karaoke lounges from September 1, the national Bernama news agency reported on Wednesday.   Licensed video games arcades will also be closed on expiry of their licences while the licensing conditions for karaoke lounges have been tightened, Bernama quoted Selangor's Chief Minister Muhammad Muhamad Taib as saying.   As in many Asian countries, karaoke has become a popular recreation, resulting the mushrooming of lounges in many of Malaysia's cities.   Officially Moslem Malaysia is vigilant for any erosion of moral standards among its youth.   Licensed karaoke lounges can only open until 11 p.m. and are prohibited from hiring waitresses or having dimly lit rooms, the minister said.   "The complaints we receive are about karaoke centres with small and dimly lit rooms tucked away in some corners, and where customers go not to sing but to spend time with the waitresses," Muhammad said.   He said karaoke outlets which contravened the regulations would be immediately closed down and that Selangor had stopped issuing licences for new karaoke outlets.   "Our aim in taking these measures is to overcome the problem of moral degradation." 
4698 !GCAT !GPOL  President Yasser Arafat on Wednesday called Israel's policy on Jerusalem and settlements a declaration of war on the Palestinians and called the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza in two years.   The Palestinian Legislative Council demanded a halt to contacts with Israel until the Jewish state honoured its peace pledges.   A resolution released by the council called for "halting contacts with the Israeli side".   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat said.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to Arafat's strongest attack on his right-wing government since its election in May, said Israel would view as "very grave" any attempt to step up tensions or violence.   Hours after Arafat's statement two people were wounded in a shooting incident at an Israeli bus in the West Bank in what some Israeli commentators said may be linked to the Palestinian leader's comments.   Arafat lashed out during a session of the Palestinian legislature against Israel's decision to expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer in the West Bank and its demolition of a community center in Arab East Jerusalem.   Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy telephoned Arafat after the Legislative Council meeting and explained to the Palestinian leader that the demolotion on Tuesday in Jerusalem was not politically motivated.   "In relation to the demolition of the building in the old city the foreign minister...requested to make clear to Arafat that this was not an action on behalf of the government," a foreign ministry statement said.   "It was an administrative action carried out by the municipality," it said.   The Jerusalem Municipality has said the structure was built without the proper permits.   "Israel has started the war on Jerusalem.   They are idiots to have started the Jerusalem battle," Arafat said in Arabic.   "There will be no Palestinian state without Jerusalem.   Netanyahu should know he is stupid to have started this battle."   Arafat called a half-day general strike "for Jerusalem" on Thursday in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.   It will be the first strike in both areas since Israel handed over parts of them to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   Arafat also called on Palestinians to flock to East Jerusalem for Moslem Friday prayers, but most will be prevented by an Israeli closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza six months ago after a spate of suicide bombings.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and claims both halves of the city as its capital.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   "I would avoid inflammatory rhetoric of this kind.   I think it would be a very grave mistake to have an escalation of both rhetoric or of deeds, especially an escalation toward violence," Netanyahu told reporters during a tour in central Israel.   Some 15 shots were fired on Wednesday night at an Israeli commuter bus making its way to the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron, slightly wounding two people, an Israel army spokeswoman said.   The incident took place near Bethlehem.   Palestinians have been pressing Israel to carry out a long-delayed partial troop pullout from the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron agreed by the previous Labour government.   The Israeli government is studying redeployment plans submitted by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai which are likely to demand an army presence in Hebron beyond what had been agreed. 
4699 !GCAT !GVIO  Gunmen shot and wounded two people on Wednesday when they fired at an Israeli bus travelling near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, a police officer said.   Some 15 shots were fired at a commuter bus making its way to the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron, police officer Boaz Goldberg told Israel Radio.   The radio said the bus was reinforced and that the two people had been injured from glass fragments.   It was reported that a third person suffered a heart attack.   "While we were driving to Kiryat Arba we suddenly heard a lot of shooting toward the bus.   We jumped to the floor," a witness told a Reuters cameraman.   The attack took place on a road, south of Bethlehem, which Israel built specifically to bypass Palestinian areas.   Police set up roadblocks in the area and were conducting a large manhunt for the attackers.   Israel army radio said it was unclear whether the shots were fired from a passing vehicle or in an ambush.   No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting.   Arab gunmen in July shot and killed three Israelis in a drive-by attack inside Israel.   Israel sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip following a spate of Islamic militant suicide bombings that killed 59 people in Israel in February and March. 
4700 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Yemen Prime Minister Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani called on Wednesday for Saudi Arabia to increase its economic ties with its Arab neighbour, the official Saba news agency reported.   "We have great hopes that Saudi Arabia will play an effective role to support Yemen's development plan like in the past," the agency quoted him as saying.   He "called on the Saudi private sector and investors to invest in Yemen."   Saba reported Abdul-Ghani's remarks after he held talks with Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Prince Sultan, whose visit to Yemen is the first by a key member of the Saudi royal family since their ties soured in 1990.   Saudi and Yemeni relations worsened in 1990 when Cuba and Yemen, then members of the United Nations Security Council, were the only two states to vote against the use of force against Iraq in the 1990-91 Gulf crisis.   Saudi Arabia, once a crucial financial and political supporter of impoverished Yemen, cut off all financial aid to Sanaa and expelled hundreds of thousands of Yemeni workers during the crisis over Iraq's occupation of Kuwait.   Prince Sultan, who is also second deputy prime minister, also met Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh for talks which an official said included ways to make progress on the work of their joint committees, set up last year to demarcate their land and sea borders.   Saba quoted Prince Sultan as saying the committees were considered the "cornerstone" of their bilateral ties.   Agreements on cooperation in trade and health were expected to be signed during the visit, another Yemeni official said.   After minor border clashes, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed a memorandum of understanding in 1995 to settle a 60-year-old dispute over border areas potentially rich in oil and gas.   Ties have been steadily improving since and the two states in July signed a security accord to combat crime, drug smuggling and allow the extradition of suspects. 
4701 !GCAT !GVIO  Gunmen shot and wounded two people when they fired on Wednesday at an Israeli bus travelling near a Jewish settlement in the West Bank, Israeli media reported and a medical worker said.   "So far we have treated two people and are checking to see if there are any other victims," said Yeruham Mndola, an official of the ambulance company at the scene.   He did not elaborate on the victims' condition.   Israel radio said the shooting on an Israeli commuter bus took place near the Neve Daniel settlement south of Bethlehem.   Israel army radio said it was unclear whether the shots were fired from a passing vehicle or in an ambush.   It said searches were under way.   No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting.   Arab guerrillas in July shot and killed three Israelis in a drive-by attack inside Israel.   Israel sealed off the West Bank and Gaza Strip following a spate of Islamic militant suicide bombings that killed 59 people in Israel in February and March. 
4702 !GCAT !GPOL  The Palestinian Legislative Council on Wednesday called for a halt to contacts with Israel, shortly after President Yasser Arafat said Israel's hardline policies were a declaration of war on the Palestinians.   A resolution released by the council called for "halting contacts with the Israeli side and leaving the mechanism to carry out this to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat."   The council was meeting in Ramallah to discuss Israel's new policy of Jewish settlement expansion and its uncompromising line on Jerusalem since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in June.   The decision, which was taken in Arafat's presence and read aloud by the secretary of the council, is binding on the 88-legislative council members but not on Arafat.   Council members have been pressing Arafat to suspend contacts with Israel and said the decision would put pressure on the Palestinian leader to halt talks until Israel complied.   Arafat had earlier blasted Israel saying its policies amounted to a declaration of war against the Palestinian people.   He also called for the first general strike in two years in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat told the council.   Israel announced on Tuesday plans to expand the settlement of Kiryat Sefer and its demolition of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem which Israeli authorities said was built without a permit.   Council speaker Ahmed Korei said the decision was part of a comprehensive plan to confront Israeli settlement policy, land confiscation and what he termed other violations of the Israeli-PLO peace deals.   Netanyahu, responding earlier to Arafat's comments, said Israel would view as "very grave" any attempt to escalate tensions or violence.   Arafat told the council before it recessed that his senior negotiator Mahmoud Abbas would meet Netanyahu's adviser Dore Gold on Thursday but when the council reconvened PLO officials said the meeting would not take place. 
4703 !GCAT !GPOL  President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday Israel's policy on settlements and Jerusalem amounted to a declaration of war on the Palestinians and called the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza in two years.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to Arafat's strongest attack on his right-wing government since its election in May, said Israel would view as "very grave" any attempt to step up tensions or violence.   Arafat lashed out during a session of the Palestinian legislature against Israel's new policy of Jewish settlement expansion and its uncompromising line on Jerusalem.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat said.   In his speech to the crowded legislature, he signalled he was not abandoning diplomacy although "alarm bells are ringing".   His tough talk was sparked by Israel's announcement on Tuesday of plans to expand the settlement of Kiryat Sefer and its demolition of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem which Israeli authorities said was built without a permit.   "Israel has started the war on Jerusalem.   They are idiots to have started the Jerusalem battle," Arafat said in Arabic.   "There will be no Palestinian state without Jerusalem.   Netanyahu should know he is stupid to have started this battle."   Arafat called a half-day general strike "for Jerusalem" on Thursday in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.   It will be the first strike in both areas since Israel handed over parts of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   "I would avoid inflammatory rhetoric of this kind.   I think it would be a very grave mistake to have an escalation of both rhetoric or of deeds especially an escalation toward violence," Netanyahu told reporters during a tour in central Israel.   "We are in the process of concluding a framework for moving ahead and negotiating many of the outstanding issues between Israel and the Palestinians, something that I would like to do and I hope that this kind of escalation does not hinder (it)," he said.   Arafat also called on Palestinians to flock to East Jerusalem for Moslem Friday prayers.   Many Palestinians will not be able to respond to Arafat's call.   Israeli travel restrictions, imposed after bombings by Moslem militants in February and March, ban most of the two million Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza from entering Jerusalem.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and claims both halves of the city as its capital.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   Arafat told the council before it recessed that his senior negotiator Mahmoud Abbas would meet Netanyahu's adviser Dore Gold on Thursday but when the council reconvened PLO officials said the meeting would not be held.   "The meeting tomorrow will not take place," said Abbas's deputy Hassan Asfour.   "Council members are exerting tremendous pressure on the political leadership and on President Arafat not to carry out any meeting with Israelis unless Israel ceases immediately its activities and starts genuine negotiations," said Hanan Ashrawi, a member of Arafat's cabinet.   Palestinians have been pressing Israel to carry out a long-delayed partial troop pullout from the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron agreed by the previous Labour government.   The Israeli government is studying redeployment plans submitted by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai which are likely to demand a wider-than-agreed army presence in Hebron. 
4704 !GCAT !GVIO  A Kurdish militia group on Wednesday said it had agreed to a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in northern Iraq, the latest bid by Washington to restore peace to the region and undercut the influence of rival Iran.   "The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leadership declares its endorsement for a ceasefire arrangement with the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) to take effect as of 8:00 a.m. on August 28," the PUK said in a statement.   It said the latest ceasefire was agreed after talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Robert Pelletreau and PUK leader Jalal Talabani.   The KDP representative to Turkey told Reuters he had no information on the ceasefire announcement, adding his party would await "practical" implementation on the ground.   A similar deal worked out last week held for less than 24 hours.   The rival Iraqi Kurdish factions have blamed each other for clashes that began 10 days ago -- the worst outbreak of violence since a ceasefire was agreed one year ago under U.S. auspices.   Accurate casualty figures are impossible to obtain, but it is clear that hundreds of Kurdish fighters have been killed or wounded.   U.N. officials say hundreds of families have been displaced by the fighting, including heavy shelling.   At issue are the border trade with Turkey, worth an estimated $250,000 a day in tariffs and informal taxes, and authority over the city of Arbil, administrative centre of Iraqi Kurdish territory.   KDP control over the Habur border crossing with Turkey, giving it first shot at "taxing" Turkish traders and smugglers, has long angered PUK leaders.   The latter struck back in December of 1994, seizing the Kurdish "capital".   Western efforts to resolve these disputes and maintain a united Kurdish front against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have made little headway.   The latest clashes broke out on August 17, near the town of Rawanduz, close to the Iranian border.   An earlier U.S. effort to restore the year-old ceasefire -- hindered by long distances and poor communications, as well as a lack of diplomatic attention -- collapsed late last week after less than a day.   "The Americans have stepped back and the Iranians have stepped in to fill the gap," said a spokesman for the Iraqi National Congress (INC), an umbrella group opposing Saddam Hussein.   "There has been little real U.S. action of late," said the INC, whose efforts to bring down Saddam have been hindered by fighting among the Kurds who -- at least nominally -- make up much of the Iraqi opposition forces.   While the KDP and PUK trade bullets and shells, Washington and Tehran have been locked in a war of words over nothern Iraq -- an autonomous enclave carved out of Iraqi territory after the 1991 Gulf War and watched over by a U.S.-led air force.   On Tuesday, Iranian state radio accused the United States of provoking inter-Kurdish fighting to counter Iran's influence in the region.   Washington has dismissed the charges. 
4705 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United Nations will send a weapons inspection team to Iraq next month to test Baghdad's promise to provide unrestricted access, U.N. envoy Rolf Ekeus said in Bahrain on Wednesday.   "September will be crucial.   Iraq, after more than five years of work, they gave us the declarations...We will now send our inspectors to verify these declarations," Ekeus, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission in charge of scrapping banned Iraqi weapons, said after a three-day visit to Iraq.   "The findings...will be very decisive," he said, adding there would be a report to the Security Council on October 11.   Ekeus was speaking in Bahrain, field headquarters of U.N. missions visiting Iraq.   Earlier in Baghdad he said Iraq had pledged to let U.S. inspectors carry out their task of ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction under 1991 Gulf War ceasefire terms.   "We got strong undertaking from the leader of the Iraqi delegation (Deputy Prime Minister) Tareq Aziz that they intended to faithfully and truthfully comply with the statement reached on June 22," Ekeus told Reuters before leaving Iraq.   In June, Ekeus and Aziz agreed on arrangements to solve the controversial issue of access and also laid down procedures on how to solve the problem of prohibited materials U.N. inspectors suspected Baghdad was still hiding.   But in July and August Iraq barred teams of Ekeus's inspectors from entering several sites it said were vital for its national security.   Ekeus said his talks in Baghdad related to inspections, such as operating helicopters and conducting serious interviews.   He said he doubted Iraq was hiding weapons in presidential palaces.   "I would be extremely surprised if they put the sensitive, prohibited items (there).   We don't believe that Iraq is hiding things and therefore we have no intention to inspect presidential palaces," he said in Bahrain.   Aziz said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "We stressed to UNSCOM chairman and we repeat the confirmation with all force again that Iraq does not hide prohibited weapons or banned weapons components or related documents."   Ekeus said his commission still lacked full accounting of all proscribed items, particularly production materials in the three major areas -- biological weapons, chemical weapons and long-range ballistic missiles.   Before his visit the Security Council issued a statement demanding Iraq fully honour its ceasefire commitments and allow arms experts free access to any facility they wish to see.   Iraq is under U.N. trade sanctions, including a ban on its oil exports, for invading Kuwait in 1990.   The removal of curbs on its crude exports, apart from the partial oil sales deal Baghdad signed with the United Nations in May, depends on testimony by Ekeus that Iraq has fully honoured all weapons demands under the ceasefire. 
4706 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinians were set to heed on Thursday President Yasser Arafat's call to observe the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in two years to protest Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   Arafat on Wednesday lashed out against Israel, saying its policies amounted to a declaration of war and called a half-day general strike "for Jerusalem" in protest.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat said.   Hours after Arafat's statement gunmen shot and wounded two people when they fired at an Israeli commuter bus in the West Bank in an attack some Israeli commentators said may be linked to the Palestinian leader's remarks.   Arafat slammed Israel's decision to expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer in the West Bank and its demolition of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem during a session of the Palestinian legislature in Ramallah in the West Bank.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to Arafat's strongest attack on his right-wing government since its election in May, said Israel would view as "very grave" any attempt to step up tensions or violence.   In an apparent effort to quell tensions, Israel's Foreign Minister David Levy telephoned Arafat and told him Tuesday's demolition in Jerusalem was not politically motivated.   "In relation to the demolition of the building in the old city the foreign minister...requested to make clear to Arafat that this was not an action on behalf of the government," a foreign ministry statement said.   It said the demolition was carried out by the municipality.   The municipality said the structure was built on public property without the proper permits.   After speaking to Arafat, Levy telephoned Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Kabariti and briefed him on the conversation.   Kabariti will travel to Palestinian-ruled Ramallah on Thursday to meet Arafat.   During the general strike, shops, businesses and schools will be closed.   It will be the first strike in both areas since Israel handed over parts of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   Arafat also called on Palestinians to flock to East Jerusalem for Friday prayers but most will be prevented by an Israeli closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza six months ago after a spate of Moslem suicide bombings.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and claims both halves of the city as its capital.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   Israeli officials said at least two gunmen carried out Wednesday night's attack near Bethlehem.   They said some 15 shots were fired at an Israeli bus making its way to the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron, lightly wounding two people.   After the attack Israel declared Bethlehem a closed military area and conducted a large manhunt for the gunmen.   Palestinians have been pressing Israel to carry out a long-delayed partial troop pullout from the flashpoint city of Hebron agreed by the previous Israeli government.   The current government said it is studying the situation. 
4707 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Yemen's prime minister said on Wednesday that his country was committed to pursuing a peaceful end to a territorial dispute with Eritrea over Red Sea islands, the official Saba news agency reported.   "We are still committed to a peaceful solution to the dispute with Eritrea in spite of the fact that the Eritrean side violated the Paris Agreement due to its aggression on the Yemeni Lesser Hanish island on the tenth of this month," Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani said.   "Yemen keeps its legitimate right in preserving its territorial sovereignty," he was quoted as saying.   Yemen this month accused its African neighbour across the Red Sea of committing a "glaring violation" on August 10 in Lesser Hanish, one of several disputed islands near the waterway's southern entrance.   The two countries had fought briefly over Lesser Hanish and other disputed Red Sea islands last December and then asked the United Nations to mediate.   They agreed in Paris in May to settle the row through arbitration.   Eritrea told the United Nations on Wednesday it had withdrawn its troops in an effort to resolve the row, U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa said in New York.   French diplomats confirmed the withdrawal apparently had taken place, she said.   Yemen earlier this month threatened to take military action against Eritrea if mediation failed.   Sanaa said on Monday it was pulling out of French-led mediation and vowed to force a withdrawal of Eritrean troops. 
4708 !GCAT !GVIO  Israel Radio said on Wednesday gunmen fired at an Israeli bus travelling near a Jewish settlement south of the West Bank town of Bethlehem, wounding one person.   "There is a gunshot victim near the settlement of Neve Daniel...one wounded in an Israeli bus," the radio said.    The condition of the wounded person was not immediately clear and the radio said ambulances had arrived at the scene.   Israel army radio said it was unclear whether the shots were fired from a passing vehicle or in an ambush.   It said searches were under way.   No one has claimed responsibility for the shooting at the Israeli commuter bus.   Arab guerrillas in July shot and killed three Israelis in a drive-by attack within Israel. 
4709 !GCAT !GPOL  The Palestinian Legislative Council on Wednesday called for a halt to contacts with Israel, just hours after President Yasser Arafat said the Jewish state had effectively declared war on the Palestinians by pursuing its hardline policies.   A resolution released by the council called for "halting contacts with the Israeli side and leaving the mechanism to carry out this to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat".    The council was meeting in Ramallah to discuss Israel's new policy of Jewish settlement expansion and its uncompromising line on Jerusalem since Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took office in June.   Council resolutions are not necessarily binding.   Arafat had earlier blasted Israel saying its policies amounted to a declaration of war against the Palestinian people.   He also called for the first general strike in two years in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat told the council.   Council speaker Ahmed Korei said the decision was part of a comprehensive plan to confront Israeli settlement policy, land confiscation and what he termed other violations of the Israeli-PLO peace deals. 
4710 !C12 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Iran has sued Germany's Siemens AG for $5.4 billion in damages for failing to complete an Iranian nuclear power plant abandoned after the 1979 Islamic revolution, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday.   The daily Iran quoted Hossein Mousavian, Tehran's ambassador to Bonn, as saying: "Iran has filed a suit against the German party at the international court to get more than eight billion marks ($5.4 billion) in damages and will seriously follow the case."   He did not say which court the suit was filed with.   "Germany is under America's pressure and that is why it postponed the completion of the Bushehr power plant for years and finally refused to complete the contract despite its legal obligations," Mousavian told the newspaper, which is published by Iran's official news agency IRNA.   It was not clear if Mousavian was referring to a suit Tehran said in 1992 it was bringing against Siemens after the company announced it could not complete the plant because Germany opposed shipment of vital parts to Iran.   The announcement came amid a row between Tehran and its main trade partner Bonn over German officials allowing exiled former president Abolhassan Banisadr to testify at a trial over the 1992 killings of three Iranian Kurdish rebel leaders and their translator in Berlin.   Banisadr, Iran's first president who fled after being deposed in 1981, angered Tehran last week by accusing Iranian leaders in court of ordering the killings.   Iran denied the charges and dismissed the testimony as baseless.   Tehran has also asked Bonn to extradite Banisadr for alleged hijacking.   Siemens' energy unit KWU started to build the plant in 1975, but the project was abandoned after the 1979 revolution and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.   Russia has signed an $800 million deal with Iran to complete the plant in the Gulf port of Bushehr.   Washington has objected to the deal, saying Tehran might use the technology to develop nuclear arms.   Iran has denied the charge, saying its nuclear sites are open to international inspections. 
4711 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  An Iranian newspaper urged Tehran on Wednesday to sue German officials for allegedly helping Baghdad build chemical arms used in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.   "Germany's highest officials were responsible for approving the export of chemicals (for chemical arms) to Iraq and should be answerable for their very deliberate, terrorist and abhorrent decisions," said the English-language Iran News, which often reflects the views of Iran's Foreign Ministry.   "Iran should seriously pursue this matter...and give due consideration to filing suit against high German officials who, through their conscious and anti-human decision, caused the agonising death of thousands of Iranians," said the newspaper.   The call came amid a row between Tehran and its main trade partner Bonn over German officials allowing an opposition figure to testify at a trial over the 1992 killings of three Iranian Kurdish rebel leaders and their translator in Berlin.   Abolhassan Banisadr, who was Iran's first president and fled after being deposed in 1981, angered Tehran last week by accusing Iranian leaders in court of ordering the killings.   Iran denied the charges and dismissed the testimony as baseless.   Tehran has also asked Bonn to extradite Banisadr for alleged hijacking.   Germany tightened its export controls in 1992 after it was embarrassed by revelations that some German firms had helped Iraq develop rockets and chemical weapons.   United Nations inspectors have confirmed Iraq's use of chemical weapons against Iranian soldiers in several locations during the war between the two neighbours. 
4712 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  The Arab League said on Wednesday Israel's decision to expand Jewish settlements on occupied Palestinian lands was making peace negotiations between both sides useless and ineffectual.   "The Israeli government is clearly continuing its policy of creating new realities, Judaising and usurping Palestinian lands for its settlements, thus making final status peace negotiations useless and ineffectual," the Cairo-based organisation said in a statement.   "We urge the European Union, Russia, the United States and all countries of the region to take a united stand against these policies for the sake of the peace process," it added.   Palestinian-Israeli relations deteriorated further on Wednesday, with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat saying Israel had declared war on the Palestinians by its hardline settlement policy and uncompromising stance on Jerusalem.   Talks on the final status of the Palestinian self-rule areas were meant to begin shortly after Israel's May elections but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opposition to the land-for-peace principle of earlier agreements has thrown the whole process into turmoil.   The League also slammed Israel's demolition of a Palestinian recreation centre in Arab East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians, at the same time that it was expanding a settlement on the Palestinian-ruled West Bank.   "This will just increase tension in the region as well as constitute a huge obstacle to the peace process," it said. 
4713 !GCAT !GVIO  An Iraqi Kurdish group on Wednesday said it had agreed a new U.S.-brokered ceasefire with a rival faction after a previous accord was shattered by sporadic fighting between the groups in recent days.   "The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leadership declares its endorsement for a ceasefire arrangement with the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) to take effect as of 8:00 a.m. on August 28," the PUK said in a statement.    The PUK said the ceasefire was agreed after talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Robert Pelletreau and PUK leader Jalal Talabani.   The KDP, led by Massoud Barzani, had said a previous ceasefire negotiated by Pelletreau last Friday was broken by the PUK.   Talabani has agreed to take part in talks in London on reaching a comprehensive settlement for the PUK-KDP conflict, the PUK statement said.   It said the KDP was responsible for breaking the previous ceasefire by refusing to endorse it publicly. 
4714 !GCAT !GVIO  An Iraqi Kurdish group on Wednesday said Iraq was massing troops near Kurdish regions in the north, where a U.S.-led allied air force protects the local population against attacks from Baghdad.   "The Iraqi regime has started threatening the Kurdish population by massing troops in preparation to attack Kurdish towns and population centres," the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said in a statement.   The PUK said it had received confirmed reports that Iraqi troops, supported by tanks, artillery and armoured vehicles, have already penetrated some Kurdish areas.   It said the military presence reflects cooperation between President Saddam Hussein and the PUK's rival, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).   The PUK statement follows KDP assertions that the PUK is receiving military support from Iran.   Hostilities between the two warring Iraqi Kurdish factions have continued in the last few days despite a U.S.-brokered ceasefire last Friday.   The PUK called on the United Nations and allied forces to halt the Iraqi aggression.   U.S., French and British aircraft have safeguarded the Iraqi Kurdish population against aggression from Baghdad since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991.   The allied force, known as Operation Provide Comfort, is based in southern Turkey. 
4715 !GCAT !GDIP  Egyptian Foreign Affairs Minister Amr Moussa on Wednesday gave Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali a message from President Hosni Mubarak regarding the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said.   "We have essentially discussed the Middle East peace process after the Israeli reversal," Moussa told reporters after the meeting.   He said his meeting with Ben Ali also covered Arab relations ahead of an Arab League Foreign Affairs Ministers' session next week in Cairo under Tunisian chairmanship.   Moussa, who arrived on Tuesday night in Tunis, also held talks with his Tunisian counterpart Habib Ben Yahia.   He left for Mauritania and will visit Nigeria on Friday, Egyptain embassy officials said. 
4716 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq on Wednesday said the hijackers of a Sudanese airliner were not Iraqi diplomats and added that "noble Iraqis" would never contemplate such an action.   The official Iraqi News Agency (INA) quoted Iraq's ambassador in Khartoum as saying that Iraq's embassy in the Sudanese capital had nothing to do with the Monday night hijacking.   Iraq's ambassador in Khartoum denounced the hijacking and described it as a terrorist act which had nothing to do "with the morals and values of noble Iraqis," INA said.   Ambassador Abdulsamad Hameed Ali told INA there was only one diplomat among the 199 passengers and crew on the Sudan Airways Airbus.   "He was not involved...on the contrary he was harassed by the elements which carried out the hijacking," he said.   INA did not say the hijackers were Iraqis.   The hijack started when the flight left Khartoum for Amman on Monday night.   The hijackers told the crew they had grenades and other explosives and threatened to blow up the plane if they were not taken to London.   The airliner refuelled at Larnaca, Cyprus and landed at London's Stansted airport in the early hours of Tuesday.   Seven Iraqi suspected hijackers surrendered and British police said they had apparently asked for political asylum.   Several had brought their families along, including children. 
4717 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole Wednesday accused the Clinton administration of ignoring drug use among teenagers and said if elected he would use the National Guard to stop drugs from entering the United States.   "He'll probably mention his war on drugs, which he's going to start like everything else -- next year.   It's too late, Mr. President," Dole told an outdoor crowd of several hundred at a private religious school.   He also commented briefly on published reports that the administration was planning to announce a plan to lower capital gains taxes for home sales.   "Welcome to the club.   We've had it out there for weeks and weeks and weeks," Dole said.   Dole said former first lady Nancy Reagan was laughed at with her "just say no" anti-drug message.   "But it worked," Dole said.   Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Dole's running mate, Jack Kemp, campaigned aggressively for the black vote in an area that was the flashpoint of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.   Kemp told a crowd of about 300 African Americans in south central Los Angeles, "Keep your eyes open, keep your ears open, keep your heart open.   I want to tell you with all my heart that we want to win your vote."   In Dole's address to a group that was largely white, the presidential nominee likened the stream of illegal drugs into the United States to missiles aimed at American children and promised to appoint federal judges who would be tough on illegal drug use.   "They're aiming millions and millions of missiles right at these young people, whether it's a needle, whether it's a cigarette, whatever the delivery system is -- it's poison and it's got to stop in America."   he said.   Dole said 70 percent of the cocaine that entered the United States and 40 percent of the marijuana came from Mexico.   "We've got an international problem and I'm prepared to use our military might.   We want to stop drugs at the border," he said.   Dole's remarks prompted questions about whether he was seeking a ban on cigarettes.   "I didn't say anything about cigarettes.   I was talking about drugs.   I said you shouldn't smoke either.   That's all I said," he replied as he was shaking hands with well-wishers.   When asked specifically if he was suggesting a ban on cigarettes, Dole replied: "Oh no.   Come on, you know better than that."   Dole campaign aides said the candidate was telling young people not to smoke.   Dole also said he opposed California Proposition 215 which, if approved by voters, would allow the cultivation of marijuana plants for medicinal uses.   Dole said the initiative would allow marijuana to be used for anything from a headache to an ingrown toenail.   In an effort to paint the drug issue in non-political terms, Dole said three times during his 20-minute address that illegal drug use was neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue but one that involves all people.   The anti-drug message is a theme Dole feels has strong voter appeal.   On Sunday near Chicago he accused President Bill Clinton of "raising the white flag" in the war on drugs.   A recent survey showed that illegal drug use among 12-17 year-olds had doubled in the past four years.   Dole was flanked by several California Republican politicians including Gov. Pete Wilson, who said local and state governments cannot fight illegal drugs alone.   "We need all the help we can get.   We need to get the kind of help we used to get when Ronald Reagan and George Bush were in the White House," Wilson said. 
4718 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Democrats formally nominate President Bill Clinton for a second term on Wednesday, offering him as a man of principle and heart eager to win what he calls "the last and most important campaign of my life."   The 50-year-old former Arkansas governor was to be handed the nomination by a traditional roll call of the states at a convention session beginning after 8 p.m.   EDT (0001 GMT).   Clinton was chugging towards Chicago on the final miles (kms) of a rail trip across the U.S. heartland in which the campaign themes he sounded in stops at small towns and big cities were repeated on the convention floor like the echo of a train whistle.   On Wednesday he unveiled a plan to spend nearly $2 billion to clean up poisoned industrial waste sites and to encourage businesses to restore and revitalise neglected and often abandoned urban manufacturing areas.   He told a friendly crowd in Michigan: "Seventy days to four more years," a reference to election day on November 5.   "We cannot go forward together as a country, a country that works for all of us, unless we have a shared commitment to protect the environment," Clinton declared.   He said he was embarking "on the last and most important campaign of my life."   Clinton will accept the nomination at the convention's closing session on Thursday.   In his acceptance speech, Clinton was expected to announce a small expansion of an existing capital gains tax exemption.   Under the proposal Clinton would extend the one-time $125,000 exemption on profits from the sale of a home, now limited to persons 55 years and older, to all Americans, Clinton aides said.   But the proposal would have little practical effect because most young Americans plough profits into another home.   White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta also said on Tuesday Clinton would propose a $3.4 billion jobs programme if re-elected, with tax credits to businesses among other measures.   Clinton was due in Chicago at about the same time that the happy and confident throng of delegates crowding a sports arena began the process of making him the official nominee.   They appeared to have reason to celebrate.   An NBC television poll of registered voters taken during the first two days of the convention and released on Wednesday showed Clinton with a 13-point lead over Republican nominee Bob Dole, compared to an eight-point margin two weeks ago.   An ABC poll on Tuesday showed Clinton's advantage among registered voters at 15 percentage points over Dole, a jump of five points between Sunday and Tuesday.   Dole, at a campaign appearance in Ventura, California, attacked Clinton for allegedly ignoring drug use among teenagers, and mocked the president's reported plan for a limited cut in capital gains taxes.   "Welcome to the club," he said.   "We've had it out there for weeks and weeks and weeks."   First lady Hilary Rodham Clinton, who starred in Tuesday evening's convention session and was treated to long and boisterous standing ovations, told the Illinois delegation on Wednesday that the party had defined itself.   "I often hear people say 'Well I didn't leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me.'   I think the Democratic party is back, and the Democratic party is no longer going to let other people characterise who we are or what we believe," she said.   "We're not going to remain silent in the face of all the misrepresentations," she added.   "We have leaders at the state and local level and now at the national level who haven't forgotten where they came from who still have the same values they were raised with."   In an interview broadcast on NBC on Wednesday she said her husband's agenda is clear.   "He wants to continue the progress that he's made in the first term for average working Americans, giving them a break in the economy by making it possible for them not only to get jobs but get jobs with rising incomes, making it possible for them to have some more authority over their own lives and their own homes," she said. 
4719 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole on Wednesday accused the Clinton administration of ignoring drug use among teenagers and said if elected he would use the National Guard to stop drugs from entering the United States.   "He'll probably mention his war on drugs, which he's going to start like everything else -- next year.   It's too late, Mr. President," Dole told an outdoor crowd of several hundred at a private religious school.   He also commented briefly on published reports that the administration was planning to announce a plan to lower capital gains taxes for home sales.   "Welcome to the club.   We've had it out there for weeks and weeks and weeks," Dole said.   Dole said former first lady Nancy Reagan was laughed at with her "just say no" anti-drug message.   "But it worked," Dole said.   He likened the stream of illegal drugs into the United States to missiles aimed at American children and promised to appoint federal judges who would be tough on illegal drug use.   "They're aiming millions and millions of missiles right at these young people, whether it's a needle, whether it's a cigarette, whatever the delivery system is -- it's poison and it's got to stop in America."   he said.   Dole said 70 percent of the cocaine that entered the United States and 40 percent of the marijuana came from Mexico.   "We've got an international problem and I'm prepared to use our military might.   We want to stop drugs at the border," he said.   Dole's remarks prompted questions about whether he was seeking a ban on cigarettes.   "I didn't say anything about cigarettes.   I was talking about drugs.   I said you shouldn't smoke either.   That's all I said," he replied as he was shaking hands with well-wishers.   When asked specifically if he was suggesting a ban on cigarettes, Dole replied: "Oh no.   Come on, you know better than that."   Dole campaign aides said the candidate was telling young people not to smoke.   Dole also said he opposed California Proposition 215 which, if approved by voters, would allow the cultivation of marijuana plants for medicinal uses.   Dole said the initiative would allow marijuana to be used for anything from a headache to an ingrown toenail.   In an effort to paint the drug issue in non-political terms, Dole said three times during his 20-minute address that illegal drug use was neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue but one that involves all people.   The anti-drug message is a theme Dole feels has strong voter appeal.   On Sunday near Chicago he accused President Bill Clinton of "raising the white flag" in the war on drugs.   A recent survey showed that illegal drug use among 12-17 year-olds had doubled in the past four years.   Dole was flanked by several California Republican politicians including Gov. Pete Wilson, who said local and state governments cannot fight illegal drugs alone.   "We need all the help we can get.   We need to get the kind of help we used to get when Ronald Reagan and George Bush were in the White House," Wilson said. 
4720 !GCAT  Technical hitches forced a 24-hour delay in the scheduled lifting on Wednesday of the Titanic's hull from its watery ocean grave.   Original plans called for a 20-tonne piece of the hull to be recovered from the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, on Wednesday, but recovery equipment got stuck, said a spokesman for New York-based RMS Titanic Inc. that is sponsoring the expedition.   The problem, blamed on two malfunctioning heavy bags being used as counterweights, left a giant piece of the Titanic's steel hull hovering some 500 feet (152 metres) above the seabed.   Equipment problems forced two efforts to retrieve the wreckage so far this week to be delayed, the spokesman said.   The debris lies in water more than 2 1/2 miles (3 km) deep.   A mini-submarine was repairing the equipment but progress was slow and the spokesman said the third recovery attempt would be put off until Thursday.   "They say the third time is a charm," said RMS Titanic spokesman Todd Tarantino.   The steel-hulled Titanic, thought to be "unsinkable," struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, killing 1,523 of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board.   The wreck was located in 1985.   As part of the recovery expedition, more than 1,700 people, including three survivors of the doomed liner's first trans-Atlantic voyage, have sailed in two ships from Boston and New York to the site.   Passengers, who have paid $1,500 and up for the nine-day cruise, can watch the recovery efforts via closed-circuit video on board the ships.   RMS Titanic, which holds the exclusive legal rights to the ship's debris, has recovered some 4,000 artifacts since 1987.   It plans to bring the hull section to New York on Sept. 1 and hopes to use it as the centrepiece of an exhibition next spring and possibly a full-fledged Titanica museum.   The U.S.-based Discovery Channel on cable television, NBC television network and Britain's Channel Four all plan to release documentaries about the recovery mission. 
4721 !GCAT !GENV !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton promoted a $1.9 billion plan to spur the cleanup of toxic waste dumps and polluted urban areas as his "21st Century Express" train rattled its way on Wednesday to the Democratic Convention.   "Seventy days to four more years!"   an exuberant Clinton shouted to a knot of waving spectators near Kalamazoo as his flag-bedecked, 13-car campaign train swept through western Michigan on the final leg of a four-day trip through five politically important midwestern states.   Buoyed by impressive crowds all along his 559-mile (895 km) whistlestop route, Clinton, "on the last and most important campaign of my life," has talked up a second-term agenda filled with programmes appealing to middle-class voters, never mentioning Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole.   Here in Kalamazoo, a medium-sized city filled with white-collar workers and college students, Clinton thrust environmental aspects of his agenda for the next four years into the campaign spotlight.   "We cannot go forward together as a country, a country that works for all of us, unless we have a shared commitment to protect the environment," he said.   "I don't care if you have a billion dollars -- in the end, the quality of your life will be undermined unless we save the enviroment."   Flaunting the power of incumbency, Clinton said he would give federal agencies new authority by executive order to force polluters to clean up toxic waste sites as part of a "new national commitment to protect all of our communities from toxics by the year 2000."   He said he would also ask Congress to pass an "environmental crimes bill" that would give authorities "the power to catch polluters before they poison the land."   But the centrepiece of his environmental initiative was a proposal to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated areas under the Superfund programme by increasing Superfund spending by $1.3 billion over the next four years.   Clinton, speaking in heat that overcame several people in the crowd of about 2,000, also proposed offering $300 million in loans and grants to businesses willing to reclaim lightly polluted urban industrial sites called "brownfields."   Aides said this would be in addition to $2 billion in brownfields tax incentives that Clinton proposed last March.   His proposal also called for spending on such ideas as making environmental information available to the public on the Internet.   Clinton, whose well-orchestrated whistlestop trip was designed to stir interest in his party's convention, was to arrive in Chicago on Wednesday night in time for the traditional roll call of states nominating him for a new four-year stint in the White House.   At the halfway point of the convention, polls were showing Clinton once again beginning to stretch his lead over Republican nominee Bob Dole.   It had dwindled to five points or less in some surveys immediately after the Republican convention of two weeks ago.   But an ABC poll on Tuesday showed Clinton's advantage among registered voters back at 15 percentage points, a jump of five points between Sunday and Tuesday.   After repeating the well-worn political mantra that the only poll that counts comes on election day, White House spokesman Mike McCurry gleefully observed that Clinton is in the same position now that he was in in May.   Asked if that meant people has made up their minds between Clinton and Dole, McCurry replied: "The central structure of the (presidential) race has been defined.   It's not a bad position for the president to be in." 
4722 !GCAT !GDIS  Hurricane Edouard, churning through the Atlantic, was expected to turn to the northwest and spare the Bahamas and South Florida from its full impact, the National Hurricane Centre said on Wednesday.   Edouard continued to be a powerful and potentially deadly storm but its top winds dropped slightly from 130 mph (210 kmh) to 125 mph (205 kmh), forecasters said.   "We're right now looking at the storm starting to make a turn to the northwest in about 36 hours or so, and then more to the north," said National Hurricane Centre meteorologist Mike Hopkins.   "That kind of diminishes the threat somewhat for the United States at this point."   Hopkins said although computer models used to project a storm's likely path indicated the hurricane would turn, it was still headed toward the U.S. east coast and residents were advised to monitor its progress closely.   "Until we start seeing the storm move to the northwest we won't feel completely comfortable," he said.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), the centre of Edouard was located 300 miles (485 km) north-northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico and heading west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kmh).   Its exact position was latitude 22.2 north and longitude 63.7 west.   An upper-level trough of air was expected to pull Edouard on a slightly more northerly course over the next few days.   Forecasters also said Tropical Storm Fran formed overnight in the mid-Atlantic and tropical depression number 7 could become a tropical storm later on Wednesday.   Fran was packing winds of 60 mph (95 kmh) and was expected to strengthen by the time it nears the Lesser Antilles this weekend.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), it was centred 620 miles (1000 km) east of the Leeward Islands, at latitude 15.8 north and longitude 51.5 west, moving west at 15 mph (24 kmh).   It was expected to take a more west-northwesterly track in the next day.   Hurricane forecasters also said they were closely watching tropical depression number 7, which was developing off the coast of Africa.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), the depression was 700 miles (1,140 km) west of the Cape Verde islands, at latitude 11.4 north and longitude 34.4 west, and moving west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kmh).   A tropical depression is upgraded to a named tropical storm when its maximum sustained winds top 39 mph (65 kmh).   A hurricane is declared when its maximum winds reach 74 mph (120 kmh). 
4723 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton thrust vote-getting environmental issues into the spotlight on Wednesday as his "21st Century Express" train ride swept triumphantly toward the Chicago Democratic Convention.   Flaunting the power of incumbency, Clinton said he would give federal agencies new authority by executive order to force polluters to clean up toxic waste sites.   The Clinton campaign said this would bring more protection of natural resources "that support hunting, fishing, tourism and recreation in local economies."   He also floated a $1.9 billion initiative to accelerate the cleanup of contaminated areas under the Superfund programme that cleans up existing waste sites and encourage businesses to reclaim and develop blighted urban industrial sites.   In this south-central Michigan city made famous by Kellogg's cereals, Clinton, 50, "on the last and most important campaign of my life," told a cheering crowd that his "opportunity agenda" of improving the economy and the quality of life in the United States was unfinished.   "We've been at this for four years now, and the people can make a judgment, and they can also listen to our ideas for the future and know there's a darn good idea we can implement them because we've done so much of what we talked about four years ago," he said.   Clinton, on an old-fashioned train trip through middle America to boost his re-election campaign, was to arrive in Chicago on Wednesday night in time for the traditional roll call of states nominating him for a new four-year stint in the White House.   Vice President Al Gore, his trusted political partner and environment point man, was to address the delegates beforehand.   At the halfway point of the Democratic convention, polls were showing Clinton once again beginning to stretch his lead over Republican nominee Bob Dole.   It had dwindled to five points or less in some surveys immediately after the Republican convention of two weeks ago.   But an ABC poll on Tuesday showed Clinton's advantage among registered voters back at 15 percentage points, a jump of five points between Sunday and Tuesday.   Greeted by large, friendly crowds along his route to Chicago, Clinton has lofted one initiative after another to try to rally support in the Nov. 5 election.   But Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole said his surging rival would arrive in Chicago "on a train called the Status Quo Express."   "They're off track, and they've been off track right along," Dole told reporters in Santa Barbara, where he was preparing for the upcoming campaign.   Clinton was to address the convention on Thursday night, and aides said he would lay out his second-term agenda in concrete detail.   They said Clinton's proposals were expected to include extending the one-time, $125,000 capital gains exemption on profits from the sale of a home to all Americans.   The exemption is currently reserved for persons 55 years of age and older, who theoretically turn their equity into a retirement nest-egg.   Clinton's proposal, a recycled version of an idea he has spoken of previously, was not expected to have much practical effect since most younger homesellers plough their profits into more expensive residences, and thus are exempt from capitol gains taxes anyway. 
4724 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The California Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a measure that would overhaul the state's annual budgeting process beginning with the 1998-1999 fiscal year.   The bill was approved 52-to-0 and was sent to the state Senate for an expected vote on Friday or Saturday.   The bill would require so-called zero-based budgeting in putting together the annual blueprint for state spending.   Zero-based budgeting is a process that requires entities to start with a base of zero dollars, adding funding for programs deemed appropriate.    Some lawmakers contend the process would lead to greater fiscal responsibility and would make it easier to review the governor's annual proposals for spending.   Gov. Pete Wilson's Department of Finance said a similar attempt at zero-based budgeting in 1977 was a failure, time-consuming and costly, and did not affect budget decisions. 
4725 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  The California state Assembly approved compromise legislation on Wednesday that would help to set up a controversial $10.5 billion state earthquake insurance authority.   The so-called trailer bill, designed to make the California Earthquake Authority more consumer-friendly, was approved in the Assembly by a vote of 57-to-6.   The trailer bill was approved last week by the Senate on a 32-to-0 vote.    The Assembly approved the main California Earthquake Authority (CEA) legislation in July.   But the proposal failed to clear the Senate.   Some Senators argued that the proposed authority should be more consumer-friendly.   The trailer bill was proposed as a compromise to address the concerns raised in the Senate and secure its passage.   "The Assembly acted to solve the homeowners insurance availability crisis 48 days ago when we passed the CEA," said Assemblyman David Knowles.   "With today's vote, I'm hopeful the Senate will live up to its commitment to bring relief to millions of California homeowners by passing the CEA."    Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, D-Hayward, said he would hold up a Senate vote on the main CEA legislation until he gets a commitment from Gov. Pete Wilson that he would sign the trailer bill.   The trailer bill calls for a more scientific approach to setting earthquake insurance rates.   The bill also requires that the insurance industry retain its contingent liability for 12 years.   Originally, the industry was expected to retain its contingent liability for 10 years.   The CEA was proposed as part of a plan to help solve the state's homeowners insurance crisis.   Under the $10.5 billion proposal, about $1.5 billion would be raised through the sale of "catastrophe" bonds that would be issued through the state.    The proposed authority would sell earthquake insurance to homeowners in the state. 
4726 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The Treasury Department on Wednesday denied a license application from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to receive donations of more than $1 billion from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.   In a letter to lawyers for Farakkhan, the director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, Richard Newcomb, cited several reasons for the denial including the U.S. belief that Libya is "a strong supporter of terrorist groups."    Farakkhan had to request Treasury licenses to receive the funds because it was required as part of U.S. travel and trade restrictions imposed against Libya in 1986 to counter its alleged sponsorship of international terrorism.   Gaddafi had pledged $1 billion to the Nation of Islam after meeting Farrakhan in Libya last January.   The Nation of Islam church also said at a Tuesday news conference in Chicago that Farrakhan planned to travel to Tripoli to receive an additional $250,000 humanitarian award that Gaddafi gives annually.   But the Treasury said it was denying licenses for Farrakhan to accept either the $1 billion pledge or the $250,000 honorarium.   "United States foreign policy has consistently sought the international isolation of the Libyan regime for a number of reasons," the Treasury Department said, adding that since December 1979 Libya has been on a list of states that sponsor international terrorism. 
4727 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  Inmates in Colorado prisons filed suit on Wednesday asking a federal judge to order the state to pay for prisoners' abortions and seeking an immediate abortion for a prisoner who is 20 weeks pregnant, according to court documents.   The state would be imposing "cruel and unusual punishment" by forcing the inmate to bear an unwanted child, the lawsuit filed in federal court in Denver said.   The suit said the state of Colorado is violating inmates' constitutional rights with its current policy of not funding abortions unless a prisoner's life is in danger.   The inmates are represented by an abortion rights group, the Centre for Reproductive Law & Policy in New York City, and by the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.   ACLU legal director Mark Silverstein told Reuters that the government has a heightened responsibility to provide medical services to women in prison because they cannot earn money to pay for their own health care.   Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Liz McDonough said she was unaware of the lawsuit and could not comment until it had been reviewed by state attorneys.   The inmate who wants a prompt abortion faces increased medical risks "every day the procedure is delayed" because of her advanced stage of pregnancy, the lawsuit said.   Silverstein said he did not know the circumstances of the pregnancy.   "We had to rush into court" after receiving a letter Friday from the inmate, he said. 
4728 !GCAT !GCRIM  A federal prosecutor said on Wednesday the accused mastermind of a plot to bomb U.S. passenger jets had presented an absurd proposition by arguing he was the victim of a multinational conspiracy.   Michael Garcia, assistant U.S. attorney, dismissed closing arguments by Ramzi Ahmed Yousef and his two co-defendants that they had been framed.   Garcia's rebuttal to the statements marked the close of the three-month trial against the men.   The Manhattan federal jury hearing the case will receive instructions on the law on Thursday morning.   On Tuesday, Yousef told the jury he was the victim of a conspiracy by Pakistan and the Philippines aimed at winning favour with the United States.   Yousef, representing himself with the help of a legal adviser, said evidence had been fabricated by the two governments so they could turn him over to U.S. authorities.   Garcia called the argument an "absurd proposition."   "This plot or plan isn't about an international conspiracy to frame these defendants.   It isn't about planting evidence or planting fingerprints to frame anyone," Garcia said.   "That is a good plot for a movie maybe, but not for this trial, not for this evidence ... There is only one plan involved in this case ... to bomb U.S. airliners ... It is a plan to kill thousands of U.S. citizens."   Yousef was one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was arrested in February 1995 in Islamabad, Pakistan, and returned to New York.   If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.   He is accused of being the architect of a scheme to murder about 4,000 passengers over a 48-hour period last year as they returned on Delta, Northwest and United flights to the United States from the Far East.   Yousef is also charged with placing a bomb on a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo on Dec. 11, 1994, as a trial run.   The bomb exploded under the seat of a Japanese passenger, killing him and injuring 10 other people.   He will also be tried later this year for allegedly masterminding the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing that killed six and injured more than 1,000 people.   Prosecutors allege the purpose of these attacks was to punish the United States for its support of Israel.   The airline bombing case against Yousef and two other defendants, Abdul Hakim Murad and Wali Khan Amin Shah, was developed after a January 1995 fire broke out in an apartment shared by Yousef and Murad in Manila.   Yousef allegedly fled to Pakistan after the bombing.   The Philippine National Police found in the apartment bomb-making equipment and manuals, explosives and a Toshiba laptop computer containing schedules for Delta, Northwest and United flights and detonation times.   Yousef and lawyers for the other two defendants told the jury the police had fabricated and altered evidence found at the scene.   They focused on testimony by two officers who said police reports contained false information about evidence and where it had been found.   Garcia said these were the arguments of "desperate" men who were caught "red-handed." 
4729 !C16 !CCAT !E21 !E212 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The California state Assembly on Wednesday approved a measure that would set up a state committee to advise financially-troubled municipalities that may be considering bankruptcy.   The bill was passed in the Assembly on a vote of 45-to-10 and advanced to the Senate for action later this week.   The bill would establish the Local Agency Bankruptcy Committee.   Under the proposed legislation, a local government must seek the committee's approval before filing for bankruptcy.   The committee must act within five days or the request would automatically be approved.    The bill would require counties filing for bankruptcy to provide a five-day notice to allow local agencies to withdraw funds invested in the county treasury.   Under the legislation, the committee would act as an advisor for municipalities, while in bankruptcy.   The committee members would be the state controller, the state treasurer and the state director of finance.   Opponents of the bill said the proposed committee could usurp the power of local officials by intervening into the management of local affairs.    The bill was introduced in the wake of the Orange County, Calif., bankruptcy.   The county filed for protection under Chapter 9 of the federal Bankruptcy Code on December 6, 1994 after sustaining investment losses of more than $1.6 billion.   The county emerged from bankruptcy in June.   Some public officials have criticized the county's decision to declare bankruptcy. 
4730 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  Twenty-three women, claiming they were harassed to pose nude or perform sexual acts, have filed an official complaint against the Fort Bliss army base in southwest Texas, lawyers said Wednesday.   Alejandro Soto, a lawyer representing the women who are all current or former employees of Fort Bliss, said the class action complaint was filed with the U.S. Training and Doctrine Command, which oversees Fort Bliss and several other bases.   Soto said a class action lawsuit will be filed in federal court if action is not taken to end sexual harassment on Fort Bliss by November, adding that 12 additional women have contacted him with similar complaints.   About 15 of the women, and some 20 supporters, protested at the entrance of Fort Bliss Wednesday.   They carried posters saying: "Stop Sexual Harassment" and "Fort Bliss Doesn't Care."   "I was asked constantly to pose in the nude," said Elizabeth St. John, who is a head hunter with the Fort Bliss civilian personnel office.   "He always wanted to know if my breasts were real.   I complained, but nobody believed me."   "I was also sexually harassed by my supervisor for seven years," said Dolores Gomez, a civilian firefighter on Fort Bliss.   She said she was repeatedly asked to provide oral sex to her boss, and her complaints also were not believed.   "I'm a secretary and he used to follow me around, even try and get in the bathroom with me," said Pamela Jackson.   "He even called me at home.   There's no reason I have to put up with that."   Fort Bliss spokeswoman Jean Offutt said Fort Bliss' Equal Employment Opportunity Office found there were no grounds to the complaints of some of the women.   Many of the other women, she said, never filed official complaints.   She said the Army Training and Doctrine Command is investigating the matter and is expected to come to a decision within two months. 
4731 !GCAT !GDIS  A rash of new wildfires caused by lightning in the Western United States has caused a critical shortage of firefighters and equipment, officials said on Wednesday.   A thunderstorm moved across eastern Idaho, western Wyoming and western Montana late on Tuesday, sparking many new lightning fires in tinder-dry trees and brush, said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Centre in Boise, Idaho.   The new fires had created "a critical shortage" of firefighting resources, the fire centre said.   A fire weather watch was posted in eastern Montana and eastern Wyoming, where dry lightning and gusty winds were forecast for Wednesday.   The fire centre said 18,610 firefighters were battling 52 major blazes that have charred more than 490,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of timber, grass and brush in California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.   Dozens of smaller lightning-sparked fires were also burning.   Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said on Wednesday the fires were not likely to be contained soon and he would ask Congress for millions of dollars to get them under control.   "It's going to be a long, tough summer because there is no real relief in sight," Babbitt, who is in the West assessing the situation, said on NBC's "Today" Show.   Smurthwaite of the National Interagency Fire Centre said firefighting resources were stretched thin.   "We don't have a lot of room left to move people around," he said.   Many firefighters from Eastern states are already helping out and a battalion of U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton in southern California has been put on alert.   "They may be asked to come in and support the effort," Smurthwaite said.   He said this year was among the worst for wildfires in the last 50 years.   Some 4.8 million acres (1.9 million hectares) have burned so far this year compared with 1.6 million (650,000 hectares) at the same point last year.   While the lightning added to firefighters' woes in some states, the firefighters were making good progress in other areas such as southwestern Idaho and Oregon, officials said.   A 45,000-acre (18,000-hectare) blaze burning in parts of Yosemite National Park and Stanislaus National Forest in California was 55 percent contained by Wednesday, officials said.   Almost 3,000 firefighters, backed by 133 fire engines, 17 helicopters and two air tankers, were battling the fire, which is approaching the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, officials said.   Some 1,440 firefighters managed to build fire lines around 40 percent of the Ambrose Complex fire which has charred 15,000 acres (6,000 hectares) of brush and timber in Modoc County in northern California, fire information officer Jenny Farenbaugh said.   Four major powerlines and two natural gas pipelines remain threatened by the lightning-caused fire but they have not been damaged, she said.   The Marple Fire, burning near Lake Castaic about 50 miles (80 km) north of Los Angeles, has blackened 16,100 acres (6,500 hectares) and was only 15 percent contained, the National Interagency Fire Centre said.   The 64,000-acre (26,000-hectare) Salt Complex fire burning in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area is the largest of a dozen large wildfires burning in Oregon.   A dozen fires have charred 28,430 acres (11,500 hectares) in Idaho while 13 fires have burned 96,240 acres (39,000 hectares) in Nevada, officials said. 
4732 !GCAT !GCRIM  Ann Landers would say give the engagement ring back.   So would Dear Abby.   But Mark Bozdech says he needs a court to order his former fiancee to return the $3,000 diamond ring he gave her.   Linda Finelli called off her engagement to Bozdech in August 1995, his attorney Anthony Pace said in court papers filed this week in New Jersey State Superior Court.   "She can't have it both ways," the attorney said.   "The engagement ring is what the law calls a conditional gift ... on the condition that the bride will walk down the aisle wearing a ring.   "If she doesn't walk down the aisle, the ring should go back to the man," he said.   Bozdech also wants the $700 he spent on her wedding gown, the reception hall down payment of $1,900 and other money he says she owes him, the attorney said.   Overall the lawsuit seeks $10,000.   Neither of the formerly engaged couple could be reached for comment on Wednesday.   No trial date has been set.   Popular advice columnists Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren have advised people to return rings when they break their engagements.   Van Buren, author of the "Dear Abby" column, once wrote "the lady should return the engagement ring or she's no lady." 
4733 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The California State Association of Counties on Wednesday called on state lawmakers to resolve their differences over legislation that would overhaul court financing.   The bill, by Assemblymember Phil Isenberg, would also provide counties with certainty for future funding of the courts.   The bill has stalled because Gov. Pete Wilson and Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer have been at odds over certain labor-related issues in the legislation.    The bill has passed the Senate appropriations committee and was on its way to the Senate floor.   If it fails, and no other bill is enacted to authorize distribution of trail court trust fund money, courts may face a budget shortfall of close to $300 million statewide, the Association of Counties said.   The shortfall would occur because there would be no new revenues for the courts from various fee increases. 
4734 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Research designed to explore the underlying chemistry of polycystic ovary syndrome may have stumbled onto a new treatment for the condition, which affects nearly 1 in 16 women of child-bearing age.   Dr. John Nestler of Virginia Commonwealth University and Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz of the Caracas Clinic Hospital in Venezuela discovered they could correct some of the hormone imbalances in the condition with a drug that increases the body's sensitivity to the sugar-processing drug insulin.   Giving sufferers a drug such as metformin, the one used in the new study, should relieve some of the symptoms, they said in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.   Polycystic ovary syndrome causes menstruation problems a few years after a girl reaches puberty.   It can also lead to obesity, hairiness and infertility.   Dr. Robert Utiger, a deputy editor at the Journal, said although the research by Nestler and Jakubowicz was intended to examine how the disease develops, "it also points the way to new therapy."   If further tests show that metformin can reverse the hormone imbalance, "as already reported in a few women, it could represent a substantial advance in treatment for women with the polycystic ovary syndrome," he said.   Metformin is sold under the brand name Glucophage by Bristol-Myers Squibb. 
4735 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Bill Clinton, the brilliant baby boomer who charged into the White House in 1992, embarks on his quest for a second term suddenly gray and grown up, his boyish charm tempered by four years of violently changing fortunes.   Clinton, who celebrated his 50th birthday last week, heads into what will be his final political campaign holding a solid lead over Republican Bob Dole.   But with this president, who has always lived close to the political edge, nothing is ever certain.   Throughout a career with more ups and downs than a roller coaster, Clinton has shown an almost uncanny ability to rebound from setbacks that would have finished a lesser politician.   But more often than not, the sea of troubles Clinton habitually swims in are of his own making.   Early in his successful 1992 presidential campaign, after fighting off explosive allegations about womanizing, Clinton called himself "the Comeback Kid".   He may be a kid no longer but the tag still fits.   Polls show Clinton enters this race distrusted even by many of his supporters, who are still searching for his moral core.   Republicans simply despise him with an intensity rarely seen even in the rough and tumble of American politics.   At the same time, even his adversaries do not deny his extraordinary political gifts.   Clinton may zig-zag on the issues but he has an uncanny ability to connect with people.   Even sworn enemies, like Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, have confessed to feeling the force of the president's "good ole' boy" southern charm.   Last month, Clinton flew to comfort the families of victims of the TWA crash off Long Island, New York.   He entered a room of bereaved, confused, angry, bitter people.   By the time the president departed, he had succeeded in rallying their spirits.   The tale of the Clinton presidency is really two stories.   After winning with only 43 percent of the vote in 1992, he got off to a rocky start.   There were frequent stumbles at home, including over gays in the military and cabinet appointments, and abroad in Bosnia, Haiti, China and Somalia.   Domestically, Clinton went back on an election promise to cut taxes for the middle class and instead raised them for the richest Americans.   That gave Republicans a campaign slogan for the next three years but it also helped set the economy on track for sustained moderate growth that created 10 million new jobs while inflation stayed in check and the budget deficit fell by half.   Having campaigned as a moderate, Clinton seemed to swing to the left with a grandiose health care reform plan championed by his wife, Hillary, that over-reached and ended in failure.   He paid a severe price in the Congressional elections of 1994 when Democrats suffered their worst defeat in 40 years and lost control of both houses of Congress.   Clinton seemed politically dead as Gingrich swaggered through Washington at the head of a "Republican Revolution."   At one news conference in 1995, Clinton was asked if he was relevant.   The second two years saw the Comeback Kid pull off his greatest recovery yet.   Forced to play defence by the Republican Congress, Clinton showed himself more focused, disciplined and wily than his adversaries.   Most of all, Clinton showed he had the wit to learn from his mistakes and grow in the job.   He turned to political guru Dick Morris for a strategy to reclaim the moderate centre of American politics, where elections are won or lost.   He refused to sign stringent Republican budget cuts and twice allowed the federal government to shut down.   The president managed to make the Republicans seem extreme and selfish while he posed as the defender of the middle class, the environment and the old and sick in society.   As the 1996 presidential election neared, it became clear that Clinton had skilfully put himself back in the driver's seat.   He manoeuvred the Republican Congress into raising the minimum wage and took credit for modest health insurance reforms.   Buoyed by a healthy economic recovery, Clinton also stepped up his appeal to moderate, suburban middle class voters, especially women, by taking on the gun and tobacco lobbies.   Most crucially, Clinton signed a controversial welfare reform bill that ended a 60-year-old guarantee of federal support for the poor and kept a campaign promise to "end welfare as we know it."   There were foreign policy successes in Bosnia, the Middle East and Northern Ireland to compensate for his early problems.   But scandal was never far away.   Continuing controversy over an Arkansas land deal known as Whitewater crept closer and closer to the president's top aides and to Hillary Clinton.   A scandal over improper use of the FBI files of some prominent Republicans embarrassed the president, as did a sex harassment lawsuit filed by a woman who worked for the state of Arkansas when he was governor. 
4736 !GCAT !GENT  The Smashing Pumpkins, who went on the road this week for the first time since the U.S. band's keyboardist died of a drugs overdose, has ruled out rehiring the drummer fired in connection with the tragedy.   Billy Corgan, the popular rock band's vocalist and main songwriter, told Rolling Stone magazine he sometimes wished the original line-up could be back together again to continue their assault on the world's music charts.   "But there's that sentiment in my heart where I feel I've really turned a corner on it.   I still believe he's (Jimmy Chamberlin) got God's gift.   But it would take a lot of tea in China to go back to that," the magazine quoted him as saying in its upcoming Sept. 3 issue.   Touring keyboard artist Jonathan Melvoin overdosed on a mixture of alcohol and heroin in a New York hotel room on July 12, the day the band was scheduled to begin a sold-out two-night stand at Madison Square Garden.   The band's drummer, Jimmy Chamberlin, who was with Melvoin at the time, was charged with possession of controlled substances.   The band, despairing of his well-documented history of drug abuse, fired Chamberlin five days later.   The band resumed their tour in Las Vegas on Tuesday night with Matt Walker of techno-punk band Filter on drums and Dennis Flemion of underground duo the Frogs on keyboards.   Both are considered temporary replacements.   Chamberlin, meanwhile, faces a court date on Sept. 25 and a maximum term of one year in jail if convicted. 
4737 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said on Wednesday raging fires in the Western United States are not likely to be contained soon and he would ask Congress for millions of dollars to get them under control.   "It's going to be a long, tough summer because there is no real relief in sight," Babbitt said on NBC's Today Show.   Babbitt, who is in the West assessing the situation, said he would report back to President Bill Clinton and in the next 30 days he will make additional budget requests "in the tens of millions of dollars" to bolster the fire-fighting efforts.   He estimated that $2 million to $3 million is currently being spent daily to fight the fires burning on more than 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) across Oregon, California, Washington, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Montana and Wyoming.   Babbitt and other officials said the blazes were due in part to a buildup of fuel in forests because of a policy of suppressing fires and that a preventive system of "controlled" fires should be implemented once this fire season is over.   Some officials said it was too late for an infusion of extra resources and longterm forest management in the United States needed to be addressed or the forest fire problem will only worsen in coming years.   Henson Moore, president of the American Forest & Paper Association, a major timber industry group, told a news conference some 47 million acres (19 million hectares) of federal forests were at high risk and urged the passage of so-called forest health legislation to help the U.S. Forest Service manage forests more effectively and cut government red tape.   Moore said forests needed to be thinned of dead and dying trees to reduce dangerous fuel supplies but half of all timber sales on public lands were being delayed by lawsuits and appeals from environmental groups and this has had a detrimental impact on forest management.   He charged that there is a direct cause and effect between lower timber sales and the recent higher rate of forest fires.   "Timber sales are being blocked beyond what it takes to help the environment."   Moore singled out the Sierra Club and what he called other "extremist" environmental groups for stopping timber sales and helping to create a dangerous situation.   Sierra Club officials responded that Moore's group and the timber industry were using a fear of fires to cut more trees.   "They are doing some despicable fear-mongering," said Debbie Sease of the Sierra Club.   She said the environmental group agrees that current forest management policy needs to be changed and the thinning of forests and the use of controlled fires should be started. 
4738 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Florida's highest court will hear arguments on Thursday on a trio of proposed constitutional amendments that would place a penny-a-pound tax on raw sugar to pay for the cleanup of the Everglades.   Championed by environmentalists and decried by the sugar industry, the tax package would cost growers an estimated $30 million a year over the next 25 years.   The money would go into a trust fund for the cleanup.   Attorneys for both sides will square off Thursday in front of the Florida Supreme Court, which must approve proposed constitutional amendments.   The court must agree that each proposed amendment deals with a single subject only and that the ballot summary accurately explains the impact of each.   Industry officials say the tax would be a death knell for the sugar industry.   A penny-a-pound tax would cut profit margins in half and threaten the 16,000 jobs, including 3,000 union machinists, directly related to sugar production in southern Florida, they said.   "When you take away a farmer's financial incentive to continue to farm, they are going to turn their resources in another direction," said Barbara Miedema, spokeswoman for the Belle Glade-based Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida.   The amendments come to the court after an environmental group, Save Our Everglades, succeeded in garnering 429,000 voter signatures to put each issue on the ballot.   This is the second time organizers have faced the state Supreme Court, which struck down a similar proposal in 1994.   One amendment would establish a 1 cent-a-pound tax on raw sugar grown in southern Florida.   A second would establish a trust fund and a third would make polluters pay for damage.   If approved by voters, the tax also would fund the purchase of land in the Everglades farming area.   "This is the step in the legal process where we were knocked off in 1994," said Joe Garcia, spokesman for Miami-based Save our Everglades, which is spearheading the drive.   "But we are confident that we have made the necessary adjustments and will receive high court approval this year."   The court is expected to rule on the issue within the next few months.   The general election is Nov. 5. 
4739 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  The United States said on Wednesday Syrian troop movements north of Israel appeared to be largely defensive.   "In our judgment, they are defensive in nature, laregly defensive in nature," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies told a questioner at the department's daily briefing.   On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy referred to reported Syrian troop movements in Lebanon as "training exercises" and added: "As for manoeuvres, we are used to this, following it and we must not get into any panic here."   Syria deploys an estimated 35,000 troops in Lebanon, including some that face Israeli troops at a distance of three to six miles (five to 10 km) at the southern end of the Bekaa Valley.   Davies said the United States had noted Israeli statements characterising the Syrian movements as largely defensive and unthreatening.   "And we don't have any reason to doubt that characterisation," he said. 
4740 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Republican vice presidential nominee Jack Kemp campaigned aggressively for the black vote on Wednesday in an area that was the flashpoint of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.   Kemp told a crowd of about 300 African Americans in the gymnasium of the Challengers Boys and Girls Club in south central Los Angeles: "Keep your eyes open, keep your ears open, keep your heart open.   I want to tell you with all my heart that we want to win your vote."   He said he and Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole would strive to create a new civil rights agenda for America, "with all the fiber in our beings."   Kemp, a former U.S. Housing Secretary who championed the cause of those living in blighted inner cities, recently reversed himself on affirmative action policies favouring women and minorities, saying he now backed their repeal.   But he said on Wednesday he and Dole favoured a new kind of affirmative action that would give empowerment, business ownership, entrepreneurial opportunities, scholarships and jobs to minorities.   He said the new affirmative action would be part of the Republicans' "civil rights agenda."   Referring to Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president who was responsible for ending slavery in America, Kemp said, "Our party of Mr Lincoln will not be whole again until blacks and African Americans come home to this party."   He reminded the crowd that as Housing Secretary he came to south Central Los Angeles with President George Bush after the 1992 riots to see what could be done to help the area recover.   The riots, sparked by the acquittal of four white police officers in the 1991 videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King, left more than 50 people dead and caused at least $1 billion in damage.   Kemp appealed on Wednesday for a reconciliation of racial differences, saying, "There is only one race, the human race.   We are all brothers and sisters.   There is only one answer on the eve of the 21st century and it is racial reconciliation."   Kemp, who was frequently applauded during his speech, was told by community and religious leaders that the main problems in the area were crime, particularly drugs and automatic weapons, and a lack of jobs. 
4741 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Arch-conservative Republican Sen. Jesse Helms Wednesday accused the Democratic Party of being "copycats" by targeting family values at its convention this week.   Speaking to reporters before attending a private fund-raising luncheon, Helms characterised President Clinton as "half-Republican" in his policies.   "He adopted almost all of our (Republican) legislation this year," Helms said.   Asked about the focus on family values at the Democratic Convention in Chicago, he said this showed "copycats have been here as long as politics."   Helms, who is also the incumbent candidate in a rematch bid for the North Carolina Senate seat against architect and former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt, said the Democrats were starting to read the minds of the people.   "American people understand the importance not only of family but the importance of moral and spiritual values."   Three protesters, one of them dressed in a duck suit, held up signs accusing Helms of ducking North Carolina voters.   "We want him to debate Harvey Gantt and not hide from the voters," said protester Naomi Swinton.   Helms, who beat Democrat Gantt by a 53-47 margin in 1990 after a negative advertising campaign, maintains his constituents know his record so he does not need to debate.   "I don't want to get into a sniping contest," he said, referring to his 1984 verbal sparring match with then-opponent Jim Hunt that turned into a battle of personalities.   "I liked Jim and I think he liked me (but) it took two or three years before we even spoke to each other again."   Hunt is currently governor of North Carolina.   Marilyn Quayle, wife of former Vice President Dan Quayle, accompanied Helms and spoke at the luncheon hosted by the Women's Leadership Forum, a group of mostly Republican women.   "I've known Jesse Helms for 20 years," she said.   "He is a rare person, an independent soul.   Something this country needs." 
4742 !GCAT !GVIO  The United States confirmed on Wednesday it had brokered a new ceasefire between warring Kurdish militias in northern Iraq, the second in less than a week, and said it hoped it would clear the way for peace talks.   The ceasefire took effect at midnight Washington time (0400 GMT Wednesday) and appeared to be holding, the State Department said.   It said the United States was trying to bring about peace talks between guerrillas of the rival Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   "We're looking to cement the cease-fire that we have in place, which builds on the cease-fire agreement that we had before, because every cease-fire builds on the other," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said.   The United States is nudging the factions to take part in proposed talks in London next month under the auspices of U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Pelletreau, who brokered the latest truce by telephone from Washington.   "We're going to try to make this one stick and try to get the parties to London to meet under the auspices of Assistant Secretary Pelletreau to talk about a broader reconciliation," Davies told reporters.   In Ankara, the PUK said earlier it had agreed to the new U.S.-brokered cease-fire with the KDP. 
4743 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GOBIT !GPRO  Zycad Corp said Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Peter Cassidy died Tuesday following a cardiac arrest.   Cassidy, 53, had been with the company as CFO since 1990.   Stephen Flory, corporate controller, will assume the functions of the CFO in the near term, Zycad said. 
4744 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Above-normal summer rainfall in the U.S. High Plains has produced near-ideal conditions for planting the 1997 hard red winter wheat crop, analysts said Wednesday.   From central Texas north to Kansas, rains throughout July and August have relieved most of the drought conditions that plagued the region earlier this year.   "Our moisture situation is excellent, especially for fall planting of winter wheat," said Kim Anderson, extension wheat marketing economist at Oklahoma State University.    The irony of the above-average summer rainfall was not lost on High Plains wheat producers, who only three months ago were caught in a drought so severe that old-timers likened conditions to the "Dust Bowl" days of the 1930s.   "It's definitely a turnabout from this past year, but you know last year we had pretty good moisture about this time of year, and then about October 1 it quit," said Mark Hodges, executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission.   "Hopefully that's not going to happen this year."    According to figures released by the Oklahoma Climatological Survey, an average of 20.19 inches fell across the state between March 1 and August 26, 1996.   That's about 1/2 inch above the average for the same time period, according to Howard Johnson, associate state climatologist at the University of Oklahoma.   He noted that the majority of that 20.19 inches had fallen since July.   As an example of just how dry it was, data showed that between October 1, 1995 and March 1, 1996, the state received an average of only 4.6 inches of rainfall.    In northern Texas, the current rainfall situation was similar to most of Oklahoma, said Rodney Mosier, executive assistant for the Texas Wheat Producers.   "Up here in the Texas Panhandle, we've had some extremely beneficial rains that came through within the last several days and are really setting us up for ideal conditions for planting wheat," Mosier said.   But he warned that the situation was not as ideal in central and southern Texas, where mositure levels were still short despite the rains brought by Hurricane Dolly last week.    In Kansas, typically the number one U.S. hard red winter wheat producer, topsoil moisture levels were rated mostly adequate during the week ended Sunday, according to the state's agricultural statistics service.   In its weekly report released Monday, the service said Kansas topsoil moisture was rated eight percent surplus, 77 percent adequate and 15 percent short to very short.   Oklahoma's Agricultural Statistics Service showed similar conditions, rating topsoil moisture levels as seven percent surplus, 81 percent adequate and 12 percent short to very short.   Data on topsoil moisture ratings were not released by the Texas Agricultural Statistics Service.   --Greg Frost, 816 561-8671 
4745 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  For the second time in four months a local office of U.S. Representative Robert Borski was defaced with swastikas, police said Wednesday.   The vandalism, in which the glass door and a window to Borski's office were also broken, was discovered early Wednesday after a telephone caller told police there was a message for them at the office.   The caller said he was wanted by police and the FBI.   A tape recording and a note were left at the scene, although the contents were not disclosed.   The office had not been entered.   Borski's office, which is in northeastern Philadelphia, was similarly vandalised on April 29.   As in the second incident, a note was also left at the scene.   The note called the U.S. military "rapists of starving nations."   Interviewed by Philadelphia television station WPVI from the Democratic convention in Chicago, Borski called the vandalism "disgusting" and said "it almost makes me vomit that this would happen in this day and age."   Borski is a Catholic who was first elected in 1982.   He represents a district which is largely Catholic in religious background but also has a significant Jewish population. 
4746 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Al Gore, President Bill Clinton's loyal lieutenant, responds in pithy style when asked whether he might be using this year's Democratic National Convention to prepare for his own presidential bid in the year 2000.   "I have three priorities," the vice president tells interviewers.   "The first is to secure the re-election of President Clinton.   Numbers two and three are the same."   But that has not stopped the speculation and neither has a schedule that included two prime-time floor speeches and brought him into contact with every major Democratic constituency at the convention.   At one gathering he was met by shouts of "12 more years" -- meaning two Gore terms to follow Clinton's second.   Gore, 48, whose wooden speaking style often masks his sharp wit and a strong line in self-mockery, has been a solid asset to Clinton from the day in 1992 when, as a senator from Tennessee, he was named as Clinton's running mate.   Himself a senator's son, his childhood was split between Washington and Tennessee before he studied at Harvard and Nashville's Vanderbilt University.   He brought Clinton something he badly lacked: the expertise of a Washington insider.   Diligent, disciplined and discreet, the vice president has been a anchor in Clinton's sometimes turbulent White House and an unusually powerful occupant of an office once derided as not worth "a bucket of warm spit."   One recent demonstration of Gore's weight was his role in Clinton's toughest political call this year: last month's decision to sign the Republican-sponsored welfare bill.   According to one official, after a two-hour cabinet room session with domestic advisers -- a meeting Gore slipped in and out of -- Clinton repaired to the Oval Office to make up his mind, calling over his shoulder "Find the vice president."   The final decision was made with only three people in the room: Clinton, chief of staff Leon Panetta and Gore.   Clinton has delegated broad swathes of domestic policy to the vice president, including the environment, high technology, telecommunications, space and government reform.   As co-chairman of a commission on U.S.-Russian relations with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, Gore has also been a key player in the United States' dealings with Russia, a key element of U.S. foreign policy.   While enjoying private influence, Gore has carefully adopted a stance of public deference, keeping disagreements with the president to himself and rarely upstaging Clinton.   Gore was first elected to the House in 1976, went to the Senate eight years later, and almost immediately speculation began on when -- not if -- he would run for national office.   He plunged into presidential politics in 1988, doing well in southern primaries but pulling out of the Democratic race when he failed in northern states.   Clinton tapped Gore as his runningmate in 1992 and the chemistry between the two babyboomers quickly became apparent as they campaigned together.   With a squeaky clean reputation as a family man, a staid manner and service in the military, Gore was a useful counterpoint to the allegations of womanizing and draft dodging that then dogged Clinton. 
4747 !GCAT !GDEF !GHEA  The U.S. Defence Department denied on Wednesday that it intentionally quashed a 1991 classified report suggesting that U.S. troops were exposed to Iraqi chemical weapons in the Gulf War.   But the department conceded that "the full relevance of the report ... was not recognised at the time" and it was not investigated until this year, providing indications that perhaps 150 soldiers were exposed to chemical agents when they blew up the Kamisiyah ammunition dump in southern Iraq.   Defence Secretary William Perry, commenting on a New York Times report, said the secret document was circulated within the government and to U.S. military officials at the time and that the "complex" issue was still being investigated.   But the document, based on a visit by U.N. inspectors to the Kamisiyah weapons complex in 1991, was not made available to the U.S. engineer battalion involved or to the public.   The U.S. government, on orders from President Bill Clinton, last year mounted a major effort to solve medical complaints from thousands of Gulf War veterans.   "The department flatly denies that there was ever an attempt to withhold information from either the troops or from the public regarding this matter," Navy Capt. Michael Doubleday, a Pentagon spokesman, said on Wednesday.   But "the full relevance of the report, because there was no such thing as 'Gulf War illness' ... was not recognised at the time," Doubleday told reporters.   The Times said the long-classified intelligence report showed the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department were alerted that chemical weapons had been stored in a big Iraqi ammunition depot that was blown up in March 1991 by American troops.   The report was circulated to U.S. military commanders worldwide and then filed away even as the Defence Department repeatedly suggested it had no evidence that large numbers of U.S. troops might have been exposed to chemical arms.   The report was marked "priority," a designation for intelligence considered of moderate importance, the Times said.   But it was never shared with the troops themselves.   Defence officials confirmed the Times report that as many as 150 U.S. soldiers who took part in the 1991 mission to blow up Iraq's Kamisiyah ammunition dump were told only this spring that they may have been exposed to a cloud of mustard gas and sarin, a nerve agent.   But officials denied that many of the soldiers who destroyed the arms depot had since developed debilitating medical problems that they say may be linked to exposure to chemical weapons.   Nearly 60,000 other veterans of the Gulf War have asked for special health screenings to determine if they were suffering from ailments related to their service in the Gulf.   Pentagon officials said much of the material in the November 1991 report came from the U.N. arms inspectors who travelled to Iraq after the war ended in February of that year.   The inspectors had found evidence of chemical weapons at the depot at Kamisiyah when it was destroyed.   The report drew little attention when it was circulated.   Doubleday said the U.N. inspectors who visited the area in November, 1991, reported that they were told by the Iraqis that U.S. troops earlier that year had blown up stocks of weapons there.   But he said U.S. officials had reason to be doubtful of those claims.   "Iraq was the one country in the world that we least believed at that time," he told reporters.   "In 1991, the question was not whether (chemical) weapons had been destroyed, but whether they had even existed."   He said it was only in late 1995, based on a new CIA analysis, that government experts began to understand how the destruction of the Kamisiyah depot might have exposed U.S. troops to chemical weapons. 
4748 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Sacramento County, Calif., officials have approved the county's first-ever furlough affecting up to 7,000 employees to help balance the county's budget, finance officials said on Wednesday.   The county will furlough up to 7,000 employees for up to five days in fiscal year 1996-1997, said Lee Moss, administrator of the county's administration and finance agency.   The furloughs would begin in January.   The goal of the furlough plan was to save $2.5 million for the county general fund.   Additional savings would be achieved in county enterprise funds, Moss said.    County supervisors have already agreed not to provide cost-of-living adjustments to some employees and to reduce welfare grants under general assistance, saving the county a combined $8 million in fiscal year 1996-1997.   The county faces a projected $11.4 million funding gap for fiscal year 1996-1997 and a $25 million funding gap for fiscal year 1997-1998.   The county's overall budget was projected to be $1.2 billion in fiscal year 1996-1997. 
4749 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm, who unsuccessfully challenged Ross Perot for the Reform Party's presidential nomination, said on Wednesday he would not endorse Perot for president but refused to give his reasons.   "I don't want to make any endorsement of any candidate at this time," Lamm told reporters.   "I will endorse him as a prophet ... as prescient, but I will not endorse him as president."   Lamm, who has complained that there was no "level playing field" in the battle to become the Reform Party candidate, said although his relations with Perot at this time were "tense," he did not rule out voting for the Texas billionaire in the Nov. 5 election.   Lamm, speaking at a news conference held by a coalition of politicians agitating for political action to prevent the financial collapse of the Medicare system of health care for the elderly, said he would back any candidate who addresses that issue seriously.   Lamm, who was Colorado's Democratic governor from 1975 to 1987, said he still felt part of the Reform movement and was deeply disappointed by the failure of the Democrats, who are holding their national convention in Chicago this week, to seriously tackle what he called the imminent financial collapse of Medicare.   "Defending Medicare in this form is like defending a snowman (from melting) in your front yard," he said. 
4750 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Voters in the Seattle area will have a second and perhaps final chance this fall to vote on a transit project aimed at easing congestion on the region's chronically crowded highways.   The Regional Transit Authority last week advanced to the Nov. 5 ballot a 10-year, $3.9 billion plan to build a 25-mile "starter" light rail system, develop 81 miles of commuter rail lines and improve bus service and highway express lanes.   The plan is a scaled-down version of a 16-year, $6.7 billion proposal that was rejected last year by voters in the transit authority district, a 65-mile-long (100 km) corridor that stretches north and south of Seattle from Everett to the suburbs of Tacoma.   While the cost has been scaled down, voters will be asked to approve the same 0.4 percent sales tax increase and 0.3 percent motor vehicle excise tax that was rejected in the March 1995 vote, largely due to opposition by voters in the outlying areas of the district.   The new proposal includes features such as new express highway ramps that have won support from officials in the suburbs of Renton and Everett, who opposed the previous plan.   "People last time said it was all for the benefit of Seattle," said Paul Matsuoka, assistant director of the transit authority.   And if the tax measure succeeds, it would come back before the voters for renewal in 10 years rather than 16.   The tax increases would raise about $1.98 billion over 10 years, according to transit authority figures.   Another $1.05 billion would be raised by issuing bonds, and officials anticipate $727 million in federal funding.   The remaining $155 million would come from farebox revenues.   The transit authority estimates the measure would cost the average household $100 a year in additional taxes, although officials concede it is hard to estimate sales tax and vehicle excise tax burdens.   If voters reject the plan, it is unclear whether they will have another chance.   The state legislation that created the regional transit authority, which includes parts of three counties, expires at the end of the year.   --Seattle bureau 206-386-4848 
4751 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Democrats formally nominate President Bill Clinton for a second term on Wednesday, offering him as a man of principle and heart eager to lead the country to expanding prosperity for the rest of the century.   The 50-year-old former Arkansas governor was to be handed the nomination by a traditional roll call of the states at a convention session beginning after 8 p.m.   EDT (0001 GMT).   Clinton was in the final miles of a rail trip across the U.S. heartland in which the campaign themes he sounded in stops at small towns and big cities were repeated on the convention floor like the echo of a train whistle in the countryside.   On Wednesday he was to unveil a plan to spend nearly $2 billion to clean up poisoned industrial waste sites and to encourage businesses to restore and revitalise neglected and often abandoned urban manufacturing areas.   Clinton was to accept the nomination at the convention's closing session on Thursday.   In his acceptance speech, Clinton was expected to announce a small expansion of an existing capital gains tax exemption.   Under the proposal Clinton would extend the one-time $125,000 exemption on profits from the sale of a home, now limited to persons 55 years and older, to all Americans, Clinton aides said.   But the proposal would have little practical effect because most young Americans plough profits into another home.   White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta also said on Tuesday Clinton would propose a $3.4 billion jobs programme if re-elected, with tax credits to businesses among other measures.   Clinton was due in Chicago at about the same hour that the happy and confident throng of delegates crowding a sports arena began the process of making him the official nominee.   They appeared to have reason to celebrate.   An NBC poll of registered voters taken during the first two days of the convention and released on Wednesday showed Clinton with a 13-point lead over Republican nominee Bob Dole, compared to an eight-point margin two weeks ago.   An ABC poll on Tuesday showed Clinton's advantage among registered voters at 15 percentage points over Dole, a jump of five points between Sunday and Tuesday.   Dole, vacationing in Santa Barbara, California, appeared upbeat, cheered by internal polls showing he was only eight points behind Clinton in California, a must-win state for the Democrats.   Dole told reporters on Tuesday that his opponents would get a boost or "bump" in the polls from their show in Chicago but predicted it would evaporate.   "They'll get their little bump -- then they'll get bumped right out of the White House," Dole said.   First lady Hilary Rodham Clinton, who starred in Tuesday evening's convention session to long and boisterous standing ovations, told the Illinois delegation on Wednesday that the party had defined itself.   "I often hear people say 'Well I didn't leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me.   I think the Democratic party is back, and the Democratic party is no longer going to let other people characterise who we are or what we believe," she said.   "We're not going to remain silent in the face of all the misrepresentations," she added.   "We have leaders at the state and local level and now at the national level who haven't forgotten where they came from who still have the same values they were raised with."   In an interview broadcast NBC on Wednesday she said her husband's agenda is clear.   "He wants to continue the progress that he's made in the first term for average working Americans, giving them a break in the economy by making it possible for them not only to get jobs but get jobs with rising incomes, making it possible for them to have some more authority over their own lives and their own homes," she said. 
4752 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  First Union National Bank of Florida said on Wednesday it agreed to settle a class action law suit involving its collateral protection insurance (CPI) program.   To provide for the settlements, First Union has established a common fund of $4.7 million for cash refunds and $19.4 million in credit refunds for outstanding CPI balances.   The bank is a division of First Union Corp.   The bank said most of the charges resulted from loan portfolios from banks and thrifts that were acquired in the 1980s.   First Union said it has discontinued CPI as an element of its motor vehicle or boat installment loan contracts.   As part of the settlement agreement, customers who had CPI placed on loans from January 1, 1986 to September 31, 1996, will receive cash or credit refunds, the bank said.   Cash refunds will go to those who paid their loans to First Union while credit refunds will go to those who have existing loan balances, the bank said. 
4753 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Florida man faced 40 years in prison on Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of trying to steal 22 rolls of toilet paper worth less than $1.00 each.   Henry Stepney, 32 and homeless, had been arrested dozens of times for crimes including burglary, cocaine possession and assault but had served little jail time for those crimes, the Miami Herald reported on Wednesday.   But a jury found him guilty of petty theft and burglary, which prompted prosecutors to seek a severe penalty under a local law that prescribes stiff sentences for repeat offenders.   A pre-sentencing hearing has been set for Sept. 18.   The judge may decide not to stick to the 40-year guideline. 
4754 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Connecticut's unemployment rate dipped in July to 4.7 percent from 4.8 percent in June and the number of jobs grew by 4,800, the state Labor Department said.   The national unemployment rated was 5.4 percent in July.   Nonfarm jobs hit 1.58 million, compared with 1.56 million last July, the department said.   The service sector showed the largest gain in jobs, with an increase of 2,500.   Government jobs were up 1,200.   The largest decreases were in construction, down 700 jobs, and the finance, insurance and real estate sector, down 100.   "Tourism-related industries were especially vibrant, with employment in hotels and lodging places, gaming museums, marinas, air transportation and restaurants up over the year," said Lincoln Dyer, a labor analyst with the agency.   "The transition to more of a service-producing economy continues."   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
4755 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Carolina's unemployment rate held steady at six percent in July, the Employment Security Commission reported on Wednesday.   Non-farm employment was down 24,800 from the previous month.   Just over 90 percent of the loss occurred in government, where non-faculty workers were released from schools and colleges for summer vacation.   Temporary layoffs resulted in a drop of 2,100 jobs in the manufacturing sector, while trade and services also posted declines of 1,300 and 700, respectively.   Moderate jobs gains were posted in other industry divisions.   "We were not surprised that the state's rate held steady; our jobless rate usually does not change much from June to July," said Robert David, the commission's executive director.   --U.S. Municipal Desk, 212-859-1650 
4756 !C17 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT  Enron Corp chairman Ken Lay said on Tuesday Houston's business community would try to put together a financial package to help build new stadiums to keep the city's remaining professional sports teams from leaving town.   Lay told reporters that the private sector would likely have to raise up to $75 million to make the plan work, but that a meeting Tuesday of leaders from the city's top corporations indicated there was "strong support" for the idea.   The NFL's Houston Oilers have already signed a contract with Nashville, Tenn. to move the team there in 1998 and Houston Astros' owner Drayton McLane has said he will likely sell the team if he does not get a new stadium.   Both teams play in the Astrodome, a domed stadium that opened in 1965.   The Houston Rockets, who play in the Summit, have not yet threatened to leave town, but owner Les Alexander said he wants a new arena, too.   A city advisory committee said in May that Houston needs to build new baseball and basketball stadiums and refurbish the Astrodome for football only, all at a total cost of $625 million.   McLane has given local leaders until Sept. 3 to come up with a suitable plan for a new stadium or he will negotiate with a Virginia group that wants to buy the Astros and move the team to that state.   Talks between McLane and Harris County Judge Robert Eckels have stalled because of disagreements about where a new baseball stadium should be built.   Eckels wants it by the Astrodome, which is several miles from downtown, while McLane prefers a downtown site.   Lay said the business community also prefers a downtown site because it would help bring vitality to the city center.   "It could do some very important things in terms of revitalizing our downtown...and we think baseball would be a lot more successful downtown than it would be at a more remote location," he said.   Lay, whose Enron Corp. is one of the nation's largest energy firms, said the business community's involvement would likely take the form of investment in land or stadium facilities with the hope of making a modest return.   He said he would be meeting with business and government leaders in the next few days with the hope of presenting a financing plan sometime next week. 
4757 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  The French government flew some 15 Africans out of the country on Wednesday, ignoring protests against its tough immigration policies and using an air force plane after trade unionists threatened to block the flight.   Eyewitnesses saw the Africans taken aboard a wide-bodied Airbus A-310 which took off from Evreux airbase as thousands of angry demonstrators marched through Paris to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed.   There was no official comment on how many Africans were on board and where they were being flown to.   Human rights sources said they included three of 300 African protesters dragged out of a Paris church in a controversial police raid last week.   CIMADE, a group looking after immigrants, said the plane was bound for Mali and Senegal.   Sources in the Malian capital Bamako said a French flight was expected and would fly on to Kinshasa.   An air force Airbus flew 57 immigrants back to Mali, Senegal and Zaire last weekend.   Radio reports said two civilian aircraft left later from Evreux but it was not clear whether there were any Africans on board.   flights.   CIMADE said a deportation flight had been scheduled from Paris Roissy airport.   The CFDT union said the government had tried to charter an Air France plane to fly illegal immigrants back to Tunisia, Niger and Zaire.   It asked staff of the state-owned airline to prevent the flight.   Human rights activists, including dissident former bishop Jacques Gaillot, urged pilots to refuse to fly the deportees.   "We...solemnly ask you to uphold the dignity of French aviation by refusing to be part of this ignominy," they said.   Gaillot, Communist Party leader Robert Hue, and prominent human rights activists led Paris demonstrators chanting: "We all are children of immigrants."   Police estimated the marchers at 11,000, twice the size of a similar protest last week.   Some demonstrators clashed with riot police who stopped them marching to the Saint-Bernard church where the Africans had been holed up, 10 of them on a hunger strike they called off after 52 days.   Some 500 people protesting against the deportations marched through Lyon and Bordeaux.   A further 400 demonstrated in Rennes.   The government's handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since police raided the Paris church.   Four of the church protesters were deported at the weekend and 66 have received expulsion orders, some 20 of which could legally be enforced at any time.   Another 49 have been promised residence permits following a review of their cases on humanitarian grounds.   Human rights groups, labour unions and the left-wing opposition branded last week's police raid as a human rights disaster.   But the far-right National Front accused the conservative government of being too soft on immigration.   Government spokesman Alain Lamassoure defended the decision to evacuate the church as having saved the hunger strikers' lives.   He repeated that the government was determined to enforce 1993 laws to curb clandestine immigration while reviewing individual cases on humanitarian grounds. 
4758 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  The French government flew some 15 Africans out of the country on Wednesday, ignoring protests against its tough immigration policies and using an air force plane after trade unionists threatened to block the flight.   Eyewitnesses saw the Africans taken aboard a wide-bodied Airbus A-310 which took off from Evreux airbase as thousands of angry demonstrators marched through Paris to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed.   There was no official comment on how many Africans were on board and where they were being flown to.   Human rights sources said they included three of 300 African protesters dragged out of a Paris church in a controversial police raid last week.   CIMADE, a group looking after immigrants, said the plane was bound for Mali and Senegal.   Sources in the Malian capital Bamako said a French flight was expected and would fly on to Kinshasa.   An air force Airbus flew 57 immigrants back to Mali, Senegal and Zaire last weekend.   Radio reports said there could be two more deportation flights, from Evreux and Paris airport, later in the day.   The CFDT union said the government had tried to charter an Air France plane to fly illegal immigrants back to Tunisia, Niger and Zaire.   It asked staff of the state-owned airline to prevent the flight.   Human rights activists, including dissident former bishop Jacques Gaillot, urged pilots to refuse to fly the deportees.   "We...solemnly ask you to uphold the dignity of French aviation by refusing to be part of this ignominy," they said.   Gaillot, Communist Party leader Robert Hue, and prominent human rights activists led Paris demonstrators chanting: "We all are children of immigrants."   Police estimated the marchers at 11,000, twice the size of a similar protest last week.   Some demonstrators clashed with riot police who stopped them marching to the Saint-Bernard church where the Africans had been holed up, 10 of them on a hunger strike they called off after 52 days.   Some 500 people protesting against the deportations marched through Lyon and Bordeaux.   A further 400 demonstrated in Rennes.   The government's handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since police raided the Paris church.   Four of the church protesters were deported at the weekend and 66 have received expulsion orders, some 20 of which could legally be enforced at any time.   Another 49 have been promised residence permits following a review of their cases on humanitarian grounds.   Human rights groups, labour unions and the left-wing opposition branded last week's police raid as a human rights disaster.   But the far-right National Front accused the conservative government of being too soft on immigration.   Government spokesman Alain Lamassoure defended the decision to evacuate the church as having saved the hunger strikers' lives.   He repeated that the government was determined to enforce 1993 laws to curb clandestine immigration while reviewing individual cases on humanitarian grounds. 
4759 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police investigating Belgium's scandal of child kidnapping, porn and killing that has stunned Europe have files on 13 children who have gone missing over the past 10 years, a senior official said on Wednesday.   "Our first mission is looking for bodies.   We don't know how many there could be," Gendarmerie Commander Johan Dewinne told reporters after police spent a fruitless day digging at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, the man at the centre of the inquiry.   "We are working on 13 dossiers on missing children from the past 10 years," Dewinne, head of Belgium's disaster investigation team and leading the hunt for corpses, said.   Belgium was plunged into shock on August 17 as Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in the garden of another house he owns.   With them lay accomplice Bernard Weinstein, whom he admitted killing.   Gendarmerie spokesman Major Jean-Marie Boudin said digging would resume on Thursday, and Dewinne said he hoped to wrap up excavations at the house in Jumet, a suburb of the southern city of Charleroi, by Friday evening.   He said in all 11 sites would be systematically searched.   As the scandal reverberated around the country, the lawyer of convicted child rapist Dutroux refused to defend him.   "I have a little girl of Julie and Melissa's age, who has been really disturbed by these events, and I don't think she could have understood that her father was defending this man," lawyer Didier de Quevy told Belgian radio.   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of the six houses Dutroux owns in and around Charleroi.   Dutroux has also confessed to kidnapping teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrechts who disappeared from the port of Ostend a year ago.   Their fate remains unknown.   Battling against heavy rain on Wednesday, investigators dug in several places in the yard of the Jumet house and are due on Thursday to begin investigating the rubble-filled basement.   Britain's Superintendent John Bennett who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West "House of Horrors" murder case in England two years ago, was present on Wednesday.   There were also fresh searches at other sites including the house in Sars-La-Buissiere where Melissa and Julie were hidden.   Dutroux said the girls, who disappeared in June 1995, starved to death early this year, He denies killing them but admits paying accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap them.   They were buried in the eastern city of Liege on Thursday after what amounted to a state funeral amid outpourings of grief and anger.   As the searches continued in Belgium, Dutroux was named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one other Slovak woman.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair", including Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin who has been charged as an accomplice.   Martin and Lelievre were interrogated again on Wednesday.   There has been widespread anger over revelations of police bungling, and the Justice Ministry has ordered an inquiry.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, fuelling questions about a possible high-level cover-up.   There is also widespread disbelief that no one appeared to question how Dutroux, an unemployed father of three with no visible means of support, managed to own six houses. 
4760 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Protests against France's tough immigration policies flared again on Wednesday, spurred by rumours that the government was about to fly out two planeloads of Africans.   Several thousand people marched through Paris to support African immigrants demanding residence permits and an Air France union said it would try to prevent them from being expelled.   The demonstrators, led by Communist Party leader Robert Hue, dissident former bishop Jacques Gaillot and leading human rights activists, chanted: "We all are children of immigrants."   The CFDT union said it had learned of a government request to charter one of the state-owned airline's planes to fly illegal immigrants back to Tunisia, Niger and Zaire.   It described the plan as "a fresh violation of human rights."   CIMADE, an organisation looking after immigrants, said the government was also planning an air force flight to Mali and Senegal later in the day.   France 3 television said 15 Africans facing expulsion orders were taken from a detention centre to Evreux air base north of Paris.   An air force plane from Evreux returned more than 50 immigrants to Mali, Senegal, Zaire and Gabon last week.   "The CFDT's Air France branch is intervening immediately, at all levels of Air France management, to prevent the airline's planes and staff from being used in such police operations," the union said in a statement.   Leading human rights activists, including Gaillot, urged pilots to refuse to fly the deportees.   "We...solemnly ask you to uphold the dignity of French aviation by refusing to be part of this ignominy," they said.   Some 500 people protesting against the deportations marched through the central city of Lyon and a further 400 demonstrated in the western city of Rennes.   The government's handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since police raided a Paris church last week and dragged out some 300 Africans, 10 of whom had been on hunger strike.   Four of the Africans were deported on a previously scheduled charter flight at the weekend and 66 have received expulsion orders, some 20 of which could legally be enforced at any time.   Another 49 have been promised residence permits following a review of their cases on humanitarian grounds.   Human rights groups, labour unions and the left-wing opposition branded last week's police raid as a human rights disaster.   But the far-right National Front accused the conservative government of being too soft on immigration.   Supporters of the Africans scheduled a march in Paris later on Wednesday and the immigrants called for a demonstration on September 18 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in eastern France. 
4761 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian police on Wednesday suspended their search for bodies at a house owned by the chief suspect in the scandal of child kidnapping, porn and killing that has stunned Europe.   Gendarmerie spokesman Major Jean-Marie Boudin said digging would resume on Thursday.   As the scandal continued to reverberate around the country, the lawyer of convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux, the man at the centre of the storm, has refused to defend him.   Belgium was plunged into shock 11 days ago after Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in his garden.   Buried with them was an accomplice Bernard Weinstein, whom he admitted killing.   "I have a little girl of Julie and Melissa's age, who has been really disturbed by these events, and I don't think she could have understood that her father was defending this man," lawyer Didier de Quevy told Belgian radio.   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of the six houses Dutroux owns in and around the southern city of Charleroi.   Dutroux has also confessed to kidnapping teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrechts who disappeared from the port of Ostend a year ago.   Their fate remains unknown.   While hope flickers that An and Eefje may still be alive, speculation has grown in the Belgian media that five bodies might be hidden at the site in Jumet, near Charleroi.   The house has been the scene of intense police activity since Tuesday.   Battling against heavy rain, investigators used an excavator in the yard -- which had been cleared of debris -- and were completing digging beneath a concrete floor in a shed at four spots located on Tuesday by sniffer dogs.   "We're looking for all possible indications, but of course primarily bodies," Boudin told reporters earlier.   Boudin said the basement of the house was also being cleared out to allow sniffer dogs to search there, but reporters allowed a brief tour of the garden said the basement remained full of rubble and rubbish.   Britain's Superintendent John Bennett who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West "House of Horrors" murder case in England two years ago, was present on Wednesday.   There were also reports of fresh searches at other sites including Dutroux' house in Sars-La-Buissiere where Melissa and Julies' bodies were hidden.   Dutroux said the girls, who disappeared in June 1995, starved to death early this year, He denies killing them but admits paying accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap them.   As the searches continued in Belgium, Dutroux was named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair", including Doutroux' second wife Michelle Martin who has been charged as an accomplice.   Martin and Lelievre were both interrogated again on Wednesday.   There has been widespread anger over revelations of police bungling, and the Justice Ministry has ordered an inquiry.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, fuelling questions about a possible high-level cover-up.   At least 15 children have gone missing in Belgium in the past six years.   To date seven have been found dead, two have been rescued and six are still officially listed as missing. 
4762 !GCAT !GODD  Thousands of Spaniards saw red on Wednesday, pelting each other with armfuls of tomatoes in this year's crimson-drenched "tomatina", the world's worst tomato fight.   Streets, walls and windows in the eastern Spanish village of Bunol (pronounced Boo-nee-OL) were coated in a blood-red wash.   The ankle-deep puree on the main street testified to the success of a half-century-old event that now attracts up to 20,000 people a year, many of them foreigners, and some 100 tonnes of tomatoes trucked in for the occasion.   "I never saw anyone, I never saw anything.   You could just feel the tomatoes flying at you and nothing else," said a visitor, sitting waist-deep in the red sludge.   Two girls half-swam, half-crawled past behind him as he spoke.   A single firework shortly after midday signalled the start of the fruit-throwing frenzy.   Local historians say the tradition began in 1945 when disgruntled locals spontaneously began to bombard the priest and mayor at the annual fiesta in Bunol.   "Actually, I love tomatoes," said a Californian woman who had travelled across Spain from Portugal for the event.   "But I'm going to take a break (from eating them) for a while."   Some participants complained that not all tomatoes were ripe enough to be painless.   Other cowered in doorways, their arms around their heads and their backs to the mayhem, trying to avoid incoming fruit after taking painful hits.   But tomatina veterans were ready for the greenest of tomatoes that could head their way.   One wore a motorcycle helmet, another a swimming cap with goggles.   A third, wheelchair-bound, wore a bucket on his head.   The free-for-all lasted for an hour.   No place in Bunol seemed safe, as reporters who had sought vantage observation points on rooftops and balconies found out to their discomfort.   Television crews on main street balconies ended up fighting pitched tomato battles with revellers below.   One ageing local couple welcomed increased media coverage of the feast, saying a television truck parked outside their home had shielded them from the thick of the attacks.   Residents of Bunol were unfazed by the prospect of mopping up 100 tonnes' worth of squashed tomatoes.   The signal that the party was over was given with a second rocket blast.   Clean-up squads were deployed, armed with huge wooden rakes and powerful water hoses to clear the streets.   Residents who had taped plastic sheeting to the front of their houses began to take it down.   Brooms, brushes and buckets of soapy water were brought out.   An hour after the second firework, the only sign of anything unusual in Bunol was a myriad of little red specks everywhere -- and a few torn, tomato-soaked T-shirts draped over ligthing cables in mute testimony to the passion. 
4763 !GCAT !GPOL  President Jacques Chirac, chairing his first post-summer holiday cabinet meeting, urged his ministers on Wednesday to "get yourselves together" and exude optimistism in order to help snap France out of the doldrums.   "Now that the bulk of our programme is under way, we must display a wilful optimism which leads to dynamism and a winning spirit," Chirac, back from a Riviera holiday, told the cabinet, warning against conduct that would contribute to "the general gloom".   The government returned from its traditional summer break facing a daunting agenda including labour unrest over growing joblessness, renewed separatist violence on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, and anger over its botched handling of 300 African immigrants who occupied a Paris church in protest at hardline 1993 immigration law reforms.   "To listen to the...commentators, the government's return to work has been marked by gloom.   And this is true -- how could it be otherwise," Chirac said, according to government spokesman Alain Lamassoure.   "The social and economic situation, in spite of encouraging signs, remains difficult despite the government's determined efforts to improve the situation in a France that has been weakened by a long period of carelessness," Chirac said.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe later took up Chirac's refrain, saying the government needed to "go into high gear" on unemployment after acknowledging it had yet to achieve its goal of bringing down joblessness.   Speaking at the start of what was billed as a cabinet seminar, Juppe called for a new push to efforts to create jobs, cut taxes, trim working hours and promote small businesses.   According to a CSA poll published on Wednesday in the daily La Tribune, 54 percent of voters are pessimistic as they go back to work, with strikes, poverty and job losses topping worries.   The poll found that 77 percent expected strikes and trouble for the centre-right government in the autumn.   Record unemployment, planned public spending cuts and layoffs have infuriated unions, who are threatening a fresh wave of unrest in a possible revival of the lengthy public-sector strikes which virtually crippled France late last year.   Public anger also has been swelling over the government's handling of the Africans, evicted from the Saint-Bernard church after a two-month occupation begun in hopes of winning residence in France.   Juppe initially ignored the protest, but when it began to dominate the headlines he ordered hundreds of police to smash their way into the church.   To let the Africans remain would be illegal, he announced.   Human rights groups and opposition politicians expressed outrage at the raid.   But five days later, the government had expelled just four of the Africans and acknowledged that as many as two-thirds of the others might ultimately be allowed to stay, a development that angered the far-right National Front, which accused Chirac of encouraging illegal immigration.   On another sticky issue confronting the cabinet, Chirac aides said he would meet on Friday a delegation of cattle breeders upset by plummeting beef prices due to fears over mad cow disease.   The breeders have been marching across France toward the capital to publicise their plight. 
4764 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  A U.S. official said Iranian Revoloutionary Guard forces are collecting protection money from shippers, allowing illegal movement of Iraqi gasoil through the Persian Gulf, busting sanctions designed to prohibit such actions.   U.S. allegations are based on statistical data, confirmed by personal interviews with those involved in the illicit trade, and other physical proof, the official said.   Iranian involvement is based on simple profiteering, the U.S. official said.    "The motivation is fairly clear, the Iranians in fact realize a greater profit from these shipments than the Iraqis do," the official said.   "(The Revoloutionary Guards) are collecting the fee for transit through Iranian waters," the official said.   The U.S. official spoke to reporters following a news conference Wednesday by the head of the U.N. Security Council sanctions panel, German Ambassador Tono Eitel.   The committee reviewed the U.S. evidence, and will consider taking further action after the U.S. charges are put into written form.    "There is photographic evidence at oil loading facilities in Iraq, details of interdictions by the force and the results of discussions or interviews with the captains and masters of those vessels in which a number of them admit they loaded oil in Iraq but purchased documentation from Iranian officials," said the U.S. official.   Sources said the ultimate destination of the Iraqi gasoil were locations in Dubai, Pakistan and India.   The U.S. official said the Iraqis "in their desperation to sell oil" are dumping the gasoil as low as $15 a metric tonne for ships willing to come into Iraq and load.    "The Iranians then often extract as much as $55 per metric tonne in these protection fees, and it leaves still, if the world price fluctuates between $180 and $200 per metric tonne, a pretty substantial profit for a ship's captain who is willing to undertake this kind of voyage," the U.S. official said.   The official said there was a pattern of Iraqi attempts at shipping oil out in large tankers in 1992-1994, but the work of the multi-national naval task force stifled the activity.   However, starting late in 1995, the United States said, Iraq resorted to shipping oil products out on tugs with barges and other small ships, trying to avoid notice of the task force.    "They are perhaps more difficult for the multi-national force to intercept because they are smaller and more numerous," said the U.S. official.   The U.S. does not have the exact number of ships involved or the amount of gasoil at this time, the official said.   It was hoped that the attention of the world community would hopefully force Iran to cease its actions, but further action would be discussed at the proper time, the official said.   -Patrick Connole, United Nations, +1 212 355 6053 
4765 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The head of the U.N. Security Council sanctions committee said physical evidence presented Wednesday by the United States of illicit Iraqi gas oil shipments in the Persian Gulf warranted further investigation.   German Ambassador Tono Eitel, head of the sanctions panel, said two representatives from the U.S. State Department presented statistics and slides showing a growing trade in refined oil sales originating in Iraq.   "It is still going on and in an increased way.   The curve was mounting," said Eitel of the data provided.   Eitel would not say which "coastal state" was aiding Iraq in the alleged gas oil sales, but diplomats said it was well-known the country under scrutiny was Iran.   "From what I've seen there is indeed suspicion, justified that this needs further investigation," said Eitel.   The U.S. presentation will now be put into written form, and will be discussed at a future date by the sanctions panel.   "When we get written information we may take it up again," said Eitel.   -Patrick Connole, United Nations, +1 212 355 6503 
4766 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The United States on Wednesday said it delayed any action on Turkey's request for relief from Iraqi sanctions until the new oil-for-food deal between Baghdad and the United Nations was implemented.   "The United States believes an evaluation of the full effect that (the oil for food plan) will have on Turkey is required before the United Nations can address Turkey's need for additional relief," a U.S. statement said.   In effect, diplomats said Washington had politely turned down Turkey's request for special allocations of Iraqi crude above and beyond what would be permitted under the new deal.    Turkey wants to supply Iraq with food and medicine in return for importing Iraqi crude oil beyond what the oil-for-food agreement provided.   The oil-for-food deal, signed on May 20, allows Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil every six months to buy food, medicine and other supplies for its population suffering under sanctions imposed in August 1990 after Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait.   The oil-for-food deal is an exemption to the sanctions.   "The continuation of the sanctions regime is in the vital interest of the international community, including Turkey," said a statement from the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.    "The United States believes that U.N. Security Council resolution 986 provides additional economic opporunities for Turkey," the statement said in reference to the resolution that set up the oil-for-food plan.   But the statement said Washington "remains committed to look for ways to address Turkey's needs within the framework of the sanctions regime."   It said that Washington recognized that Turkey had borne a special economic burden in cutting off trade with Iraq.    But it noted that the new oil-for-food deal, which is expected to be implemented next month, stipulates that most of Iraq's crude exports have to be transported through the pipeline to Turkey.   It also encouraged the United Nations to buy goods in Turkey for its humanitarian program for Kurds in the northern part of the country. 
4767 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police investigating Belgium's scandal of child kidnapping, porn and killing scandal that has revolted Europe dig again on Thursday at one of the six houses owned by the man at the centre of the inquiry Marc Dutroux.   Although the search has focused on two teenagers -- An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks -- who Dutroux has admitted kidnapping a year ago, police have files on 13 children who have gone missing over the past 10 years.   "We are working on 13 dossiers on missing children from the past 10 years," Gendarmerie Commander Johan Dewinne told reporters late on Wednesday after police spent a fruitless day digging at one of the houses owned by Dutroux in and around the southern city of Charleroi.   The nation went into shock on August 17 as Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in the garden of another house he owns.   With them lay accomplice Bernard Weinstein, whom he admitted killing.   Dutroux, 39 and described as cold and manipulative, was released 10 years early in 1992 for good behaviour from a 13-year sentence for multiple child rape, violence and illegal imprisonment.   Dewinne, head of the Belgian disaster investigation squad and leading the hunt for corpses and clues, said he hoped to wrap up excavations at the house in Jumet, a suburb of Charleroi, by Friday evening.   He said a total of 11 sites would be searched in coming days.   As the scandal echoed around the country, the lawyer who defended Dutroux in 1989 on the rape charges refused to defend him again on moral grounds.   Dutroux, a father of three, and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of the houses Dutroux owns.   The fate of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrechts remains unknown, although since the Dutroux arrest police have continually put a hopeful slant on their declarations about the fate of the pair.   Britain's Superintendent John Bennett who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West serial murder case in England two years ago, was present on Wednesday.   There were also fresh searches at other sites including the house in Sars-La-Buissiere where Melissa and Julie were hidden.   Dutroux said the girls, who disappeared in June 1995, starved to death early this year, He denies killing them but admits paying accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap them.   They were buried in the eastern city of Liege on Thursday after what amounted to a state funeral amid outpourings of grief and anger.   As the searches continued in Belgium, Dutroux was named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one other Slovak woman.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair", including Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin who has been charged as an accomplice.   Martin and Lelievre were interrogated again on Wednesday.   There has been widespread anger over revelations of police bungling, and the Justice Ministry has ordered an inquiry.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, fuelling questions about a possible high-level cover-up.   There is also widespread disbelief that no one appeared to question how Dutroux, an unemployed father of three with no visible means of support, managed to own six houses. 
4768 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV !GHEA  Two German physicians have filed a civil action to close down a nuclear power plant, alleging it is responsible for a high number of cancer cases in the area, their lawyer said on Wednesday.   "All indications show that the high rate of leukaemia in children in the immediate vicinity of the Kruemmel plant is caused by the plant," lawyer Wolfgang Baumann told Reuters.   Doctors Hajo Dieckmann and Hans-Ulrich Clever are seeking to close down and withdraw the operating licence of the Kruemmel nuclear power plant in the coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein, charging radioactive emissions from the plant are directly responsible for the high local incidence of leukaemia.   The Mainz children's cancer register shows that the incidence of leukaemia among children around Kruemmel is up to 70 times higher than in the rest of the country.   But Hamburg Elektrizitaets-Werke, operators of the plant which has been running for over 25 years, remains convinced that there is no direct link between the plant and the high incidence of illness.   Today's civil action is the lastest in a long string of legal suits attempting to close down the Kruemmel plant.   Last week Germany's federal court in Berlin overturned a 1994 Schleswig administrative court decision keeping the plant running after an environmental group demanded it be shut because it was operating with unauthorised combustion elements.   The federal court now demands the local court look into whether there is a link between the cancer rates and the plant.   Baumann said the Diekmann and Clever action was even broader than that filed by the environmentalists.   "We are seeking to shut the plant for good," Baumann said, adding that effectively there were now two legal actions progressing at the same time.   However Baumann said it would take a number of months before a decision is handed down in his case.   "I don't expect to hear anything before the end of this year." 
4769 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Burundi's ambassador on Wednesday lashed out at economic sanctions imposed by African states and said any thought of an arms embargo would be a windfall for guerrillas fighting his army-run government.   In a lengthy debate on Burundi before the U.N. Security Council, Ambassador Nsanze Terence said the new military government took over to stabilise the country and wanted negotiations under former Tanzanian President Julius Nyrere.   Nearly every African member who spoke, as well as most Security Council members, however, were unsympathetic towards the government of President Pierre Buyoya, an army major put in power in a July coup by the Tutsi-run military, which is locked in a guerrilla war with the majority Hutus.   "These (African) brothers should have been the first to bind the wounds of Burundi," Terence said of the economic embargo.   "Quite the contrary, Burundi has seen economic war declared against it by fellow African people ... a gratuitous immolation of the people of Burundi."   He said his government had just asked U.N. human rights monitors to increase their numbers in Burundi in an effort "to put an end to this vicious circle of violence."   More than 150,000 people have been killed in violence between the minority Tutsis and the majority Hutus since 1993.   Botswana's envoy, Mothusi Nkgowe, said coups should be relegated "to the dump heap of history" as there could be no justification for the overthrow of a legitimate government.   Chile has proposed a resolution, still under discussion, that would impose an immediate arms embargo on Burundi and call for negotiations.   The draft suggests further sanctions against those who impede a political solution.   Among the council's five permanent members, Russia and the United States appeared to support most elements of the Chilean proposal, while Britain, France and China were cautious.   Terence, a Tutsi, said any arms embargo would leave the army unable to defend itself against Hutu guerrillas and leave the population exposed to "armed terroritsts."   But Chilean Ambassador Juan Somavia said: "Every weapon that reached Burundi is a weapon aimed mainly at killing an unarmed civilian.   We must not send a signal different from the African leaders themselves.   Inaction is becoming the worst possible course of action."   Burundi's parliament has been suspended and political parties are banned but Terence told reporters Buyoya would reconvene a new type of national assembly in October.   The United States said the coup leaders had taken no steps to restore democracy and indiscriminate killings continued.   Ambassador Karl Inderfurth said the new government should have "unconditional" negotiations with all parties inside and outside of the country.   He said Washington strongly supported the economic sanctions imposed already and if these did not work the council would consider "an arms embargo or targeted sanctions against faction leaders."   But he said the international community had to be prepared for the worst and avoid a replay of the horrors in neighbouring Rwanda, where widespread genocide broke out against the Tutsis two years ago.   He again said the United Nations should draw up contingency plans for a rapid humanitarian intervention. 
4770 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Algeria, fighting a vicious war against Moslem fundamentalist guerrillas, attacked Britain on Wednesday for allowing Islamist groups to meet in London.   The Islamist gathering, due to be held in London on September 8, has triggered concern and anger in several other Arab countries like Egypt which is also fighting armed Moslem fundamentalists.   British Jewish groups have also voiced protest because they said Palestinian Islamist Hamas as well as the banned Algerian Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) are among those radical Islamists attending the conference.   A foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement read on Algerian television that Algeria "has received with concern the information over a meeting of terrorist groups working against the interests of the Arab and Islamic world."   "Algeria expresses its sharp rejection of a meeting putting together masterminds and ideologists and financers of terrorism," the spokesman said, adding the Algerian government has asked the British embassy in Algiers for clarifications.   The Algerian ambassador in London has also asked for clarification from the Foreign Office over the meeting of Islamist groups.   Algeria said "they are clearly working to undermine the stability" of Arab countries.   British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday from Pakistan his government would only take action against the planned Islamists gathering in London if British law was broken.   "People who wish to hold conferences of course don't need to seek permission from the government in Britain," he said.   An estimated 50,000 people, including more than 110 foreigners, have been killed in Algeria's violence pitting Moslem rebels against government forces since early 1992 when authorities in Algeria cancelled a general election in which FIS had taken a commanding lead. 
4771 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV !GHEA  Two Germans physicians have filed a civil action to close down a nuclear power plant in northern Germany alleging the plant is responsible for a high number of cancer cases in the area, a lawyer said on Wednesday.   Dr. Hajo Dieckmann and Dr. Hans-Ulrich Clever seek to close down and withdraw the operating licence of the Kruemmel nuclear power plant in the coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein, charging radioactive emissions from the plant are directly responsible for the high local incidence of leukemia. 
4772 !G15 !G155 !G158 !GCAT  German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said on Wednesday that substantial work still had to be done before the the European Union community could accept new members but its enlargement was just a matter of time.   The EU has reached association agreements, aimed at preparing them for full membership, with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia.   Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.   Cyprus and Malta have also applied to join.   "For them it's not about 'whether' (they will join), but about the 'how' and the 'when'," Kinkel told a conference on European integration in the Tyrolean mountain resort of Alpbach.   "The enlargement is necessary and there are no alternatives."   Kinkel, who earlier assured the foreign minister of the three Baltic states that Germany would continue to support their case for early admission, said prospective members had no choice but to adjust to the EU's political and economic standards.   "Justified expectations should not be dashed, but on the other hand we can't sacrifice hard-won European progress," he said.   "It has to be done properly, otherwise the whole idea of integration is in danger."   He said the candidates would have to prepare thoroughly for membership, both politically and economically.   "There can and will be no short cuts.   And no exceptions from necessary reforms," he said.   But Kinkel said the EU in its present form was not yet ready to cope with a potentially large number of new member states and had to do its homework first.   "Today, in the Europe of 15 (member states), we are already at the limit of our capacities.   An expansion of up to 27 members without institutional changes would lead to a collapse," he said.   Kinkel said the community's institutions, set up in 1957 for the six founding members, would have to be streamlined, the number of commissioners reduced and the role of the European parliament strengthened.   He also said the EU had no choice but to complete a thorough reform of its Common Agricultural Policy and agree on other ways of reigning in its ballooning budget.   "The burdens have to be distributed a little more evenly," he said.   Germany, one of the fiercest proponents of EU enlargement, is by far the largest net contributor to its funds. 
4773 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  A Spanish judge on Wednesday freed an officer accused of participation in a "dirty war" on Basque ETA rebels, saying the government had undermined the case with its refusal to declassify secret files on the 1983-87 drive.   Lieutenant Pedro Gomez Nieto, on trial as an accomplice in the 1983 murder of two presumed ETA members, was set free but is barred from leaving Spain.   He must report to police regularly.   The judge handling the case bitterly criticised the new conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar for turning down courts' requests to declassify key military files on the campaign of bombings, kidnappings, torture and murder which killed 27 people -- one-third of them by mistake.   Aznar, who had denounced the earlier refusal by his Socialist predecessors to declassify these files, has now decided they must remain secret for the sake of the state.   Judge Javier Gomez de Liano said in his writ on Wednesday the decision, taken at a cabinet meeting early this month, may have put whole categories of crimes out of the courts' reach.   He said the case against Gomez Nieto, accused of watching as the two presumed ETA rebels were being shot dead in custody, was based on some of these papers.   The judge said the government's refusal on the secret files affected a case involving "not a handful of irrelevant misdemeanors, but evidence of a tragic series of kidnappings, torture and murders."   Spanish judges have copies of nearly two dozen incriminating documents spirited out of CESID, the country's military intelligence agency.   The papers are legally worthless in court unless the government confirms their authenticity.   Aznar's predecessor, Socialist leader Felipe Gonzalez, denies any role in the "dirty war" against ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom), which has killed nearly 800 people in a drive for independence begun in 1968.   Gonzalez's first interior minister, Jose Barrionuevo, is on trial on three criminal charges, accused of creating and financing the shadowy Anti-Terrorist Liberation Groups (GAL) -- a front for members of the security forces and hired gunmen.   The Supreme Court is due to decide next Thursday whether it wants to question Gonzalez himself. 
4774 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl on Wednesday made clear that Germany was determined to ensure the launch of Europe's common currency, but would not tolerate any politicial compromises along the way.   Speaking at a private celebration in honour of Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer's 65th birthday, Kohl said: "The Euro must come, but there should be no feeble compromises."   Kohl's comments were summarised to news agencies by a Bundesbank spokesman in a telephone conference.   A smoldering debate on the criteria set out in the Maastricht Treaty governing the European Economic and Monetary Union erupted again over the weekend when Italian officials urged that the criteria be renegotiated due to a sluggish economy.   While several German officials, including Bundesbank chief economist Otmar Issing, vehemently rejected the idea of any change to entry criteria, one senior German economist suggested at least a delay in the launch date.   Herbert Hax, chairman of Germany's council of economic advisors known as the five wise men suggested monetary union should be postponed as long as it takes for at least five countires to meet convergence criteria.   Currently, a number on European nations, including Germany, are having difficulties paring budget deficits to around three percent of gross domestic product and cutting government debt to around 60 percent of GDP as required.   The currency union is scheduled to begin on January 1, 1999 and the new currency, the Euro, is slated to be introducted between 1999 and 2002.   Similarly, Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer said he backed the integration, but warned the basis must be right.   "I wholeheartedly back the integration, but the foundations must be the right ones," he was quoted as saying.   Tietmeyer also said that to secure the durability for the currency union an additional set of rules enforcing fiscal austerity must be adopted.   "I hope the stability pact will become a basis for the currency union," Tietmeyer said, adding that such a set of rules, seeking to punish nations who stray in fiscal matters, would enhance the union's credibility among markets and citizens.   Marking the occassion the festive occassion, Kohl, both a political ally and long-time friend of Tietmeyer's, bestowed bestowed one of Germany's highest honours for civil service, the Grosses Bundesverdienstkreuz, on the Bundesbank President.   While Kohl said his government had not always benefitted from the fact the Bundesbank is such a fiercely independent institution, he had always valued the bank's unwavering inflation fighting policies as a private citizen.   Before coming to the Bundesbank, Tietmeyer had a long and distinguished career in government, serving as state secretary in the Finance Ministry and an advisor charged with handling German monetary union.   -Frankfurt Newsroom, +49 69 756525 
4775 !GCAT !GPOL  A French air force plane carrying about 15 expelled African immigrants took off from an airbase northwest of Paris on Wednesday, eyewitnesses said.   They saw the Africans being taken aboard the Airbus which took off from Evreux airbase shortly after 8 p.m. (1800 GMT).    There was no official indication of how many Africans were on board and where the plane was heading.   Officials at the airbase declined to comment.   It was not clear how many, if any, of 300 African protesters evicted from a Paris church in a controversial police raid last week were on board.   Sources in the west African state of Mali said a French plane was expected after a stopover in Rabat and would fly on to Kinshasa.   As the plane left, several thousand demonstrators marched through Paris to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and France's tough immigration laws reviewed. 
4776 !GCAT !GDIS  A German climber was missing after falling in poor weather on Mont Blanc, Europe's highest mountain, rescuers said on Wednesday.   They said his brother was rescued unhurt.   The unnamed climber fell on Tuesday while climbing towards a refuge on the 3,700-metre (12,140-ft) Aiguille du Gouter, on the easy route to the top of 4,807-metre (15,770-ft) Mont Blanc.   Poor weather halted search operations early on Wednesday. 
4777 !GCAT !GENT  The United Nations on Wednesday launched the first worldwide archive of prehistoric and primitive art, to house a computerised archive of more than 20,000 images including paintings and engravings.   The World Archive of Rock Art (WARA) will be carried out by the Camuno Centre for Prehistoric Art based in the Alpine town of Capo di Ponte, which already houses a huge archive of prehistoric art.   "It is a chance to rediscover our subconscious, these are images made by us, even though they were made 40,000 years ago", the centre's director Professor Emmanuel Anati told Reuters in a telephone interview.   "We even get politicians calling us because they are looking for a logo, and it's much easier to use an ancient symbol than to create a new one," he added.   Anati said the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) would finance the project for the first three years, adding that he hoped private sponsors would then step into the breech.   He did not say how much funding UNESCO was offering. 
4778 !GCAT !GCRIM  An Austrian has been arrested on suspicion of trafficking in children from Slovakia and producing child pornography films, the Austrian press agency APA said on Wednesday.   The weekly News magazine reported that the man belonged to a pornography ring which provided clients in Vienna with a choice of 70 girls, largely from Slovakia, aged between seven and 13.   Police were not immediately available for comment and it was not yet known whether the case was linked to the child pornography scandal in Belgium.   News said authorities in Austria had been working closely with police in Germany and Slovakia for the past few weeks. 
4779 !GCAT !GDIP  Eritrea told the United Nations on Wednesday it had withdrawn its troops from a small Red Sea island in an effort to resolve its dispute with Yemen, a U.N. spokeswoman said.   French diplomats confirmed that the withdrawal apparently had taken place, according to U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa.   She said Eritrean diplomats gave U.N. officials "verbal assurances that it had withdrawn."   In turn she said France, which is mediating the dispute, said its envoys "saw no visible presence on the island."   Foa said Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali would inform Yemen accordingly.   At issue is the Lesser Hanish island near tanker routes in the Red Sea's southern entrance.   Eritrea and Yemen fought briefly over the lesser Hanish and other disputed Red Sea islands last December and then asked the United Nations to mediate.   Boutros-Ghali turned the negotiating process over to France, which has offered international arbitration procedures to settle the dispute. 
4780 !C13 !C31 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Italian banks are waiting for the government to present its 1997 budget at the end of September before lowering their rates, the president of the Italian Banking Association (ABI) said on Wednesday.   Istituto Bancario San Paolo di Torino cut its prime rate to 10.25 percent from a previous 10.75 percent on Friday but to date, no other Italian bank has followed suit.   "San Paolo reduced (its prime) convinced that it could do so given its economic position.   I believe the banking system as a whole will wait until the budget is unveiled," Tancredi Bianchi told Reuters.   "The banks fear the government will introduce budget provisions which will harm them," Bianchi added.   -- Rome newsroom +396 6782501 
4781 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian police have been searching 11 days for more bodies, clues and survivors in a scandal of child-murder, sex-abuse, kidnapping and pornography blamed on a deadly network of paedophiles.   So far police have arrested 10 people -- nine men and one woman.   Here is the grim timetable of events that sent shockwaves of revulsion across Europe.   - Aug 13, 1996: Police hunting for Laetitia Delhez, 14, detain chief suspect Marc Dutroux, Michel Lelievre and Michelle Martin after eyewitness recalls part of licence plate of van seen near scene of her abduction five days earlier.   - Aug 15: Dutroux leads police to house he owns in Rue de Philippeville in Charleroi suburb of Marcinelle.   They find Laetitia and Sabine Dardenne, 12, who was abducted in May, in a secret prison in the cellar.   - Aug 16: Dutroux and Lelievre charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment of children.   - Aug 17: Dutroux takes police to house he owns in Rue de Rubignies in village of Sars-La-Buissiere, south west of Charleroi.   Excavations uncover bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo kidnapped in June 1995.   Dutroux says they starved to death in February or March this year.   Police also find body of Dutroux accomplice Bernard Weinstein who Dutroux admits killing.   Dutroux also admits abducting two girls still missing, An Marchal, 17, and Eefje Lambrecks, 19, in Aug 1995.   - Aug 18: Excavations go on at Sars-La-Buissiere, start at another house he owns in Rue des Hayettes in Charleroi suburb of Mont-sur-Marchienne which is occupied by Michael Diakostavrianos, and fresh searches at Marcinelle house.   Police confiscate quantities of video tapes and magazines from Mont-sur-Marchienne house.   - Aug 19: Michelle Martin charged as accomplice to Dutroux and Lelievre.   Searches spread to Dutroux' three other houses -- Rue Leopold le Noble in Charleroi suburb of Jemeppe-sue-Sambre, Rue Daubresse in Charleroi suburb of Jumet and formerly occupied by Weinstein, and Rue Jules Destree in Charleroi suburb of Marchienne-au-Pont and home of Lelievre.   Marchienne-au-Pont house reveals trench-like cells for holding children in the basement.   Jumet house reveals children's clothing, more pornographic material and a gun.   In all searches police use dogs specially trained to find bodies.   They also bring in British police Superintendent John Bennett and special radar imaging equipment he used to unmask Fred and Rosemary West in Britain's "House of Horrors" sexual-murder investigation.   - Aug 20: Belgian police contact Interpol for help.   Brussels businessman Jean-Michel Nihoul, a contact of Dutroux, is charged with criminal association.   - Aug 22: Julie and Melissa buried in virtual state funeral in Liege.   Thousands throng streets to pay last respects.   Michael Diakostavrianos arrested and charged with criminal associaton.   Dutchman, 74, held near Amsterdam in connection with investigations.   House searched but nothing found.   He released a few days later.   - Aug 23: Claude Thirault, associate of Dutroux, arrested and charged with criminal association.   - Aug 24/25: Dutroux and Diakostavrianos questioned through the night.   - Aug 25: Police in sex-scandal investigation arrest Chief Detective Georges Zicot - specialist in tackling vehicle theft - for alleged truck theft, insurance fraud and document forgery.   Two others, Gerard Pinon and Thierry Dehaan also arrested in connection with the vehicle theft ring.   Police start excavating at property of German-born scrap merchant.   They find nothing.   - Aug 26: Pierre Rochow, the scrap metal dealer's son, arrested on charges related to theft and receiving stolen goods.   - Aug 27/28: Police intensify digging in and around the house in Jumet.   - Aug 28: Slovakian office of interpol announces that Dutroux suspected of murdering a young Slovak woman and planning kidnap of at least one more. 
4782 !GCAT !GVIO  Swiss authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested a former Rwandan mayor, now living in Switzerland, on suspicion of violating human rights during the genocide in his country in 1994.   The Defence Ministry said in a statement that investigations were still in the preliminary stage but it was cooperating closely with police in the cantons of Geneva and Freiburg.   It did not identify the man. 
4783 !C11 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Wednesday it had started a routine review of a proposed missile joint venture between British Aerospace and Lagardere Groupe's Matra missile unit.   A European Union source said the Commission would only investigate the non-military aspects of the joint venture in line with instructions to the companies from the British and French governments.   The EU treaty allows national governments to maintain sole jurisdiction over arms production to protect essential security interests.   However, the Commission has the right to investigate aspects of defence industry deals which affect civilian products or "dual-use" products with both military and civilian uses.   The Commission said in a statement the deal could fall within the scope of the European Union's merger regulation, which bans the creation or strengthening of a dominant position.   It has about one month to either clear the deal or decide to start a detailed investigation.   Most corporate deals are cleared after the first phase.   The Commission said it had been notified about the deal on August 21.   BAe and the Lagardere announced earlier in August that they had signed a deal to merge their guided missile activities into a joint venture.   The venture with Lagardere's Matra business, to be called Matra/ BAE Dynamics, will have annual turnover of around one billion pounds and employ about 6,000 people in Britain and France.   The move to create the biggest guided weapons business in Europe was seen as a step towards consolidating the European defence industry to make it more effective against U.S. competitors in a tough world market for exports.   -- Brussels newsroom +32 2 287 68 11 
4784 !C11 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Wednesday it had started a routine review of a proposed missile joint venture between British Aerospace and Lagardere Groupe.   A European Union source said the Commission would only investigate the non-military aspects of the joint venture in line with instructions to the companies from the British and French governments.   The EU treaty's article 223 allows national governments to maintain sole jurisdiction over arms production to protect essential security interests.   However, the Commission has the right to investigate aspects of defence industry deals which affect civilian products or "dual-use" products with both military and civilian uses.   The Commission said in a statement the deal could fall within the scope of the European Union's merger regulation, which bans the creation or strengthening of a dominant position.   It has about one month to either clear the deal or decide to start a detailed investigation.   Most corporate deals are cleared after the first phase.   The Commission said it had been notified about the deal on August 21.   BAe and the Lagardere announced earlier in August that they had signed a deal to merge their guided missile activities into a joint venture.   The venture with Lagardere's Matra business, to be called Matra BAE Dynamics, will have annual turnover of around one billion pounds and employ about 6,000 people in Britain and France.   The move to create the biggest guided weapons business in Europe was seen as a step towards consolidating the European defence market to make it more effective against U.S. competitors in a tough world market for exports. 
4785 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel on Wednesday assured his counterparts from the three Baltic states that Germany would continue to champion their case for early admission to the European Union.   Kinkel, speaking after a meeting with the foreign ministers of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia in Leipzig, also urged them to continue to work closely with NATO while the West tries to persuade Russia to accept the alliance's expansion.   "Germany remains the advocate of the Baltic states on their path to the European Union," Kinkel said after the meeting, held to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Germany and the Baltic states.   Since regaining independence in 1991 after 50 years of Soviet rule, the Baltic states have applied to join both the EU and NATO.   They already have association agreements with the EU and are members of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme.   "We are trying to convince Russia that the planned (eastward) expansion of NATO is not a move against Russia," Kinkel told reporters. 
4786 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Austrian Finance Minister Viktor Klima said on Wednesday Europe's single currency would be introduced on schedule in 1999 and that Austria would be among the first countries to join.   "We will have a currency union from January 1st, 1999, and Austria will take part in it," Klima told an economic conference in this picturesque Tyrolean mountain village.   Klima said Austria fully supported the introduction of a stability pact to prevent countries from running up excessive deficit and debt levels once they had joined European Monetary Union (EMU).   "We are striving to set up such a stability pact," he said.   The Social Democrat minister said the so-called Maastricht criteria for EMU membership should not be watered down.   The criteria, which set entry requirements for prospective members in terms of debt, deficit and inflation levels, posed minimum standards that every prudent finance minister should aim for anyway, he argued.   "It must be our goal to remain below those levels when the economy is going well and to regard them as the upper limit in times of economic difficulties," he said.   Austria joined the European Union and its exchange rate mechanism at the start of 1995.   Its domestic currency, the schilling, has been tied to the German mark for almost two decades.   -- Knut Engelmann, Alpbach newsroom +43 5336 5597 
4787 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Former Tanzanian president Julius Nyerere, the internationally-backed mediator for Burundi, had an informal meeting with an Italian Catholic peace organisation on Wednesday on the prospects for peace talks for the country.   "We met this morning to discuss an effective diplomatic strategy," said a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Sant' Egidio Community which has been following the Burundi crisis closely.   He said Sant' Egidio representatives also met the U.S. special representative to Burundi, Howard Wolpe, who is in Rome ahead of a vacation in Italy, on Tuesday evening.   Diplomatic sources said the hope was that Nyerere's talks could help to pave the way for a dialogue, which Sant' Egidio would be willing to sponsor.   A U.S. embassy spokesman said Wolpe and Nyerere were due to meet on Wednesday.   Sant' Egidio, which has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize for its work, including mediation helping to end the civil war in Mozambique and a meeting of Algerian opposition leaders, said no formal contacts on Burundi were foreseen immediately.   The Central African state is in the grip of tight sanctions imposed by regional states following an army coup on July 25 against civilian Hutu president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya by retired Tutsi army major Pierre Buyoya.   A committee to monitor the sanctions is due to meet for the first time in Tanzania next week to review their effectiveness.   A spokesman for Nyerere, a respected elder statesman, said no formal meetings on Burundi were planned but he noted that by a timely "coincidence" the European Union's envoy to Burundi, Aldo Ajello, as well as Wolpe, was now in Rome.   He said Nyerere was in Italy for a conference organised by the Lay Volunteers International Association, which is due to present him with a prize on Sunday for his work for peace and development. 
4788 !GCAT !GODD  Workers fixing the ceiling of a tax office in Paris found a dozen seven-year-old cheques for a total of six million francs ($1.2 million) in a ventilation pipe, the weekly Le Canard Enchaine said on Wednesday.   A Finance Ministry official explained that the cheques for corporate tax payments had been sucked into the ventilation system, the weekly reported.   The companies had been contacted at the time and had not been fined for failing to pay, the official said. 
4789 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Talks on a new labour agreement involving some 180,000 workers in the Dutch metal industries have stalled, raising the possiblity of nationwide strike action on September 16, union officials said on Wednesday.   But sources at the two main metal producing plants -- Hoogovens (aluminium/steel) and Budel Zinc, owned by Australia's Pasminco Ltd -- said there was no danger, at least initially, of production levels being affected.   A Hoogovens spokeswoman said in any case the company lay outside any national union agreement and had negotiated its own separate workers' pact, due for renewal on April 1 next year.   Production at Hoogovens would be unaffected, she said.   At Budel Zinc the situation was less clear.   Union sources said around half the 600-strong workforce belonged to the union although they added members there would not be involved in the initial phase of any national strike.   "The first one-day stoppages would be at other plants, not at Budel Zinc where it is hard to stop the continuous production process," said Mari Martens, regional officer of the FNV union.   "It's very difficult to call a strike there.   In recent years there has never been one," he told Reuters.   But Martens, who has responsibility for workers at Budel Zinc, said he did not rule out industrial action at the plant at some time in the future, should the dispute remain unresolved.   The general manager of Budel Zinc, Wim de Graaf, was unavailable for comment.   Unions said the talks with the employers' federation had broken down over pay levels and provisions for early retirement.   Should this stalemate persist, a ballot will be held and if 75 percent of members agree, a strike called for September 16.   No date had yet been set for a ballot and negotiations were continuing, they said.   But even if a strike date were set, under Dutch law, individual companies at this stage would still have the right to negotiate separate deals involving their own workers and so exempt them from any strike action.   --David Evans, Amsterdam Newsroom +31 20 504 5000 
4790 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Swiss government said it has made cuts in planned spending for 1997 to keep federal expenditures at the 1996 level of about 44 billion Swiss francs.   The reductions would mean expenditures about 1.34 billion francs below the projected level of 45.33 billion for 1997.   Current budget expenditures for 1996 are projected at 43.97 billion francs.   The latest measures are part of a plan to achieve a balanced budget by 2001.   The Swiss cabinet said in a statement it had frozen 1997 spending at the current year's level.   The goal would be achieved "with the help of hard savings measures."   The Swiss government said the overall deficit for 1997 would be around 5.5 billion francs.   The budget deficit for 1996 was projected at 4.0 billion francs, but the government is now expecting a deficit of around 5.0 billion francs.   The new savings measures include postponing contributions to state pension funds.   The Swiss government is also looking towards an increase in the value-added tax, currently at 6.5 percent.   A government spokesman said the increase would not likely take place in the current year, or in 1997.   The government also said it was reducing unemployment compensation, putting a cap on spending for military and aid to developing countries, and cutting spending on government personnel.   It will make reductions in other subsidies for the environment, forestry, energy, housing subsidies, culture, sport, health, prison spending and some other areas.   The Swiss Federal Cabinet is also recommending a freeze on new spending unless Swiss gross domestic product growth slows in the coming year.   -- Zurich Editorial, +41 1 631 7340 
4791 !GCAT !GVIO  Two sons of Algerian fundamentalist opposition leader Abbassi Madani told a trial in Germany on Wednesday they rejected violence for political ends.   The two are accused of running guns to Algeria's Islamist opposition.   Lawyers for both men read out statements saying they backed peaceful change in Algeria, where Islamists took up arms in 1992 after military-backed rulers cancelled an election the fundamentalist Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) looked set to win.   "For Salim Abbassi, the use of violence is no basis for the establishment of a democratic Islamic state on parliamentary principles," Abbassi's lawyer said in an agreed statement.   Salim's brother Ikbal endorsed this through his own lawyer.   Salim and Ikbal, aged 29 and 25, and two other Algerians, Nasr-Eddine Layachi Hemaz, 30, and Mahmoud Logbi, 26, face up to five years in prison if convicted on formal charges of belonging to a criminal association.   Through their lawyers, the Abbassis and Logbi admitted lesser charges of falsifying or forging identity papers.   But all four defendants said in their statements that they "strongly deny having founded or supported a criminal association".   Prosecutors say they belonged to a gun-running group that worked independently but kept conspiratorial links with Islamic fundamentalist groups in France, Italy, Belgium and Algeria.   The group is alleged to have shipped around 100 assault rifles, over 30 machine pistols, 20 repeating rifles, 15 hand guns, eight pump guns and assorted ammunition and explosives to Morocco and Algeria between March 1993 and April 1994.   The weapons were allegedly sent to the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) and the Islamic Salvation Army (AIS), the military wing of the FIS.   The Abbassis' father, Abbassi Madani, co-founded the FIS and has been in detention in Algeria since 1991.   Salim Abbassi's lawyer said Salim had often been approached by FIS sympathisers because of his father.   But he said Salim endorsed his father's advocacy of a peaceful struggle.   He quoted from a 1991 interview in which Madani told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that fundamentalists rejected violence to achieve their political ends and would instead use "noble means to achieve our noble goals".   The Abbassis said it was understandable that they had wanted to conceal their identity because Algerian officials had kept them under observation in Germany, and the GIA had made death threats against them. 
4792 !GCAT !GPOL  President Jacques Chirac, chairing his first post-summer holiday cabinet meeting, urged his ministers on Wednesday to "get yourselves together" and not give in to the widening pessimism that has gripped France.   "This is the behaviour that I expect from the government and all of its ministers," Chirac, back from a Riviera holiday, lectured the cabinet, warning against conduct that would contribute to "the general gloom".   The government returned from its traditional summer break facing a daunting agenda including growing joblessness, labour unrest and anger over its botched handling of 300 African immigrants who occupied a Paris church in protest at hardline 1993 immigration law reforms.   "To listen to the...commentators, the government's return to work has been marked by gloom.   And this is true -- how could it be otherwise," Chirac said, according to government spokesman Alain Lamassoure.   "The social and economic situation, in spite of encouraging signs, remains difficult despite the government's determined efforts to improve the situation in a France that has been weakened by a long period of carelessness," Chirac said.   According to a CSA poll published on Wednesday in the daily La Tribune, 54 percent of voters are pessimistic as they go back to work, with strikes, poverty and job losses topping worries.   The poll found that 77 percent expected strikes and trouble for the centre-right government in the autumn.   Record unemployment, planned public spending cuts and layoffs have infuriated unions, who are threatening a fresh wave of unrest in a possible revival of the lengthy public-sector strikes which virtually crippled France late last year.   Nicole Notat, head of the country's biggest union, the CFDT, and Louis Viannet, the head of the Communist-led CGT union, have warned of labour unrest after the holidays.   Teachers' unions have announced demonstrations and a likely strike over job cuts expected in the 1997 austerity budget.   Farmers have also threatened protests.   Public support also has been growing for the Africans who were evicted from the Saint-Bernard church after a two-month occupation begun in hopes of winning residence in France.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe initially ignored the protest, but when it began to dominate the headlines he ordered hundreds of police to smash their way into the church.   To let the Africans remain would be illegal, he announced.   But five days later, the government had expelled just four of the Africans and acknowledged that as many as two-thirds of the others might ultimately be allowed to stay.   The raid thus enraged both the left-wing opposition, which denounced the police action as a crude violation of human rights, and the far right, which said the government had opened the door to illegal immigration.   It also provided the unions with a potent new issue in a series of protests already planned for the next two months.   On another sticky issue confronting the cabinet, Chirac aides said he would meet on Friday a delegation of cattle breeders upset by plummeting beef prices due to fears over mad cow disease. 
4793 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  Mother Teresa's health improved again on Wednesday when she was allowed to sit up to pray for the first time during her week-old illness, doctors said.   And she was quoted as saying: "I want to go home."   "She is speaking and she has been allowed to sit on her bed.   She also prayed," Dr S.K. Sen, the medical director of Woodlands Nursing Home, told reporters.   Fears have dramatically eased for the Roman Catholic missionary and Nobel Peace laureate, famed for her charity work among the poor in one of the world's most crowded cities.   She has battled malaria, a chest infection and a recurrence of heart trouble.   Rejoicing nuns hailed her growing recovery as "a miracle."   Sen said a feeding device had been removed and she was now fully conscious.   "She is breathing on her own".   "She has improved a lot.   She had no problems during her sleep," said an official at Woodlands Nursing Home in the eastern city of Calcutta, where Mother Teresa is being treated.   Mother Teresa, admitted to the hospital on August 20 with malarial fever and severe vomiting, spoke for the first time during her illness on Tuesday, her 86th birthday.   Her fever has abated and her heartbeat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   Mother Teresa's first thoughts were for her hospital bills and her network of charities, doctors said.   "I want to go home," Dinamani Banerjee, one of six doctors treating her at Calcutta's Woodlands Nursing Home, quoted the renowned missionary as saying.   "I am anxious (about) who is going to pay the hospital bill," Banerjee quoted her as saying.   "She was concerned about her work at the Missionaries of Charity," he said, referring to the religious order Mother Teresa founded 47 years ago to care for the needy and destitute.   "The doctors are looking relieved.   I do not think they foresee any further danger," the official added.   Her doctors hope to transfer the Albanian-born nun from intensive care to a post-cardiac care unit in two or three days.   There she will be kept under close observation until they can pronounce her to "be out of danger," one doctor said.   "I've told them to tie her to the bed," said Navin Chawla, a senior volunteer worker with the Missionaries of Charity in New Delhi and her official biographer.   An official quoting a nurse who attended her said Mother Teresa had been without a respirator for more than 24 hours.   Mother Teresa was fed milk and soup orally, the nurse said.   "She is a very positive.   She has shown a tremendous response to the whole treatment," Dr Sukumar Mukherjee said.   Many in Calcutta expressed relief at wqord of her improved health.   She is widely known as the Saint of the Gutters for her work among the poor and destitute in Calcutta.   "Let us thank God.   She has done so much for the people here," said a senior deacon at the Protestant Carey Baptist Church in Calcutta.   Members of the Missionaries of Charity said they were overjoyed at Mother Teresa's recovery.   "God has answered our prayers.   It is a miracle," said a nun.   Mother Teresa's birthday brought greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   Both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery.   The Missionaries of Charity has missions in 80 countries and runs around 300 homes for abandoned children and the destitute in India and abroad. 
4794 !GCAT !GDIS !GREL  Indian search parties on Wednesday discovered more bodies of Hindu pilgrims along the route to a holy cave in the Himalayas, raising to 214 the number who died on the annual trek, authorities said.   More than 500 policemen and paramilitary troops fanned out along the 48-km (30-mile) route to the Amarnath cave, 3,880 metres (12,725 feet) high in the Kashmir mountains, to search for any remaining bodies, they said.   Some 70,000 pilgrims found themselves at the mercy of the weather for three days last week when bitter winds and heavy snow lashed the trail to the mountain cave.   "It is possible that more bodies could be found," K.B. Jandial, spokesman for India's Jammu and Kashmir state, said.   Some 112,000 Hindus came to Kashmir for this year's trek to the cave, where devotees worship an ice stalagmite regarded as a symbol of the Hindu God Shiva.   Jandial said the search parties were trying to verify eyewitness reports by pilgrims that 30 people had died when a glacier collapsed, burying them alive.   Many distraught pilgrims had left for home, giving up hope of ever finding the bodies of their relatives, police officials said.   State government officials said 101 of the bodies were still not identified.   "We are facing difficulties in identifying the dead as most of their relatives have left without informing us," a senior police official told Reuters.   Helicopters lifted many of the stranded pilgrims to safety as soon as the weather cleared on Sunday and on Monday dropped food, medicines and blankets.   Troops helped hundreds of others down the freezing slopes to the base camp at Pahalgam.   Almost 60,000 people had been marooned at Pahalgam, about 100 km (60 miles) from the state's summer capital of Srinagar, after floodwaters blocked all roads to the town for three days.   Thousands started driving out in buses on Tuesday.   Officials said about 8,000 pilgrims remained in Pahalgam and would depart on Thursday.   Some pilgrims said they were unable to locate their companions in the confusion that followed their rescue.   "We were all together trekking when bad weather caught us," said Ashok Kumar as he sat in a Srinagar hotel waiting for news of a missing friend.   Officials said that the "charri mubarak", two silver maces symbolising Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati, arrived at the Amarnath cave on Tuesday evening.   Rituals marking their arrival at the cave signalled the formal end of the pilgrimage, the authorities said.   "Since all the rituals have been performed in the holy cave, that technically concludes the annual pilgrimage," Jandial said.   Traditionally, the pilgrimage is wound up two or three days after the maces arrive at the cave.   The ascetic in charge of the maces vowed he would not be deterred by the tragedy.   "I will prefer to trek," said Deependra Giri.   The federal government has said it would order an inquiry into the deaths, but Home (Interior) Minister Indrajit Gupta said it appeared that adequate arrangements had been made. 
4795 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  Mother Teresa's health continues to improve and doctors treating the legendary missionary hope to move her from intensive care in a few days, a hospital official said on Wednesday.   "She has improved a lot.   She had no problems during her sleep," said an official at Woodlands Nursing Home in the eastern city of Calcutta, where Mother Teresa is being treated.   Mother Teresa, admitted to the hospital on August 20 with malarial fever and severe vomiting, spoke for the first time during her week-long illness on Tuesday, her 86th birthday.   Her fever has abated and her heartbeat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   Mother Teresa's first thoughts were for her hospital bills and her network of charities, doctors said.   "I want to go home," Dinamani Banerjee, one of six doctors treating her at Calcutta's Woodlands Nursing Home, quoted the renowned Roman Catholic missionary as saying.   "I am anxious (about) who is going to pay the hospital bill," Banerjee quoted her as saying.   "She was concerned about her work at the Missionaries of Charity," he said, referring to the religious order Mother Teresa founded 47 years ago to care for the needy and destitute.   The hospital official said Mother Teresa's doctors would issue another health bulletin at around 0730 GMT.   "The doctors are looking relieved.   I do not think they foresee any further danger," the official added.   Her doctors hope to transfer the Albanian-born nun from intensive care to a post-cardiac care unit in two or three days.   There she will be kept under close observation until they can pronounce her to "be out of danger," one doctor said.   "I've told them to tie her to the bed," said Navin Chawla, a senior volunteer worker with the Missionaries of Charity in New Delhi and the Nobel peace laureate's official biographer.   An official quoting a nurse who attended her said Mother Teresa had been without a respirator for more than 24 hours.   Mother Teresa was fed milk and soup orally, the nurse said.   "She is a very positive.   She has shown a tremendous response to the whole treatment," Dr Sukumar Mukherjee said.   Many in Calcutta expressed relief at the news of Mother Teresa's improved health.   She is widely known as the Saint of the Gutters for her work among the poor and destitute in one of the world's poorest and most overcrowded cities.   "Let us thank God.   She has done so much for the people here," said a senior deacon at the Protestant Carey Baptist Church in Calcutta.   Members of the Missionaries of Charity said they were overjoyed at Mother Teresa's recovery.   "God has answered our prayers.   It is a miracle," said a nun.   Mother Teresa's birthday on Monday brought greetings, bouquets and prayers from around the world.   Pope John Paul II and Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy sent get-well messages, the Press Trust of India said.   Both houses of India's parliament wished the nation's adopted sister a happy birthday and speedy recovery.   The Missionaries of Charity has missions in 80 countries and runs around 300 homes for abandoned children and the destitute in India and abroad. 
4796 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Wednesday's Pakistani newspapers:   DAWN   - Iran has invited Pakistan to a regional conference in Teheran aimed at stopping the factional fighting in Afghanistan, diplomatic sources said.   - As much as a third of this year's projected cotton yield may be lost if the water level in the rivers Ravi and Chenab continues to rise for another three or four days, experts said.   - Rains, more furious than those that wrecked havoc in Punjab province last week, have been forecast for next week by the National Flood Forecasting Bureau which spotted a monsoon low pressure over Bangladesh two days ago.   This developed into a depression on Tuesday and was moving towards Pakistan.   - The United Nations Security Council's working group failed to break a deadlock on the demand made by Pakistan and Arab groups to revoke its July 30 decision and reinstate Kashmir, Palestine and other issues on the Council's agenda.   - Two Pakistanis stowed away in an airliner's cargo hold and emerged at New York airport seeking political asylum last Friday.   They were taken into custody by U.S. immigration.   - Pakistan denied a U.S. newspaper report that it was secretly building a missile factory with Chinese help near the city of Rawalpindi.   - State Finance Minister Makhdoom Shahabuddin ruled out any devaluation of the rupee saying it would not fall further.   - Pakistan received direct foreign investment of $1.1 billion in fiscal 1995/96 (July-June) compared to $442 million in 1994/95, Mohibullah Shah, secretary of the state's Board of Investment, said.   BUSINESS RECORDER   - The state's Board of Investment has reducee customs duty imported equipment and machinery for pharmaceutical companies to 10 percent from 25 percent.   The Board also decreased the duty on hotel equipment to 25 percent from 65 percent.   - The first consignment of 2,350 tonnes of refined sugar imported by a private firm arrived in Lahore by rail from India.   - The Karachi Stock Exchange has reduced the initial listing fee for debt instruments.   - Privatisation Minister Naveed Qamar said bids for the sale of a 26 percent stake in the state-run Jamshoro power plant to a strategic investor would be invited in October 1996.   - The wholesale price index rose 11.18 percent in July year-on-year compared with a 12.73 percent rise in July 1995, the Federal Bureau of Statistics said.   FRONTIER POST   - Privatisation Commission Chairman Naveed Qamar told the National Assembly (lower house) that the IMF delegation has not cancelled its visit to Pakistan.   - The National Assembly unanimously decided to discuss the issue of huge outstanding loans of state-run banks on Tuesday.   THE MUSLIM   - Visiting British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Malcom Rifkind told a news conference that Britain has asked the United Nations to put back the Kashmir issue on the Security Council's agenda.   - A survey of elite opinion on Pakistan's nuclear policy has revealed that 98 percent favour retention of the nuclear option while 77 percent support its use in case of war with India.   -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757 
4797 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Indian business and political stories in leading newspapers prepared for Reuters by Business News and Information Services Pvt Ltd, New Delhi.   Telephone: 11-3324842, 11-3761233; Fax: 91-11-3351006 Internet : biznis.  news@forums.  sprintrpg.  sprint.  com    -------oo0oo-------   Hindustan Times   CONGRESS PARTY THREATENS TO PULL DOWN GOVERNMENT   India's Congress party might withdraw support for the United Front (UF) government if the coalition fails to uphold previous Congress government policies.   Congress president P.V.Narasimha Rao, addressing a meeting of the Congress Party in parliament, said party policies must prevail if the UF wants to continue in office.   Rao rejected as false reports that congress was keen on joining the government and ruled out any such moves.   ----   Times Of India   1984 ANTI-SIKH RIOT CULPRITS PUNISHED   Eighty-nine people associated with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots have been sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined 5,000 rupees each.   The verdict, delivered by a Delhi court, follows killings in Delhi in November 1984.   Nearly 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the riots following the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi in October, 1984.   ----   Economic Times   MINISTRY FOR AUTOMATIC APPROVAL TO 51 PCT FDI IN MINING   The Industry Ministry is advocating that mining and civil aviation proposals for foreign equity up to 51 percent be given automatic approval.   The ministry plan is part of an overall government move to expand the Annexure III list (automatic approval up to 51 percent) for speedier approvals.   The present mining policy allows foreign equity up to 100 percent on a case- by-case basis.   Foreign investment in airlines now is limited to 40 percent.   Neither sector is allowed automatic approvals.   ----   CBI TO PROBE CONTRACTS ABOVE FIVE MLN RUPEES   The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has widened the scopes of its investigations to include the entire process of privatisations in the telecommunication sector during the tenure of former Communication Minister Sukh Ram.   It has asked the Department of Telecommunication for all files relating to contracts above five million rupees awarded during Sukh Ram's tenure.   This would mean that the agency would go through the complete privatisation process, including the award of licences for basic, cellular, radio paging and other telecommunication services to private operators.   ----   ITC LTD MAY SPIN OFF FOUR PRONGED FUND SERVICES ARM   ITC Ltd is likely to spin off its financial services division into a subsidiary as a part of a restructuring of all its financial service activities.   Under the plan, ITC Financial Services is seen as the umbrella company with four distinct units headed by four chief executive officers.   The four basic units would be ITC Threadneedle, for asset management driven ventures, ITC Eagle Star to lead the insurance related business, ITC Classic Finance to coordinate fund based activities and Classic Share and Stock Broking for investment banking.   ----   PROCTOR AND GAMBLE NOTCHES 87 PCT PROFIT   Procter and Gamble India net sales rose 37 percent to 3.663 billion rupees in the year ended June 1996.   Profit after tax rose 87 percent at 262 million rupees after 140 million rupees the previous year.   The board recommended a final dividend of 25 percent over an interim dividend of 50 percent.    ----   DELHI TOP FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT RECIPIENT   Delhi is the most preferred state for foreign direct investment (FDI) in India.   The background paper prepared by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India said of the total FDI, Delhi topped the list with a 24.5 percent share followed by Maharashtra at 15.7 percent, West Bengal at seven percent and Tamil Nadu at 5.1 percent share.   These four states accounted for over half of the foreign investment approved between august 1991 and December 1995.   ----   Financial Express   GOVERNMENT MAY LINK TELECOM MAJOR'S ISSUE WITH DIVESTMENT   The Union government plans to sell a part of its stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL).   The government hopes to raise around $300 million for its disinvestment programme through domestic and international offerings by September end.   This is being done keeping in view the deadline for completing the first tranche of divestment by September.   The Finance Ministry has proposed a $500-$700 million primary cum secondary floatation for the public sector company.   A bulk of it is slated to to be unloaded abroad by way of Global Depository Receipts.   A smaller chunk would be earmarked for the domestic market, sources said.   ----   BIRLA MAN MAKES IT TO INVESTIGATIVE AGENCY'S HIT LIST   The Birlas have come under the dragnet of the Central Bureau of Investigation in the on going telecommunication (telecom) scam.   The CBI was planning to interrogate Mahesh Bagrodia, key official of the Aditya Birla Group and president of the group companies, said sources.   Bagrodia was allegedly close to the former communications minister.   The Aditya Birla group had of late become extremely bullish over the telecom sector.   Aditya Birla group's Birlacom, a joint venture with AT&T, was formed about two years ago.   Birlacom has contracts for operating cellular services in Maharashtra and Gujarat.   ----   STATE BANK SEEKS NOD FOR 24 PCT FOREIGN INVESTORS' STAKE   State Bank of India has sought the Finance Ministry's approval for increasing the holding of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in the bank to 24 percent.   The hike in FII holding has been sought in view of the bank's forthcoming global depository receipts (GDRs) scheduled sometime next month and to prepare for the market eventualities during post GDR trading.   ----   Business Standard   MOVE AIMED AT LIFTING SAGGING CONFIDENCE IN STOCK MARKET   Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said he would announce measures to woo back small investors to the share market when he would reply to the budget debate in Parliament.   Wooing small investors would be the key to stabilising the market, he said.   The Finance Minister pointed out that an investment of over 413 billion rupees came to the share market in fiscal 1994/95 (April-March) when the small investors were active.   It declined substantially in 1995/96 when these investors shied away from the market, he added.   ----   IBRD WARNS OF GRAVE FISCAL IMBALANCE   The World Bank says the country is faced with serious fiscal imbalances.   The 1996/97 budget may have partially corrected this, but the key to restoring balance lies in re-ordering centre state fiscal relations, says the bank.   It has argued for increasing the fiscal correction to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).   Which means the Union government must reduce its fiscal deficit to around 3.5 percent of GDP from the current year's target of 5 percent.   The World Bank also stresses that further financial sector reform is needed for fiscal consolidation.   ----   Business Line   BHILAI POWER TO RAISE 15 BLN RUPEES IN LOANS   Bhilai Power Supply Company Ltd (BPSCL) -- a joint venture between Larsen & Toubro, the U.S. based Community Energy Alternative and Steel Authority of India Ltd -- is expected to raise 15 billion rupees of loan funds from the domestic and overseas markets in the next three years.   The three partners are also expected to pump in about six billion rupee of funds as equity in the project.   BPSCL, which is setting up a coal based power plant in two phases of 250 MW each, hopes to raise most of the domestic funds in the form of syndicated loans of 8-10 years duration.   ---- 
4798 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  About 8,000 protesters marched through Karachi on Wednesday demanding the removal of Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, witnesses said.   "From here we will march to Islamabad and by God we will not let Benazir and (Bhutto's husband Asif Ali) Zardari escape justice," Nawaz Sharif, leader of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League told a rally organised by a 16-party alliance.   Sharif accused Bhutto of corruption and nepotism, charges she has denied in the past.   Witnesses said protesters carrying colourful party flags walked for several miles, chanting anti-government slogans.   The event was part of an opposition campaign launched on August 14, Pakistan's independence day.   Sharif said similar rallies would be held in the Balochistan provincial capital Quetta and the Punjab provincial capital Lahore before an opposition march on the capital Islamabad.   "I promise the people of Karachi that those responsible for the extra-judicial killing of innocent youths would not be spared," Sharif said.   Karachi's ethnic Mohajir National Movement (MQM) accuses the government of killing many of its militants in cold blood.   The government has denied the charge and blames the MQM for much of the violence that killed 2,000 people in the city last year.   Political observers said the turn-out was disappointing for a city of about 12 million people, possibly indicating that the MQM, although a member of the opposition alliance, had not mobilised its supporters for the event.   The turbulent southern port has been calmer this year, but police say more than 300 people have died in political unrest.   The MQM speaks for Urdu-speaking Moslems who migrated from India at Partition in 1947 and their descendants.   Sharif, a former prime minister, is the main political rival of Bhutto, who defeated him in the October 1993 election.   He said only the removal of the government and an early election could save Pakistan from disaster.   "We will dislodge the Bhutto government.   It is a holy war for us," he said.   Bhutto has vowed to complete her five-year term. 
4799 !GCAT !GDIS !GREL  Indian search parties on Wednesday discovered more bodies of Hindu pilgrims along the route to a holy cave in the Himalayas, raising to 194 the number who died on the annual trek, authorities said.   "The death toll in the Amarnath tragedy has risen to 194," K.B. Jandial, a spokesman for India's Jammu and Kashmir state, told Reuters.   More than 500 policemen and paramilitary troops fanned out along the 48-km (30-mile) route to the Amarnath cave, 3,880 metres (12,725 feet) high in the mountains, to search for any remaining bodies, Jandial said.   Some 70,000 pilgrims found themselves at the mercy of the weather for three days last week when bitter winds and heavy snow lashed the trail to the mountain cave.   "It is possible that more bodies could be found," Jandial said.   Some 112,000 Hindus came to Kashmir for this year's trek to the cave, where devotees worship an ice stalagmite regarded as a symbol of the Hindu God Shiva.   Jandial said the search parties were trying to verify eyewitness reports by pilgrims that 30 people had died when a glacier collapsed, burying them alive.   Many distraught pilgrims had left for home, giving up hope of ever finding the bodies of their relatives, police officials said.   "We are facing difficulties in identifying the dead as most of their relatives have left without informing us," a senior police official told Reuters.   Police were unable to identify more than 70 of the bodies, he added.   Helicopters lifted many of the stranded pilgrims to safety as soon as the weather cleared on Sunday and on Monday dropped food, medicines and blankets.   Troops helped hundreds of others down the freezing slopes to the base camp at Pahalgam.   Almost 60,000 people had been marooned at Pahalgam, about 100 km (60 miles) from the state's summer capital of Srinagar, after floodwaters blocked all roads to the town for three days.   Thousands started driving out in buses on Tuesday.   Some pilgrims said they were unable to locate their companions in the confusion that followed their rescue.   "We were all together trekking when bad weather caught us," said Ashok Kumar as he sat in a Srinagar hotel waiting for news of a missing friend.   Officials said that the "charri mubarak", two silver maces symbolising Lord Shiva and his wife Parvati, arrived at the Amarnath cave on Tuesday evening.   Rituals marking their arrival at the cave signalled the formal end of the pilgrimage, the authorities said.   "Since all the rituals have been performed in the holy cave, that technically concludes the annual pilgrimage," Jandial said.   Traditionally, the pilgrimage is wound up two or three days after the maces arrive at the cave.   The ascetic in charge of the maces vowed he would not be deterred by the tragedy.   "I will prefer to trek," said Deependra Giri.   The federal government has said it would order an inquiry into the deaths, but Home (Interior) Minister Indrajit Gupta said it appeared that adequate arrangements had been made. 
4800 !GCAT !GPRO !GREL  As Mother Teresa, 86, slowly recovers in hospital from a gruelling fight against malaria and a faltering heart, her admirers and volunteers are wondering how long she can keep going.   The Missionaries of Charity, the order which Mother Teresa founded in 1949, still revolves around her strong, charismatic personality, despite being a far-flung organisation with charities in every corner of the globe.   In October, more than 100 nuns forming the special committee that protects the constitution of the order will hold a secret ballot to elect a superior general of the order.   They could re-elect Mother Teresa as they did twice before in 1984 and 1990 despite the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's keenness to step down.   Or they could tap a replacement.   Twice in the past the order has refused to agree to Mother Teresa's wish to step down.   She was unanimously retained.   "It could be difficult this time," says Navin Chawla, the nun's official biographer and a friend of 21 years.   "Her health will not able to take the strain".   Mother Teresa's health began to deteriorate in 1989 when she was fitted with a pacemaker.   In 1993, she broke three ribs and developed malaria.   She was admitted to hospital in Calcutta last week with malarial fever and severe vomiting.   At one point her heart failed.   Her fever has since abated and her heartbeat, while irregular, has been brought under control.   The sisters are unwilling to discuss the succession issue.   "We will depend on prayers," one said.   But Roman Catholics close to the Missionaries of Charity say the leadership issue revolves around just six candidates.   Sister Priscilla, the order's articulate spokeswoman, is one.   Other contenders are Sister Federica, Sister Monica, Sister Agnes, Sister Shanta and Sister Nirmala.   Last year hundreds of homes run by the Missionaries of Charity fed more than half a million people around the world.   It guides the lives and destinies of nearly 4,500 nuns and hundreds of other volunteers who queue up to face a life of hardship.   They live a life of extraordinary personal deprivation.   The only worldly possessions Mother Teresa and her nuns may have are three saris, a spoon and plastic dish.   They sleep on the floor.   Chawla rules out a power struggle.   "The word power is foreign to them, he said.   "They will go to a week-long retreat to pray and then they vote through a secret ballot.   No one knows who could it be".   If Mother Teresa were replaced, her admirers say the Missionaries would lose some of the charisma that has helped the order raise funds.   "Funds could shrink," said a priest at Calcutta's Roman Catholic college.   But people close to Mother House have no such worries.   "Funds have poured in whenever needed," said one.   "The power of praying."   In his biography Chawla describes the nun, born of Albanian parents, as "the most powerful woman in the world", recollecting how former U.S. president Ronald Reagan telephoned her personally to promise aid to Ethiopia's poverty-stricken.   She became known as the Saint of the Gutters for bringing hope and dignity to millions of forgotten people from beggars to lepers.   "The poor must know that we love them," was her simple message.   The former Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq once offered her his personal aircraft to travel anywhere in the country when she was invited there by a local bishop.   General Zia told her she could open convents wherever she could, but on one conditon -- no nuns from India.   "It gives politicians a better image if they are seen around her," said a Roman Catholic professor at St Xavier's College in Calcutta. 
4801 !C13 !C17 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Private Indian bread makers said on Wednesday they were calling off a three-day-old strike to protest subsidies to a state-run bread maker, after the federal government said it would examine their problems.   "From tomorrow the bread industry is calling off its all-India strike," said Jagmohan Talwar, executive member of the All India Bread Manufacturers Association (AIBMA).   More than 65,000 private Indian bread manufacturers launched an indefinite strike from Sunday to protest the federal government's subsidy to the state-run Modern Industries.   Talwar said AIBMA members who met Indian Food Processing Minister Dilip Kumar Ray were assured that appropriate steps would be taken in 30 days' time to protect the interests of private bread manufacturers.   "I will decide the case within a month's time to the entire satisfaction of AIBMA," Talwar quoted the minister as saying.   AIBMA said in a statement it wanted the government to stop supplying subsidised wheat to Modern Food Industries, which enables it to undercut private producers. 
4802 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iran is inviting regional foreign ministers to a conference in Tehran on October 29-30 to discuss peace in Afghanistan, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Alaeddin Borujerdi said on Wednesday.   Borujerdi, ending a three-day visit to Pakistan, told a news conference in the northwestern city of Peshawar that the idea was to "promote peace, reconstruction and political and economic stability in Afghanistan through an intra-Afghan dialogue".   He said all of Afghanistan's neighbours -- Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan -- were being invited as well as the Kabul government, but not rebel faction leaders.   "We have one aim and that is peace in Afghanistan," said Borujerdi, Iran's chief troubleshooter in Afghan politics.   Borujerdi said he had told the new United Nations special envoy for Afghanistan, Norbert Holl, that the Tehran conference of foreign ministers would support U.N. peace efforts.   He said Iran's relations with Pakistan were improving, adding that it was important to dispel the impression that the two countries were at odds over Afghanistan.   Rival Afghan groups have been battling for power since the overthrow of the communist government in April 1992.   The defection to the government in June of former opposition leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar has strengthened embattled President Burhanuddin Rabbani.   Kabul has asked northern rebel General Abdul Rashid Dostum and leaders of other neutral or opposition groups to follow Hekmatyar's example.   The Islamic Taleban movement, which holds about half of Afghanistan, has sworn to sweep away Rabbani's administration and enforce a strict Islamic code throughout the country.   A Taleban leader, Mullah Wakil Ahmad, said earlier this week that no talks with the government were possible unless Rabbani stepped down and left Kabul along with his forces.   Borujerdi said Iranian officials had met Taleban leaders in the western city of Herat last week, but gave no details.   He later left Peshawar for the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif to meet Dostum. 
4803 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Floods have killed 76 people, driven 1.2 million from their homes and swamped 1,902 villages in Pakistan in the past week, an official said on Wednesday.   "Flood water is still standing in hundreds of villages in Punjab province and thousands of shelterless people are living under the open skies waiting for the water to recede," the director general of flood relief, Chaudhry Muhammad Azam, told Reuters by telephone from Lahore.   "The district administration is providing relief in the shape of food, medicine, tents and fodder for animals," he said.   Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto cancelled previous engagements to visit the worst affected areas, including Wazirabad, in the central province of Punjab, on Wednesday.   Azam said the death toll included 28 people who died in Lahore after a 36-hour downpour dumped about 450 mm (18 inches) of rain on the provincial capital.   Nine perished in the town of Narowal, six in Bhakkar, five in Jhang and five in Sialkot.   The rest died elsewhere in Punjab province.   Azam said that standing crops of rice and sugarcane had been affected, but the extent of the damage was not yet clear.   "Till now we have no exact figures as to how much crop area has been damaged or affected as we are busy providing emergency relief to the people," he said.   "Many crops are still submerged in water so we have no idea of the damage."   An official in the Food and Agriculture Ministry said he did not expect extensive flood damage to crops.   The Meterological Department has forecast more rain in Punjab for next week. 
4804 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  Former Bangladeshi president Hossain Mohammad Ershad, jailed in 1990 on corruption and firearms offences, said his imprisonment was the result of "false and motivated" charges.   In a one-hour speech in parliament on Tuesday night, Ershad defended his nearly nine years of rule as an era of development, but said he regretted becoming a victim of injustice after handing over power.   Ershad, an army general who seized power in a 1982 bloodless coup, resigned in December 1990 at the height of a popular uprising led by then opposition leaders Begum Khaleda Zia, the chief of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) who succeeded him, and current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, leader of the Awami League.   Ershad, head of the Jatiya Party, was sentenced to 23 years' jail for corruption and keeping unlicensed firearms.   The High Court last year quashed a 10-year sentence on the arms offence and Ershad has appealed against rest of the sentence.   "They (BNP) waged a war to finish me as I was a threat to their existence," he said in his speech.   "I also fought back for my survival and I won the war."   Ershad joined parliament on parole after he won five seats in the 330-member legislature in the June general elections which returned the Awami League to power after 21 years.   Ershad described himself as soldier-turned-politician -- like Khaleda's late husband General Ziaur Rahman -- and criticised the widow of his predecessor for "implicating me in false cases" out of political vengeance.   "Now that she (Khaleda) is out of power, I am waiting to see what charges she will face," Ershad said.   The former president said the controversy surrounding him had been prompted by "exaggerated and misleading statements by the past BNP government".   He referred to "unfounded" allegations that he had clandestinely transferred about $1 billion to overseas bank accounts.   The 69-year-old general apologised for political killings during his rule, and said he had eventually realised that "it's not possible to remain in power through killing". 
4805 !GCAT !GVIO  Indian fishermen said on Wednesday they had been forced at gunpoint to ferry refugees fleeing the ethnic war in Sri Lanka to India, as a protest strike by more than 30,000 fishermen entered its ninth day.   "There is little we can do when at mid-sea.   The LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) accosts us and, at the point of a gun, forces us to take refugees," said senior fishermen leader P. Arulanandam.   Some 850 refugees have landed in recent weeks at the port of Rameswaram in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, home to 50 million Tamil-speaking people, port officials say.   Rameswaram is 15 km (10 miles) off the coast of Sri Lanka.   State chief minister M. Karunanidhi has publicly welcomed the refugees, who are fleeing the 13-year war between Tamil separatists and government troops that Colombo says has cost 50,000 lives.   But the influx has triggered fears of a repeat of the 1980s when some 200,000 refugees landed in Tamil Nadu.   Intelligence officals said more than 5,000 Tamils were waiting on the western coast of Sri Lanka to cross into India.   The Indian government has warned its fishermen that their boats would be impounded if they were caught ferrying refugees.   The fishermen went on strike last week to protest the government's cancellation of three trawlers' fishing licenses after the boats were caught carrying Tamil refugees.   All Fishermen's Association secretary N.J. Bose said the strike would continue indefinitely and the fishermen would block road and rail traffic if their demands were not met.   "Until the government releases our boats from naval custody and Sri Lankan naval custody, and gives us assurance (it will not revoke licences of boats ferrying refugees), we will not call off our strike," Bose said.   LTTE spokesmen could not immediately be reached for comment, but Sri Lankan fishermen denied that Indians were being coerced into carrying refugees across the Palk Strait.   "Indian fishermen come right up to Pesalai to fish, and when refugees request them to ferry them across, they readily oblige.   Only some take money," Sri Lankan boatman Chinnathambi said.   Arulanandam denied the fishermen charged the refugees for passage to India and said it was unfair to penalise them for the refugees' arrival.   "We have not gone to sea since August 19, but refugees are arriving daily nevertheless.   How could we alone be held responsible for the influx?"   he said.   An Indian Fisheries Department official said the government planned to urge fishermen not to cross the international boundary between India and Sri Lanka, but admitted this would be hard to enforce because of Sri Lanka's pomfret-rich waters. 
4806 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Louis Viannet, leader of France's Communist-led CGT union, on Wednesday criticised austerity plans in the 1997 budget and warned of labour unrest as the country gets back to work after the holidays.   But he did not call for strike action and said the union so far did not plan to join a protest march which the non-partisan Force Ouvriere union has scheduled for September 21.   A CGT official said the union was not ruling out joining the protest but had not been asked to participate by the FO.   Viannet told a news conference that government austerity measures were to blame for a stagnant French economy and high levels of unemployment and criticised what he described as "the forced march to (European) monetary union" at the expense of workers.   "France is literally suffocating under the dogmas of one track thinking which continues unrelentingly to denounce the cost of labour and rigidities as responsible for unemployment and to look for solutions which pressure workers, retired people and the unemployed," Viannet said.   The three main unions in France, the CGT, FO and the socialist CFDT have now issued stern warnings to the government not to cut too harshly into France's generous welfare system.   And teachers' unions were first off the mark on Tuesday when they warned of a likely strike in late September or early October over the expected jobs cuts and education reforms.   They will meet on September 3 to finalise their position.   The government of conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe has promised to cut the public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) under the terms of the Maastricht treaty on monetary union.   Juppe, who reconvenes his cabinet on Wednesday after the summer break, has pledged to cap 1997 central government spending at 1996 levels and is counting on savings of 60 billion francs ($12 billion) to do the job.   ($1=5.068 French Franc) 
4807 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Oskar Lafontaine, chairman of Germany's opposition Social Democrats, said on Wednesday no effort should be spared to ensure the timely start of European economic and monetary union (EMU) in January 1999.   "We must give a clear 'yes' to EMU, in keeping with our understanding of international cooperation," Lafontaine told a party economic congress.   "Everything must be done to ensure that EMU starts on time on January 1, 1999, with all the stability criteria observed."   EMU and the united economic forces that stand behind it would be a new and powerful factor for stability in international financial markets, Lafontaine said.   Tax policy among European nations should also be coordinated to set minimum corporate tax rates, he said, echoing proposals made by the European Commission.   Corporations paid only 19 percent of German taxes in 1995, down from 34 percent in 1982, raising government deficits and shifting a greater share of the burden to individuals, he said.   A new form of international cooperation that ends the spiral of competitive devaluation is needed to overcome the problems of high unemployment, weak growth and currency turbulence, he said.   -- Terence Gallagher, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
4808 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A majority of French people expect tough strike action in the autumn, an opinion poll showed on Wednesday.   The CSA survey for French business daily La Tribune Desfosses showed 77 percent of those asked expect strike action comparable to that seen in November and December last year.   The same proportion are also pessimistic over the outlook for the French economy over the next six months.   Some 62 percent said they will maintain consumer purchases but 35 percent plan to curb consumption, the poll also showed.   Among those polled, one out of three supported the government's efforts to cut public deficits.   Among business chiefs polled, 62 percent would like the government to slow down in its fight against deficits to focus on boosting consumption while 30 percent support the government's strategy.   The poll was taken on August 20 and 21 in a sample of 1,005 people.   -- Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
4809 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT  Bernard Tapie, France's former singer, soccer boss and minister, launched a career as a film star on Wednesday, cast convincingly as a morally dubious lawyer whose role mirrors his own behind-the-screens legal tangles.   Courtesy of award-winning director Claude Lelouch, the bankrupt businessman plays the charismatic and garrulous lead in the much-hyped comedy "Men, Women: Instructions for Use" which opened across the country.   Hiring the 53-year-old Tapie earned Lelouch accusations he had sacrificed morals for money.   His fledgling star is embroiled in a flurry of lawsuits and has been convicted of match-rigging, tax evasion and fraud.   Tapie, who will take up to a quarter of profits, bulldozed attacks aside and defiantly announced he would probably star in a second movie too -- likely prison sentences permitting.   "When I was in politics, people wanted to eliminate me.   When I was in soccer (as head of first-division Marseille), people wanted to eliminate me.   Even before filming started, people wanted to eliminate me from the cinema," Tapie said.   "It's understandable that the little people attack a symbol of happiness.   But it's monstrous that the people who are attacking me are high up the ladder.   So I say to hell with them, and I'll try to make another one," he told Europe-1 radio.   Tape has announced he would resign his French parliamentary seat -- a publicity stunt for the film, since he will be stripped of the seat by October.   On screen Tapie is a flamboyant, playboy lawyer famed for landing his helicopter on the Berlin Wall.   His life collapses the day a jilted girlfriend turned doctor seeks revenge by making him believe he has cancer.   The glossy movie is Lelouche at less than his best, despite good performances by second lead Fabrice Luchini among others.   French audiences at least will have a field day spotting similarities between the real-life Tapie and his genial, devious character who reels off one-liners like "Women are like flowers: if you want to keep them for a long time, you mustn't pick them too early".   Critics took Lelouche to task for giving star billing and a nice-guy image -- Tapie's character offers two buskers a night at a luxury hotel -- to a man with three criminal convictions.   "If cinema uses a corrupt ingredient to sell its soup... it's likely that film stars will no longer be chosen for their talent but for the length of their criminal record," said popular daily France-Soir.   "That has nothing to do with me and I'm not here to judge," retorted the bespectacled Lelouche, who won an Oscar for the 1966 romance "A Man and a Woman".   "Tapie is 'too much' in everything, and uncontrollable.   What I saw in him above all was that he loves life.   And I said to myself: 'Let's use that'."   In "Men, Women: Instructions for Use", the lawyer's new love for life after he believes himself cured by a miracle prompts him to stage a fake death and start a new life.   "I'd thought at one time of doing the same thing but I gave up on the idea," Tapie reflected in one interview.   "But today, when I see the hatred some people have for me, I realise that I would have made them happy if I'd gone through with it."   Short of which, Tapie the politician will, if all goes to plan, die off and Tapie the filmstar will take his place to rub shoulders with show-biz glitterati at the Venice Film Festival, where the movie will compete for the Golden Lion. 
4810 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Belgian foreign affairs minister Erik Derycke said on Wednesday the horrific paedophile ring unfurling in his home country must not divert attention from the global scale of the tragedy of sex abuse.   On the second day of the Stockholm world conference on commercial sexual exploitation of children, Derycke said the tragedy in Belgium must not be allowed to dominate the congress.   "It would be very selfish of us to only to address the situation we are now trying to live through.   Everything is related, and what can happen in a protected society such as ours can happen all over the world," he told Reuters.   As delegates to the 130-nation conference got down to the serious work of turning the ambitious declarations of keynote speakers into practical action, Belgian police continued their search for young victims of sex abuse.   Belgians fear police may find the remains of as many as five youngsters at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in a child sex, killing and kidnapping scandal.   Derycke expressed his gratitude for expressions of sympathy following the killings of eight year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and the disappearance of four other children.   But he said that despite its high profile, the Dutroux case was just one more reminder that child sex abuse is not limited to the Far East or developing countries.   "Today, these two little girls rest in peace, side by side, in their regained innocence together with all the other victims whom maybe no one remembers, not even by name."   Although Belgian legislation on child prostitution and pornography is among the strictest in the world, Derycke said the recent tragedies had proved paperwork was not enough in Belgium or elswhere.   "We already have a lot of international treaties...but I have the impression that a lot of countries think that by signing treaties the problem is solved," he said.   Derycke said Justice Minister Stefaan de Clerck would announce measures on Friday to tighten up existing Belgian rules, but the core of the problem could only be tackled at an international level.   "A worldwide system for combating these hideous crimes will primarily be brought about through real multilateral cooperation ...such a subject should be part of the negotiations now held in New York on the creation of an International Criminal Court."   Many of the speakers at the conference have drawn attention to the socio-economic inequalities that often force children into sex slavery, but Derycke went one step further.   "It is the most extreme result of an ultra-liberal economic system where everything is possible and everything can be bought, even the body of a child," he said. 
4811 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Conservative New Democracy (ND) party leader Miltiadis Evert will be hitting the campaign trail and head to Alexandroupolis this weekend to speak to the city's businessmen on Sunday morning, ND said.   Evert will depart for Alexandroupolis on Saturday afternoon.   Prime Minister Costas Simitis criticized Evert today for unleashing a seven-point economic package that offers tax relief to merchants and other professionals, higher pensions to farmers and support for small business.   The finance ministry estimated the cost of ND's economic measures to over 600 billion drachmas but ND officials put the figure much lower to about 300 billion drachmas.   Simitis blamed ND for the low absorption rate of EU funds and said the socialists will increase farmers' pensions, combat tax evasion and accelerate GDP growth rates to 4.0 percent in a few years.   Faster economic growth is a major component of ND's economic programme and Evert has repeatedly blamed the socialists for the slow economic growth.   --Dimitris Kontogiannis, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
4812 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  The calamitous marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, launched amidst pomp and pageantry 15 years ago, ended with a rubber-stamp divorce in the back office of a London court on Wednesday.   Neither Charles nor Diana were present at the court when the "quickie" divorce, granted on the grounds that they had been separated for two years, was approved.   A clerk from Charles' lawyers delivered the divorce application and a cheque for 20 pounds ($31) by hand, eluding scores of reporters and photographers waiting outside the court.   Minutes later, at 10.27 a.m. (0927 GMT), it was all over.   "This is not more significant than any other day.   All divorces are very sad," the court's chief clerk, Robin West, told reporters later.   The most publicised marital breakdown since Liz Taylor and Richard Burton's acrimonious divorce in the 1970s was the 5,029th handled by the court this year.   Diana, who was photographed crying on the day the first stage of the divorce was granted six weeks ago, attended a lunch at the English National Ballet, one of the few charities she still patronises, two hours after the divorce was granted.   She was wearing her diamond and sapphire engagement ring.   The divorce has left Diana a wealthy woman, with a financial settlement estimated at 17 million pounds ($26 million).   She will continue to use London's Kensington Palace as her home.   But she has been stripped of the title "Her Royal Highness," putting her in the humiliating position of being required to curtsey to her own sons, William, 14, and Harry, 11, as well as other royals including her ex-husband.   Queen Elizabeth now regards Diana as a semi-detached member of the royal family and her ex-daughter-in-law will have to ask her permission before she accepts public engagements abroad.   Diana has said her decision to accept the inevitability of divorce was the saddest day of her life.   The marriage between the virginal Lady Diana Spencer and the sporty prince, 12 years her senior and destined to be Britain's next king, began at St Paul's Cathedral, in July 1981.   The couple seemed deeply in love and the lavish ceremony seen by hundreds of millions of television viewers around the world lent a new glamour to the 1,000 year-old royal family.   But it was only a few years before tabloid newspapers were reporting ructions in the royal marriage.   Charles and Diana found they had little in common.   She hated the outdoor pursuits he loved, while he could not comprehend her interests in fashion and pop music.   The prince returned to the arms of Camilla Parker Bowles, the woman he had loved long before he met Diana.   Bewildered and betrayed, Diana developed eating disorders and tried to kill herself to attract the attention of her straying husband.   She had an affair with a cavalry officer, who later gave his story to a romantic novelist.   The media spotlight ruined any chance of reconciling a union that had plunged into acrimony and the couple separated in 1992.   The separation did not stop semi-public sniping between the couple.   Queen Elizabeth in December virtually ordered them to divorce after Diana admitted adultery and questioned Charles's aptitude as king in a sensational television interview.   The day after the divorce terms were announced she resigned as president or patron of about 100 charities, in an apparent fit of pique over the loss of her royal status.   The divorce has not brought relief for her ex-husband.   Charles faces anguish over his 26-year relationship with Parker Bowles whom Britons blame for the breakdown of the marriage.   A survey in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph newspaper showed 56 percent of Britain's clergy believe that Charles, who will be head of the Anglican church when he takes the throne, should not become king if he were to marry Parker Bowles.   Even if he remains unmarried, 40 percent said that, as an adulterer, he was unfit to be king.   Opinion polls have shown deep public hostility to the idea of Parker Bowles as queen.   Charles has said he had no intention of remarrying, and Prime Minister John Major reiterated this on Wednesday.   "There is no proposition of Charles remarrying at the moment," Major told reporters in Scotland.   "Maybe some time in the future, but that may be some time ahead."   But Charles and Parker Bowles have been seen together frequently this year, attending private functions together.   They have just shared a weekend in Wales.   The Prince is in Balmoral, Scotland, holidaying with William and Harry. 
4813 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   EVENING STANDARD   -- THE FATTEST CAT OF ALL   City analysts and shareholder groups have reacted with concern to the news that George Simpson, who will take over as managing director of GEC, is to receive a pay and bonuses package of up to 10 million stg over the next five years.   -- TANKAN PUTS LID ON JAPANESE RATE FEARS   Fears of the effects on world markets of a rise in Japanese interest rates receded today, as the new quarterly Tankan survey reported business confidence to be down.   -- MAIDEN PROFIT FROM C&W'S AUSSIE ARM   Optus Communications, Cable & Wireless's Australian subsidiary, has impressed analysts by recording a maiden full-year profit of 30 million stg after only four years of operation.   -- CLINTON MAY ABANDON HARSH TOBACCO LAWS   Leon Panetta, the White House's Chief of Staff, has revealed that President Clinton would consider dropping his new legislative proposals on the sale of tobacco if the tobacco industry followed new rules which would ban most vending machine sales and restrict advertisements aimed at young people.   -- TOP FIRMS 'FAIL TO SPELL OUT TRUE COST OF PENSIONS'   Consulting actuaries Lane Clark & Peacock have concluded that accountants at leading British companies are failing to give out sufficiently clear information on the full costs of looking after retired workers.   The report says such information is crucial for investors and analysts to make decisions on the future profitability of companies.   -- BMC +44 71 377 1742 
4814 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  British police on Wednesday questioned seven Iraqis who hijacked a Sudanese jet with 199 people aboard in an apparent asylum bid as the government faced a dilemma over whether they should be deported.   "Seven people are in custody and they will all be interviewed separately today," a police spokeswoman said.   "Interpreters have been brought in and it will be a lenghty process."   Police added that six women, believed to be relatives of the hijackers, were also being held and would be questioned about any involvement in the hijacking.   Two children, aged under 10, were being looked after by police.   The Iraqis, who claimed during eight hours of negotiations with British police that they were "ordinary people persecuted by the regime of Saddam (Hussein)", left the Airbus A-310 airliner at Stansted airport north of London with their hands held high over their heads on Tuesday afternoon.   The hijack began on Monday when an Amman-bound plane was taken over shortly after it took off from Khartoum.   The hijackers threatened to blow it up during a refuelling stop in Larnaca, Cyprus, if they weren't taken to London.   One passenger said fighting broke out in the plane on the way to Cyprus and people were terrified as a man was stabbed by one of the hijackers.   Police said they could not comment about any incident during the flight.   After a complete search of the aircraft police found only knives and fake explosives.   Home Secretary (Interior Minister) Michael Howard defended his decision to let the plane land in Britain and emphasised the gravity of the crime.   "I believe that those who are guilty of the serious offence of hijacking should be brought to justice for it," he told BBC radio.   "There is no question...of considering any claim for asylum until the claim for criminal proceedings has been resolved.   After that question has been resolved, then, if they make a application for asylum we are obliged to consider it."   But he added that if they are found guilty of a particular crime it could bar them from asylum.   If the Iraqis are prosecuted and found guilty of hijacking they could face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.   Police declined to confirm press reports the men were Iraqi officials serving in Sudan.   "We are not identifying them in any way at the moment," the spokeswomen added.   But Iraq was quick to deny rumours that the hijackers were diplomats.   Abd-al-Samad Hamid, Iraq's ambassador in Khartoum, said the passenger list only included one diplomat who had nothing to do with the incident.   "On the contrary, that diplomat was harassed by the hijackers," INA, the Iraqi news agency, quoted him as saying.   The last hijacking at Stansted airport in 1982, when the pilot of an Air Tanzanian aircraft was shot and wounded, resulted in a three-year prison sentence for Yassin Membar, one of the assailants.   He is still in Britain.   David Howell, Conservative chairman of Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, warned of setting a dangerous precedent.   "If the word gets round that the quick way to asylum is three years in jail and then you're out, and in the country where you wanted to get to, that would be absolutely disastrous to the whole policy towards asylum seekers." 
4815 !GCAT !GPRO  The calamitous marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, launched amidst pomp and pageantry 15 years ago, ended on Wednesday with a rubber-stamp divorce in the back office of a London court.   The agreed divorce was granted within minutes of the court opening on the first day that Charles, as the applicant, could legally apply for it.   A clerk from Charles' lawyers delivered the application by hand to the court beside the River Thames, where it was checked by a court official and then stamped with the words "decree absolute" at 10.27 a.m. (0927 GMT).   The royal family made no statement about the divorce, merely telephoning the news to a domestic news agency.   The "quickie" divorce was granted on the grounds of two years of separation.   Diana is reported to have accepted a 17-million-pound ($26.5 million) divorce settlement but she loses the title "Her Royal Highness".   She will be known as Diana, Princess of Wales.   The split brings down the curtain on a marriage between a virgin bride and the heir to the British throne 12 years her senior that began before hundreds of millions of television viewers at London's St Paul's Cathedral in 1981.   Within five years, tabloid newspapers were reporting the first signs that the marriage was in trouble.   Problems based on basic incompatibility and Charles's continuing love for Camilla Parker Bowles pushed Diana into attempting suicide.   The glare of the media spotlight ruined any chance of reconciliation and the couple separated in 1992.   The divorce leaves Diana one of the most eligible women in the world but Charles faces anguish over his 26-year relationship with Parker Bowles, whom many Britons blame for the breakdown of the marriage.   A survey in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph newspaper showed 56 percent of Britain's clergy believe that Charles should not become king if he were to marry Parker Bowles.   Even if he remains unmarried, 40 percent said that, as an adulterer, he was unfit to be king.   Opinion polls have shown deep public hostility to the idea of Parker Bowles as queen.   Charles has said he has no intention of remarrying.   But he has continued his relationship with Parker Bowles, whom he met in 1970 when Diana was just nine years old, and whom he has called the "love of his life".   The couple were photographed together in Wales last weekend and Charles, 47, has bought Parker Bowles lavish gifts including a horse and a 25,000-pound ($39,000) ring.   As the divorce was finalised, the prince was in Balmoral, Scotland, holidaying with his sons William, 14, and Harry, 11, and his mother Queen Elizabeth.   Diana, who always loathed the royal family's summer holiday of outdoor pursuits at Balmoral, remained in London and was due to attend a lunch with the English National Ballet.   When the couple's decree nisi, the first stage in their quickie divorce, was granted six weeks ago, Diana was unable to contain her grief and was photographed crying.   She called her decision to agree to the divorce the saddest day of her life.   But her engagement with the Ballet, one of the handful of causes of which she remains patron after resigning from almost 100 charities six weeks ago, was arranged in May.   Although the princess once said that she would prefer a satisfying career to having a man in her life, she is widely expected to remarry.   She is said to long for more children, especially a daughter.   "Diana must learn to put the bad times behind her.   She must look to the future -- which is rosy.   There will be no shortage of handsome men beating a path to her door, offering the happiness she craves," said the Sun, one of the tabloid newspapers whose reports on the turmoil of her marriage led to its breakdown. 
4816 !GCAT !GPRO  Princess Diana, stripped of her royal title, stepped out for her first public engagement as a free woman on Wednesday just three hours after the ink dried on her divorce from heir to the throne Prince Charles.   The decree absolute issued at a London divorce court signalled liberation from her former husband and the royal family, but will not free her from intense media interest.   Scores of journalists and photographers waited for her outside the studios of the English National Ballet, one of the few charities she still patronises, where she attended a lunch.   Wearing a powder blue suit and sporting her engagement ring, Diana emerged from her car into the glare of the flashlights of photographers shouting "Ma'am".   Since her divorce, Diana need no longer be addressed as "Your Royal Highness".   "I've not seen this many photographers since Prince William was born," said Arthur Edwards, a photographer who has closely followed the princess since her marriage to Charles in 1981.   When the first stage in their quickie divorce was granted six weeks ago, Diana was apparently unable to contain her grief and was photographed crying.   She called the decision to agree to the divorce the saddest day of her life.   But on Wednesday she showed no public emotion and walked briskly into the studios where she watched rehearsals and met dancers, including Hungarian ballet star Zoltan Soymosi.   A small group of supporters gathered outside the studios to show their support for the princess as she enters her new life as a single, and extremely eligible, woman.   "She looked radiant, but a bit apprehensive," said Nick Beech, a keen supporter and primary school teacher.   "She looked at the photographers which she doesn't normally do."   "I was there at the beginning, at her wedding, and now I'm here at the end," said Beech.   "Because she's had such a tough time I want to show my support."  .   Diana is now considered a semi-detached member of the royal family and she will have to ask permission from Queen Elizabeth before she accepts public engagements overseas.   Stripped of the title "Her Royal Highness", she will have to curtsey to her own sons, William, 14, and Harry, 11, as well as other royals including her ex-husband at formal occasions.   But the attitude of the public is unlikely to change.   "She's still a princess in our eyes," said one photographer. 
4817 !GCAT !GPRO  Britain's embattled royal family can expect no respite from impertinent speculation and media intrusion after Wednesday's divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.   If Buckingham Palace hopes the end of the royal couple's unhappy marriage will mark a new era for the House of Windsor, royal commentators believe courtiers will be disappointed.   Queen Elizabeth earlier this month sought to put the royal family on course for the 21st century with a strategic review of how the monarchy is financed and floating the possibility of changing the laws of succession to the throne.   Palace officials said the monarchy was simply demonstrating the ability to adapt and change that had allowed it survive for 1,000 years.   A more pressing question is how it will face up to continuing scrutiny of the prince's relationship with his mistress, divorcee Camilla Parker Bowles, and to the obsession of the media with Diana, who remains the mother of a future king.   "Of course there will be public resentment over the way in which some journalists henceforth invade royal privacy," said Lord Deedes, a former government minister and newspaper editor.   "At the same time there will be a great deal of public curiosity and journalists have every right to satisfy it," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph.   "If what has happened so far damaged the monarchy, the speculation that will now follow must unavoidably inflict more damage."   The queen has already sought to ban the more persistent paparazzi photographers from her Balmoral estate in Scotland, where Prince Charles and his sons William, 14, and Harry, 11, are on holiday.   Diana has taken legal action restraining one photographer, who chased her around on his motorcycle, from coming within 300 metres of her.   Media sources do not believe these measures will succeed in curbing the press while there is still good money to be made from a strong royal story.   Opinion polls show that Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, will have to work hard to rebuild the public image of a royal family battered by a series of scandlas.   His divorce means three of the queen's four children -- the exception is her unmarried youngest son Prince Edward -- have seen their marriages fail.   Prince Andrew has divorced Sarah Ferguson, better known as Fergie, while Princess Anne has remarried after divorcing Captain Mark Phillips.   A majority of churchgoers believe the prince should not become king because of his divorce, according to an opinion poll in the Times newspaper, and their opposition would harden further if he were to remarry.   Newspapers reported that Prime Minister John Major will use his annual visit to Balmoral next week to warn the queen of the public disquiet that would greet a marriage between Prince Charles, future head of the Anglican church, and Parker Bowles.   Suggestions that Charles might be able to marry the 49-year-old woman he has described as the love of his life once the furore surrounding the divorce has died down have been dismissed as unrealistic.   "No doubt the prince hopes that an increasing indifference to the behaviour of the royals will ultimately allow him to marry Mrs Parker Bowles," said the Evening Standard.   "A more prudent man would realise that the public cynicism about the throne which he has done so much to create is not in the best interests of his kind." 
4818 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  By Nicholas Doughty, Diplomatic Correspondent   NATO now looks likely to keep troops in Bosnia well into next year, following the international community's decision to postpone municipal elections that had been due in the next few weeks.   Diplomats say the postponement, announced in Sarajevo on Tuesday, also allows Western governments to counter some of the sharp criticism of their Bosnian policy since the Dayton agreement which formally ended the war last December.   U.S. and European officials say it has been clear for months that the door is open for an extension of the NATO peace force's mandate, which is due to expire at the end of this year.   But no decisions have been taken so far.   Some of the 60,000-strong force will start leaving next month although NATO allies have agreed that much of it will not start pulling out until December.   The last troops could not be withdrawn until next March at the earliest, officials say.   But the forthcoming U.S. presidential election and other factors mean that that there is almost no public discussion of the need for a "follow-on" force that most allies feel will be needed to make sure the shaky peace agreement holds.   One of NATO's main tasks has been to provide a secure environment for the country's first post-war elections on September 14.   Municipal elections are now unlikely to be held before April or May next year and will need similar security.   "It was already likely that we would need some sort of successor force beyond the end of this year," said one European diplomat, who asked not to be identified.   "We will need to be there for the municipal elections, so the postponement makes a NATO extension well into next year that much more likely."   A NATO diplomat said: "We don't want an open-ended commitment to Bosnia but if we walk away and then it goes bad, we'll only have to go back in again."   Western military officials say a successor force will be smaller but still needs to be well-equipped and tough.   European allies have privately insisted that U.S. troops must be involved, to avoid any repeat of the damaging transatlantic disputes that were the hallmark of Western policy on Bosnia after war erupted in 1992.   European diplomats say that this point has been accepted in Washington but that the U.S. administration has to keep a low profile until after the presidential election in November.   President Bill Clinton wants to avoid making any fresh commitments on U.S. troops in Bosnia, which could be unpopular and provide ammunition for Republican challenger Bob Dole.   The postponement of Bosnia's municipal elections, amid allegations of electoral manipulation by the parties, is a formal acknowledgement that there are serious problems in rebuilding Bosnia as a civil society.   There has been criticism of Western policy from human rights groups and from the media, arguing that conditions simply do not exist in Bosnia for free and fair elections.   Critics say the United States and its allies have simply pushed ahead with election plans so that they can declare democracy has been achieved and pull their troops out of Bosnia.   The chief U.S. negotiator on Bosnia, John Kornblum, used the postponement of municipal elections to counter some of that criticism on Tuesday.   Speaking in Washington, he said the decision showed "there are clear rules for holding these elections and that violation of them...will not be tolerated".   Nevertheless, the other elections in Bosnia for cantonal assemblies, separate Moslem-Croat and Serb parliaments, a national House of Representatives and a three-man Presidency will go forward as planned on September 14.   Critics have argued that these will only reinforce the existing powers of dominant Serb, Moslem and Croat political parties, rather than build genuine democratic institutions.   A study published this month by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said the Dayton peace agreement had failed to create a space for more moderate political voices in Bosnia.   "The elections seem likely to herald a period of instability...NATO's second year in Bosnia may be more difficult than the first," it said. 
4819 !GCAT !GDEF  Britain marked the end of an era on Wednesday by formally withdrawing from service the last of four Polaris submarines that provided the country's nuclear deterrent for nearly 30 years.   Prime Minister John Major arrived at the Faslane navy base near Glasgow in Scotland to attend the decommissioning ceremony of HMS Repulse, which completed the last of its 60 three-month-long patrols in May.   He was accompanied by Defence Secretary Michael Portillo, who said the Polaris submarines had made a major contribution to keeping the peace since they entered service in 1968.   "It was the fact that no enemy was willing to take on the nuclear deterrent in the West that preserved the peace," Portillo told reporters.   The Polaris craft have been replaced by two Trident nuclear submarines, which are almost twice as big and carry advanced missiles that have a much longer range.   A third Trident is completing sea trials and a fourth is under construction.   "We need to make sure we are still defended," Portillo said.   "We hope not to have to use these weapons, but having these weapons is the best guarantee we won't have to go to war."   Repulse and the other Polaris submarines, the target of fierce anti-nuclear demonstrations over the years, are to be tied up and left to rust at another Scottish naval base, Rosyth, while an underground storage site for nuclear waste is built. 
4820 !GCAT !GPRO  Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana were ending their 15-year marriage on Wednesday with a "quickie" divorce at London's high court.   Here is a chronology of their failed marriage.   July 29, 1981 - Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, married Lady Diana Spencer in sumptuous ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral in London.   June 21, 1982 - First child born, William Arthur Philip Louis, known as Wills.   Diana suffers post-natal depression.   September 15, 1984 - Second child born, Henry Charles Albert David, known as Harry.   1985 - First reports of difficulties in royal marriage.   1986 - Charles renews his relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, a woman he later referred to as "the love of his life".   Diana develops slimming disorder bulimia nervosa.   Royal couple continue public duties, but in private they are soon leading separate lives.   June 1992 - "Diana -- Her True Story" by tabloid reporter Andrew Morton published.   Diana cooperated, through friends, in the writing of the book which showed her trapped in a loveless marriage and attempting suicide to attract Charles's attention.   Aug 25, 1992 - Newspapers publish excerpts of taped telephone conversation between Diana and James Gilby, who calls her "Squidgy" and tells her repeatedly that he loves her.   November 1992 - Disastrous tour of South Korea by the couple, who looked miserable and distant throughout.   December 9, 1992 - Prime Minister John Major announces formal separation of the couple in parliament.   January 1993 - Publication of "Camillagate" tape of intimate telephone conversation between Charles and Parker Bowles.   June 30, 1994 - Charles admits to adultery with Parker Bowles in television interview.   September 1994 - "Princess In Love" by Anna Pasternak published, telling of an affair between Diana and handsome cavalry officer James Hewitt.   Book condemned, but Diana later confirmed she had an affair with Hewitt and says she adored him.   November 20, 1995 - Princess of Wales gives television interview in which she admits to adultery with Hewitt and says she doubts Charles' ability to handle the responsibility of being king.   December 20, 1995 - Buckingham Palace confirms Queen Elizabeth has written to Charles and Diana urging them to divorce.   December 21, 1995 - Charles says he has "no plans" to remarry.   December 30, 1995 - Prime Minister Major assures Diana of a major role in public life despite the prospect of divorce.   February 28, 1996 - Diana agrees to the request for a divorce, calling it the saddest day of her life.   July 4 - Charles's lawyers end 10 weeks of deadlock and offer Diana divorce terms.   July 12 - Charles and Diana agree divorce terms.   Diana is to get a reported 17 million pound ($26 million) settlement, but is stripped of the title "Her Royal Highness".   July 13 - Strain of divorce shows as Diana bursts into tears in public.   July 15 - London court grants Charles and Diana a decree nisi, the first stage in a quickie divorce obtained on the grounds that they have been separated for more than two years.   July 16 - Diana quits nearly 100 charities, blaming the loss of her title and saying she wanted to give the charities an opportunity to seek a new royal patron.   August 25 - Newspaper publishes photograph of Charles sharing weekend break in Wales with Parker Bowles.   August 28 - Charles and Diana granted a decree absolute ending their 15-year marriage. 
4821 !GCAT !GWEA  Canada's northwestern Prairie may see a slight risk of frost Sunday through next Friday mornings, Environment Canada said.   "Sunday and Monday mornings will see a slight risk of frost from Banff (Alberta) north to Lake Athabasca because of a ridge of high pressure coming in," meteorologist Michel Bisson said.   "Tuesday to Friday there's a slight risk in that area between Banff and Jasper and northeast into Saskatchewan, north of the 56th or 57th parallel," Bisson said.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
4822 !GCAT !GDIP  Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh held talks on Wednesday with Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Prince Sultan, whose visit to Yemen is the first by a key member of the Saudi royal family since their ties soured in 1990.   An official close to the Yemen presidential office told Reuters their talks included "ways of enhancing bilateral ties and means of pushing forward work of the joint committees."   Prince Sultan's three-day visit is a sign of improving ties between the two neighbours after years of tension and brief border clashes.   The visit is the first by a senior Saudi official since ties soured in 1990 when Cuba and Yemen, then members of the United Nations Security Council, were the only two states to vote against use of force against Iraq in the 1990-91 Gulf crisis.   Sultan, who is also second deputy prime minister, was accompanied by Interior Minister Prince Nayef and Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and other officials.   Talks between Yemen Prime Minister Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani and Prince Sultan would focus on the work of joint committees set up last year to demarcate their land and sea borders.   Saleh called last month for a summit with Saudi Arabia to accelerate the work of the committees.   Agreements on cooperation in trade and health were expected to be signed during the visit, another Yemeni official said.   Wealthy Saudi Arabia, once a crucial financial and political supporter of impoverished Yemen, cut off all financial aid to Sanaa and expelled hundreds of thousands of Yemeni workers during the crisis over Iraq's occupation of Kuwait.   Tension rose again when Saudi Arabia and some Arab states appeared to back a bid to revive the southern Yemeni state which Sanaa crushed in the 1994 Yemen civil war.   After minor border clashes, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed a memorandum of understanding in 1995 to settle a 60-year-old dispute over border areas potentially rich in oil and gas.   Ties have been steadily improving since and the two states in July signed a security accord to combat crime, drug smuggling and allow the extradition of suspects. 
4823 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday that Israel had declared war on the Palestinians and called the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza in two years.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to Arafat's strongest attack on his right-wing government since its election in May, issued a statement saying that Israel would view with "severity" any attempt to step up tensions or violence.   Arafat lashed out during a session of the Palestinian legislature against Israel's new policy of Jewish settlement expansion and its uncompromising line on Jerusalem.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat said.   In his speech to the crowded legislature, he signalled he was not abandoning diplomacy although "alarm bells are ringing".   His tough talk was sparked by Israel's announcement on Tuesday of plans to expand the settlement of Kiryat Sefer and its demolition of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem which Israeli authorities said was built without a permit.   "Israel has started the war on Jerusalem.   They are idiots to have started the Jerusalem battle," Arafat said in Arabic.   "There will be no Palestinian state without Jerusalem.   Netanyahu should know he is stupid to have started this battle."   Arafat called a half-day general strike "for Jerusalem" on Thursday in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.   It will be the first strike in both areas since Israel handed over parts of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   "The Israeli government will relate with severity to any attempt to bring about escalation or violence that could harm the peace process," said a statement issued by Netanyahu's office.   "Extreme statements and actions which do not contribute towards moving the diplomatic process forward should be avoided, especially in light of emerging understandings between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to advance their negotiations on a number of important issues," it said.   Arafat also called on Palestinians to flock to East Jerusalem for Moslem Friday prayers.   "On Friday, all Moslems, including Palestinians in Israel...will go to (Jerusalem's) Al-Aqsa mosque and pray.   Jews and Christians who do not pray should accompany them and stand behind them," he said.   Many Palestinians will not be able to respond to Arafat's call.   Israeli travel restrictions, imposed after bombings by Moslem militants in February and March, ban most of the two million Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza from entering Jerusalem.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and claims both halves of the city as its capital.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   Arafat unexpectedly broke off his address to take a telephone call from U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, who held talks in Paris on Tuesday with Israeli and Egyptian officials.   When Arafat returned to the podium, he said senior PLO negotiator Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, and Netanyahu aide Dore Gold could meet on Thursday.   He quoted Ross as telling him: "The important thing is the Israelis are prepared to move."   Arafat said he replied: "Is this like their previous promises?"   "No, they have good intentions," Arafat quoted Ross as saying.   Palestinians have been pressing Israel to carry out a long-delayed partial troop pullout from the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron agreed by the previous Labour government.   The Israeli government is studying redeployment plans submitted by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai which are likely to demand a wider-than-agreed army presence in Hebron. 
4824 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday that Israel had declared war on the Palestinians and called for the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza in two years.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat told the Palestinian legislature.   Accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of stupidity, Arafat launched his strongest attack on the right-wing government since its election in May.   The tirade was sparked by Israel's announcement on Tuesday of plans to expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer and its demolishing of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem.   "Israel has started the war on Jerusalem.   They are idiots to have started the Jerusalem battle," Arafat said in Arabic.   "There will be no Palestinian state without Jerusalem.   Netanyahu should know he is stupid to have started this battle."   Arafat called for a general strike "for Jerusalem" on Thursday in all of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.   There has not been a joint shutdown there since May 1994 when Israeli troops began withdrawing under an interim self-rule agreement signed in 1993.   The strike will have little effect on the Israeli economy while hurting Palestinian merchants in East Jerusalem and Bethlehem who cater to the tourist trade.   Some 25,000 Palestinian labourers are likely to stay away from their jobs, mainly in construction, in Israel.   But Palestinians, once the backbone of the building industry, have been largely replaced by labourers from Romania and China.   "On Friday, all Moslems, including Palestinians in Israel...will go to (Jerusalem's) Al-Aqsa mosque and pray.   Jews and Christians who do not pray should accompany them and stand behind them," Arafat said.   Officials in Netanyahu's office were not immediately available for comment on Arafat's remarks.   Israeli travel restrictions, imposed after bombings by Moslem militants in February and March, ban most of the two million Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza from entering Jerusalem.   Netanyahu, who opposes trading occupied land for peace, made Jerusalem a central issue in his election campaign, accusing Labour Prime Minister Shimon Peres of planning to hand control of the Arab eastern part of the city to the Palestinians.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and claims both halves of the city as its capital.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   In his speech to the crowded legislature, Arafat signalled he was not abandoning diplomacy although "alarm bells are ringing".   He unexpectedly broke off his address to take a telephone call from U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, who held talks in Paris on Tuesday with Israeli and Egyptian officials.   When Arafat returned to the podium, he said senior PLO negotiator Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen, and Netanyahu aide Dore Gold could meet on Thursday.   He quoted Ross as telling him: "The important thing is the Israelis are prepared to move."   Arafat said he replied: "is this like their previous promises?"   "No, they have good intentions," Arafat quoted Ross as saying.   Palestinians have been pressing Israel to carry out a long-delayed partial troop pullout from the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron agreed by the previous Labour government.   The Israeli government is studying redeployment plans submitted by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai which are likely to demand a wider than agreed army presence in Hebron. 
4825 !GCAT !GDIP  United Nations chief arms official Rolf Ekeus said on Wednesday that Iraq had renewed pledges to give his inspectors unrestricted access to any facility they wanted to search.   But he said Iraq's words would only have weight if they were translated into action as his inspectors carried out their task of ridding Iraq of weapons of mass destruction under the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire.   "We got strong undertaking from the leader of the Iraqi delegation (Deputy Prime Minister) Tareq Aziz that they intended to faithfully and truthfully comply with the statement reached on June 22," Ekeus told Reuters at the end of his three-day visit to Iraq.   In June Ekeus and Aziz agreed on arrangements to solve the controversial issue of access and also laid down procedures on how to solve the problem of prohibited materials U.N. inspectors suspected Baghdad was still hiding.   But the deal did not work when Iraq barred in July and August teams of Ekeus's inspectors from entering several sites it said were vital for its national security.   "I do not say we came to an agreement but it appears there will be effort from the Iraqi side that these elements will not be repeated...We'll judge in our future work if this renewed undertaking will be honoured," Ekeus said.   Ekeus, chairman of the U.N. Special Commission (UNSCOM) in charge of scrapping the banned Iraqi weapons, said his talks with Aziz also addressed the issue of some banned materials which his commission believed were still in Iraq's possession.   Hour after Ekeus left for Bahrain, Aziz said in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "We stressed to UNSCOM chairman and we repeat the confirmation with all force again that Iraq does not hide prohibited weapons or banned weapons components or related documents."   Ekeus said his commission still lacked full accounting of all proscribed items, particularly production materials in the three major areas -- biological weapons, chemical weapons and long-range ballistic missiles.   He acknowledged that UNSCOM had accounted for "a large number of banned weapons but still what we are concerned about is quite significant".   The envoy said he was convinced that security counil members would view Iraq's latest undertaking "with certain scepticism".   Aziz charged that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) enlisted agents to mislead Ekeus's commission and the Security Council to prolong trade sanctions on Iraq.   "We maintained (in the talks) that time had come for the (weapons) files, reopened in August 1995, to be closed by focusing on intensive, professional and objective action...and not on the intrigues and lies the United States and its mercenaries propogate," Aziz said.   Ekeus arrived in Baghdad on Monday.   It was his second visit to Iraq in about two months.   Days before his arrival the U.N. Security Council issued a statement in support of his mission, demanding that Iraq fully honour its ceasefire commitments and allow arms experts free access to any facility they wish to see.   Iraq is under U.N. trade sanctions, including a ban on its oil exports, for invading Kuwait in 1990.   The removal of curbs on its crude exports, apart from the partial oil sales deal Baghdad signed with the United Nations in May, depends on testimony by Ekeus that Iraq has fully honoured all weapons demands under the ceasefire. 
4826 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Wednesday called Israel's decision to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank a declaration of war on Palestinians.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat told the Palestinian legislature.   But he told the session he had been assured by the United States that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had "good intentions" and he asked the council to approve more peace negotiations with the Jewish state.   The legislature convened in Palestinian-ruled Ramallah a day after Israel announced plans to expand the nearby Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer, and used a bulldozer to demolish a Palestinian community centre in Arab East Jerusalem.   "Alarm bells are ringing.   The situation is very critical now," Arafat, speaking in Arabic, told the session.   He accused Washington, the main sponsor of Middle East peacemaking, of being "preoccupied" with U.S. presidential elections in November.   Then he unexpectedly broke off his speech to take a telephone call from U.S. Middle East envoy Dennis Ross, who held talks in Paris on Tuesday with Israeli and Egyptian officials.   When Arafat returned to the podium, his tone had changed.   He said senior PLO negotiator Abu Mazen and Netanyahu aide Dore Gold could meet on Thursday.   "Dennis told me that the talks were very important and there should be a meeting tomorrow between Dore Gold and Abu Mazen," Arafat said.   He quoted Ross as telling him: "The important thing is the Israelis are prepared to move."   Arafat said he replied: "Is this like their previous promises?"   "No, they have good intentions," Arafat quoted Ross as saying.   Arafat told legislators he had sent messages to co-sponsors the United States and Russia, the European Community, Japan, China and Arab countries to complain about the settlement policy of Netanyahu's right-wing government. 
4827 !GCAT !GDIP  Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller will visit Jordan on September 3 on her first trip abroad since she took office in June, Foreign Ministry spokesman Omer Akbel said on Wednesday.   "The two-day visit will take place at the invitation of Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti," he told reporters.   He said Turkey considered Jordan a suitable country with which to cooperate on Middle East matters.   Bilateral relations and the Middle East peace process would be on the table during the visit, Akbel said.   Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan visited mainly Moslem countries, including Iran, during a 10-day tour earlier in August. 
4828 !GCAT !GCRIM  Gunmen killed a leading Turkish organised crime boss in a drive-by shooting at a Bosphorus cafe early on Wednesday, police said, and his wife vowed a bloody revenge.   Turkish newspapers said panicked diners in the fashionable cafe in Istanbul's posh Bebek district, including a top singer and a talk show host, jumped into the water to escape the hail of bullets.   The Anatolian news agency said Tevfik Agansoy's henchmen shot open the doors of an Istanbul hospital to get him treated quickly, but to no avail.   "Agansoy died of his wounds on his way to hospital," a police official told Reuters.   Anatolian said three other people, including an off-duty bodyguard of foreign minister Tansu Ciller, were killed after two gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons.   Seven people were wounded, Turkish television said, including another of Ciller's bodyguards.   Newspapers said the bodyguards were friends of Agansoy.   Agansoy, 36, managed to shoot one of the assailants in the head, killing him, Hurriyet daily said.   Agansoy's wife Hulya said he was killed by a rival gang boss and vowed vengeance.   "Look, I am not crying," she said on private ATV television as she kissed her husband's body in hospital.   "I shall cry only when I have avenged your blood," she told the corpse.   "There will be much blood.   There will be a massacre," Anatolian quoted her as saying.   Television showed pictures of Agansoy, stripped to his underpants and covered in blood, being carried off on a stretcher.   Blood covered the floors of the cafe. 
4829 !GCAT !GPOL  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding on Wednesday to Yasser Arafat's call for a general strike over Israeli policies, said Israel would regard with "severity" any attempt to escalate tensions or violence.   The terse statement from the Prime Minister's Office did not refer directly to Arafat's accusation that Israel had declared war on the Palestinians by expanding Jewish settlements and attempting to strengthen its hold over East Jerusalem.    "The Israeli government will relate with severity to any attempt to bring about escalation or violence that could harm the peace process," said a statement issued by Netanyahu's office.   "In response to Arafat's remarks, the Prime Minister's Office says extreme statements and actions which do not contribute towards moving the diplomatic process forward should be avoided, especially in light of emerging understandings between Israel and the Palestinian Authority to advance their negotiations on a number of important issues," it said.   Arafat, angered by Israel's announcement on Tuesday it would expand a Jewish settlement in the West Bank and by the demolition of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem, called for a strike on Thursday in the West Bank and Gaza.   It will be the first strike in both areas since Israel turned over parts of the West Bank and Gaza to Arafat's control in 1994. 
4830 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan signed a $20 million aid package for war-torn Bosnia on Wednesday.   The agreement, also signed by Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic during a visit to the Turkish capital, is to be supplemented by a $60 million credit accord later in the day, Erbakan said at a news conference.   The credit will be provided by Turkey's state-run Eximbank.   "May this be a source of happiness for the two countries," Erbakan said.   Turkey has close relations with the government in Sarajevo which has sent soldiers to Turkey for military training.   NATO member Turkey has strong historical links with the Bosnian Moslems through the Ottoman Empire and has provided troops for the United Nations force in Bosnia.   Muratovic is also meeting President Suleyman Demirel, Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller and Turkish businessmen during his visit.   He will leave on Thursday.   The Turkish foreign ministry said he will discuss Bosnia's elections, in which a small number of Bosnians in Turkey have also been voting. 
4831 !GCAT !GDIP  Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi will pay a one-day working visit to Turkey on September 3, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.   "Both countries' governments were formed recently.   This visit will create a direct contact opportunity for the two parties to express their views," spokesman Omer Akbel told a news briefing.   The Italian prime minister, in office since May 18, will be the first Western leader to meet Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan since he came to power on June 28.   Prodi will also meet President Suleyman Demirel and Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller, Akbel said. 
4832 !GCAT !GDIS  Exceptionally heavy rains in Ethiopia this year will probably cause floods in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in early September, Egyptian government newspapers said on Wednesday.   The rains will also totally fill the lake behind the Aswan High Dam for the first time since the dam was built in the 1960s.   The newspapers quoted Egyptian Public Works and Water Resources Minister Abdel-Hadi Radi as saying the water would probably uproot trees, blocking the floodgates at the Roseires Dam on the Blue Nile in Sudan.   This could deprive the Sudanese capital of electricity and drinking water, he added.   Sudan has already reported floods along the White Nile, which rises in Central Africa, but it is the Blue Nile from Ethiopia that flows fastest and is most liable to flooding.   Radi said Egypt itself was in no danger because the hydrologists can open floodgates at Aswan and at Toshka, from where excess water would flow into the Western Desert.   The water level in Lake Nasser is already close to 175 metres (574 feet) above sea level and it will probably peak at a record 179.20 metres (588) feet in October or early November, Radi was quoted as saying.   Lake Nasser will then hold 144 billion cubic metres (32,000 billion gallons) of water, equivalent to far more than a whole year's supply.   The minister said there were signs that the Nile did indeed have seven low years after a heavy flood.   "Egypt will not have a shortage for a period of seven years," he added.   In the Bible, Joseph won fame and fortune by stockpiling grain for the pharaoh in readiness for the lean period. 
4833 !GCAT !GPOL  Palestinian and Israeli activists on Wednesday said Israel's planned eviction of bedouin Arabs from a West Bank encampment to allow a Jewish settlement to expand amounted to "ethnic cleansing".   Palestinian cabinet minister Saeb Erekat led about 50 dovish Israelis and Palestinians on a solidarity visit to the 50 families of the Jahhalin bedouin tribe awaiting a September 4 deadline to move from their West Bank camps to a new location designated by the Israeli government.   "This is a demonstration of solidarity to say that the Palestinians are absolutely against forced removal of Palestinians from Palestine in Palestine," said human rights lawyer Lynda Bryer, a champion of the bedouins' struggle for more than two years.   Israeli peace activist and former parliament member Uri Avnery said the decision to remove the Jahhalin tribe constituted ethnic cleansing.   "It is a kind of ethnic cleansing, especially since it concerns the bedouins.   It is a sad story because they are kicked from one place to another," Avnery said.   Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel's civil administration in the West Bank, has said the bedouins were squatting on state-owned land and has offered to move them into a new area fitted with public services.   Lerner said the land had been earmarked for the expansion of the Jewish settlement of Maaleh Adumim.   Under an Israeli-PLO peace deal, the fate of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, occupied by Israeli in the 1967 Middle East war, is up for negotiations in final status peace talks.   Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently overturned a four-year freeze on settlement expansion imposed by the dovish government he ousted in May elections.   Palestinians, who view settlements as an obstacle to peace, were enraged by the move.   Hundreds of landless bedouin families, many expelled from southern Palestine when the Jewish state was set up in 1948, live in tents or tin shacks in small encampments scattered across the West Bank wilderness.   They survive by raising sheep or working in construction on Jewish settlements.   Other bedouins remained in Israel where they are now citizens.   Many serve in Israel's army. 
4834 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  An Islamist Kuwaiti deputy, citing concern over "sin-inducing" material on the worldwide computer network Internet, on Wednesday called for government curbs on access to some Internet sites by users in Kuwait.   "It (Internet) carries material...inducing sin.   This is a matter that should not be met with silence," a proposal submitted to parliament by Abdulla al-Hajri said.   "This is most dangerous."   "Concerned government bodies should take the measures they envisage to prevent viewing all (material) breaching our belief and values on the information network, the Internet," it said.   Hajri told Reuters by telephone: "There have been some images that breach decency and do not suit our social values on the Internet."   He said his proposal did not call for any restrictions that would harm the freedom of expression.   "I believe the government would respond to this proposal," he said.   The government in the conservative Gulf Arab state imposes strict censorship on nudity and revealing photographs in magazines. 
4835 !GCAT !GENV !GTOUR  The Pyramid of Chephren, second largest of the three Giza Pyramids, reopened to visitors on Wednesday after 10 months of renovation and improvements to save it from the breath and sweat of tourists.   A large piece of masonry fell from the ceiling of the burial chamber last October, alerting archaeologists to the damage the high humidity was doing to the monument.   Of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Giza Pyramids are the only survivor.   Abdelhalim Noureddin, chairman of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, said the council had spent about one million pounds ($300,000) patching up the damage and installing a ventilation system, new lighting and a closed-circuit television system.   The burial chamber under the apex, with graffiti recording its rediscovery by Italian adventurer Giovanni Belzoni in March 1818, also has a public address system for use in emergencies.   "Now the masonry is completely solid and there are no problems with the stone because we managed to deal with it in time," Noureddin told reporters.   The Great Pyramid of Cheops, the largest of the three, had similar treatment in 1990 and 1991.   Noureddin said the third pyramid, that of the Pharaoh Mycerinus, would soon receive the same treatment.   Chephren, the son of Cheops and the fourth pharaoh of the fourth dynasty, ruled Egypt in the 26th century BC. 
4836 !GCAT !GVIO  Turkish troops killed 25 Kurdish rebels in recent clashes in the east of the country, security officials said on Wednesday.   The emergency rule governor's office said in a statement that 10 rebels from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) were killed in fighting in Tunceli province.   Soldiers killed nine more PKK guerrillas in Sirnak province and six in Hakkari.   The statement did not report any military casualties and did not say exactly when the clashes took place.   Over 20,000 people have been killed in the PKK's fight for independence or autonomy in southeastern Turkey. 
4837 !GCAT !GDIP  Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan al-Nahayan, president of the United Arab Emirates, will visit Egypt within the next three days for talks with President Hosni Mubarak, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.   Mubarak and Sheikh Zaid last met in Geneva in early July, shortly after an Arab summit in Cairo.   The UAE president usually visits Egypt for a few days in the late summer.   He spends most of his time in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, which is cooler and breezier than Cairo. 
4838 !GCAT !GDIP  Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Prince Sultan arrived in Yemen on Wednesday for a three-day official visit in a sign of improving ties between the two neighbours after years of tension and brief border clashes.   Airport officials told Reuters the prince and his delegation arrived at around noon (0900 GMT) at Sanaa airport, where they was met by Prime Minister Abdul-Aziz Abdul-Ghani and officials.   The visit is the first by a senior official and a key member of the Saudi royal family since relations soured in 1990 when Cuba and Yemen, then members of the United Nations Security Council, were the only two of 15 states to vote against the use of force against Iraq in the 1990-91 Gulf crisis.   Sultan, who is also second deputy prime minister, was accompanied by Interior Minister Prince Nayef and Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and other officials.   He was to meet President Ali Abdullah Saleh at a guest palace in Sanaa, before a luncheon at the presidential palace, a Yemeni official said.   A first session of talks between Abdul-Ghani and Sultan will be held later on Wednesday.   The talks would focus on the work of joint committees set up last year to demarcate the two neighbours' land and sea borders, the official said.   Saleh called last month for a summit with Saudi Arabia to accelerate the work of the committees.   They would also look at ways to boost bilateral relations.   Agreements on cooperation in trade and health were expected to be signed during the visit, the Yemeni official said.   Another session of talks would be held on Thursday.   Wealthy Saudi Arabia, once a crucial financial and political supporter of impoverished Yemen, cut off all financial aid to Sanaa and expelled hundreds of thousands of Yemeni workers during the crisis over Iraq's occupation of Kuwait.   Tension rose again when Saudi Arabia and some Arab states appeared to back a bid to revive the southern Yemeni state which Sanaa crushed in the 1994 Yemen civil war.   After months of minor border clashes, Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed a memorandum of understanding in 1995 to settle a 60-year-old dispute over border areas potentially rich in oil and gas.   Ties have been steadily improving since and the two states in July signed a security accord to combat crime, drug smuggling and allow the extradition of suspects. 
4839 !GCAT !GDIP  Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy will visit Egypt this Sunday for talks with President Hosni Mubarak, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.   The trip will be Levy's first to an Arab state as a minister in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. 
4840 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Lebanese magistrate issued an arrest warrant on Wednesday against jailed former Christian warlord Samir Geagea on a charge of murdering Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987, judicial officials said.   The charge is the fourth murder case brought against Geagea -- until 1994 the most outspoken critic in Lebanon of the pro-Syrian government -- who is serving life sentences for two murders and a lengthy jail term for a third.   Judge Georges Ghantous issued the latest warrant after a two-hour interrogation during which Geagea refused to answer questions, judicial officials said.   Geagea's lawyer, Samih Besharrawi, told the judge Geagea believed the charge was apparently legal but in fact basically political.   He protested that he had not been allowed to see Geagea alone in jail to prepare his defence.   A remote-controlled bomb blew up Karami's helicopter off the Lebanese coast during the 1975-90 civil war.   Geagea, who headed the Lebanese Forces (LF), the most powerful Christian militia during the war, is the first person known to have been accused of the killing.   However, judicial sources said Brigadier Khalil Mattar of the Lebanese army, commander of the Qlaiaat air base in northern Lebanon, and several former members of the Lebanese Forces, had been detained a few weeks ago in connection with Karami's death.   Geagea is already serving life sentences for the October 1990 murders of Christian politician Dani Chamoun and his family and the murder in the same year of Dr Elias az-Zayek, a former LF member.   A court acquitted Geagea in July of a 1994 church bombing that killed 11 people, but sentenced him to 10 years jail for establishing a military faction after the government outlawed all civil war militias in 1991.   The government ordered a general amnesty when the civil war ended but postwar crimes and certain high-profile killings like the Karami killing which had already been referred to the Judicial Council were excluded. 
4841 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Renewed fighting between rival Kurdish militias in northern Iraq over money and territory has derailed a U.S.-brokered settlement and turned the remote region into a diplomatic battleground between Washington and Tehran.   Reports from the area reaching Turkey on Wednesday show no real let-up in more than 10 days of clashes between guerrillas of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and forces of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).   Accurate casualty figures are impossible to obtain, but it is clear that hundreds of Kurdish fighters have been killed or wounded in the worst flare-up of violence since a ceasefire was agreed one year ago at U.S.-sponsored talks in Ireland.   "Skirmishes continue but the situation on the ground is more quiet than in recent days," said KDP Ankara representative Safeen Dizayee, adding the lull reflected military conditions not a political breakthrough.   "The PUK has made advances in the northeast.   They have to go back to previous areas as agreed.   They have not been faithful to it," Dizayee said.   The PUK spokesman was not available for comment.   At issue are the border trade with Turkey, worth an estimated $250,000 a day in tariffs and informal taxes, and authority over the city of Arbil, administrative centre of Iraqi Kurdish territory.   KDP control over the Habur border crossing with Turkey, giving it first shot at "taxing" Turkish traders and smugglers, has long angered PUK leaders.   The latter struck back in December of 1994, seizing the Kurdish "capital", Arbil.   Western efforts to resolve these disputes and maintain a united Kurdish front against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein have made little headway.   The latest round of fighting broke out on August 17, near the town of Rawanduz, close to the Iranian border.   United Nations officials say hundreds of Kurdish families have been displaced by the fighting which includes heavy shelling.   Each side blames the other for the clashes.   The KDP has also accused Iran of backing the PUK, while the PUK charged Baghdad with shelling its positions in support of its Kurdish rivals.   Washington's efforts to restore the ceasefire -- hindered by long distances and poor communications, as well as a lack of diplomatic attention -- collapsed late last week after less than 24 hours.   "The Americans have stepped back and the Iranians have stepped in to fill the gap," said a spokesman for the Iraqi National Coongress (INC), an umbrella group opposing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   "There has been little real U.S. action of late," said the INC, whose efforts to bring down Saddam have been hindered by fighting among the Kurds who -- at least nominally -- make up much of the Iraqi opposition forces.   While the KDP and PUK trade bullets and shells, Washington and Tehran have been locked in a war of words over nothern Iraq -- an autonomous enclave carved out of Iraqi territory after the 1991 Gulf War and watched over by a U.S.-led air force.   On Tuesday, Iranian state radio accused the United States of provoking inter-Kurdish fighting to counter Iran's influence in the region.   Tehran radio said the United States was trying to provoke the fighting to subvert Iranian-sponsored talks between the KDP and PUK in Tehran in October.   "America is trying to cause new clashes in northern Iraq to pave the way for its presence in this region under the guise of mediation."   Washington has dismissed the charges. 
4842 !GCAT !GVIO  A Finnish peacekeeper was slightly injured in south Lebanon on Wednesday when mortar bombs fired by pro-Israeli militiamen hit a U.N. post, a U.N. spokesman said.   The soldier from the Finnish contingent of UNIFIL (U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon) was cut in the face by flying glass when a shell exploded near his observation tower, breaking its windows, the spokesman said.   The UNIFIL post is about one km (half a mile) from a position of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) militia which helps Israeli troops control a border occupation zone.   SLA fighters began firing in all directions after an explosion near their position at Almane, inside Israel's occupation zone along the Lebanese-Israeli border, the spokesman said.   The reason for the explosion was not immediately known but pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) guerrillas fighting the Israelis and SLA often detonate roadside bombs near the Almane outpost. 
4843 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Moroccan press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LE MATIN DU SAHARA   - Morocco hosts seminar on efforts to unify divergent Islamic trends in different countries.   L'OPINION   - Two French nationals arrested on drug charges in Tangier.   LE QUOTIDIEN DU MAROC   - U.S. Agency for International Development grants Morocco $4.1 million for developing small businesses.   AL-MAGHRIB   - Euro-Maghreb gas pipeline might be operational in October.   BAYANE-AL-YOUM   - Interior Minister Basri asks electors to draw cards to take part in referendum on constitutional reform due on September 13. 
4844 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Yasser Arafat called on Wednesday for a strike in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday over Israeli actions in Jerusalem and urged Arabs to flock to the city for prayers on Friday despite Israeli travel bans.   "They started this battle.   There should be a general strike tomorrow in all of the West Bank and Gaza for Jerusalem," the Palestinian president told the Palestinian legislature a day after Israel demolished a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem.   "On Friday, all Moslems, including Palestinians in Israel...will go to the Al-Aqsa mosque and pray and Jews and Christians who do not pray should accompany them and stand behind them.   Israel has started the war on Jerusalem.   They are idiots to have started the Jerusalem battle," he said.   Under an Israeli closure imposed after Moslem suicide bombings in February and March, most of the two million Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank have been barred from entering East Jerusalem.   "There will be no Palestinian state without Jerusalem.   Netanyahu should know he is stupid to have started this battle," Arafat told the packed session.   His comments were among his strongest condemning the Netanyahu government since its election in May. 
4845 !GCAT !GPOL  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday that Israel's decision to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank was tantamount to declaring war against the Palestinians.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," he told a session of the Palestinian legislature.    The legislature convened in Ramallah a day after Israel announced plans to expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer near the West Bank town and used a bulldozer to demolish a Palestinian community centre in Arab East Jerusalem.   "Alarm bells are ringing.   The situation is very critical now," Arafat, speaking in Arabic, told the session.   He said he had sent messages to peace process co-sponsors the United States and Russia, the European Community, Japan, China and Arab countries to complain about the settlement policy of the right-wing government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   Arafat said that before the session, he had received telephone calls from U.S. Middle East peace envoy Dennis Ross, Netanyahu adviser Dore Gold and Osama el-Baz, an adviser to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, on their talks in Paris on Tuesday. 
4846 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Democratic Party rallied to Hillary Rodham Clinton's defence on Tuesday with thundering cheers as she delivered a speech carefully crafted to persuade Americans to take a second look at the most criticised woman in U.S. politics.   More than 20,000 Democrats waved a sea of "Welcome Home Hillary" placards as she walked onto the podium to address the party's national convention and deliver a simple speech stressing her husband's efforts to preserve and strengthen the American family.   For several minutes she was unable to talk above a deafening roar of approval from a crowd bent on countering four years of attacks on her by Republicans and their allies who have branded her cold, aloof, domineering and radical.   Throughout the speech, the woman whose harshest critics accuse her of secretly running the White House, was the good wife.   She talked of her husband's help, his plans, his programmes.   Gone were the past references to "we" in describing administration policy.   Instead she spoke of the president's concern for families.   "The President hasn't forgotten that there are thousands of children languishing in foster care who can't be returned home.   That's why he signed legislation that provides for a $5,000 tax cut.   ... My husband also understands that parents are their children's first teachers .   ... my husband has always felt that all American families should have affordable health care," she said.   She also turned a defence of her book, "It Takes A Village," which Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole attacked at his party's convention, into a plea for her husband's re-election.   "For Bill and me, there has been no experience more challenging, more rewarding and more humbling than raising our daughter.   And we have learned that to raise a happy, healthy and hopeful child.   It takes a family.   It takes teachers.   It takes clergy.   It takes business people.   It takes community leaders.   It takes those who protect our health and safety.   It takes all of us," she said.   Then she added to cheers: "Yes, it takes a village.   And it takes a president ... It takes Bill Clinton."   She was asked afterwards about the continual attacks on her, a recent one being an accusation that she was behind the 30-hour delay in giving police a suicide note written by Clinton aide and her close friend, Vincent Foster.   She said, "There are so many of them (attacks).   They come from all directions.   I view it as partisan, politically motivated."   Before she spoke at the convention, several speakers came to her defence, most notably civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.   He had the crowd jumping to its feet when he declared: "We must maintain with integrity the first lines of defence as they attack the integrity of the First Lady.   It's beneath the dignity of American citizens."   They applauded again when he declared, "It's a moral obligation.   It's a moral obligation."   Tipper Gore, wife of Vice President Al Gore, returned to the theme later in the evening when she introduced Mrs. Clinton, calling her, "A woman who always maintains her grace, dignity and humour even while being subjected to unimaginable incivility." 
4847 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Addressing a cheering, chanting hall of Democrats but talking straight to America, Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday took the lead in urging re-election of her husband as the nation's true defender of family values.   Speaking in soft, measured tones about the hopes she and President Bill Clinton share for America's children and its families, the often-controversial First Lady delivered a speech to the Democratic convention clearly designed to co-opt an issue the Republicans consider their own -- and to change public perceptions of herself and her husband as well.   To safeguard the future of America's children, she said, "It takes a president who believes not only in the potential of his own child but of all children, who believes not only in the strength of his own family but of the American family ...   "It takes Bill Clinton," she said to a thunderous ovation.   Her speech had Democrats on their feet roaring approval and, joined with an earlier eye-misting address by black civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, topped an evening that had the convention hall throbbing to chants of "Four more years!"   and quaking like a religious revival meeting.   It all set the stage for the traditional convention roll-call vote in which the party on Wednesday will re-nominate Clinton to face Republican challenger Bob Dole in the November 5 election.   Before Mrs. Clinton took the limelight, Clinton had already had the benefit of similar backing from a host of other speakers, but most movingly from Jackson, the fiery Baptist minister who can rouse a crowd to tears and applause like few others.   He delivered a passionate defence of old-line liberal values and the need for social compassion that seemed on the surface oddly out of line with Clinton's centrist policies but which in fact delivered a solid endorsement of the president.   Mrs Clinton in effect challenged Dole without naming him by referring repeatedly to what has become a bone of contention between them: the title of her recent book about child-rearing, "It Takes a Village."   Dole ridiculed the book as a misguided socialist notion at his own nominating Republican convention two weeks ago.   "For Bill and me, there has been no experience more challenging, more rewarding and more humbling than raising our daughter," Mrs Clinton said.   Daughter Chelsea, 16, beamed down on her mother from a V.I.P. box, her smiling face framed on prime time television screens across America.   Then her mother offered a litany of what it takes "to raise a happy, healthy and hopeful child:   "It takes a family," she said.   "It takes teachers.   It takes clergy.   It takes business people.   It takes community leaders.   It takes those who protect our health and safety.   It takes all of us.   "Yes, it takes a village.   "And it takes a president ... It takes Bill Clinton."   Both the Clintons are well aware they face "character" issues that have dogged them and raised questions about their marriage since he first ran for president four years ago.   Her speech seemed carefully crafted to start banishing that political demon by offering a substitute portrait -- one taking in not only their personal image as parents but Clinton's record as a president who has pushed for various laws covering medical, educational and financial issues of concern to families.   As he has done every four years of late, Jackson, now 54 and a mellowing elder statesman of the Left, produced the single most electric moment of the convention when he said he disapproved of Clinton's signature of a welfare reform bill but would back him as the best man anyway.   "When the president stands for the end of assault weapons, raises the minimum wage (and) earned income tax credits ... stands for affirmative action and voting rights and social justice and genuine equality, he deserves four more years!"   he thundered.   "We can disagree on the critical issues like welfare, but if we elect him there is another day and a better day.   "Keep that faith," he intoned, voice rising, tears welling in his eyes and in many in his audience, which was on its feet, by turns mesmerised and ecstatic.   "Stand tall, Mr. President!" 
4848 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Jesse Jackson and Mario Cuomo, two battered liberal warhorses, took Democrats back to their glory days on Tuesday with thrilling speeches, but the party looked to a different future by adopting a centrist platform.   Civil rights leader Jackson, who ran for president in 1984 and 1988, mesmerised delegates with a vintage display of revivalist rhetoric on the second day of the Democratic convention, which will nominate President Bill Clinton for a second term.   As he has in the past three conventions, Jackson brought delegates to their feet with his passionate and skilful delivery.   But there was no escaping the fact that under Clinton, the party is headed in a different direction from the one he supports.   "We disagree on a critical issue like welfare.   But then if we elect him (Clinton) there is another day and a better day," Jackson said.   Though he was open in his disagreement with Clinton's decision to sign a Republican-inspired welfare reform bill that ended a 60-year-old guarantee of aid to the poor, Jackson took a conciliatory line.   "We are mature enough to differ without splitting.   That's what makes democracy real.   We must protect one big tent," Jackson said, in an endorsement of Clinton.   Jackson ended his speech with a defiant cry to fired-up delegates of "Keep that faith."   The audience took up the slogan, chanting,"Keep that faith, keep that faith, keep that faith."   In the past, Jackson's speeches have been carefully scheduled for prime time television.   This time, he was the warm-up act for the party's keynote speaker, moderate Indiana Governor Evan Bayh and the evening's biggest star, First Lady Hillary Clinton.   Cuomo, whose keynote speech in 1984 made him a national figure, appeared as the defeated governor of New York, displaced by a Republican in the election debacle of 1994, that lost both Houses of Congress for the Democrats.   But like Jackson, he showed with an impassioned speech that there was still life beating in the liberal cause.   "It has not been easy for Bill Clinton as president to get us where we are now ... Not all of agreed with every turn he made and we said so," said Cuomo.   He said Clinton should not have signed the welfare reform bill because he had put children at risk.   "We should all hope and pray that the president is right but we need to do more ... We need to give the president the strength of a Democratic Congress," he declared.   "In the end, Bill Clinton spells hope and the Republicans spell disaster," he said, leading the audience in a chant of "Four more years, four more years."   As Democrats met in Chicago, Clinton barnstormed across the Midwest in a train car once used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, architect of the welfare safety net he has now placed in doubt.   After announcing a new gun control initiative on Monday, Clinton on Tuesday proposed spending over $2 billion to combat child illiteracy.   Clinton's naturally exuberant campaign style got a further boost, as he chugged from town to town and rally to rally, from yet another poll suggesting the surge Republican nominee Bob Dole got from his own convention two weeks ago may now be cresting.   An ABC poll released on Tuesday said Clinton's lead over Dole had suddenly widened to 15 points, by 51 percent to 36 percent with eight for Reform Party candidate Ross Perot.   The convention earlier adopted without dissent a centrist platform defending abortion rights and calling for "a moderate, achievable, common-sense agenda that will improve people's lives and not increase the size of government."   The party abandoned its call from four years ago for a revolution in government and a right to universal health care.   It rejected Dole's call for an across-the-board 15 percent income tax cut in favour of cuts aimed specifically at benefitting children.   Convention speakers also made a spirited defence of Hillary Clinton's book on child rearing "It Takes a Village".   Dole attacked the book at the Republican convention, saying that Mrs. Clinton wanted government to take over the roles of parents.   The book's title comes from an African saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." 
4849 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  About 500 demonstrators protesting a host of causes marched on Tuesday night to the site of the Democratic National Convention but made no effort to break into the hall -- an act that triggered violence at the 1968 Chicago Democratic meeting.   Chanting for an end to injustice and "Freedom for American Political Prisoners," the colorful parade of costumed demonstrators calling themselves "The Not On the Guest List Coalition" walked behind a phalanx of mounted police to within two blocks of the United Center convention site.   There were no arrests in what police said was a mostly orderly march although small bands of self-styled anarchists broke into sprints and momentarily confused police details.   Some demonstrators wore ski-masks, Halloween false faces and bandanas to cover their faces.   In 1968, police and demonstrators clashed when demonstrators tried to march on the Democratic convention to protest the Vietnam War.   Hundreds were arrested, beaten and tear-gassed.   David Dellinger, 81, a leader of the 1968 protests, and Andrew Hoffman, the 35-year-old son of the late Abbie Hoffman, another protest leader, took part in the Tuesday march.   Police asked demonstrators politely to keep within police lines and treated them gently and even with a friendly manner.   A group of young demonstrators towed a sculpture of a skyscraper labelled "Corporate Greed" and chanted, "What do you want?   Same old thing.   Why do you want it?   What else is new."   It was a reference to the choice Americans have for president, Democrat Bill Clinton or Republican Bob Dole.   Andrew Hoffman said, "My father would be proud of us all.   He would be here right now."   Dellinger said, "The numbers of people who came and the energy they had made it very successful.   We made it clear there would be no violence." 
4850 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Democrats on Tuesday steered President Bill Clinton down a moderate path of policies in his re-election drive by adopting a platform crafted without bitter dissension that has torn the party apart in the past.   After listening to a parade of speakers lash out at Clinton rival Bob Dole and his fellow Republicans and their policies, flag-waving delegates at a partly filled convention arena approved the platform by voice vote.   "Republicans see America's greatness through a rear view mirror," said Georgia Gov. Zell Miller, co-chairman of the Democratic Platform Committee leading off platform speeches.   "Democrats see America's greatness on the horizon just ahead."   A string of activists followed, such as Marc Klaas, the California father of murdered 12-year-old Polly Klaas who urged vigilence against sexual predators and abortion rights advocate Kate Michelman, who told about her own abortion when it was illegal.   Others touted platform positions against tobacco, for adoption rights and AIDS research while promoting Clinton achievements -- from cutting the federal budget deficit to gun control.   All speakers did not agree with the platform's abortion rights position or on Clinton's signing of a Republican-crafted welfare plan highlighted in the platform.   Four years ago Democrats came under Republican fire for not letting then Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey speak about opposing abortion, but they let Rep. Tony Hall of Ohio, leader of about 40 House anti-abortion Democrats, speak on Tuesday and praise the party for including a provision in the platform recognizing those of conscience opposing abortion.   While the platform is centrist in tone, it differs sharply from the Republican policies adopted two weeks ago in San Diego on key economic and social issues.   It was made to order for Clinton, who prides himself in being a "new Democrat" who is neither left, nor right but who straddles a middle course.   Crafted without dissension in Pittsburgh on Aug. 5 by the Platform Committee, the document calls for "a moderate, achievable, common-sense agenda that will improve people's lives and not increase the size of government."   It was the first platform in years free from angry debate.   Four years ago Democrats debated everything from the death penalty to welfare and eight years ago fought over matters from recognizing a Palestine state to nuclear strike policy.   This year the party abandoned its call from four years ago for a revolution in government and a right to universal health care and adopted instead a set of more moderate positions.   Abortion stands out as a stark issue on which the Democratic and Republican platforms differ.   Whereas Republicans called for a constitutional amendment to ban abortions, Democrats restated the party stands behind a woman's right to decide for herself on the issue.   Dole has made a 15 percent income tax rate cut a centerpiece of his campaign in the Nov. 5 election and Republicans endorsed his economic program, including a constitutional amendment to balance the budget.   Democrats have called for a tax cut for children but no across-the-board cuts and said Dole's plan would result in bigger budget deficits.   "We can not afford to return to the era of something for nothing tax cuts and smoke and mirrors accounting that produced a decade of exploding deficits," the platform stated.   Republicans called for curbs on affirmative action preferences in jobs and education for minorities while Democrats said "we should mend, not end" affirmative action.   Democrats would ban assault weapons while Republicans did not mention any such prohibition.   Democrats criticized Dole in their platform for "baffling claims" that smoking was not addictive.   Republicans had a brief mention that responsible families reduce drug and tobacco use. 
4851 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  By Rich Miller, Economics Correspondent   President Clinton is expected to boost government investment in physical capital and encourage companies to step up spending on human capital if re-elected on November 5, Labor Secretary Robert Reich said.   "Just as the private sector is under-investing in human capital, the public sector is under-investing in physical capital," he told Reuters in an interview during the Democratic Party's national convention here.   In his first campaign for the presidency four years ago, Clinton trumpeted the need for increased government investment in infrastructure such as roads, bridges and modern telecommunications networks.   But those ambitious plans were shelved as Clinton focused on slashing the federal budget deficit.   "We face very sharp constraints," Reich said.   "The president is not going to compromise his commitment to balancing the budget."   But he said that Clinton needed to find room within those constraints to invest more in infrastructure.   "There has to be room," he said.    That means cutting out inefficient corporate subsidies, needless tax breaks and consumption spending by government to make way for more public investment, Reich said.   In contrast to the federal government, companies have been pouring money into physical capital -- new equipment, plants and the like.   But Reich argued that firms have fallen behind in investments in human capital to improve the skills and productivity of their workers.   "One of the reasons we're not getting the productivity kick from all of the investments in new equipment that have been made over the last 15 years is that we have not trained people to fully utilize and take maximum advantage of that new equipment," the Labor Secretary said.   He suggested that Clinton might propose additional tax incentives for companies to encourage them to train their workers better and hire the poor.   The president has already backed a 10 percent tax credit to small businesses for training employees.   "There may be other things we can do, along the lines of tax incentives," Reich said.    Clinton will also continue to use the "bully pulpit" afforded by the presidency to praise companies that have invested in their workers and show the difference that has made to their bottom lines, Reich said.   So far, the stock market does not seem to be listening, pushing up share prices of companies that slash their workforces, not put more money into them.   "I am convinced that there is a great deal of productivity and profits to be unlocked through investment by the private sector in human capital," Reich said.   He suggested that institutional investors could play a bigger role in encouraging companies to take a longer-term view -- and added that some already are doing that.   The California Public Employees' Retirement System, for example, considers companies' employment policies, such as how much money they put into training their workers, in evaluating shares in its portfolio, Reich said.   "My personal view is that institutional investors can play a much larger and more constructive role in getting companies to take a longer-term view," the Labor chief said. 
4852 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Lower salaries and a curtailed workweek, as reflected in the latest employment report, probably took a small bite out of personal income in July, economists said.   July personal income, due Friday, August 30 at 0830 EDT/1230 GMT, is expected to decline 0.1 percent after a 0.9 percent gain in June, according to a Reuters survey of 25 economists.   "We know from the employment report that average hourly earnings didn't go up all that much," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Norwest Corporation.   "Also, the total number of hours worked in the recent month or two have been sluggish."   Hourly earnings fell 0.2 percent in July to an average of $11.00, according to the most recent Labor Department jobs data.   The average workweek shortened to 34.3 hours in July from 34.7 hours in June.   Meanwhile, economists' expectations of modestly-higher spending levels in July were also a rehashing of recent data on retail sales.    Personal consumption expenditures are forecast, on average, to have risen 0.2 percent, mirroring June's slight fall.   Retail sales rose 0.1 percent in July.   Soft auto sales, notably a cooling of sales in the "hot selling" pick-up and sport truck market, indicates consumption is going to be soft, economists said.   "We have consumption down 0.1 percent ... even though retail sales rose slightly," said Christopher Low, senior economist at HSBC Markets.    "Partly because unit auto sales were actually weaker than dollar auto sales reported in the retail sales report; but also because there is some weakness in service consumption and the retail sales numbers do not include services."   Car sales fell 0.6 percent in July, leaving retail sales ex-automobiles up 0.3 percent.   Rising agricultural prices could lift farm income in July and economists said this could be the highlight of an otherwise routine report.    Because the twin income and spending reports are basically a second look at data seen in other releases, the market reaction is expected to be quite muted, especially ahead of the long U.S. Labor Day weekend, they said.   "It would be reacting again to what we already know," said Dana Johnson, managing director for research at First Chicago Capital Markets Inc.   "The main thing people will want to do Friday morning will be to go home for the weekend," he added.   -- 212 859 1667 
4853 !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Temperatures in the U.S. Midwest are likely to be near normal for the next few days although the outlook for late next week appears unclear due to instability in forecasting models.   "The U.S. model has totally shifted gears again.   Today's run of the 10-day U.S. model is showing no sign of a turn to cooler temperatures next week," said Mike Palmerino, senior agricultural meteorologist for Weather Services Corp.   "Our confidence on that (forecast) is low because it just keeps on flip flopping," he added, noting he was forecasting continued near-normal temperatures over the next few days.    Palmerino noted the European model was showing a potential turn to cooler weather during the latter part of next week.   "My feeling would be in the face of models going in totally opposite directions from one day to the next week, the best forecast to make at this point is that the pattern we see now will show little change," Palmerino said.   He noted near-normal temperatures meant highs in the upper 70s Fahrenheit to mid-80s (F) and lows in the middle 50s (F) and low 60s (F).   Little rain was forecast although showers are possible late in the weekend or early next week and are likely to be heaviest in the western corn belt, Palmerino added.    Jon Davis, meteorologist with Smith Barney, forecast that temperatures would be near normal for the next couple of days but would climb to above normal on Friday and remain above normal at least until the middle to end of next week.   "Temps will average out to be above normal at least for the next 10 days to two weeks across the Midwest.   Obviously there is no threat of any frost/freeze damage during the next two weeks," he wrote in his daily weather comment.   Davis said the weather was also going to be relatively dry.   "The bottom line is that the pattern is warmer than normal and drier than normal until further notice," he said.    Davis said the warm pattern was accelerating development of the corn which continues to fill kernels, and the beans which were in the midst of the pod development stage.   He noted there continued to be some dry pockets, especially in the central and eastern sections of the corn belt, but they covered less area than a week to 10 days ago.   --Nigel Hunt 312-408 8720 
4854 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  A team of doctors has discovered a link between diet pills containing amphetamine-like drugs and a rare but often-fatal lung condition called primary pulmonary hypertension.   In a study published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine, the research team found that people taking appetite suppressants made from the drugs fenfluramine or dexfenfluramine were six times more likely to develop high blood pressure in the lungs.   The risk jumped to 23 times higher if they took the drugs for more than three months.   Wyeth-Ayerst International, a unit of American Home Products Corp, markets dexfenfluramine under the brand name Redux.   It said it met with the Food and Drug Administration and agreed to re-label dexfenfluramine capsules.   Some researchers urged the public to put the results in perspective.   The health risks associated with obesity, which the drugs are designed to fight, remain far greater than the likelihood of developing pulmonary hypertension, which can cause heart failure when blood cannot flow easily through the arteries of the lungs.   In an editorial in the journal, Drs.   JoAnn Manson of Harvard Medical School and Gerald Faich of the University of Pennsylvania estimate that using the drugs to reduce obesity will prevent roughly 20 obesity-related deaths per year for every person who dies from the side effect of the medicine.   However, the journal was investigating whether Manson and Faich acted improperly in failing to disclose work they had done for the pharmaceutical companies involved, the Wall Street Journal reported.   Dr. Marcia Angell, editor of the journal, said she was surprised to learn of Manson and Faich's consulting arrangements with Interneuron Pharmaceutical, which has the U.S. rights to Redux marketed by Wyeth-Ayerst.   Fenfluramine, sold as Pondimine by A.H. Robins, has been around for years.   Dexfenfluramine, under the brand name Redux, is turning into a big seller after its introduction last June, two months after it was approved by the FDA.   Weight loss is big business and obesity is a huge health problem.   About 58 million Americans are obese, weighing more than than 20 percent than their recommended weight.   The excess poundage contributes to 300,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.   Even losing a small amount of weight can dramatically reduce the risk of death.   Doctors have been looking for a safe diet pill because genetic factors, eating habits, and environmental influences make it extraordinarily difficult for many obese people to lose weight and keep it off.   The research was based on a study of volunteers in France, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands, where both drugs have been in use for a longer period than the United States.   Nearly 32 percent of the people with the lung condition had taken the suppressants.   Only 7 percent of the people without the condition had taken the suppressants. 
4855 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Hurricane Edouard was expected to turn slightly to the north by mid-week, sparing the Bahamas and South Florida from its full impact, the National Hurricane Center said on Wednesday.   At 5 a.m.   EDT, the center of Edouard was located 325 miles northeast (522 km) of San Juan, Puerto Rico and heading west- northwest at 14 mph (25 kmh).   Its exact position was latitude 21.6 north and longitude 62.3 west.   Edouard continued to be a powerful and potentially deadly storm, packing winds of 130 mph (210 km), forecasters said.   "We expect a little more turn to the northwest which would relieve the threat to the Bahamas and South Florida," said forecaster Brian Jarvinen.   "We're feeling a little bit better but tomorrow will be the definitive day to give us a good 48- hour forecast of where Edouard is likely to go."   An upper level trough of air was expected to pull Edouard on a slightly more northerly course over the next few days, he said.   Forecasters also said Tropical Storm Fran formed overnight in the mid-Atlantic, and tropical depression number 7 was close on its heels.   Fran was packing winds of 40 mph (65 kmh) and expected to strengthen to near-hurricane level winds by the time it enters the Lesser Antilles this weekend, Jarvinen said.   At 5 a.m.   EDT, Fran was centered 835 miles east (1345 km) of the Leeward Islands, at latitude 15.0 north and longitude 49.0 west.   the storm was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kmh).   Hurricane forecasters also said they were closely watching tropical depression number 7, which was developing slowly off the coast of Africa.   At 5 a.m.   EDT, the depression was 625 miles (1000 km) west of the Cape Verde islands, at latitude 10.5 north and longitude 32.9 west, and moving west at 12 mph (20 kmh).   A tropical depression is upgraded to a named tropical storm when its maximum sustained winds top 39 mph (65 kmh).   A hurricane is declared when its maximum winds reach 74 mph (120 kmh). 
4856 !C11 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  U.S. officials said on Tuesday that they called off negotiations with Britain for a new "open skies" aviation agreement after receiving what they said was a disappointing offer from London.   The U.S. decision to call off talks scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Washington surprised London and cast doubt over a proposed alliance between British Airways and American Airlines.   "The U.K. proposal that was provided fell so far short of providing the essential elements of an open skies agreement, it did not provide the basis for discussion," U.S. Transportation Department spokesman Bill Mosley said.   He said the two sides remained in touch and that the United States was ready to resume negotiations if "the basis for productive talks can be developed."   Another U.S. official said the ball was in Britain's court to resume talks on the open skies agreement.   "Our impression after reading their proposal is either they don't want an agreement or they don't want one soon," said a U.S. official who asked not to be identified.   "They don't appear yet to have bought into the open skies concept."   U.S. approval of the proposed alliance between British Airways and American is conditioned on a new agreement that removes restrictions on flights to London's Heathrow airport.   U.S. officials have said such an agreement was necessary before the proposed controversial alliance could be granted antitrust immunity.   British Airways shares fell Tuesday after the talks were called off.   Shares of AMR Corp., parent of American Airlines, were unchanged in late trading on the New York Stock Exchange.   In London, British officials expressed surprise at the U.S. decision to cancel talks.   "We are quite surprised at their reaction to our proposals, which we thought went quite a long way towards opening access to Heathrow," said a Department of Transport spokeswoman.   She declined to say whether this spelled the end of the latest attempt in five years of abortive meetings to get an agreement.   "The two sides remain in touch," she said.   The United States is looking for an agreement with Britain identical to one signed with Germany in May, a U.S. official said.   Specifically, the United States wants access for all U.S. carriers to Heathrow airport, Europe's most popular airport.   A major hurdle in the talks are U.S. demands for rights for its carriers to fly from Britain to third countries.   Pricing and ground handling are also major issues, a U.S. official said.   Previous efforts at getting open skies have foundered on the Heathrow issue and demands by Britain for the United States to lift its 25 percent ceiling on foreign ownership of its airlines.   American Airlines had no immediate comment on the latest development.   Last month, company officials indicated they would look for an alternative major European airline with which to form an alliance if the British Airwayd deal fell through.   Company officials have said they could reopen talks with Air France. 
4857 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   Democrats nominate President Bill Clinton for a second term on Wednesday, after heaping praise on him as a man of compassion who has created jobs, defended the weak, helped families and protected the environment.   At the halfway point of the Democratic convention, polls are showing Clinton once again beginning to stretch his lead over Republican nominee Bob Dole.   The lead was down to five points or less in some surveys immediately after the Republican convention of two weeks ago.   But an ABC poll on Tuesday showed Clinton's advantage among registered voters back at 15 percentage points, a jump of five points between Sunday and Tuesday.   That was without taking into account another day of barnstorming campaigning by Clinton as he rode a train across the American heartland on his way to Chicago, spilling new policy initiatives along the way.   He will arrive in this lakeside city in time for the traditional roll call of states nominating him for a new four-year stint in the White House.   The convention will also hear from Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday.   The president's path has been prepared by dozens of speeches highlighting his record, none more passionate than First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton who lovingly recalled how her husband sat with her as she gave birth to their daughter Chelsea 16 years ago.   It was a speech designed to dispel persistent character doubts about both Clintons, spawned by years of allegations about complex financial shenanigans in Arkansas, presidential womanizing and White House croneyism and misuse of power.   Watched by her 16-year-old daughter, no longer the awkward, gangly kid with braces Americans met four years ago, Mrs Clinton made the case for Clinton as the loving husband of 21 years and advocate of family values.   "For Bill and me, there has been no experience more challenging, more rewarding and more humbling than raising our daughter," said Mrs Clinton.   To safeguard the future of America's children, she said, "It takes a president who believes not only in the potential of his own child but of all children, who believes not only in the strength of his own family but of the American family ...   "It takes Bill Clinton," she said to a thunderous ovation.   Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and former New York Governor Mario Cuomo gave Clinton a seal of approval on behalf of the party's once dominant liberal wing, despite their deep disagreement with some of his centrist policies.   Both said they objected to Clinton's decision to sign a Republican-inspired welfare reform bill than ended a 60-year-old guaranteed safety net for the poor.   But still they urged the party to rally around the president.   "We disagree on a critical issue like welfare.   But then if we elect him (Clinton) there is another day and a better day," Jackson said.   Cuomo appeared as the defeated governor of New York, displaced by a Republican in the election debacle of 1994, that lost both Houses of Congress for the Democrats.   Once seen as the Democrats' great hope, he clearly recognised that the party's future now belonged to Clinton and his more conservative politics.   "In the end, Bill Clinton spells hope and the Republicans spell disaster," he said.   Indiana Governor Evan Bayh, a cautious technocrat, gave Democrats a glimpse of their possible future, delivering a measured keynote address that defended Clinton for signing the welfare legislation.   "President Clinton understands that welfare was intended to be temporary, make work possible," he said.   "And across America he has made that happen.   Bayh's speech was a testament to the virtues of competence.   It was virtuous, but dull and received nothing like the rapturous response evoked by Cuomo and Jackson. 
4858 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following stories on its front page on August 28:   ---   CHICAGO - The Democratic National Convention saluted its liberal past, recognised its centrist position, and prepared to celebrate family values.   ---   WASHINGTON - The D.C. financial control board is considering hiring the former head of the New York City school system to oversee the troubled D.C. schools.   ---   SARAJEVO - A U.S. diplomat announced that balloting for local posts in Bosnia will be delayed because of widespread electoral fraud, which means that peacekeeping forces may have to stay in Bosnia longer than planned.   ---   CHICAGO - The Republican and Democratic conventions show that the parties have transformed the face they show the American people, with policy and politics giving way to sentiment and sympathy.   ---   WASHINGTON - The Justice Department won the cooperation of three international firms in its effort to bring price-fixing charges against U.S. agribusiness giant Archer Daniels Midland Inc. 
4859 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following items on the front page of its business section:   ---   WASHINGTON - Many Washington business leaders back a plan to appoint an outside receiver to run the city's ailing schools.   ---   WASHINGTON - Consumer confidence rose sharply in August, its highest level in six years.   ---   WASHINGTON - Many leaders of the high-tech community are endorsing President Clinton's reelection bid.   ---   WASHINGTON - Aerospace Corp., a federally funded think tank, has signed a letter of intent to become a for-profit subsidiary of Science Applications International Corp. 
4860 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Wednesday:   * Vice President Al Gore poises himself for presidential nomination four years from now.   * A Pentagon report shows that the United States knew in 1991 that troops in the Gulf War were exposed to chemical weapons.   * California Gov. Pete Wilson acts to end state aid for illegal immigrants.   * Some Bosnia voting is delayed over abuses.   * A U.S.-government corporation's desire for profits is clouding the effort to buy up Russian nuclear materiel.   * Bernard Jacobs, for years one of the most powerful forces in American theatre, dies at 80.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4861 !GCAT !GENV !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton closes in on the Democratic Convention on Wednesday with a proposal to spend nearly $2 billion to speed Superfund toxic waste cleanup and persuade U.S. business to reclaim blighted urban industrial sites.   Aides said Clinton would promote the environmental plan, an element of his "America Forward" re-election agenda, as he wound a triumphal train trip to Chicago to be nominated on Wednesday night for a second term.   Clinton, pumped up by the cheers of more than 20,000 supporters at a Lansing rally on Tuesday, proposed last March that $2 billion in tax incentives be given to spur private development of urban "brownfields" -- abandoned, lightly polluted factories and plants.   Most are found in decaying, drug and crime-ridden U.S. inner cities riddled with joblessless and despair.   Rolling through the Midwest on his 13-car campaign special, Clinton also lofted anti-crime and education initiatives.   But Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole said his surging rival would arrive in Chicago "on a train called the Status Quo Express."   "They're off track, and they've been off track right along," Dole told reporters in San Diego, where he was preparing for the fall campaign.   Aides said Clinton's proposal on Wednesday would expand on his earlier brownfields plan by adding another $300 million in loans and grants to encourage urban reclamation projects.   Clinton was also expected to call for a $1.3 billion Superfund boost over the next four years, which would allow cleanup of two-thirds of the country's toxic dumps by the year 2000; for $196 million to provide more environmental health data to the public; and for $76 million to clean up the Great Lakes watershed.   His environmental proposal would theoretically create jobs -- White House officials say the brownfields initiative alone would trigger $10 billion in private spending.   But the 50-year-old Democrat was saving a targeted jobs initiative -- a plan to offer $3.4 billion in tax credits to companies to hire welfare recipients -- when he addresses the convention on Thursday night.   Clinton's goal in the speech "is to show his vision for the country and for what he wants America to be in the year 2000," said White House Communications Director Don Baer.   Baer said the speech would include "very concrete proposals" but no surprizes.   "There will be no gymnastics in his (Clinton's speech)," the presidential aide told reporters.   Clinton, who began his 559-mile (885-km) train trip in West Virginia on Sunday, angered many fellow Democrats last week by signing a Republican-backed welfare reform bill that effectively ends a 60-year-old federal guarantee of aid to the poor.   At rally after rally on his whistlestop trip, Clinton said that making the politically popular welfare bill succeed was "our next challenge.   "If you're going to tell somebody they have to go to work because they're able-bodied, they have to have work to find.   They have to have a job to go to, and we have got to do that," he said. 
4862 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following business stories on Wednesday:   * Feed companies Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co Ltd, Ajinomoto Co and Sewon Co agree to settle price-fixing charges over lysine and testify against Archer Daniels Midland Co.   * U.S. appeals court clears major legal obstacle to Lloyd's of London recovery plan.   * Westinghouse Electric Corp puzzles over how to break itself up.   * Old guard clashes with new at American Stores Co.   * A U.S. government corporation's desire for profits is clouding the effort to buy up Russian nuclear materiel.   * U.S. appeals court revives TLC Beatrice Holdings Inc 's challenge to settlement of claims against Michael Milken and others associated with Drexel Burnham Lambert.   * Fidelity Investment fund manager Robert Beckwitt leaves for Goldman, Sachs & Co.   * The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 17.38 points to 5,711.27.   The Nasdaq composite index jumps 9.8 points to 1,149.02.   * Consumer confidence is at a six-year high.   * Boeing Co plans to add 5,000 workers, boost 777 production rate.   * FoxMeyer Health Corp unit files for bankruptcy.   * Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd rebounds in latest quarter.   * Britain's Prudential Corp Plc selling its reinsurance unit to Swiss Reinsurance Co.   * National Football League launches $50 million publicity campaign focused on players' personalities.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4863 !GCAT !GDEF !GVIO  Senior U.S. officials knew in November 1991 that large numbers of U.S. troops had been exposed to chemical weapons during the Gulf War, The New York Times reported Wednesday.   A long-classified intelligence report shows the White House, the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department were alerted that chemical weapons had been stored in a big Iraqi ammunition depot that was blown up in March 1991 by American troops.   The report was circulated to U.S. military commanders worldwide and then filed away even as the Defence Department repeatedly suggested it had no evidence that large numbers of U.S. troops might have been exposed to chemical arms.   The report was marked "priority," a designation for intelligence considered of moderate importance.   It was never shared with the troops themselves.   The estimated 150 U.S. soldiers who took part in the 1991 mission to blow up Iraq's Kamisiyah ammunition dump were told only this spring that they may have been exposed to a cloud of mustard gas and sarin, a nerve agent.   Many of the soldiers who destroyed the arms depot have since developed debilitating medical problems that they say may be linked to exposure to chemical weapons.   Nearly 60,000 other veterans of the Gulf War have asked for special health screenings to determine if they were suffering from ailments related to their service in the Gulf.   Pentagon officials said much of the material in the November 1991 report had been obtained from the United Nations arms inspectors who travelled to Iraq after the war ended in February of that year.   The inspectors had found evidence of chemical weapons at the depot at Kamisiyah when it was destroyed.   The report drew little attention when it was circulated, the newspaper reported.   A Pentagon spokesman, Capt. Michael Doubleday, said it was not surprising that the report would have attracted little attention in 1991, given the flood of information reaching the government after the war.   He said it was only in late 1995 that government analysts began to understand how the destruction of the Kamisiyah depot might have exposed U.S. troops to chemical weapons. 
4864 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  By Gail Appleson, U.S. Law Correspondent   The alleged mastermind of a plot to bomb U.S. passenger jets told a jury on Tuesday he was the victim of a conspiracy by Pakistan and the Philippines aimed at winning favor with the United States.   Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, representing himself with the help of a legal adviser, told the Manhattan federal jury in a heavy Arab accent that evidence had been fabricated by the two governments so they could turn him over to U.S. authorities.   "The Philippines government and Pakistani government used this crime to build a case against Mr. Yousef, and what better way to gain the favor of the U.S. government than to give them someone to blame," he said in closing arguments at his trial.   Yousef was one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was arrested in February 1995 in Islamabad, Pakistan and returned to New York.   If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.   Federal prosecutors have accused him of being the architect of a hideous scheme to murder some 4,000 airline passengers over a 48-hour period as they returned to the United States from the Far East last year.   Yousef is also charged with placing a bomb on a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo on Dec. 11, 1994, as a trial run.   The bomb exploded under the seat of a Japanese passenger, killing him and injuring 10 other people.   He will also be tried this year for allegedly masterminding the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed six and injured more than 1,000 people.   Prosecutors allege the purpose of these attacks is to punish the United States for its support of Israel.   Yousef appeared humble as he spoke softly to the jury and thanked them, the judge and his legal adviser for their patience and understanding.   Wearing a tan suit slightly too big for his slender frame, the 28-year-old defendant read from a spiral notebook as he walked the jury through the 47 government witnesses who appeared during the three-month trial and tried to discredit their testimony.   The airline bombing case against Yousef and two other defendants, Abdul Hakim Murad and Wali Khan Amin Shah, was developed after a January 1995 fire broke out in an apartment shared by Yousef and Murad in Manila.   Yousef allegedly fled to Pakistan after the bombing.   The Philippine National Police found in the apartment bomb-making equipment and manuals, explosives and a Toshiba laptop computer containing flight schedules for Delta, Northwest and United flights and detonation times.   Yousef told the jury the police had fabricated and altered evidence found at the scene.   He focused on testimony by two officers who said police reports contained false information about evidence and where it had been found.   "I ask you to recognize Mr. Yousef as a human being," he told the jury.   "As a human being the only way he can be convicted is if the evidence proves the case beyond a reasonable doubt, but the evidence came from the Philippine government and you know what that means.   You don't want your brother or any relatives convicted on evidence like this ... to be convicted on lies and false testimony."   Yousef, who is also known by 11 other names, holds an Iraqi passport but claims Pakistani and Palestinian heritage.   In statements released through his legal adviser last year, he called Israel an illegal state and accused its government of systematic murder and torture of Palestinians.   He also said Palestinians have the right to attack U.S. targets because of American support of Israel. 
4865 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GREL  Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, saying he will return to Libya to accept a $250,000 prize, has applied to the U.S. government for permission to receive a much larger $1 billion gift from Muammar Gaddafi.   In a statement, the Chicago-based Nation of Islam said the church would answer questions about the charitable gift application to the Treasury Department.   Treasury Department officials would not explicitly confirm Farrakhan's application to the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.   Permission is needed because of U.S. travel and trade restrictions to Libya, imposed in 1986 because of Libya's alleged sponsorship of international terrorism.   White House press secretary Mike McCurry, travelling with President Bill Clinton in the Midwest, made it clear the administration took a dim view of the matter.   "Our views on individual Americans and their involvement with that government are defined by the sanctions that we have in place and we would expect American citizens to honour their obligations under U.S. law, which prohibits economic transactions involving the government of Libya that are not sanctioned by licenses issued through the Treasury Department," McCurry told reporters.   Gaddafi made the offer to Farrakhan earlier this year when the controversial black leader visited Libya and other Middle East and African nations that have strained diplomatic ties with the United States.   The State Department rebuked Farrakhan for his choice of destinations.   At the time, Farrakhan said Gaddafi promised him $1 billion to help develop black communities in the United States.   Farrakhan, who organised last October's Million Man March that brought thousands of black men to Washington, has said he would use the money to build schools and businesses in black communities.   The church's statement said Farrakhan planned to travel to Tripoli to receive a $250,000 humanitarian award that Gaddafi gives annually.   Previous winners have included South African President Nelson Mandela, the children of the Intifada (Palestinian uprising), and Native American Indians, the statement said. 
4866 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Oklahoma City bombing defendant Timothy McVeigh's lawyers said Tuesday the U.S. government "has snubbed its nose" at a court order requiring it to turn over secret intelligence information that might help McVeigh's defence.   In a motion filed with U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch, defence attorney Stephen Jones asked him to order 31 federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to reveal whether they have any of the information they seek.   Matsch ruled in April that the government must give the defence such information, if it exists, but Tuesday's motion said that prosecutors so far have handed over just two pages of material.   "The government has simply thumbed its nose at the Court's April 29 order," it said.   McVeigh's lawyers want the information because they contend that foreign or domestic terrorists, not McVeigh and co-defendant Terry Nichols, may be responsible for the April 19, 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building bombing in Oklahoma City.   McVeigh and Nichols are awaiting trial for the blast which killed 168 people. 
4867 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Democratic Party stared its most critical internal difference in the eye on Tuesday, blinked and moved swiftly on with the business of renominating President Bill Clinton.   Before applauding delegates at the party's convention, the party's two old liberal warhorses, Jesse Jackson and Mario Cuomo, both declared their dismay at Clinton's decision to sign the Republican-initiated welfare bill earlier this month.   The bill, ending 60 years of guaranteed federal aid for the poor and shifting the emphasis onto work, deeply disappointed many in the party, especially its hardcore activists who believe it will hurt millions of poor mothers and children.   Both Jackson, the fiery civil rights activist and banner-waver for the poor and dispossesed, and former New York Gov. Cuomo declared their opposition but also their faith in Clinton's ability to correct what they saw as flaws in the law.   They argued that it was a sign of the strength of the party that its unity would not be harmed by such internal dissent.   Democratic officials had criticized the Republican Party for dispelling any whiff of dissent, especially over the issue of abortion, from their conventionn in San Diego two weeks ago.   "We disagree on a critical issue like welfare.   But then if we elect him (Clinton) there is another day and a better day ... We are mature enough to differ without splitting.   That's what makes democracy real," Jackson said.   Cuomo said some of the president's choices have been more controversial than others, adding: "The welfare reform bill has been one of the most difficult."   "Many of us, and I among them, believe that the risk to children was too great to justify the action of signing that bill no matter what it's political benefits," he said.   "We need to help the president make this law better, as he has assured us he will."   But it was important for these issues to be aired, Cuomo said, "because the truth is that the fundamental beliefs that bind us together as Democrats are so strong that the exertion of occasional disagreements on how to meet our objectives can only show our strength and not our weakness." 
4868 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  Ketchikan Pulp Co. plans to install sirens and make phone calls to area homes to warn area residents about accidental sulfur-dioxide releases from the Ketchikan, Alaska, pulp mill, the company and state regulators said Tuesday.   The announcement came four days after a sulfur-dioxide leak at the pulp mill sent three people to the hospital for respiratory problems.   In addition, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) ordered the company, owned by Lousiana-Pacific Corp, to establish a plant shut-down plan in the event of more releases, install air-quality monitors outside the plant, and make more improvements.   "They have promised us that they will shut the mill down cold rather than have these short-term releases," said Ernie Piper, a DEC project manager for Ketchikan Pulp issues.   Ketchikan Pulp said the siren and telephone-notification system is one step in a long-term plan for improvements, including installation of scrubbers, a standy power source and other controls.   The accident occurred a week after Ketchikan Pulp was granted a new state air-quality permit, which establishes limits based on three-hour emissions averages. 
4869 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Reclusive pop superstar Michael Jackson appeared in a Los Angeles courtroom on Tuesday to testify in a lawsuit against his family over a 1994 television broadcast.   But the self-described "King of Pop" had a hard time keeping a straight face during much of his testimony, laughing or giggling at family members and spectators from the witness stand.   Wearing black pants, a red shirt and matching red socks along with eye make-up and lipstick, Jackson spent about two hours in the packed courtroom answering questions from lawyers about his role in the 1994 "Jackson Family Honours" television awards special.   Jackson's family is being sued in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for $1.6 million by a production company, Smith-Hemion, which claims it lost money on the broadcast because Michael Jackson backed out of an earlier broadcast date, in December 1993, citing illness.   In court Jackson said he agreed to appear on the show at the urging of his mother, who said he was needed to help the ratings.   "So I said to her that I would do it, but I couldn't perform, because I like things to be just right.   I said, 'Can I present an award?'   and she said that would be just fine."   Jackson seemed distracted at times during his testimony, fidgeting in the witness chair and laughing with family members or at spectators between questions from the attorneys.   During a break, he sat out of sight behind the witness box for a few minutes, then emerged and began eating candy and tossing a gold ring above his head and catching it. 
4870 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Former Colorado Democratic Gov. Richard Lamm has decided not to endorse Ross Perot as the presidential candidate of the Reform Party, CNN reported late Tuesday.   CNN quoted aides and family members as saying Lamm, who competed with Perot to head the ticket for Perot's party, had told them he would definitely not endorse Perot, but they did not know whether he would endorse another candidate.   An announcement was planned in Chicago Wednesday.   Lamm, 60, is a three-term Colorado governor who left office in 1987 and vied for the Reform Party nomination after becoming disillusioned with both the Democratic and Republican parties.   Lamm is a friend of President Clinton and supported him in the 1992 election.   Perot won his party's official nomination as its presidential candidate in a secret ballot earlier this month. 
4871 !GCAT !GENT  Director Todd Solondz, whose film "Welcome to the Dollhouse," shows life in an American junior high school as a season in Hell by way of New Jersey, swears his film is not strictly autobiographical but admits the story is much like his own.   Unlike Flaubert, the French novelist who upon finishing his acclaimed novel remarked "Madame Bovary -- Cest moi," Solondz says Dawn, the heroine of his film who goes through her 11th year wearing green polyester stretch pants and an expression of pained stoicism, is not really him.   "Nothing in the movie happened to me, but it's as if it had," he told Reuters at a New York coffee shop.   The film shows how heartrending it is to be unpopular in junior high, the cruelty of families and kids and how awful the "wonder years" really are.   It won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in January.   Solondz, 35, who is long and skinny and wears oversize glasses, called the film a "sad comedy" about a time in life not usually taken seriously in American film.   "There are very few films which deal realistically with the subject of childhood," he said.   "I could think of some European films that dealt seriously with the subject but I couldn't think of any American films.   It seemed pretty fertile terrain.   For me, as a writer, it's hard to imagine not wanting to grapple with these issues."   "Welcome to the Dollhouse" is set in suburban New Jersey.   Bleak and funny at the same time, it follows the misfortunes of 11-year-old Dawn, who is taunted by her schoolmates, ridiculed by her teachers and ignored by her family, who prefer her little sister, a budding ballerina.   She is usually filmed doing pirouettes as Dawn sits nearby looking dour.   Solondz grew up in Livingston, New Jersey, not far from where the movie was shot.   He said his own family was wonderful -- not like the one in the movie.   But still, he talks knowingly about the pain of adolescence.   "I think a certain amount of cruelty is thrown into it at that particular age.   I think there's an almost primal aspect to it -- emotions are very raw and there's a certain amount of intensity," he said.   "And as adults, I think we tend to forget and romanticize it, in part because it's comforting to believe that's when it was beautiful and neat and easy.   And that's why the images of kids in general tend to be so false."   Ironically, Solondz said he can identify as much with the bully in his film as he can with Dawn.   "I think there's a certain kind of emotion -- a certain frustration and pain that he experiences.   Dawn discovers she is not the only outcast -- that he is as much an outcast as she.   And that's part of the process of growing up -- to learn that the great pain you suffer is something that not only you suffer.   It's only in becoming an adult that you realise you are not unique in that way -- that there are others who suffer as well."   Solondz went to Yale, where he was unhappy and discovered movies.   Then he went to New York University, where he learned to make them.   He spent some time in Hollywood but he does not want to talk about that.   Although he seems a bit Woody Allenesque with his skinny frame, oversize glasses and slightly nasal voice, Solondz said he was really unable, at this stage of his career, to say who has influenced him.   "Woody Allen, sure -- I'd love to have been influenced by him."   But Solondz's work seems less about personal neurosis -- a traditional Woody Allen preoccupation -- and more about the cruelty people inflict on one another.   "It's not the story of an ugly girl.   It's the story of a girl who is called ugly."   His approach to directing has a simplicity.   "Basically," he said, "I just try and survive it." 
4872 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  He's older, mellower and pudgier now but Jesse Jackson once again brought thousands of cheering convention delegates and spectators roaring to their feet on Tuesday with his spell-binding "keep hope alive" oratory.   It was an emotional night for Jackson, who was introduced by his son, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., elected to the House of Representatives from Chicago in a special election earlier this year.   The senior Jackson, who marched with Martin Luther King Jr., ran for president twice and never failed to fight for civil rights, has held only one office, a symbolic one as a "shadow senator" from the District of Columbia which has no voting U.S. senators.   But he was king on Tuesday night when he lighted up a so-far predictable convention with electrifying rhetoric.   "Keep that faith," he intoned, voice rising.   "Stand with the coal miners.   Keep that faith.   Stand with the shipbuilders.   Keep that faith.   Stand with the poor.   Stand with the withered.   Stand tall.   Never surrender your hopes ... keep your faith.   Stand tall Mr. President.   We will win.   And deserve to win.   Keep hope alive.   I love you."   Delegates roared their approval.   Jackson, whose leftist agenda has often been at odds with Democratic policies in the past, kept hammering away at themes he has espoused during presidential runs in 1984 and 1988 in seeking to become the first black presidential nominee of a major party.   He urged spending millions of dollars from private pension plans to rebuild decaying inner cities, including that in Chicago he called "a canyon of welfare despair."   But his message to the convention delegates was to vote and stick with President Bill Clinton, even though there may be disagreements with some of his policies, including his signing of a welfare bill ending more than 60 years of guarantees of a welfare check for the poor.   Jackson noted that he picketed the White House himself just recently in urging Clinton unsuccessfully against signing the welfare bill.   But Jackson buried the hatchet on Tuesday night by saying "we must right the wrongs with the bill" and that real "fight was never about welfare.   It was about jobs and security,"   And he gave a ringing endorsement to Clinton for re-election.   "When the president stands for the end of assault weapons, raises the minimum wage, earned income tax credits, stands for mourning the congregations of burned churches, stands for affirmative action and voting rights and social justice and gender equality, he deserves four more years," Jackson said.   "And so we disagree on the critical issue like welfare, but then if we elect, there's another day and a better day," he said.   "We're mature enough to differ without splitting," Jackson said.   "That's what makes democracy real.   We must protect one big tent, one big tent." 
4873 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVOTE  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole Tuesday named former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld as national chairman of his campaign.   Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett and former Labor Secretary Ann McLaughlin, who both served under former President Ronald Reagan, would become national vice-chairs, Dole's campaign manager Scott Reed said in a statement.   "This high-powered team is truly the best and brightest in American politics," Reed said.   "They bring a wealth of government and campaign experience and share a common dedication to putting America back on the right track."   Rumsfeld was Defense Secretary and White House Chief of Staff under former President Gerald Ford.   He also served as U.S. Ambassador to NATO and as a four-term congressman from Illinois.   He is currently in private business in Chicago.   Bennett was Education Secretary under Reagan and took on the role of drug czar under former President George Bush.   He is the author of the national bestseller "The Book of Virtues," a book of advice on parenting.   McLaughlin became vice chairman of the Aspen Institute after leaving government and president of the Federal City Council. 
4874 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV  Two corporations were ordered Tuesday to pay $1.5 million in fines and restitution and sentenced to five years' probation for federal environmental violations stemming from a 1994 oil spill in to southeast Alaska's Skagway River.   Sentenced in U.S. District Court were Pacific and Arctic Railway and Navigation Co. (PARN), owner of the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad that runs from Skagway, Alaska, to Canada's Yukon Territory, and Pacific and Arctic Pipelines Inc. (PAPI), operator of a petroleum pipeline that parallels the railroad.   The companies, owned by Toronto-based Russel Metals Inc, pleaded guilty in May to criminal violations related to the spill and agreed to pay the fine and conduct cleanup during the probation period.   In issuing his sentence, U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick called the agreed-upon terms "punishment that is adequate and just, under the circumstances."   The spill was triggered by an illegal blasting and rock removal operation conducted by PARN along the railroad.   When construction equipment struck the pipeline on Oct. 1, 1994, it created a 14-inch crack, spewing oil into the river.   PAPI was convicted and sentenced for negligently discharging oil into the river following the pipeline break, failing to report the discharge, in violation of the Clean Water Act and making false statements to the U.S. Coast Guard about the spill.   PARN was convicted and sentenced for theft of rock from U.S. Forest Service land by the raidroad -- for which the company has paid $146,280 in restitution -- and illegally transporting hazardous waste on the railroad in 1995.   The size of the oil spill remains in dispute.   In 1994, the companies estimated the amount at about 250 gallons, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Burgess.   "That's a figure that the goverment disputes," he said.   Federal officials peg the spill amount at "signifcantly more." 
4875 !GCAT !GENT !GOBIT !GPRO  Greg Morris, who played the technical expert on the long-running U.S. television series "Mission: Impossible," died on Tuesday at his Las Vegas home aged 62, a coroner's spokesman said.   Morris was found dead in his flat by a maintenance worker, the spokesman said.   The cause of death was not immediately known.   As technical whiz Barney Collier, Morris was one of the first black television stars in America, but following the seven-year run of the series on CBS from 1966 to 1973 he slipped into obscurity, emerging to play a supporting role in "Vega$" on ABC from 1979 to 1981.   Morris survived a serious car accident in 1981 and did not reappear on television until a short-lived remake of "Mission Impossible" which also featured his son, Phil, in 1989.   He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1990 and a portion of his lung was removed.   In May of this year Phil Morris said his father was battling brain cancer but that it was in remission.   Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Morris moved to Hollywood in the early 1960s and played small roles in series such as "Dr. Kildare," "The Twilight Zone" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show" before "Mission: Impossible." 
4876 !GCAT !GCRIM  The family of murder victim Ron Goldman sought to have testimony that helped clear O.J. Simpson of criminal charges kept out of the former football star's civil trial, court papers showed Tuesday.   Attorney Daniel Petrocelli argued in motions submitted to Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki, who will preside over the civil wrongful deaths lawsuit being brought against Simpson by Goldman's family and the family of Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, that testimony regarding the alleged planting of evidence and "bungling" by police over the collection and storage of blood samples should not be allowed.   In addition, Petrocelli said, the jury in the civil case, set to begin Sept. 17, should not hear how former Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman was exposed as a racist through audio tapes made by a screenwriter and played to the criminal jury.   He also sought to supress testimony wherein Fuhrman invoked his Constitutional Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in order to avoid continuing his testimony.   Fuhrman had testified in the criminal case to finding a bloody glove on Simpson's estate, testimony the defence said came from a "rogue, racist cop" who was part of a conspiracy to frame the black celebrity.   Simpson was found not guilty in October last year of the June 1994, murders which took place outside Nicole Brown's luxury townhouse in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles after a yearlong trial.   Jurors later cited Fuhrman and tainted blood evidence for their verdict.   In one of his 20 motions submitted to the court, Petrocelli, representing the Goldman family, said Simpson, "would like to explain away the overwhelming amount of incriminating evidence against him by claiming that the Los Angeles Police Department planted the evidence in a massive conspiracy to frame him for a double murder."   But despite two years of investigation, Simpson had produced no evidence to back up his "wild, desperate assertion," Petrocelli argued. 
4877 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Speakers at the Democratic convention Tuesday sprang to the defense of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and her book on child rearing based on the proposition that it takes a whole village to raise a child.   Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole and others at his party's San Diego convention two weeks ago scathingly attacked Mrs. Clinton's recent best-selling book, "It Takes a Village."   The title was taken from an African proverb.   Dole said Mrs. Clinton was arguing for the government to fill the roles of parents.   "It doesn't take a village.   It takes a mother and a father," he declared in his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination.   The sharpest attack on Dole came from Emanuel Cleaver, mayor of Kansas City, who said the Republican candidate should have known better.   He recalled that when Dole returned to his home town of Russell, Kansas, seriously wounded in the Second World War, fellow citizens collected money in a cigar box so he could undergo expensive surgery he would not have been able to afford and which helped him regain some use of his limbs.   Mrs. Clinton was scheduled to address the convention later Tuesday evening.   Gov. Gaston Caperton of West Virginia said of the Republicans: "Over and over again, they attacked Mrs. Clinton's best-selling book.   They so misrepresent it, I doubt that they even read it."   "Her books says that parents have the greatest responsibilities, but kids also need churches and temples and decent communities, and yes, they need good schools.   To me, that is the very definition of family values," said Caperton.   "So from those comments in San Diego, there's only conclusion that I can draw: when it comes to Republicans, it takes a whole village to read a book," he said.   Georgia Gov. Zell Miller said Mrs. Clinton's book embodied conservative family values.   "They (the Republicans) see no shame in criticizing movies they have not seen, songs they have not heard, books they have not read," said Miller.   "Every parent who actually read the common sense and, yes, conservative family values the first lady wrote about in her wonderful book ... knows that for Bob Dole to be attacking her family values -- well it takes a lot of gall," he said.   Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer told Reuters in an interview Monday that blacks were offended at the way Dole had ridiculed an African proverb. 
4878 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Canada Auto Workers (CAW) union president Buzz Hargrove told a press conference on Wednesday that Steve Yokich, president of affiliated United Auto Workers union (UAW), had eliminated Chrysler Corp C.N as a strike target choice for 1996 contract negotiations.   "He's still looking at a dual target.   He has eliminated Chrysler from the selection process and he's still looking at Ford (Motor Co F.N ) and General Motors (Corp GM.  N )."   Hargrove said he talked to Yokich both last night and at 7:00 a.m. today.   He said earlier today the CAW would target Chrysler's Chrysler Canada unit in its negotiations.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
4879 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Canadian Auto Workers Union (CAW) president Buzz Hargrove said on Wednesday that the union had chosen Chrysler Corporation's Canadian subsidiary as its 1996 strike target.   "I have decided in 1996 that the Chrysler workers will lead the bargaining," Hargrove told reporters at a news conference.   Hargrove said the CAW would extend its strike deadline to September 17 from a previously stated date of September 14.   Hargrove said the decision to target Chrysler was taken after consulting with the United Auto Workers Union in the United States, which is due to announce its strike target later this week.   He said the UAW was likely to pick either Ford Motor Co or General Motors Corp for strike action.   The CAW traditionally chooses a different strike target from the UAW.   Hargrove said UAW president Stephen Yokich told him that the U.S. union had discounted Chrysler as a target and is still considering both Ford and General Motors.   "He's still looking at a dual target.   He has eliminated Chrysler from the selection process and he's still looking at Ford and General Motors."   Hargrove said he expects that he will be able negotiate a three-year master agreement on the major issue of outsourcing that the union can then impose on the other two carmakers.   "I believe we have the best shot at doing the traditional agreement there and resolving the tough issues," he said.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau (416) 941-8100 
4880 !GCAT  The following are top headlines from selected Canadian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE GLOBE AND MAIL:   - Canadian Chief of Defence General Jean Boyle passed lie-detector test: Boyle was told he was under suspicion in document-tampering scandal.   - Interest rate cuts squeeze seniors: Pensions playing bigger role.   - Liberals shun tax-cut fever: Better ways to save, Finance Minister Paul Martin says.   - Ottawa targets source of Brian Mulroney story: Documents in lawsuit argue leak based on translation prepared for former prime minister.   - Disciplined Democrats agree to disagree at convention: High-profile delegates make virtue of potential divisions.   - Ontario plans use of referendums: Public comment on proposal sought.   Report on Business Section:   - Two banks set profit records: Third-quarter results of Bank of Montreal, Scotiabank exceed forecasts, hint sector has strength left.   - Succession at Rogers Communications murky after departure of Graham Savage: The resignation of the firm's respected CFO raises questions about who is the heir apparent.   - Now Industries Inc countersues book rivals: Charges of thwarting upstart chain described as 'ludicrous' by Chapters.   - Magna International Inc said in line to buy GM plants: Auto maker calls reports 'speculation'.   THE FINANCIAL POST:   - Net providers surf for saviors: With share prices flagging, HookUp Communications and iStar Internet weigh their merger alternatives -- and may turn to each other for a deal.   - Star Choice may be first satellite service to fly: The CRTC has granted Star Choice Television Network Inc a direct-to-home satellite television licence, a move the regulator hopes will soon result in Canada's first working DTH service.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
4881 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The number of Canadians receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits dropped 2.4 percent to a seasonally adjusted 698,000 in June from 715,000 in May, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday.   Benefit payments dropped for the second month, falling 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted C$778 million from C$799 million in May.   The number of individuals who applied for unemployment insurance benefits rose 1.4 percent to 249,000, seasonally adjusted, from 246,000.   In unadjusted terms, the level of payments for the first half of the year has dropped 1.7 percent to C$7.68 billion drom C$7.81 billion a year earlier.   -- Reuters Ottawa Bureau (613) 235-6745 
4882 !C13 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Rochester Medical Corp said on Wednesday it had received Food and Drug Administration approval to begin clinical studies of the FemSoft urethral insert for managing female stress incontinence.   The studies will be conducted over the coming months at nationally recognized medical institutions, the company said.   Results will be submitted to the FDA for a Premarket Approval Application.    The FemSoft device is a soft, fluid-filled insert that assists weakened muscles.   It requires no inflation, deflation, syringes or valving mechanisms, the company said.   "We are optimistic that these studies will provide the clinical data necessary to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the FemSoft device in extended use by a significant patient population," said company President Anthony Conway.   -- Chicago Newsdesk 312 408-8787 
4883 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT  DeVry Inc, which operates degree-granting schools in North America, said Wednesday that total student enrollment for the 1996 summer term rose 4.6 percent over the same period a year ago.   DeVry said the overall summer enrollment increase met its expectations, but enrollment at its Toronto schools was lower than usual because of a previous interruption in processing of Canadian financial aid.   DeVry said it expects it may take a few terms to restore the Toronto-area enrollment to its former level.   Total student enrollment for the summer 1996 term reached 27,600, compared with 26,374 for the 1995 summer term.   In the 1996 summer term, 7,489 new students enrolled, compared with 7,225 for the same term last year.   DeVry also said it expects its new Internet site to play an important role in reaching potential students.   DeVry owns and operates the DeVry Institutes, Keller Graduate School of Management, Corporate Educational Services and Becker CPA Review.     Chicago newsdesk 312 408 8787 
4884 !GCAT  Some major airlines tried to boost fares in response to the return of the federal excise tax on tickets, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.   However, the effort began to crumble when Northwest Airlines Corp and USAir Group Inc refused to increase prices.   UAL Corp's United Airlines, AMR Corp's American Airlines and Delta Air Lines all posted 10 percent fare increases early on Tuesday to cover resumption of the 10 percent tax.   The newspaper also reported:   * President Bill Clinton proposes new taxes to raise $8.5 billion for education.   * McDonald's Corp wins back rights to its trademarks in South Africa.   * Layoffs at Lam Research Corp and Unit Instruments Inc signal weakness in chip-equipment sector.   * Cancer concerns prompt Amoco Corp to seal floor of Illinois research building.   * Feed companies Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co Ltd, Ajinomoto Co and Sewon Co agree to settle price-fixing charges over lysine and testify against Archer Daniels Midland Co.   * U.S. appeals court clears major legal obstacle to Lloyd's of London recovery plan.   * The Dow Jones Industrial Average rises 17.38 points to 5,711.27.   The Nasdaq composite index jumps 9.8 points to 1,149.02.   * FoxMeyer Health Corp unit files for bankruptcy.   * Boeing Co plans to add 5,000 workers, boost 777 production rate.   * Britain's Prudential Corp Plc is selling its reinsurance unit to Swiss Reinsurance Co.   * Consumer confidence is at a six-year high.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4885 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  Comarco Inc said on Wednesday it had won a contract worth nearly $7 million from the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base.   The company said in a statement that the contract is for Test Program Sets (TPS) applicable to the avionics systems on the B-2 strategic bomber.   This firm-fixed price contract is valued at nearly $7 million and is expected to be completed in September 1999.   The work will consist of the design, development, fabrication, test, demonstration and delivery of TPS software and hardware that the Air Force will use to isolate faults in B-2 avionics components as part of the overall aircraft system maintenance program.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4886 !C12 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Customedix Corp said a Delaware Chancery Court had cleared the way for a private buyout of the company by approving an out-of-court settlement of a shareholder lawsuit.   In a statement late on Tuesday, the company said the settlement involved suits by shareholders aimed at stopping the purchase by Customedix chairman and chief executive Gordon Cohen and a partnership made up of Cohen family trusts.   The merger would be between Customedix and CUS Acquisition Inc, a corporation formed by Cohen and the partnership.    Under the buyout terms, all stockholders of Customedix, other than Cohen and the partnership, would get $2.375 for each share of Customedix stock owned by them.   The court approved a July 25 settlement reached between the two sides.   Customedix and CUS agreed to the merger terms on June 10.   The court certified the consolidated suit as a class action for plaintiffs composed of Customedix stockholders between Feb 5, 1996 and the consummation of the merger.   The ruling also dismissed the suit and awarded the attorneys for the plaintiffs and the class attorneys fees and expenses totaling $200,000, to be paid by Customedix.   Under the settlement, the parties have the option to withdraw from it under certain circumstances, including if the merger is not consummated.   The merger is subject to approval by Customedix shareholders.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4887 !GCAT  The Walt Disney Co's ABC network has bought an 11-title package of theatrical films from Time Warner Inc's Warner Brothers studio, Daily Variety reported on Wednesday.   They include three that still haven't hit the theaters yet: "Sleepers," with Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman; "Michael Collins," with Liam Neeson and Julia Roberts; and "The Glimmer Man," with Steven Seagal and Keenen Ivory Wayans.   The deal, which also includes "Tin Cup" and the 1991 "Ricochet," is only the latest example of a buying frenzy for theatrical movies that has swept the broadcast networks.   The newspaper also reported:   * General Electric Co's NBC has captured its 12th straight weeklong prime-time Nielsens victory, prevailing in the August 19-25 results.   * J.P. Morgan & Co Inc's hopes of advancing its foothold in the banking side of Hollywood may rest on the outcome of a meeting of commercial bankers held Tuesday afternoon to consider the syndication of Morgan's $800 million bank loan to the team acquiring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.   * Faye Dunaway will star as opera diva Maria Callas in the national company of Terrence McNally's "Master Class" and in any feature film eventually made of the play.   * Theater marquees in more than two dozen cities dimmed Tuesday night in memory of Bernard B. Jacobs, president and co-CEO of the Shubert Organization and a central figure in New York's theater community for four decades.   Jacobs died Thursday from complications following heart bypass surgery.   He was 80.   * The 53rd Venice International Film Festival kicks off Wednesday with a high-voltage shot of star power setting the tone.   * Barry Diller's much talked-about "sizzle" among investors fizzled out Tuesday as investors dumped stock both in his Silver King Communications Inc and in Home Shopping Network Inc, which Silver King is planning to buy.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4888 !C17 !C23 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Navistar International Corp said its board voted to suspend funding at the end of August for a programme for a new generation of trucks unless significant progress is made by then in talks with the United Auto Workers (UAW).   The company said in a statement late on Tuesday that Navistar and the UAW "must resolve key issues to achieve the necessary financial returns for the program."    A meeting is scheduled for Thursday with local UAW leadership in Springfield, Ohio, the proposed site for manufacturing the new trucks, to determine whether a basis for negotiations exists.   "In light of the upcoming meeting, the board also gave Navistar management authority to continue funding NGT beyond the end of August, as long as management is convinced that rapid progress is being made toward a successful resolution," the statement said.   The next generation truck program would involve future expenditure of $200 million in capital investment in the Springfield plant, as well as $180 million in new product development funding.   Failure to reach a satisfactory resolution with the UAW could result in a charge to fourth quarter earnings.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
4889 !GCAT !GWEA  Powerful Hurricane Edouard remains only a threat to shipping at this time.   The storm, currently centered about 240 miles north northeast of the Leeward Islands, is moving west northwest at 14 mph.   Top winds are 130 mph and little change in strength is likely into Wednesday as the storm continues its track.   The current forecast track brings the storm north of the Caribbean Islands but large swells are expected over the coastal waters of the islands in the northeastern Caribbean over the next 24-48 hours.   It is still too early to tell if Edouard will reach the US East Coast but this can not be counted out at this time.    Typhoon Orson is centered over open waters far east of Japan, near 26n/152e.   The storm is nearly stationary and has top winds near 105 mph but is now beginning to weaken.   This weakening trend will continue during the next 24-36 hours as the storm eventually takes a northwestward drift.   Orson is only a threat to shipping in the region at this time.    Tropical Depression 06, with 35 mph winds, is located about 800 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, moving west at 14 mph.   Tropical Depression 07, with 35 mph winds, is located about 600 miles southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, moving west at 14 mph.   Neither of these weather systems threaten land at this time.   The threat to shipping will begin to increase, however, as both of these systems are forecast to strengthen into tropical storms during the next 24-36 hours. 
4890 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  U.S. investors in troubled Lloyd's of London were considering late on Tuesday whether to appeal a U.S. court decision in favour of Lloyd's and pledged to continue pursuing other legal actions.   A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday gave Lloyd's a reprieve, throwing out an injunction that the insurance giant said could have led to its collapse.   A lower court issued the injunction on Friday and ordered Lloyd's to give investors, known as Names, more information before requiring them to decide whether to accept a settlement offer as part of a reorganisation plan.   "My prediction is that the Names will appeal," said Kenneth Chiate, a U.S. Name and a chief negotiator for the American Names Association.   "At this point, it is a sufficiently important decision that I'm confident that they will appeal," he said.   "But to say that they definitely will would be premature until we determine what the exact basis for the court's ruling is."   Under the reorganisation plan, Lloyd's plans to reinsure its massive liabilities into a new company called Equitas.    The arrangement calls for investors to make additional payments to fund Equitas but also provides them with 3.2 billion stg in compensation to help reduce their prior outstanding liabilities.   The Names had been scheduled to decide whether to accept or reject the offer by 1100 GMT Wednesday, but Lloyd's chairman David Rowland said on Tuesday the offer would be extended.   At least eight U.S. states have still some form of litigation pending, said John Head, spokesman for the Association of Lloyd's State Chairmen, a group representing U.S. Names.   "It goes without saying that we're rather disappointed," Head said of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting in Baltimore.   But, he said, "we still have hope that somebody is going to see our point of view in this."   The Colorado attorney general told Lloyd's last week it was considering a new legal action against the British insurance market, based on allegations of consumer fraud.   "We have notified them of our concerns and asked them to give us a response," said Colorado attorney general Gale Norton.    Norton said she was concerned that the Lloyd's agreement immunizes it from future litigation regarding Equitas and requires that all legal actions be heard outside of Colorado.   In addition, she said she was concerned the plan may not offer investors enough protection from additional, future liabilities.   Meanwhile, an appeal of a lawsuit filed by some 600 Names in California is still pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Chiate of the American Names Association said.   That lawsuit, which seeks rescision and restitution, was dismissed in a U.S. district court.   That case "is what I call the most significant alternate remedy for us," Chiate said.   The individual Names, however, now must decide whether to accept Lloyd's settlement offer or reject the offer and pursue litigation.   Chiate said he has advised Names that "they must make, individually, a risk benefit analysis."   Rejection involved forfeiting the compensation offer and risking the possibility of owing Lloyd's two to three times more than Lloyd's is now willing to accept, he said.    But, in rejecting the offer, the Names would retain their rights to pursue litigation, he said. 
4891 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  A new controversy flared up over the French government's immigration policies on Wednesday when an Air France union said it would try to prevent the expulsion of a planeload of Africans.   The CFDT union said it had learned of a government request to charter one of the state-owned airline's planes to fly illegal immigrants home to Tunisia, Niger and Zaire and called the plan "a fresh violation of human rights".   "The CFDT's Air France branch is intervening immediately, at all levels of Air France management, to prevent the airline's planes and staff from being used in such police operations," the union said in a statement.   CIMADE, an organisation looking after immigrants, said the government was planning a second flight on Wednesday to Mali and Senegal.   Leading human rights activists, including dissident former bishop Jacques Gaillot, joined in, asking pilots to refuse to fly the deportees.   "We...solemnly ask you to uphold the dignity of French aviation by refusing to be part of this ignominy," they said.   The government's handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since last week's police raid on a Paris church that had been occupied by some 300 Africans in a protest against France's tough immigration laws.   Four of the Africans were deported at the weekend aboard a previously scheduled charter flight, and 66 have received expulsion orders, some 20 of which could legally be enforced at any time.   Another 49 have been promised residence permits following a review of their cases on humanitarian grounds.   Supporters of the Africans scheduled a march in Paris later on Wednesday, and the immigrants have called for a second demonstration on September 18 at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg in eastern France.   Human rights groups, labour unions and the opposition Left have branded last week's police raid a human rights disaster.   But most of the centre-right majority has praised the action while the far-right National Front has accused the government of being too soft an the problem of illegal immigrants. 
4892 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian police extended their search for bodies on Wednesday at a house owned by the chief suspect in the scandal of child kidnapping, porn and killing that has stunned Europe.   At the same time the lawyer of convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux, the man at the centre of the storm, refused on moral grounds to defend him.   Belgium was plunged into a state of shock 11 days ago after Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in his garden.   Buried with them was an accomplice Bernard Weinstein, whom he admitted killing.   "I have a little girl of Julie and Melissa's age, who has been really disturbed by these events, and I don't think she could have understood that her father was defending this man," lawyer Didier de Quevy told Belgian radio.   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of the six houses Dutroux owns in and around the southern city of Charleroi.   Dutroux has also confessed to kidnapping teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrechts who disappeared from the port of Ostend a year ago.   Their fate remains unknown.   While hope flickers that An and Eefje may still be alive, speculation has grown in the Belgian media that five bodies might be hidden at the site in Jumet, near Charleroi.   The house has been the scene of intense police activity since Tuesday.   Battling against heavy rain, investigators used an excavator in the yard - which had been cleared of debris - and were completing digging beneath a concrete floor in a shed at four spots located on Tuesday by sniffer dogs.   "We're looking for all possible indications, but of course primarily bodies," gendarmerie spokesman Major Jean-Marie Boudin told reporters.   Nothing had been found by mid-afternoon.   The spots were being excavated to a depth of two metres (6-1/2 feet), and the hole in the garden to six metres.   Boudin said the basement of the house was also being cleared out to allow sniffer dogs to search there.   Foreign experts have been helping at the site where Dutroux has suggested areas to dig.   Prosecutor Michel Bourlet has however warned that Dutroux was calculating and highly manipulative.   Britain's Superintendent John Bennett who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West "House of Horrors" murder case in England two years ago, arrived last week.   There were also reports of fresh searches at other sites including Dutroux' house in Sars-La-Buissiere where Melissa and Julies' bodies were hidden.   Dutroux said the girls, who disappeared in June 1995, starved to death early this year, He denies killing them but admits paying accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap them.   As the searches continued in Belgium, Dutroux was named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair", including Doutroux' second wife Michelle Martin who has been charged as an accomplice.   There has been widespread anger over revelations of police bungling, and the Justice Ministry has ordered an inquiry.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, fuelling questions about a possible high-level cover-up.   At least 15 children have gone missing in Belgium in the past six years.   To date seven have been found dead, two have been rescued and six are still officially listed as missing. 
4893 !GCAT !GVIO  Three bombs shook Corsica early on Wednesday, bringing to 20 the number of blasts on the French Mediterranean island in the past two weeks as separatists walk away from a shaky seven-month truce.   The pace of bombings attributed by police to Corsican nationalists seeking greater autonomy from mainland France has picked up markedly since separatist guerrillas buried the truce.   Police said no one was seriously injured in the latest attacks, which damaged a tax office in Prunelli di Fiumorbo in northern Corsica, destroyed state prosecutor Jean-Jacques Bosc's car in the southwestern city of Ajaccio and blew up an advertising agency in the southern town of Porto-Vecchio.   But tax collector Celine Venturi, 27, was taken to hospital and treated for shock after the blast in Prunelli di Fiumorbo.   She was in her apartment across the street from the tax office at the time of the bombing.   No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.   But they coincide with the ending of a seven-month truce last week by the outlawed Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC), one of the main guerrilla groups on the island.   Francois Santoni, leader of the Cuncolta Naziunalista, seen as the FLNC's political arm, has accused the government of reneging on secret commitments.   He also has accused Prime Minister Alain Juppe of "anti-Corsican racism" and has sworn to force his downfall.   Juppe's visit to the island in July, during which he pledged to push through plans for tax breaks to stimulate the local economy, has apparently put paid to separatist hopes for concessions on institutional reform.   The government condemned the latest attacks and a series of blasts in recent weeks on treasuries and tax and customs offices, reaffirming in a statement that it would "maintain republican laws and the public service in all areas of Corsica".   Judges on the island had accused Paris of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while it conducted secret but widely reported talks with separatists which have now failed.   Influential local leader Jose Rossi, head of the regional authority in southern Corsica and three times a target of separatist attacks, has strongly criticised the reported talks and urged Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre to take a tougher line.   The daily Le Monde reported on Wednesday that some separatist movements were considering taking their attacks to the French mainland on the principle that "300 grammes of explosives on the continent have more impact than 300 kilos in Corsica".   The newspaper said separatists may take advantage of the social unrest widely expected on the mainland in coming weeks due to government austerity plans to stoke popular rebellion against the government. 
4894 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The German government on Wednesday finally admitted what many had predicted for some time -- that it will not be able to hold to its planned budget deficit of 60 billion marks ($40 billion) in 1996.   "The finance ministry has always said the planned deficit target of 60 billion marks cannot be kept to," a government spokeswoman said.   Finance Minister Theo Waigel has been saying the opposite until now, however.   The spokeswoman was responding to a claim by the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) that the federal deficit had already reached 57 billion marks in the first seven months of the year.   She would not confirm the 57 billion mark figure, issued in a statement by SPD budget spokesman Karl Diller, but said it was not in any case possible to extrapolate the full-year figure from figures for seven months.   "Spending and revenues develop at different rates during the year, for example privatisation revenues come in at different times," she said, referring to the nine billion marks of such revenue due to arrive in Bonn's coffers this year.   The admission comes as a further embarrassment to Waigel who was forced to admit earlier this year that the total public deficit -- including that of states, local councils and social security funds -- jumped to 3.6 percent of gross domestic product in 1995 from 2.6 percent the year before.   Until the start of this year, Waigel insisted the figure would be below three percent of GDP, the level required for those wishing to enter the single European currency in 1999.   Bonn is embarking on a programme of drastic spending cuts for next year to ensure it gets the deficit down to below three percent of GDP in 1997 -- the year on which suitability for EMU will be judged.   Waigel says the spending cuts, combined with recovering economic growth, will be enough to reduce the deficit to around 2.5 percent next year.   But with his earlier prediction of around 3.5 percent for this year now looking unachievable, financial markets are bound to question his budget figures for next year in the run up to economic and monetary union, just as they are for Germany's neighbour France.   Waigel's woes are largely caused by a sharper than expected economic slowdown at the turn of the year which was compounded by a severe cold snap.   This pushed up unemployment to record levels, requiring higher government spending on welfare while reducing tax revenues.   The SPD's Diller attacked Waigel for his handling of public finances.   "The catastrophic budget figures, which worsen month by month, refute all attempts by the Finance Minister to say extrapolations for the full year are impossible," Diller said.   A month ago Diller issued a figure of 46 billion marks for the first six months of the year which the finance ministry did its best to downplay but did not deny.   On Wednesday he predicted the deficit would overshoot the target by 20 billion, a prediction in line with the DIW economic research institute which forecast in a report released on Wednesday a federal deficit of 76 billion marks.   ($1=1.4791 Mark) 
4895 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  France's labour unions are counting heavily on the memory of crippling strikes late last year to force the centre-right government into retreat as it puts the final touches to a critical spending-cut budget for next year.   The big question, which no one yet dares to bet on with any certainty, is whether they can win enough backing in the private sector to generate the momentum of the strikes spearheaded by restive state railway workers last November and December.   Importantly, the government has diffused the dispute over railworkers' pension rights which sparked last year's strikes.   But many ingredients for trouble are there: unemployment at record levels, a series of high-profile labour conflicts in defence, banking and manufacturing, low consumer morale and few signs of the economic growth which could help cut dole queues.   The government also plans to cut up to 7,000 civil service jobs in 1997, probably about 2,300 of them among state teachers.   Reform of the army and defence, financial troubles at state bank Credit Lyonnais and Credit Foncier and labour disputes and job-cutting at firms like Moulinex kitchen appliance maker and the Myrys and Bally shoemakers add to a sense of uneasiness.   Either way, the next few weeks will be nail-biting ones for President Jacques Chirac and Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe as they try to push through spending caps and reforms to prepare France for European monetary union by 1999.   Next year is the year they have promised to cut the public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) under the terms of the Maastricht treaty on monetary union.   Juppe, who reconvened his cabinet on Wednesday after the summer break, has pledged to cap central government spending at 1.552 trillion francs ($307.6 billion) and is counting on savings of 60 billion francs on job and housing subsidies as well as lower interest payments on the national debt.   He is hemmed in on one side by unions and almost palpable public discontent as people return to work after holidays and on the other side by financial markets which could punish any perceived backtracking on pledges to get finances in order.   Some economists point out, however, that the political commitment to monetary union is still solid and that this is more important than fears of social unrest that have made the French currency vulnerable in the short term.   "It's clear that the franc is being weakened, but in the medium term it is not justified," said Valerie Plagnol, economist at French bank Credit Commercial de France.   The unions have kept the heat on throughout a normally quieter August and are now trying to bring the lot to the boil.   Teachers unions fired the first salvo on Tuesday when they warned of a likely strike over job cuts and education reforms.   They will meet on September 3 to finalise their position.   On Wednesday, Louis Viannet, head of the Communist-led CGT union blamed government austerity and the "forced march" to monetary union for economic gloom and unemployment of more than three million but stopped short of calling a strike for now.   Marc Blondel, leader of the independent Force Ouvriere union which was at the fore of last year's 24-day strike, has said "all the ingredients are there for it to explode".   The Socialist CFDT, which has distanced itself from the more militant factions to support welfare reforms also at the heart of the 1995 strikes, has warned of "tension and conflicts".   Edouard Balladur, an ex-Conservative prime minister who ran against Chirac for president and a contender if Juppe fails to keep favour, added to the clamour on Tuesday, calling for 120 billion francs of tax cuts in the coming years.   Juppe hopes to unveil tax reforms along with the budget in September and offer income tax cuts worth 20 billion francs next year, at a time when government revenue is under pressure.   A CSA survey published in French business daily La Tribune Desfosses on Wednesday showed 77 percent of those asked expect strike action comparable to that seen last year. 
4896 !GCAT !GDIP  Iran has asked Germany to extradite its former president Abolhassan Banisadr for alleged hijacking, an Iranian embassy spokesman said on Wednesday.   Banisadr, who fled Iran in fear of his life in 1981, angered Tehran last week by accusing top Iranian leaders of ordering the assassination of Iranian Kurdish leaders in a Berlin restaurant in 1992.   He made the allegations at the trial of an Iranian and four Lebanese accused of carrying out the attack.   An embassy spokesman said Tehran Iran had formally requested Banisadr's extradition for hijacking the military aircraft which he commandeered to flee Iran in July 1981.   "We submitted the request three or four days ago," he said.   Bonn's Justice Ministry confirmed the request had been received, and would be answered in due course.   However, Banisadr has enjoyed political asylum in France since he fled there in 1981.   France rejected an Iranian extradition request at the time, and it seemed unlikely that Bonn would take a different line from its close ally.   Banisadr, an architect of Iran's Islamic revolution who fell from favour after a year as president, lives under round-the-clock security in Paris fearing Tehran could make an attempt on his life.   He is due back in Berlin on September 5 to continue his testimony, which has backed up German prosecutors' allegations that Tehran ordered the attack on the exiled leaders.   Three dissidents and their translator were killed in the gangland-style machinegun attack.   The affair has already strained relations between Bonn and Iran, particularly since Germany's Federal Prosecutor issued an arrest warrant in March against Iran's Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahiyan on suspicion of ordering the assassinations.   Iran has warned Germany that bilateral relations could suffer further if it pays heed to Banisadr's testimony. 
4897 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgians fear police may find the remains of five youngsters in a search for bodies at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in a child sex, killing and kidnapping scandal.   Police again ransacked the property on Wednesday as a traumatised nation awaited the outcome of a probe that has sent shock-waves of revulsion across Europe.   The high-tech excavation went ahead as Dutroux was named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol said Dutroux was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one Slovak woman.   Speculation grew in the Belgian media about a prospect of five bodies hidden at the site here, including those of teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks.   Dutroux says he kidnapped the two a year ago from the port of Ostend.   Their fate remains unknown.   "Digging works have resumed in the shed and in the yard," gendarmerie spokesman Major Jean-Marie Boudin told reporters at the scene.   "We're looking for all possible indications, but of course primarily bodies.   We will dig as deep as is needed."   Battling against heavy rain investigators began using an excavator in the yard - which has been cleared of debris - and were also digging beneath a concrete floor at three spots located on Tuesday by sniffer dogs in a shed at the site.   Nearly 20 people were involved with the search.   Darkness forced police to suspend their search late on Tuesday after they had excavated to a depth of two metres (6-1/2 feet) at one of four locations indicated by the dogs in the shed, and six metres at one spot in the garden.   "The unbearable wait," wrote popular daily La Derniere Heure across its front page above pictures of Marchal's parents, looking strained, and of searches at the house in Jumet, southern Belgium, on Tuesday.   Dutroux, a convicted child rapist and unemployed father of three, led police 11 days ago to the bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in the garden of another of the six houses he owns around the southern city of Charleroi.   The body of Weinstein, whom Dutroux admits to killing, was found next to the girls.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, prompting allegations of police bungling or a possible high-level cover-up.   Dutroux said the two girls starved to death early this year, nine months after being abducted in June 1995.   He denies killing them but admits paying two accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap the two friends.   They were buried on Thursday amid an outpouring of grief across Europe and calls for reinstatement of the death penalty.   Foreign experts assisted in the excavations on Tuesday after Dutroux, 39, had suggested sites to dig.   Prosecutor Michel Bourlet said Dutroux was calculating and highly manipulative.   Superintendent John Bennett, the British police officer who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West "House of Horrors" murder case in England two years ago, was brought in last week to help.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of Dutroux' houses.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair".   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin has been charged as an accomplice.   Seven others face charges ranging from fraud to criminal association.   At least 15 children have gone missing in Belgium in the past six years.   To date seven have been found dead, two have been rescued and six are still officially listed as missing.   A Brussels police official told Reuters police were looking for at least three other Belgian girls who have disappeared in the last five years.   It was not known if Dutroux was involved.   On Tuesday Slovak police said they were cooperating with Belgian collegues in the search for An and Eefje.   They said Dutroux visited Slovakia a number of times and that about 10 young Slovak women went to Belgium at his invitation. 
4898 !GCAT !GCRIM  German riot police made Nazi gestures at a private function earlier this month and may face dismissal for their actions, the Bavarian Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.   The ministry declined to detail gestures the Nuremberg-based policemen had made at the August 13 function but added seven had been suspended from duty pending an internal inquiry.   A spokesman for public prosecutors in the southern city, where dictator Adolf Hitler held some of his most infamous Nazi party rallies in the 1930s, said there were no plans to prosecute the officers as the gestures had not been made in public. 
4899 !GCAT !GCRIM  A motorist threatened a fellow driver with a starting pistol as he overtook him illegally in the inside lane on a motorway near Berlin and was photographed in the act by the driver's wife, prosecutors said on Wednesday.   Prosecutors in the city of Potsdam said the 32-year-old man drew alongside the other car at about 110 kph (70 mph) and aimed his pistol at the driver.   But the driver's wife kept her nerve, got out her camera and photographed him.   The man has been charged with dangerous driving, coercion and threatening behaviour. 
4900 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Swedish finance minister Erik Asbrink on Wednesday hosed down renewed speculation about Sweden's plans for joining the European Union's single currency, saying public support was needed first.   However, financial markets were upset when Asbrink, in a signed article in the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter, said Sweden might choose not to join the third stage of economic and monetary union (EMU) when it starts in 1999.   The jitters sent Swedish debt yields edging up, particularly at the long end with nine year bond yields jumping 11 basis points (0.11 percentage point) to 8.16 percent, and softened the crown to 4.4800 against the mark from 4.4620 on Tuesday.   But Asbrink quickly moved to calm the markets, saying there was still no timetable drawn up and reaffirming earlier comments that the matter would go before the ruling Social Democratic Party congress in autumn 1997.   "What I tried to express in the article is that Sweden will take the decision one year from now," Asbrink told a Reuters Financial Television interview.   "The time until then is to be used ... to have a thorough debate and then to come to a final conclusion.   It is an open question as to whether we join the monetary union in the first round or not.   "If we choose not to join at the first stage then of course we would like to have the option to join later on."   Askbrink said it was vital that the move had popular Swedish support otherwise it would be hard to adhere to the EMU.   "It is hard to see a decision on joining EMU without quite stable support from the general public," said Asbrink.   To date opinion polls have shown the majority of Swedes opposed to membership in monetary union.   A survey by the Swedish Institute of Public Opinion Research (SIFO) last week found 56 percent of Swedes were opposed to joining the single currency with only 21 percent in favour.   But Asbrink said public opinion, although currently rather negative, could change.   "I'm convinced the union will start according to plan.   I'm convinced a number of countries will join.   Sweden could be one of those countries but that's not 100 percent sure," he said.   The finance minister also acknowledged there were political problems for Sweden in joining monetary union, with large parts of the Social Democrats wanting Sweden to remain outside the new institutions.   "I and the government see many advantages in Sweden joining EMU but we also see some problems and risks involved, politically and economically," he said.   Several analysts believed Sweden may decide to wait with EMU membership even if the country would qualify to join from the start.   "Sweden does not want to join in 1999 but wants to keep (its option) open to join soon afterwards," chief economist carl Hamilton of Handelsbanken told Reuters.   Economist James McKay at investment bank Paine Webber in London took a similar view.   "I believe they will wait and watch to see how EMU emerges in the coming years to see whether it would be beneficial to Sweden," he told Reuters. 
4901 !GCAT !GDIP  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl spoke by telephone to Russian President Boris Yeltsin on Wednesday and arranged to visit him at a dacha outside Moscow on September 7, a German government spokesman said.   Kohl, Yeltsin's closest ally in the West, urged the Russian leader to bring a peaceful end to the war in breakaway Chechnya, government spokesman Peter Haussmann said.   Yetlsin has been seen rarely in public since his re-election in July, prompting widespread speculation about his health, and he started a holiday on Monday the private Rus hunting lodge, some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow.   Hausmann said Kohl planned to visit Ukraine from September 2 to 4 and would receive Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov and U.S. foreign minister Warren Christopher in Bonn on September 5 and 6 ahead of his trip to meet Yeltsin.   Germany has been one of the loudest critics of Russia's military intervention in Chechnya, a 20-month-old conflict in which tens of thousands of people have been killed.   Hausmann, reporting on the talks between the two leaders, said: "In the open and friendly conversation current issues were discussed.   The chancellor pressed home the view of the German government that this conflict must be brought to an end as quickly as possible.   "The chancellor said in the conversation that many people in Germany were hoping and expecting that a positive development in Chechnya would bring an end to the terrible suffering of the (civilian) population (there)."   German Defence Minister Volker Ruehe warned Moscow at the weekend that its ties with the West might "drown in a sea of blood" unless it organised a lasting peace in Chechnya.   He said Russia was an important ally for Germany and other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) but warned that a "strategic partnership" was possible only if Moscow established enduring peace at home. 
4902 !GCAT !GODD  In what it says is a unique experiment, Denmark's Copenhagen Zoo has added two new primates to its collection of baboons, orang-utangs, chimps and lemurs -- a local couple representing Homo Sapiens.   Living out their daily lives in a perspex-walled mini-apartment between the baboons and a pair of ruffed lemurs, acrobat Henrik Lehmann and newspaper employee Malene Botoft say they hope to make visiting humans think about themselves and their origins.   "The most visited animals in the zoo, apart from the predators, are the apes, because we see in them something of ourselves.   This puts that similarity into context," Lehmann told Reuters on Wednesday over a beer in the couple's small but cosy air-conditioned enclosure.   "It's a mirror, you can look at yourself," he added.   Lehmann and Botoft moved in last Sunday, doing much of the installation work themselves.   "We were near fainting from exhaustion and I could hardly get up but I made a cup of coffee with warm milk," Botoft wrote in her diary, published in the Danish daily Berlingske Tidended, where she works as a secretary and motorcycle writer.   "I drank it on the sofa and ate a meatball with cheese while people looked at us.   Henrik slept," she wrote.   They will remain on display until September 15.   The neighbours, particularly the baboons, she finds entertaining during the day but the lemurs next door are an annoyance at night.   "There are only two of them but they make a noise as if they were at least 30.   Exactly once every hour they mark their territory with uninhibited screaming," she said.   On Wednesday the enclosure, complete with a standard zoo label giving details of Homo Sapiens' habitat, diet and other key statistics, was surrounded by enthusiastic children and slightly more reticent adults.   "I think it's cool," said 10-year-old Peter Hansen.   "It's certainly an interesting idea," his mother added.   Lehmann said that adults seem to feel more comfortable looking at "the real apes", where they are uninhibited by social conventions against staring, while children have no reservations about pressing their noses against the humans' perspex walls.   He said he is frequently asked if the couple intend to publicly display the more intimate areas of human activity, but said that was not their intention as "it's not interesting".   The enclosure has a combined kitchen-living room, an adjoining bedroom and a small workshop where Lehmann works at his passion -- restoring classic British motorcycles.   It also boasts a sofa, chairs, bookshelves and other typical features of the human habitat; fax, computer, television, stereo and telephone.   Toilet and washing facilities are in a nearby zoo building.   Zoo information official Peter Vestergaard said that the Homo Sapiens display was partly for fun but, like Lehmann, he hoped it could also encourage people to confront their origins.   "We are all primates.   (Lehmann and Botoft) are monkeys in a way but some people find that hard to accept.   This is a way to maybe help people realise that," he said. 
4903 !GCAT !GCRIM  Berlin prosecutors said on Wednesday they had filed charges against two German men for sexually abusing children in Thailand and distributing pornographic films and pictures of their degrading acts.   The case is one of only a handful in which authorities have managed to track down suspects under a law which lets them pursue Germans who commit sex offences abroad.   The pair, identified only as 43-year-old clerk Dieter U and businessman Thomas S, 33, are alleged to have carried out acts of sexual indecency with children as young as 10 years old between 1994 and 1995.   Their videos included pictures of one of the accused tying up a Thai boy and performing acts of sadistic torture on him, prosecutors said in a statement.   In another scene, a young girl performed oral sex with an unidentified adult man.   The new law was introduced with much fanfare in 1993.   But prosecutors face huge difficulties in gathering evidence and bringing witnesses to testify in a German court, and only one person has so far been convicted under the law.   Investigators are probing several other cases.   The Berlin prosecutors said they had been alerted to the two men by customs officials who intercepted packages containing pornographic photographs and order forms. 
4904 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Austrian utility Verbund said it aims to cut up to 500 jobs by the end of 1998 as part of a broad reorganisation ahead of the planned liberalisation of EU energy markets in 1999.   On June 30 Oesterreische Elektrizitaetswirtschafts AG (Verbund) employed 2,863.   Chief executive Hans Haider forecast a new group structure, to be introduced at the start of next year, would slim down management by about 40 percent.   Under the scheme, a holding company will oversee four previously separate divisions, including electricity generation and supply.   -- Vienna Newsroom, 43-1-53112-258 
4905 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian foreign affairs minister Erik Derycke said on Wednesday the horrific paedophile ring unfurling in his home country must not divert attention from the global scale of the tragedy of sex abuse.   On the second day of the Stockholm world conference on commercial sexual exploitation of children, Derycke said the tragedy in Belgium must not be allowed to dominate the congress.   "It would be very selfish of us to only to address the situation we are now trying to live through.   Everything is related, and what can happen in a protected society such as ours can happen all over the world," he told Reuters.   As delegates to the 130-nation conference got down to the serious work of turning the ambitious declarations of keynote speakers into practical action, Belgian police continued their search for young victims of sex abuse.   Belgians fear police may find the remains of as many as five youngsters at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in a child sex, killing and kidnapping scandal.   Derycke expressed his gratitude for expressions of sympathy following the killings of eight year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and the disappearance of four other children.   But he said that despite its high profile, the Dutroux case was just one more reminder that child sex abuse is not limited to the Far East or developing countries.   "Today, these two little girls rest in peace, side by side, in their regained innocence together with all the other victims whom maybe no one remembers, not even by name."   Although Belgian legislation on child prostitution and pornography is among the strictest in the world, Derycke said the recent tragedies had proved paperwork was not enough in Belgium or elswhere.   "We already have a lot of international treaties...but I have the impression that a lot of countries think that by signing treaties the problem is solved," he said.   Derycke said Justice Minister Stefaan de Clerck would announce measures on Friday to tighten up existing Belgian rules, but the core of the problem could only be tackled at an international level.   "A worldwide system for combating these hideous crimes will primarily be brought about through real multilateral cooperation ...such a subject should be part of the negotiations now held in New York on the creation of an International Criminal Court."   Many of the speakers at the conference have drawn attention to the socio-economic inequalities that often force children into sex slavery, but Derycke went one step further.   "It is the most extreme result of an ultra-liberal economic system where everything is possible and everything can be bought, even the body of a child," he said. 
4906 !GCAT !GODD  A circus bear ran amok in the streets of Vienna on Wednesday, biting three people before being cornered and sedated after his one-hour AWOL.   The eight-year-old male brown bear, who broke free during unloading at the "Golden Globe" circus in the southern district of Liesing, rampaged through a housing estate and bit one hapless passer-by on the bottom, the police said.   An animal keeper and a security guard were the bear's other victims.   They got away with nips on the thigh.   Authorities ordered the bear to be held in quarantine to determine whether it was diseased. 
4907 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian police have so far arrested 10 people -- nine men and one woman -- in a scandal of child sex, kidnapping and killing that has shocked Europe.   They are:   Marc Dutroux, 39, is alleged to be the dominant person in a paedophile pornography ring as well as dabbling in car theft.   He served three years of a 13-year sentence for child rape and was released for good behaviour in 1992.   He was jailed from December 1995 to April 1996 for involvement in car theft.   Twice married, he has three children and owns six houses in and around the city of Charleroi although his only declared income is a small disability pension.   He features in some of more than 300 paedophile video tapes seized by police.   He has admitted kidnapping at least four girls and killing accomplice Bernard Weinstein.   He has been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment of children.   His own lawyer refuses to defend him.   Michel Lelievre, an alleged accomplice of Dutroux in both child pornography and car theft, lived in a Dutroux house in the Charleroi suburb of Marchienne-au-Pont where police found trench-like cells in the cellar with evidence of occupation by children.   Dutroux has told police he paid Lelievre and Weinstein 40,000 francs ($1,300) for kidnapping eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in June 1995 and says Weinstein and Lelievre let them starve to death this year while he was in prison.   Lelievre has been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Michelle Martin, a former schoolteacher, is the second wife of Dutroux and mother of two of his children.   She was sentenced to three years in jail in 1989 for acting as his accomplice in illegally imprisoning children.   She has been charged as an accomplice in abductions and imprisonment.   Jean-Michel Nihoul, a Brussels-based businessman, admits knowing Dutroux, whom he says repaired a car for him, and Lelievre.   He has been charged with criminal association.   Michael Diakostavrianos, of Greek origin, lives in a house owned by Dutroux in the Charleroi suburb of Mont-sur-Marchienne where police discovered quantities of video tapes and magazines.   Neighbours said he travelled frequently.   He has been charged with criminal association.   Claude Thirault, an acquaintance of Dutroux, has been charged with criminal association.   Georges Zicot, chief detective in the Charleroi judicial police and a specialist in tackling car theft, was questioned twice in the past two years about car thefts and released both times.   He has been linked to Dutroux through Weinstein.   He has been charged with vehicle theft, insurance fraud and forgery.   Gerard Pinon, busniessman and owner of a warehouse in Charleroi, was an acquaintance of Dutroux.   He faces charges of receiving stolen goods, particularly vehicles, and criminal association.   Thierry Dehaan, an insurance company representative in Charleroi and acquaintance of Dutroux, faces charges of fraud relating to car theft.   Pierre Rochow, son of a German scrap metal merchant with a business in Charleroi, faces charges of car theft and receiving stolen goods. 
4908 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission confirmed on Wednesday it had cleared the acquisition of Austrian retail chain Billa by Germany's Rewe, the biggest takeover in Austria's history.   In statement IP/96/806, the Commission said it had no serious concerns about the deal's impact on competition.   However, it said it would continue to follow the further development of concentration in the retail sector carefully and also pay attention to the aspect of buying power.   Billa, with 1995 sales of about three billion Ecus, is Austria's biggest retailer with a market share of more than 28 percent.   Rewa is one of the leading groups in food retail in Germany.   The group last year had a total turnover of 25 billion Ecus.   The Commission said the deal, which it cleared under the EU merger regulation, has an impact on mainly on the competitive position of Billa in the food retail market in Austria.   It said that the competitive position of Billa would be improved because it would have possibilities of joint purchasing with Rewe.   "The concentration does, however, not lead to an addition in market shares since Billa has no activities in Germany and Rewe is so far not active in Austria," the Commission said in a statement.   "Likewise, the concentration does not give rise to serious competition problems from the point of view of an increase in buying power," it added.   The Commission said that since the second largest retail chain in Austria, the Spar group, is a strong competitor the deal would not lead to a dominant position of Billa in Austrian food retailing. 
4909 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  Italy's government, determined to show an unswerving commitment to join the European single currency by the end of the century, faces a sticky problem as it prepares to deliver unpalatable budgetary medicine for 1997.   Its worry is how to cut the public sector borrowing requirement by the promised 32.4 trillion lire ($21.4 billion) while holding true to a pledge to leave a bloated pensions system and generous public healthcare arrangements practically unscathed?   For many economists the simple answer is that it cannot do so without resorting to sleight of hand.   The government has a lot at stake.   A weak budget would not only shred Italy's chances of joining European economic and monetary union (EMU) by 1999 but could result in a big delay beyond that date before it can climb on board.   Prime Minister Romano Prodi's centre-left administration must present its budget to parliament by the end of September and the package has to pass into law before the year is out.   "If you don't cut five trillion lire from health spending and another five trillion from pensions you cannot produce a credible budget," said Giorgio Radaelli, international economist at Lehman Brothers in London.   Italian newspapers say the budget will include big cuts in subsidies for state companies, a crackdown on excess spending by ministries and a new campaign to stamp out tax evasion.   To make matters more difficult for Prodi, the budget drama will be played out against a background of a faltering economy and threats by trade union leaders of a "hot autumn" of strikes as they renegotiate wage contracts.   This has led prominent public figures to question the wisdom of pursuing a tough fiscal policy in order to meet strict EMU guidelines if the price is a full-blown recession.   A stringent budget is a key plank of the government's strategy of convincing financial markets that Italy is no longer a risky investment proposition and that it should not have to pay such a high interest rate premium on its state debt.   The "spread" -- or difference in interest paid -- on Italy's main treasury instrument, the fixed-rate BTP, and Germany's 10-year Bund currently stands at 3.20 percentage points.   Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi is on record as saying that he checks the Bund/BTP spread several times a day.   The government has not yet publicly snuffed out all hope of being among the restricted circle of countries allowed into the EMU club as founding members.   Prodi has admitted that Italy has no chance of meeting a key qualifying target, that of narrowing its public sector deficit to within three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by the end of 1997 although it plans to reach that goal the next year.   The 1992 Maastricht treaty states that founding members of the EMU club will be chosen from those countries that fulfil the strict qualifying criteria by 1997.   However, Italy might still hope that the criteria will only be applied loosely because other countries may also fall short of qualifying, analysts say.   "I think someone (in the government) hopes the criteria will be interpreted flexibly because France may not be able to meet them.   Italy could argue that the same flexibility given to France should be granted to them," said a London-based economist with a major international investment bank.   But some economists now believe that, with slow growth biting into tax revenues, Italy's chances of cutting the debt/ GDP ratio to three percent even by end-1998 are fading.   "That means the Maastricht criteria will be interpreted flexibly for France and Germany but not by as much as Italy would need to join as a founder," said the banker.   ($1 = 1,510) 
4910 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  French Prime Minister Alain Juppe said on Wednesday the government had missed its objectives in tackling unemployment and expected the situation to remain difficult in the next few months.   "We have not met our objectives and the situation will remain difficult in the coming months.   We have to move into high gear," he told the first cabinet meeting since the summer break.   Juppe faces criticism over his 1997 budget freeze from trade unions which have called for action but so far there have been no general strike calls.   Teacher unions said on Tuesday they wanted to coordinate a strike for the end of September. 
4911 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission confirmed on Wednesday it had cleared the acquisition by French food retailing chain Auchan of Portuguese rival Pao de Acucar SA.   Auchan announced last month it was buying Pao de Acucar, Portugal's third biggest retailer, from Portuguese conglomerate Entreposto.   The Commission said the deal would have a significant effect only in Madrid, and in particular in some nearby localities, as well as in Burgos.   Both Auchan and Pao de Acucar have a significant presence in Spain.   However, "in no locality are the combined market shares of the parties to the operation very important in the segment of large distribution," the Commission said in a statement.   Taking into account the market shares of the companies involved and the presence of several competitors, "the Commission considers that the notified concentration will not create or strengthen a dominant position."   -- Brussels newsroom +32 2 287 68 11 
4912 !C18 !C181 !C34 !CCAT !G15 !G157 !GCAT  The European Commission said on Wednesday that a takeover of Camat insurance company by AGF, a non-life insurance company, does not fall under the EU's merger regulation.   The Commission said each company had an aggregate EU-wide turnover of more than 250 million European currency units, but that each of them achieved more than two-thirds of the turnover in one member state, France.   This meant the merger did not meet the threshholds for further investigation by the Commission.   "The proposed concentration has no Community dimension," it said in a statement. 
4913 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Three British firms said on Wednesday that they were to invest a total of 1.3 million pounds sterling on projects which would help to create 110 new jobs in Northern Ireland.   The investment involves British Telecom, Abbey National building society and the insurance company Prudential.    British Telecom will provide 50 jobs at its software engineering centre while Abbey National will provide 38 jobs at a telephone-banking call centre.   Prudential will take on 22 new staff in an enlargement of its call centre for retail payment.   The Industrial Development Board in Northern Ireland is to contribute 0.5 million pounds sterling towards the three projects.   -- Dublin Newsroom +353 1 6603377 
4914 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  An opposition group waging a guerrilla war in Burundi said on Wednesday that regional sanctions imposed on the central African state were being broken by local businessmen.   The National Council for the Defence of democracy (CNDD) said in a statement issued in Belgium that Burundian businessmen were flying to neighbouring Rwanda, from where they could travel to other countries.   Regional leaders imposed sanctions on landlocked Burundi following a July 25 army coup against civilian Hutu president Sylvestre Ntibantunganya by retired Tutsi army Major Pierre Buyoya.   The sanctions included halting all air traffic to and from Burundi.   The CNDD said Burundian businessmen were using small aircraft to leave the country and were landing at Ngozi and Kirundo in Rwanda, where they were being helped by local officials.   A committee to monitor sanctions imposed on Burundi was due to meet for the first time next week.   The committee groups the ambassadors to Kenya of Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zambia and Zaire, together with Organisation of African Unity (OAU) officials.   The United Nations wants a waiver to allow humanitarian aid to reach some 255,000 people displaced by guerrilla war between Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army and Hutu rebels.   The U.N., which has taken no stand on regional sanctions, says its main priority is air access to Burundi for its staff, non-governmental organisations and the diplomatic community.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in three years of massacres and civil war between the army and rebels, which leaders fear could turn into mass slaughter on a scale similar to neighbouring Rwanda's 1994 genocide of up to a million. 
4915 !GCAT !GDIP  French Premier Alain Juppe will pay an official visit to Greece on September 15 to celebrate 150 years of the French Archaeological Society, government spokesman Dimitris Reppas said on Wednesday.   Juppe will meet Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis and Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos, Reppas told reporters.   "The French premier's visit was planned to coincide with the Archaeological Society's celebrations.   The Greek government was asked for an official meeting with the prime minister and the foreign minister and it said yes," Reppas said. 
4916 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Almost three-quarters of permanent jobs in Irish companies are lost due to cost-cutting and rationalisation schemes, industrial development advisory body Forfas said on Wednesday.   In a new study, Shaping Our Future: A Strategy for Enterprise in the 21st Century, Forfas analysed Irish job losses during 1991-1995 and found that Ireland's level of permanent staff redundancies was relatively in line with the rest of Europe for that period.    "This study identifies a trend for more flexible forms of employment, such as part time, temporary and short term contact work which is evident even in companies sustaining permanent job losses," said Eugene Reilly of Forfas.   Forfas said increased productivity, rationalisation and response to market change were the main factors influencing job reductions, while difficulties in raising finance, poor management and the sterling currency weakness also contributed.    A total of 83,637 full time jobs were lost beween 1991 and 1995 and 60 percent of these were in Irish-owned companies.   Foreign-owned firms performed well being responsible for 39 percent of job losses while accounting for 45 percent of the national workforce.   Forfas said the industries most affected by job cuts were the food, clothing, footwear and textiles sectors, which were predominantly Irish-owned.   -- Dublin Newsroom +353 1 660 3377 
4917 !C21 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  European grain prices edged generally higher this week as more rain interfered with the northern harvest and exports showed some signs of picking up.   But French wheat, which rose sharply late last week on hopes of a big export campaign after last year's slowdown, was sagging again this week as some export demand failed to materialise.   A purchase of up to 200,000 tonnes of European wheat by Egypt may go partly to Denmark instead of entirely to France as first reported, traders said on Wednesday.   Rouen-delivered French soft wheat for August, at 900 francs per tonne on the morning of last Thursday's European Union export tender, retreated by 10 francs over the next several days as Brussels failed to grant the volumes traders hoped for.   In Britain the harvest crawled northwards in patchy weather while discouraging sellers and propping up prices.   "The wheat harvest is all done in the southeast of England, and is heading north dodging the rain on the way," said one trader.   Business had been stop-go, like the harvest, he said.   German wheat export prices were marked up as northern farmers worked on a delayed harvest.   Support came from samples showing protein and Hagberg levels were not exceptional although Schleswig-Holstein state reported reasonably good qualities.   Things were helped along by storeholder and Polish demand for grain from Mecklenburg state on the German/Polish border.   Barley was a shade firmer.   Traders were working on large sales of German barley to Saudi Arabia but this was from intervention rather than the market and they saw stiff competition with Canada and a probable tussle with the European Commission over prices before the volumes were finalised.   German markets were looking for provisional farm ministry grain harvest estimates due to be released on Thursday.   Spanish milling wheat and maize firmed but feed wheat and durum were easier over the week.   Spanish crop quality is "very variable and in general not very good," said a Catalan grains trader, and the fact that farmers were holding back supplies favoured French wheat.   Farmers are also said to be hoarding barley in the hope that prices will pick up but the Spanish market was flat this week.   Traders in the north of Spain say this year's maize crop is unlikely to be delayed substantially despite talk of delays a few weeks ago.   "I don't reckon it's going to be much later than usual.   We'll see the bluk of the crop in from the north around mid-October," a trader said.   Despite this prices edged higher with only a trickle of Spanish maize on the market at the moment, with most of what is available being imported from France.   The Italian market slowly got under way this week, but trade was thin as many players remained on holiday.   Durum and soft wheat harvests have ended and yields could be slightly less than initially forecast, especially for durum wheat, one dealer said without adding further details.   At the end of June the Italian Institute for Agriculture Studies (Ismea) forecast durum wheat yields at 2.66 tonnes per hectare and a total production of 4.44 million tonnes, a 6.6 percent increase from 1995 levels.   Maize prices remained at high levels from late July but are expected to drop in coming weeks as the new crop starts coming in.   Here are highlights of this week's prices.   French prices exclude carrying charges of 3.64 francs which must be added for every half-month from August 1 onwards (eg 1st half Sep 10.91).     Aug 28 Aug 21    French wheat dlvd Rouen August 890 Ffr ($176)  885    French wheat dlvd Rouen Sept 890 Ffr ($176)  880    French maize dlvd Bordeaux Oct 915 Ffr ($181)  925    German Hamburg exch feed wheat 277.50 DM ($188)  277.50    German spot barley fob Baltic 255 Dm ($172)  252.00    Spot UK feed wheat E.Anglia 108.50 Stg ($169)  106    UK feed wheat E.Anglia Oct-Dec 114 Stg ($178)  113.50    UK barley E.Anglia Oct-Dec  108.50 Stg ($169)  108    Spain milling wheat harvest 24,500 Pta ($196)  24,000    Spain feed wheat harvest  23,250 Pta ($186)  23,750    Spain durum wheat harvest  25,000 Pta ($200)  25,500    Spain barley harvest 21,000 Pta ($168)  21,000    Spain maize Sept-Oct delivery 26,000 Pta ($208)  25,500    Durum wheat (spot delivery) 330,000-340,000 ($221) N/A    Soft wheat (spot delivery)  310,000-315,000 ($208) N/A    Maize (spot delivery)  355,000-360,000 ($236) N/A   --Compiled in Paris newsroom, +331 4221 5146, with contributions from Hamburg, Madrid, Milan and London. 
4918 !C11 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Swedish/American drug company Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc said it signed an agreement with PDT of the U.S. to jointly develop SnET2, a drug being developed to treat eye diseases. 
4919 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The French cabinet appointed two magistrates close to the ruling Gaullist party to key law enforcement jobs on Wednesday, a move likely to fuel charges it is packing the judiciary to block embarassing corruption probes.   Marc Moinard, 54, was named director of criminal affairs and pardons, a highly sensitive Justice Ministry position which involves implementing criminal policy.   Moinard's former job as the ministry's director of judicial services will be filled by Philippe Ingall-Montagnier, 43, a senior Paris prosecutor who spent most of his career working for Gaullist government ministers.   It was the second time in two months that the cabinet had named Gaullist loyalists to key judiciary positions.   In July, the government filled the jobs of prosecutor at the Paris Appeals Court and the country's Supreme Court with former aides to President Jacques Chirac and Justice Minister Jacques Toubon.   At the time, the opposition Socialist Party denounced the appointments as part of a plot to bury scandal probes targeting senior government officials.   France is in the throes of a wave of political sleaze cases, mainly over the funding of political parties in the 1980s. 
4920 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Fear of contracting AIDS from women is prompting some men to turn to children for sex, the head of the United Nations' global AIDS agency told a conference on child sex abuse on Wednesday.   "The AIDS epidemic has become both a cause and a consequence of the trade in children," Peter Piot, executive director of UNAIDS, said in a speech.   "Men are looking out for younger girls because they are concerned that if they have sex with adult women then they are at risk for HIV infection," Piot told Reuters.   Sex with younger partners as protection from HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is an illusion, Piot told delegates from more than 100 countries on the second day of the first World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children.   Many child prostitutes were infected and young people are actually more susceptible to infection than adults, Piot said.   "Because of the physical disproportion between the partners, a child who is not fully grown is more easily torn or damaged by penetrative sex, and this makes it easier for the virus to pass into the child's body," Piot said in a speech at the conference.   "And a child can't fight back, no matter how rough the sex or how long it lasts," Piot added.   Over 1,000 delegates have gathered in Stockholm for the five-day conference to discuss the scope of the problems, legal reform, and raising public awareness.   More than one million children worldwide are reportedly forced into child prostitution, trafficked and sold for sexual purposes and used in the production of child pornography, according to UNICEF figures.   About one million children are currently HIV positive or have AIDS.   Most contracted the disease from their infected mothers, Piot said.   Over two million children had already died from the disease, he said.   Statistics showing the rate of HIV infection among child prostitutes were unavailable, but Piot said that very small samples indicated that as many as 50 percent of underage sex workers could have the virus.   The conference is jointly organised by the Swedish government, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), pressure group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism) and the NGO group on the rights of the child.   While promoting condom use could curb the spread of the HIV virus among underage sex workers, Piot called for broader, urgent measures from governments and communities to end the sexual trade in children.   "Children are weak, vulnerable and uninformed, and they are scarcely in a position to demand that the client should use a condom," Piot said.   "Through income-generation, promotion of rural industry and education policies, governments can reinforce families' resistance to the lure of commercial gain through the sale of their children," Piot said as one example.   Since the start of the conference, as if to underline how widespread the issue is, horrifying abuse and paedophile cases have come to light in Albania, Australia, Belgium and Finland.   Finnish police said on Wednesday they had discovered in a Helsinki flat a massive computer library of exceptionally severe child pornography including pictures of mutilated people and cannibalism.   Police had taken two computers and nearly 350 floppy disks from the home of a 19-year-old student, but could not arrest him because they do not have the powers under Finnish law.   In Belgium police on Wednesday were digging for human remains at a property owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in a child sex and kidnapping ring.   Dutroux had already led police to the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune and of Weinstein 10 days ago.   They were buried in the garden of one of Dutroux' five other houses in and around the city of Charleroi.   Also this week, a 75-year-old Australian man appeared in court charged with 850 child sex crimes, including indecent dealing, sodomy and permitting sodomy with children. 
4921 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The European Commission reacted cautiously to news on Wednesday that Sweden may decide not to join monetary union from its planned start in 1999, saying it did not want to interfere in an important internal debate.   However, a Commission spokesman noted that the European Union treaty gives only two countries -- Denmark and Britain -- the possibility to opt out from the single currency.   "These countries do not include Sweden.   That is where we are right now," he said.   Asked whether a country like Sweden could decide by itself to delay entry into monetary union, the spokesman said: "I don't think we are yet in a position to discuss that."   He stressed, however, that the ultimate decision on which countries join the single currency would be taken by the member states, whose leaders are due to meet on the issue in 1998.   Denmark decided in a referendum in 1993 not to join the single currency.   A new plebiscite would be needed to enable Copenhagen to overturn that decision.   Britain has an opt-out from the third stage of economic and monetary union (EMU) and has not yet made a final position on whether to join.   Despite not negotiating its own opt-out clause when it joined the EU on January 1, 1995, Sweden's Social Democratic government insists that it is the national parliament which will decide next year on Swedish membership in the single currency.   Fuelling speculation that the decision will be to wait for membership beyond 1999, Finance Minister Erik Asbrink said on Wednesday that Swedish entry could be delayed.   "It is not a question of yes or no to currency union.   It is rather about 'yes now' or 'no now'," he said in a signed article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.   Asbrink later said it was an open question whether Sweden would join monetary union in the first stage or not.   The Social Democratic party is split on the EMU issue and a recent opinion poll showed that a majority of its supporters are opposed to membership.   The Commission spokesman declined to comment on Asbrink's article, saying he had only seen news reports about it.   But, he added, "what we basically say is that we understand that there is an important debate going on in Sweden about this which we think is a very good thing because this is a major development and there should be a good internal poltical discussion within Sweden about it."   "So we don't want to interfere into that debate," he added.   An EU monetary official said he did not believe that there would be a clash between the Commission and Stockholm on the issue of membership, acknowledging there was not much anyone could do if Sweden decided to stay out. 
4922 !GCAT !GCRIM  The following is a chronology of the main events in an unfolding child sex scandal which came to light when the bodies of two young girls were discovered in the garden of a convicted sex offender.   June 1995: Eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo disappear while on a short walk near their home in Grace-Hollogne, eastern Belgium.   They were last seen by a motorway bridge, waving at passing cars.   August 1995: An Marchal, 19, and Eefje Lambrecks 17, disappear in the Belgian port town of Ostend while on holiday, after attending a hypnotist's show.   The teenagers were last seen getting off a tram.   Police visit convicted child rapist Marc Dutroux at house where it is later discovered the girls are being held.   December 1995: Police investigating theft visit Dutroux at home again, hear childrens' voices but find nothing.   Dutroux is later arrested on charges of car theft and related crimes, and spends almost four months in prison.   Dutroux had been released for good behaviour from jail in 1992 after serving only three years of a 13-year sentence for multiple child rape.   February/March 1996: Around this time Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune, held captive in one of Dutroux's houses in southern Belgium, die of starvation while he is in jail.   August 13, 1996: Dutroux, 39, detained along with accomplice Michel Lelievre and Dutroux's second wife Michelle Martin as police search for 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez.   August 15: Dutroux leads police to makeshift dungeon in a terraced house he owns in Marcinelles, a suburb of Charleroi and one of the six houses he owns in and around the city, where they find both Laetitia, missing for six days, and 12-year-old Sabine Dardenne, missing since May.   Both girls have been heavily drugged and sexually abused.   August 16: Dutroux and Lelievre charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment of children.   August 17: Dutroux takes police to bodies of Julie and Melissa, buried in the garden of another of his houses, in Sars-La-Bussiere along with body of his accomplice Bernard Weinstein.   Dutroux admits killing Weinstein and kidnapping An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks.   Police start programme of searches at Dutroux's five other houses.   They find more than 300 child porn video tapes, magazines, children's clothing, a gun and quantities of soporific drugs.   August 20: Police find cells in a Dutroux house in Charleroi suburb Marchienne-au-Pont formerly occupied by Lelievre.   Brussels businessman Jean-Michel Nihoul, a contact of Dutroux, is charged with criminal association.   August 22: Julie and Melissa buried in what is virtually a state funeral in Liege.   Thousands throng streets to pay last respects.   Michael Diakostavrianos, of Greek origin, charged with criminal associaton.   Two of his houses searched.   August 23: Claude Thirault, associate of Dutroux, arrested and charged with criminal association.   August 25: Detectives investigating sex scandal arrest Chief Detective Georges Zicot -- specialist in tackling vehicle theft -- for truck theft, insurance fraud and document forgery.   Two others, Gerard Pinon and Thierry Dehaan also arrested in connection with vehicle theft ring, to which Dutroux allegedly linked.   August 26: Pierre Rochow, son of a scrap metal dealer, arrested on charges related to theft and receiving stolen goods. 
4923 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson said on Wednesday a wide-ranging debate was necessary in Sweden before a decision was taken on Swedish adhesion to the EU's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   "We shall reserve the right to have a thorough debate before we take a decision," Persson told reporters.   "A decision demands that the Swedish people are thoroughly informed so that a decision can be taken," he said.   Swedish Finance Minister Erik Asbrink said earlier that Sweden could delay a decision on joining EMU.   -- Simon Haydon, Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700-1004 
4924 !GCAT !GDIP  Norway's King Harald V and his wife, Queen Sonja, began a four-day state visit to Austria on Wednesday and were welcomed with ceremonial pomp in Vienna city centre, once the hub of the Austro-Hungarian empire.   President Thomas Klestil greeted the royal couple in the central courtyard of the former imperial Hofburg palace to a fanfare of trumpets and a military guard of honour.   Hundreds of onlookers, many of them tourists, crowded the courtyard, some climbing on the equestrian statue of Emperor Franz II to get a better view of the royal couple.   The king and queen were due to visit the Austrian parliament building and the neo-Gothic town hall on Vienna's historic Ringstrasse before a state banquet in the evening in the Hofburg palace.   They were scheduled to travel to Salzburg, 300 km (180 miles) west of Vienna, on Thursday.   Austria's imperial family fled into exile in 1918 before the breakup of the Austrio-Hungarian empire following Vienna's defeat in World War One.   Sons of the last emperor, Karl I, were allowed to return to Austria last June for the first time since their exile. 
4925 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Maltese press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE TIMES   - Prime minister announces five-year plan to fight drug problem.   Plan provides for more facilities for rehabilitation.   IN-NAZZJON   - Government workers to form cooperative making traffic signs.   - Emirates Air opens office in Malta.   No scheduled service to Malta for now.   L-ORIZZONT   - Unnamed sources say Libyan secret police are in Malta to seek Libyans who sought refuge on island after avoiding military service.   No official confirmation. 
4926 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GHEA  Greek authorities have barred an Italian-owned cruise ship from sailing until medical tests determine what caused gastro-enteritis to affect hundreds of passengers, officials said on Wednesday.   "We are pretty sure it's food poisoning but we have to exclude the possibility of an epidemic.   The ship will stay docked until the results of medical tests, expected later today or Thursday," coast guard official Manolis Fronimakis told Reuters.   Fronimakis said five Italian tourists, including two children, remained in hospital for treatment but they were out of danger.   The rest, some 1,300 passengers, remained on the ship so as not to spread any disease in Crete in case of an epidemic.   "We were first informed by the ship's captain that some 800 people had complained of stomach pains shortly before docking in Iraklion on Tuesday," Fronimakis said.   "But only about 400 needed treatment."   Health ministry officials said the ship started its voyage in Italy and was not supplied with any food or water in Greek ports.   They said the illness broke out on the 28,137-tonne Costa Riviera, owned by Costa Grociere in Genoa, Italy, and operated by a Greek company, during a voyage round Greek islands.   The officials said about 1,000 of the passengers were Italian tourists and the remainder American, British and French.   The ship, flying a Liberian flag, was on a cruise from the island of Corfu to Crete.   It docked on Tuesday in the port of Iraklion and was scheduled to continue the cruise the same day. 
4927 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The German government will not be able to hold to its planned budget deficit of 60 billion marks, a Finance Ministry spokeswoman said on Wednesday.   She was responding to a claim by the opposition Social Democrats that the federal deficit had already reached 57 billion marks in the first seven months of the year.    "The finance ministry has always said the planned deficit target of 60 billion marks cannot be kept to," the spokeswoman told Reuters.   Finance Minister Theo Waigel has until now said exactly the opposite of this.   The spokeswoman would not confirm the SPD figure of a 57 billion mark deficit for the January-July period but said it was not in any case possible to extrapolate the full-year figure from figures for seven months.   "Spending and revenues develop at different rates during the year, for example privatisation revenues come in at different times," she said.   -- Ashley Seager, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
4928 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Austrian Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schuessel said on Wednesday NATO membership was not an issue for Austria now, but indicated parliament should consider the issue by the middle of next year.   "It's just not a question.   NATO has not invited us, and neither have we approached NATO," Schuessel said.   The conservative minister's comments came two days after Heinz Fischer, the Social Democratic speaker of parliament, added fuel to a domestic row over the neutral country's security policy by suggesting Austria should call a referendum to decide on future membership.   "I think we can do without such interjections," Schuessel told journalists during a conference in this Tyrolean mountain resort.   "A decision by parliament is not worth less than a referendum."   Schuessel, whose People's Party rules as junior coalition partner with the Social Democrats of Chancellor Franz Vranitzky, said NATO was undergoing a period of profound change after the end of the Cold War.   "We should wait and see how NATO itself is developing.   This will be much discussed within NATO over the next 12 months," Schuessel said.   "Is it not smarter to wait for (the results of) that discussion and then formulate Austria's position?"   Austria's conservatives want greater integration with European security organisations and generally back NATO membership.   The Social Democrats are at best cool to NATO and some on the party's left wing openly oppose giving up neutrality.   Vranitzky has firmly denied Austria was seeking a decision on NATO membership next year, but on Tuesday gave a guarded endorsement to Fischer's call for a referendum.   Austria, perched for nearly half a century between the feuding eastern and western blocs, has been neutral since 1955.   The debate over NATO membership has triggered a cross-party debate since the country joined the European Union in 1995.   A recent poll showed only 23 percent of Austrians support joining NATO. 
4929 !GCAT !GENT  Two Italian magazines published pictures on Wednesday of Daniel Ducruet, Princess Stephanie of Monaco's husband and former bodyguard, cavorting naked with another woman by a poolside in France.   The magazines, Eva Tremila and its sister publication Gente, printed up to 26 pages of photos of the woman undressing Ducruet, the pair embracing on a sunbed and finally both naked.   Eva Tremila said other even more explicit photos were taken but it did not print them.   The magazines named the woman as Fili Houteman, a 26-year-old French singer and dancer in a Belgian cabaret club.   The photographs, an Italian exclusive, raised eyebrows in the tiny principality, where Stephanie's father Prince Rainier, had long disapproved of his daughter's choice of husband.   Stephanie had two children with Ducruet before their marriage in July last year.   Stephanie, Caroline and Albert are the children of Rainier and former Hollywood screen goddess Grace Kelly, who was killed in a car crash in 1982.   "We have seen the photos but for the moment the palace has no comment," a spokeswoman for Prince Rainier told Reuters.   The magazines said the photographs were taken in Cap de Villefranche, some 15 km (nine miles) from Monte Carlo.   Gente said Ducruet, a keen racing driver, met Houteman during a race in Belgium and photographers had been on their trail ever since.   The magazine said video cameras had also been used to film the couple and that a sound-track existed. 
4930 !GCAT  These are leading stories in Wednesday's afternoon daily Le Monde, dated Aug 29.   FRONT PAGE   -- Government faces tough problems on budget, education, African immigrants without working papers and new bombings in Corsica as franc dips on foreign exchange markets.   -- Jean Fitoussi, chairman of leading economic institute OFCE says deflationary pressures have reached 1930s levels due to oil price stability, globalisation of capital markets and competition, and high unemployment.   No structural reforms will work until deflation -- not inflation -- is tackled.   -- New justice ministry appointments up for approval at cabinet meeting today.   BUSINESS PAGES   -- Air France due for shake-up after resignation of Air France Europe chairman Jean-Pierre Courcol.   -- August 26 trade union ultimatum threatens AOM airline chairman Alexandre Couvelaire with major labour dispute as of Wednesday evening.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
4931 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Swedish Finance Minister Erik Asbrink said on Wednesday it would be difficult for Sweden to adhere to the EU's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) unless there was broad support from the Swedish public.    Asbrink told Reuters Financial Television in an interview: "It is hard to see a decision on joining EMU without quite stable support from the general public," said Asbrink.   Asbrink said earlier in a newspaper article that Sweden might choose not to join EMU when it starts in 1999.   "What I tried to express in the article is that Sweden will take the decision one year from now.   The time until then is to be used...to have a thorough debate and then to come to a final conclusion.   It is an open question as to whether we join the monetary union in the first round or not."    "If we choose not to join at the first stage then of course we would like to have the option to join later on," he said.   Asbrink acknowledged there were political problems for Sweden in joining EMU.   Large parts of the ruling Social Democratic Party have said they want Sweden to remain outside the new institutions.   "I and the government see many advantages in Sweden joining EMU but we also see some problems and risks involved, politically and economically.   It's important that we make a thorough assessment of the advantages and drawbacks," he said.   He said Swedish public opinion was "rather negative" towards EMU at the moment but that that could be changed.   "I'm convinced the Union will start according to plan.   I'm convinced a number of countries will join.   Sweden could be one of those countries but that's not 100 percent sure," he said.   He said Sweden was sticking to its current economic policies of low inflation and eliminating the budget deficit by 1998.   "We are going to stick to present economic policy to combat inflation...we shall continue to improve our public finances and we have even formulated a more ambitious target to eliminate the deficit altogether in 1998," Asbrink added.   "It's important to stick to the (Maastricht) timetable and the convergence criteria as they have been formulated.   This should not be interpreted as that Sweden wants a looser formulation," the finance minister said.   -- Simon Haydon, Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700-1004 
4932 !G15 !GCAT  Following are highlights of the midday briefing by the European Commission on Wednesday:   In response to a question, Commission spokesman Joao Vale de Almeida said there had been no developments regarding the Commission's position concerning the dispute with Germany and Saxony over state aid to Volkswagen.   He said there was some possibility of further talks with Germany before the next Commission meeting of September 4.   - - - -   The Commission released the following documents:   - IP/96/804: Commission approves acquisition of Pao de Acucar by Auchan.   - IP/96/805: Commission finds acquisition of CAMAT by AGF-IART does not fall under the merger regulation.   - IP/96/806: Commission clears acquisition of Austrian food retail chain Billa by German group Rewe-Handelsgruppe.   - SPEECH/96/202: Speech by European Commissioner Anita Gradin at the World Congress against Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm.   - Eurostat news release 51/96: March-May 1996 EU industrial production figures. 
4933 !C13 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  The Ares-Serono group said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the marketing of its Metrodin HP fertility hormone in the United States.   The hormone, to be marketed under the trademark Fertinex, is approved for patients undergoing infertility treatment with reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilisation and to induce ovulation in patients with polycystic ovary disease.   Ares-Serono introduced Metrodin HP in 1993.   It became the group's best-selling drug in 1995 with $157.9 million in worldwide net sales.   It posted $116.8 million in net sales in the first six months of 1996.   -- Zurich newsroom +41 1 631 73430 
4934 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Italy's Treasury Minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said that Italy must make the maximum effort to meet the financial criteria of the Maastricht Treaty on European economic and monetary union.   Writing in La Repubblica newspaper he said that failure to comply with the Treaty, aimed at creating a single European currency by 1999, would have negative consequences.   He wrote that Italy "must continue to make the maximum effort to reach the Maastricht criteria," and he underlined that these criteria "are not a barrier, but reference parameters of figures and trends".   Under the Maastricht Treaty on European integration, governments should aim to bring their 1997 budget deficits close to three percent of total output, and put their outstanding debt level on a sustainable path towards 60 percent of GDP.   -- Milan newsroom +392 66129502 
4935 !GCAT !GODD  Revellers painted the town red on Wednesday as the 1996 edition of the world's biggest tomato fight began in the eastern Spanish village of Bunol.   Thousands of people pelted each other with armfuls of ripe tomatoes as streets, walls and windows were coated in a blood-red wash.   A single firework after midday signalled the start of the fruit-throwing frenzy, during which participants hurl some 100 tonnes of tomatoes trucked in for the occasion.   Local historians say the tradition began in 1945 when disgruntled locals began spontaneously to bombard the priest and mayor at the annual fiesta in Bunol (pronounced Boo-nee-OL).   The festival's fame has grown and now attracts between 15,000 and 20,000 people, many of them foreigners. 
4936 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Louis Viannet, leader of France's Communist-led CGT union, criticised government plans for spending cuts in the 1997 budget on Wednesday and warned of labour unrest as France gets back to work after the holidays.   But he did not call for strike action and said the union so far did not plan to join a protest march which the Force Ouvriere union has slated for September 21.   Viannet told a news conference government austerity measures were to blame for a stagnant French economy and high levels of unemployment and criticised what he described as "the forced march to (European) monetary union" at the expense of workers.    A CGT official said the union was not ruling out joining the September 21 protests but had not been asked to participate by the independent FO union.   Viannet also predicted that labour disputes at Pechiney, Moulinex, the SFP state film studio which is being privatised and in the defence sector were likely to escalate this autumn.   "The CGT will spare no effort in supporting existing and impending struggles, backing convergence between protests in the public and private sectors and working towards the greatest possible unity," Viannet told reporters.    "The negative effects of the Juppe plan show through more clearly day-by-day," he said.   "The CGT is set on increasing action at company, parent company and sectoral level to reinforce the mobilisation and seize all opportunities to bolster a unified struggle," he added.   Viannet called on wage-earners to take the offensive and draw up action plans in support of their demands.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe is expected to reveal final details of its 1997 budget in early to mid-September.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
4937 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL  Sweden said on Wednesday it had appointed a "Euro-coordinator" to coordinate work on preparations for possible Swedish entry into the third stage of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   The finance ministry said in a statement that ministry official Claes Ljungh would lead the section, which will involve several government ministries and the central bank.   "So that Sweden has a real chance of taking part in monetary union, preparations must have gone as far as possible by the time authorities take a decision in the autumn of 1997 on whether Sweden will participate or not," the ministry said. 
4938 !GCAT  Leading stories in the Greek financial press:   IMERISIA   --Pre-election debate heats up on economic issues as conservative New Democracy party promises seven measures includind tax relief for farmers and socialist Pasok defends progress on economic convergence with the EU   --Finance ministry scrambles to find temporary solution to regulation which slaps a 15 percent tax rate on gains from trading of bonds and coupons by mutual funds   --Finance ministry will cut 12-month T-bill rate by 10 basis points to 12.70 percent in the upcoming end August issue   FINANCIAL KATHIMERINI   --Inflows of more than $500 million are seen in the interbank market and the bourse in the last three days reflecting confidence in the post-election economic policy   --Athens Metro subway project hits snags which could delay delivery to the year 2000 and overshoot the original budgeted cost of 520 billion drachmas   --State National Bank of Greece will start real auction programme September 9 to lighten up on its real estate holdings   KERDOS   --New Democracy leader Miltiadis Evert vows support mesures for farmers and small business as he kicks off the conservative party's campaign   --National Economy Minister Yannos Papandoniou defends "hard drachma" foreign exchange policy, says it won't change   EXPRESS   --Message of unity from the conservative New Democracy party as former prime minister Constantine Mitsotakis and Miltiadis Evert shake hands   NAFTEMBORIKI   --Government defends "hard drachma" policy, says it will continue unchanged after the elections   --Conservative opposition New Democracy promises series of measures on the economy 30 days after the elections aiming at 4.0 percent GDP growth rate annually --George Georgiopoulos, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
4939 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   DAILY TELEGRAPH   -- GEC CHIEF GIVEN TEN MILLION STG PAY PACKAGE   George Simpson, who will become the managing director of defence and electronics group GEC, has been given a pay-and-bonuses package worth ten million stg over the next five years.   The package includes a "golden hello" cash payment of 500,000 stg within 14 days of Mr Simpson starting his new job to compensate for the loss of his long-term incentive scheme at Lucas.   He will also benefit from a performance-related bonus of up to 50 percent of his basic salary.   -- MILLENNIUM FEVER GROWS   William Landuyt, the chairman of Hanson's chemical company Millennium Chemicals, has said that potential bidders had expressed interest in all three parts of the business, Quantum, Glidco and SCM, and in the other three divisions that are to be demerged from the conglomerate.   Millennium will deny voting rights to any investor which builds a stake exceeding 15 per cent, giving a "poison-pill" protection against bids.   -- POUND AND DOLLAR LOSE OUT TO MARK   The German mark has swung back into favour on the international currency markets, boosted by heavy demand from the Far East over the weekend.   This has caused the pound and the dollar to lose ground, followed by setbacks for the French franc and the Italian lira.   Otmar Issing, Bundesbank chief economist, said that the Maastricht criteria for membership of the European Union should be strictly enforced.   He called for a stability pact and a system of financial penalties to ensure that countries stick to the criteria after the single currency is introduced.   THE TIMES   -- JARDINE FLEMING EXPECTS TO FACE SIX-FIGURE IMRO FINE   The oldest investment bank in Hong Kong, Jardine Fleming, is expected to be fined more than 100,000 stg for breaking a series of City rules after being investigated by the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation, the watchdog for fund managers.   The investigation relates to a breakdown of internal controls at Jardine Fleming in regard to dealing activities.   The fine is one of the largest handed down since self-regulation was introduced in 1988.   -- PRU SECURES 1.75 BILLION STG SALE OF M AND G   The biggest life insurer in the UK, the Prudential Corporation, will have an extra 1.75 billion after selling its reinsurance business Mercantile and General to Swiss Re.   The money will be used to fund acquisitions, however chief executive Peter Davis has said that no acquisitions are imminent but he reiterated his desire to buy a mutual life insurer or a building society.   -- SFA BANS THREE MORE OVER LEESON   The Securities and Futures Authority, the City watchdog, has disciplined three directors of Barings for failing to supervise Nick Leeson.   George Maclean, former head of the banking group at Baring Investment Bank, Anthony Hawes, previously group treasurer of Baring Securities and Anthony Gamby, former director of settlements at BIB, have all been fined for failing to act with "due skill, care and diligence".   THE GUARDIAN   -- TREASURY SET TO TURN LONDON HOME INTO FLATS FOR WEALTHY   The Treasury has confirmed it will sign a deal to redevelop its Whitehall site, in Great George Street, which could include multi-million pound stg luxury apartments.   The deal has been set up under the private finance initiative.   Stuart Lipton and Godfrey Bradman, the two rival bidders for the listed building, will shortly be told which plan has won Treasury approval.   The move follows the New York trend of turning the Stock Exchange into condominiums.   -- BARCLAYS AND NATWEST SUED IN US   Allegations that Barclays and NatWest attempted to drive a rival currency exchange dealer out of business has led to the possibility of the two banking companies being fined in the US.   Chequepoint Worldcash claims that both banks infringed US anti-trust law and is claiming unspecified damages.   It alleges the British banks used irregular means to try to limit competition within the currency exchange market.   The suit was filed last week, citing US laws which prohibit companies from attempting to stifle legitimate commercial competition.   -- NEW 'OPEN SKIES' STORM SHAKES BA   America has cancelled "open skies" talks aimed at opening the transatlantic airline market to free competition.   American transport officials accused Britain's latest proposals of being an "inadequate" basis for discussion.   The decision has surprised British Airways and American Airlines which were planning an alliance, this will collapse without the "open skies" policy.   Britain's Department of Transport says it is surprised at the cancellation of talks but is planning fresh proposals to put to the Americans.   THE INDEPENDENT   -- ARCHIE NORMAN TO GO PART-TIME AT ASDA   A boardroom shuffle at Asda means that Archie Norman will step back from the day-to-day running of the supermarket chain by becoming chairman.   Mr Norman's move has come earlier than expected and it ignited speculation that he might be preparing to leave Asda altogether, possibly to pursue a career in politics.   Allan Leighton, deputy chief executive, will move up to the top job after Asda's annual meeting next month.   -- CLINTON RIDES THE CREST OF US ECONOMY WAVE   Consumer confidence in the US has hit a six-year high, strengthening in August for the second month running.   Yesterday's buoyant survey results helped bolster the case for an increase in US interest rates especially coupled with recent figures suggesting the economy is not slowing down as much as the Federal Reserve had predicted.   Wall Street economists think there is a good chance of a move when the central bank's policy meeting committee meets next month.   -- US COURT OVERTURNS INJUNCTION FORCED ON LLOYD'S   A US appeals court has overturned an injunction granted by a judge last week that threatened the 3.2 billion stg rescue of the Lloyd's insurance market.   The ruling came as the chairman of Lloyd's David Rowland said that acceptances of the rescue offer totalled 82 per cent last night compared with 75 per cent on Saturday, and the numbers in favour were still rising.   Lloyd's leading US attorney Harvey Pitt complained that US District Judge Robert E Payne had overstepped his authority in issuing a temporary injunction ordering Lloyd's to give US investors the option of an extra two months to review the settlement proposals.   BMC +44-171-377-1742 
4940 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   -- COURT LIFTS THREAT TO LLOYD'S PLAN   The Lloyd's of London insurance market has won an eleventh hour appeal in the US, and is now poised to make a dramatic comeback.   A US court order that had threatened to undermine Lloyd's 3.2 billion stg recovery plan was overturned at a court in Baltimore yesterday, which ruled that an injunction imposed last Friday in Virginia should be dismissed, clearing the path for Lloyd's to announce its unconditional recovery plan later this week.   Lloyd's has been under heavy time pressure recently because it has to pass DTI and US regulators' solvency tests in a few weeks time.   -- NORMAN TO BECOME ASDA CHAIRMAN   In a surprise move UK retailer Asda has announced that Archie Norman is to become the company's chairman.   His post as chief executive is to be taken by Allan Leighton, Norman's current deputy.   The news has heightened speculation regarding the future business career of Norman, who has expressed an interest in taking up politics and is reported to have close ties with the Conservative party.   -- US CALLS OFF TALKS WITH UK OVER AIR DEAL   A planned alliance between British Airways and American Airlines has been thrown into doubt after the Americans pulled out of talks with the UK today.   The US government told British negotiators that there was no point in them coming to Washington as UK proposals fell so far short of "providing the essential elements of an open skies agreement that talks would not be productive."   The conclusion of an open skies agreement has been made a pre-requisite of the proposed BA-American link-up by the US, a move which would create the world's most powerful aviation alliance.   -- CITIBANK PLANS DOCKLANDS HQ   US company Citibank has decided upon Canary Wharf in London's Docklands as the site for its planned 200-300 million stg UK headquarters, which will house 2,500 corporate banking and capital markets employees.   After the property slump of the early 1990's, the development underscores the market recovery in central London.   The move by Citibank will be interpreted as a vote of confidence in Canary Wharf following its acquisition by a consortium led by Mr Paul Reichmann, last year.   -- GEC SHAREHOLDERS TO QUERY NEW CHIEF'S 1.5 MILLION STG PACKAGE   When George Simpson takes over as managing director of General Electric Company next month he will receive one of the most potentially lucrative remuneration packages in the UK.   His package will consist of annual remuneration of up to 1.5 million stg, including pension contributions, and a grant of shares and share options equivalent to 4.8 million stg.   Investors are said to be concerned that the share price target GEC has to meet before Mr Simpson can take profits is not tough enough.   -- CARADON TO SELL 15 UNITS FOR 190 MILLION STG   As part of a strategy of concentrating on core activities the building materials group Caradon is reported to have agreed initial terms for the sale of some 15 subsidiaries in the engineering and distribution fields.   It is thought that the purchaser involved in the deal worth around 190 million stg is venture capital company CINVen, which recently made an unsuccessful bid for Westminster Press.   -- NISSAN DISOWNS ANTI-LABOUR PRESS COMMENTS   Car manufacturer Nissan yesterday disowned critical press comments by one of its executives, prompting accusations by Labour that the Tories are attempting to orchestrate an anti- Labour campaign by industrialists.   Nissan's UK executive, Ian Gibson, denied that investment plans could be scaled back and insisted the firm did not have a negative view of a Labour government.   -- RETAILERS BALK AT BSE-FREE BEEF PLAN   Pressure has been put on the government to ease conditions for its BSE-free beef plan after Marks and Spencer found that none of the 500 Scottish farms which could supply it could meet the strict criteria.   The food retailer found that although most of the farms had seen no evidence of the mad cow disease, many failed to meet other anti-BSE criteria set down by the agriculture ministry for the beef assurance scheme, including the type of feed used, its storage, and outlawing the common practice of adding dairy cows to beef herds.   -- BARINGS EXECUTIVE BARRED FROM CITY FOR THREE YEARS   The Securities and Futures Authority yesterday confirmed that Tony Hawes, the Barings executive in charge of funding Nick Leeson's disastrous derivatives trading, has been barred from working in the City of London for three years.   The UK securities industry regulator has now taken action against five former employees of the failed bank, after coming under heavy criticism for its disciplinary procedures since the collapse of Barings.   -- SWISS RE BUYS PRU REINSURANCE UNIT   Swiss Reinsurance has acquired the reinsurance division of the Prudential Corporation.   The Swiss company, which now becomes the sector's largest global operator, is paying 1.75 billion stg for Mercantile & General.   The acquisition comes months after the Prudential announced that it would be floating the business during the autumn and follows the takeover by Munich Re of American Re in a 2.1 billion stg deal.   BMC +44-171-377-1742 
4941 !GCAT !GPRO  Camilla Parker Bowles is the earthy woman who captured Prince Charles' heart when he was 21 and held fast to it through his disastrous 15-year marriage to the glamorous Princess Diana.   Charles has called her the love of his life, but she is unlikely to become his queen.   As king, Charles would be Supreme Governor of the Church of England, which frowns on divorce.   "I'd suffer anything for you.   That's love.   That's the strength of love," Charles told Parker Bowles in 1993 in a tape of a telephone conversation between the illicit lovers.   Since Charles and Diana began discussing their divorce, Parker Bowles has often accompanied Charles to private functions and he is reported to have bought her lavish presents, including a 25,000 pound ($38,500) ring.   But opinion polls show deep public hostility to the idea of Charles' mistress becoming the next queen and some politicians and church leaders have said he should abdicate first.   A toothy, horse-riding, mother-of-two, Parker Bowles was probably Charles's first great love and he was devastated when she agreed to marry someone else while he was away in the navy.   Charles and Diana married in 1981 but when he tired of his young wife's demands, he turned back to the woman he adored in his youth when he was still unencumbered by the cares of state.   "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded," Diana said of the rival she called "the rottweiler".   Charles acknowledged adultery after his separation from Diana in 1992, although he never said who with.   Britain's most famous mistress was quoted as telling Charles when the royal couple first broke up: "I will stand by you always, my darling.   There is a conflict between the individual and the institution and in this case the institution must win."   Parker Bowles divorced last year after her husband could no longer stand being the nation's best-known cuckold.   In a strange twist, Parker Bowles' great-grandmother, Mrs Alice Keppel, was for many years the mistress of a previous Prince of Wales who later became King Edward VII.   When introduced to Charles at a polo match in 1970, Parker Bowles, who is two years his senior, is said to have reminded him of this fact and asked him coquettishly: "So how about it?"   They share a love of polo, hunting and painting and a surreal sense of humour.   She is down to earth and bawdy.   Almost no-one could be as different from the demure.   style-conscious Diana.   "She is quite happy wearing jodhpurs all day, smoking and joking.   Indeed, she is quite happy to jump off her horse and into an evening dress without having a bath," a friend said.   The "tomboy" Parker Bowles "represents everything in the rural and uncomplicated life for which the Prince of Wales (Charles) yearns," said a recent newspaper profile.   Friends says she would loathe the strictures of royal life if she ever became queen.   "I think she's very happy to stay in the background...why would she want to throw herself into this royal whirl that has brought so much unhappiness to so many people," said royal expert Judy Wade.   The on-off relationship between Charles and Parker Bowles lasted for years, but the initial romance ended in 1973 when the prince left for sea duty, vacillating about marriage.   When her engagement to Andrew Parker Bowles, a friend of Charles, was announced, the prince was devastated.   As the wife of an army officer and member of an affluent family -- she was born Camilla Shand to a wine merchant and his aristocrat wife -- Parker Bowles often met Charles socially.   The prince is godfather to her son Thomas.   She also has a daughter named Laura. 
4942 !GCAT !GPRO  The 15-year marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana ended on Wednesday when a decree absolute was issued in a London divorce court, Buckingham Palace said.   The British heir to the throne married Diana Spencer in 1981.   Diana is reported to have accepted a 17-million-pound ($26.50 million) divorce settlement but she loses the title "Her Royal Highness".   She will be known as Diana, Princess of Wales. 
4943 !GCAT !GPRO  Prince Charles created one of Britain's most successful youth charities, his concerns for the environment are widely applauded and his thoughts on architecture almost always touch a public chord.   Yet at 47, the British public still does not warm to him.   For all his own good works, it is former wife Princess Diana who has earned the label of "saint" for her work with children and AIDS victims, while Charles is called a "crank" for his spiritual nature and acknowledgment that he talked to plants.   He is blamed for the marriage breakup because of his infidelity with old flame Camilla Parker Bowles, even though Diana later acknowledged that she too was unfaithful.   Charles and Diana married in a spectacular ceremony in 1981, but it wasn't long before cracks appeared in the marriage.   Cerebral Charles was interested in conservation and history, he liked the Scottish highlands and was a keen polo player.   Diana liked music and clothes and hated the hunting, outdoor lifestyle of the royal family.   Polo bored her stiff.   It was Diana the public and the media loved.   On royal visits together, it was her name the photographers called.   The couple soon began to keep their public engagements separate.   The pro-Diana press revealed the prince's affair with Parker Bowles, an earthy, married woman closer to his age than Diana.   Tape recordings of telephone conversations between Charles and Camilla published in 1993 showed a new, bawdy side to the prince and revealed the passion of the lovers' relationship.   For ordinary Britons, it was an astonishing revelation about the man who appeared so restrained in public.   The public was divided when he confessed in a 1995 television interview that he had been unfaithful to Diana -- after the marriage had irretrievably broken down, he said.   Many saw it not only as a betrayal of Diana, but as a measure of his duplicity and selfishness.   When an emotional Diana said in another television interview 18 months later that she had had an affair with a cavalry officer, the nation's hearts went out to the woman long seen as the victim of a loveless marriage.   At 47, Charles is still waiting for Queen Elizabeth, now 70 and showing no signs of flagging, to allow him to take on the role of king for which he has been groomed since birth.   His long preparation for monarchy has left him with the tricky question of how to pass the time before becoming king.   "My great problem is that I really don't know what my role in life is," he was once quoted as saying.   "At the moment I don't have one, but somehow I must find one for myself."   In 1976, he founded one of the country's most effective and respected charities, the Princes' Trust, which has helped thousands of unemployed youngsters in Britain's deprived areas.   The prince touched a public chord when in 1984 he denounced plans for a modernistic extension to the National Gallery as "like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a well-loved friend."   Architects were furious at his interference, but the plan was shelved and the extension was built to another, more traditional, design.   Royal watchers have accused him of being a distant and cold father to his two sons William, 14, and Harry, 11.   They acknowledge, however, that this is probably the result of his own formal royal upbringing. 
4944 !GCAT !GODD !GPRO  The doomed 15-year marriage of Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana will end on Wednesday in an unceremonious procedure at a London court, far removed from the glamour of their lavish 1981 wedding.   Prince Charles' lawyers are to submit his application for a divorce to the court's clerks who will rubber-stamp the documents.   The agreed divorce, on the grounds of a two-year separation, should be finalised by lunchtime.   Diana is reported to have accepted a 17-million-pound ($26.5 million) divorce settlement but she loses the title "Her Royal Highness".   She will be known as Diana, Princess of Wales.   Wary of the financial problems her former sister-in-law, Sarah Ferguson, ran into after her separation from Prince Andrew, the princess announced late on Tuesday that she had appointed an accountant to run her affairs.   The divorce leaves Diana one of the most eligible women in the world but Charles faces anguish over his 26-year relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles, whom many Britons blame for the breakdown of the marriage.   A survey in Wednesday's Daily Telegraph newspaper showed 56 percent of Britain's clergy believe that Charles should not become king if he married Parker Bowles.   Even if he remains unmarried, 40 percent said that, as an adulterer, he was unfit to be king.   Opinion polls have shown deep public hostility to the idea of Parker Bowles as queen.   Charles has said he has no intention of remarrying.   But he has continued his relationship with Parker Bowles, whom he met in 1970 when Diana was just nine years old, and whom he has called the "love of his life."   The couple were photographed together in Wales last weekend and Charles, 47, has bought Parker Bowles lavish gifts including a horse and a 25,000-pound ($39,000) ring.   The Prince will be in Balmoral, Scotland holidaying with his two sons and his mother Queen Elizabeth when the divorce is finalised.   Diana, who always loathed the royal family's summer holiday of outdoor pursuits at Balmoral, will remain in London and is due to attend a lunch with the English National Ballet.   When the couple's decree nisi, the first stage in their quickie divorce, was granted six weeks ago, Diana was unable to contain her grief and was photographed crying.   She called her decision to agree to the divorce the saddest day of her life.   But her engagement with the Ballet, one of the handful of causes of which she remains patron after she resigned from almost 100 charities six weeks ago, was arranged in May.   Charles has made clear he will no longer foot any of Diana's bills.   His office has written to several London fashion houses instructing them to send their invoices directly to Diana.   Diana spends thousands of pounds (dollars) each year on clothes, lunches at expensive restaurants and a range of therapies and beauty treatments.   Although the princess once said that she would prefer a satisfying career over having a man in her life, she is widely expected to remarry.   She is said to long for more children, especially a daughter since she already has two sons, William, 14, and Harry, 11.   "Diana must learn to put the bad times behind her.   She must look to the future -- which is rosy.   There will be no shortage of handsome men beating a path to her door, offering the happiness she craves," said the Sun, one of the tabloid newspapers whose reports on the turmoil of her marriage led to its breakdown.   ($1=.6415 Pound) 
4945 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in two London-based Arabic-language newspapers on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-HAYAT   - Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan visits Yemen on Wednesday to settle border dispute between the two countries.   - Dallah Group wins $186 million Saudi deal to maintain Mecca and holy shrines for five years.   - A Joint Egyptian-Kuwaiti ministerial committee is to meet to discuss cooperation in setting up projects.   ASHARQ AL-AWSAT   - Yemen tells the Security Council it is committed to an agreement in principle with Eritrea over disputed islands.   - Kuwaiti parliament ratifies a new industry law allowing residents of Gulf Arab states to establish firms. 
4946 !GCAT !GPRO  Princess Diana, shorn of her royal title, starts her first day as a free woman on Wednesday after her divorce from Prince Charles but her new life is likely to generate as much overwhelming interest as it ever did.   A simple stroke of a clerk's pen in a London court at around 10.30 (0930 GMT) will turn Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales into Diana, Princess of Wales, free at last from anything to do with her former husband, the heir to Queen Elizabeth.   But the divorce absolute will not liberate her from the journalists and photographers who have tormented her since the first signs that the couple's 1981 marriage was not quite the fairy tale it was meant to be.   Britain's tabloid newspapers made great play of how the now independent Diana would run her life while making quite clear that they would be poring over every move, especially those involving the opposite sex.   Diana's first act as a single woman will be to attend a lunch with the English National Ballet on Wednesday and the Sun newspaper immediately speculated what she would say to "beefy Hungarian" ballet star Zoltan Soymosi.   There was more than a trace of hypocrisy in the air as the newspapers which played a large part in unravelling Diana's marriage tripped over each other to wish her luck in her new role and offer her advice.   "Diana must learn to put the bad times behind her.   She must look to the future -- which is rosy.   There will be no shortage of handsome men beating a path to her door, offering the happiness she craves," said the Sun.   On Tuesday Diana named a businessman with no royal connections as her new accountant and private secretary.   Michael Gibbins, 53, will make sure Diana's 15 million pound ($23 million) divorce settlement is invested wisely.   Prince Charles will be 500 miles (770 km) away at the royal family's Balmoral Castle in Scotland with the couple's two sons when the decree absolute is issued.   Charles helped trigger the collapse of his marriage by confessing on television that he had committed adultery with his long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles.   While he is now free to spend as much time with her as he wants, awkward obstacles remain to his remarrying her.   A series of newspaper opinion polls have shown a steady majority of people opposing the idea of Charles making Camilla his queen and the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday said 56 percent of the Anglican clergy were also against the idea.   "If Charles does indeed love Camilla Parker Bowles it is a love which will have to survive persecution and humiliation on a bleak and epic scale," said the left-leaning Guardian newspaper.   Church leaders frown on the idea of a confessed adulterer becoming king and some politicians accuse him of bringing shame on the royal family, which is battling to rebuild its image after a string of scandals. 
4947 !CCAT !GCAT !GODD  For John and his new wife, they should have been the golden years.   They both had good jobs, no debt and 14 years to save before he would retire from his job in the federal government.   The trouble was, John could not stay away from the racetrack.   A compulsive gambler who goes by his first name as is customary in Gamblers Anonymous, he reckons he blew at least $100,000 Canadian ($70,000 U.S.) over seven years and nearly destroyed his marriage.   He piled up debt, separated from his wife, sold his house and gambled away the money.   Eventually he and his wife got back together and worked to rebuild their lives, their futures and their bank balances.   "It was very hard to get the trust back," he said penitently, recalling the years of turmoil.   He has not placed a bet for nine years, but his story puts a human face on the gambling fever sweeping Canada even faster than the United States.   Provincial governments across the country are promoting gambling in virtually every form imaginable, relying on the revenue to plug budgetary gaps or fund tax cuts.   "Governments should go to Gamblers Anonymous.   They have become addicted to gambling," said Tibor Barsony, executive director of the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling.   Here in Hull, across the Ottawa River from Canada's capital, the Quebec government in March opened a flashy casino that has already drawn 1.5 million visitors, rivaling Parliament for as region's premier attraction.   More than 10,000 people a day sit at row upon row of slot machines with names like "Rich and Famous" and "Jackpot Jewel" where you can drop $100 or $500 a shot.   Most are older men and women, none looking too rich, who seem fixated by the spinning wheels, the ringing bells and the clattering coins.   Some keep three machines whirring at once, stopping only to withdraw more money from automatic teller machines.   At the gaming tables, players plunk down as much as $2,000 a hand at blackjack or play the whole table for $10,000.   Ads on buses for the Casino de Hull show a young couple delightedly hugging as they watch a roulette wheel spin.   Bettors lost more than $10 billion Canadian ($7.3 billion U.S.) in a year on all forms of gambling in Canada, including casinos, lotteries and bingo halls, according to Ivan Sack, editor of Canadian Casino News.   That averaged about $1,000 per household ($730 U.S.) and may have risen to as high as $1,200 per household as casinos and video lottery terminals sprouted around Canada.   Since many do not gamble, such figures mean some households are losing a lot more each year.   Americans, in comparison, lost about $500 per household last year.   Seven of Canada's 10 provinces have casinos, most started in the last few years, and eight have video lottery terminals -- a video version of the one-armed-bandit slot machines.   Ontario's Conservative government has plans to flood the province with 20,000 video lottery terminals.   "In three years, Ontario will have gone from very little gaming to saturation gaming," Sack said.   The gambling business had a net profit of $3.3 billion Canadian ($2.4 billion U.S.) in 1994-95, provincial governments using much of it for things like health care.   For governments gambling can raise money without increasing economic distortions from hiking tax rates -- though economists view it as a regressive "voluntary" tax since the poorer and less educated tend to bet more.   Big casinos like the one in Hull or one opening soon at Niagara Falls provide between 1,000 and 3,000 jobs.   But the gaming boom may also cause a rise in gambling addiction.   "The more exposure there is, the more people are going to get hooked," said John of Gamblers Anonymous.   Ontario's Addiction Research Foundation estimates one percent of Ontario adults are pathological gamblers and gambling causes problems for 10 percent.   One in nine Ontarians surveyed said they had a family member with a gambling problem, and the Canadian Foundation on Compulsive Gambling has found teens four times as likely to have problems as adults.   Studies have found gambling leads to divorce, job loss, fraud, bankruptcy and suicide, to say nothing of depriving families of their grocery money.   Yet many politicians and businessmen argue that some people are simply prey to addictions and in communities like Ottawa they promote their own gambling interests to counter the drain to neighboring jurisdictions like Quebec.   "What we have is the casino on the north side of the river with any financial benefits and Ottawa on the south side of the river with the social problems if any," said Ottawa Mayor Jacquelin Holzman, advocating an up-market casino.   Some businessmen and academics say that in addition to the social costs of addictions, gambling may in some cases just drain money from other parts of the economy.   In this case other industries risked being cannibalized, said University of Winnipeg economist Phil Cyrenne.   "You're just shuffling the spending around." 
4948 !GCAT  GUNMAN STILL ON RUN   Queensland Police have failed to flush-out a suspected gunman in dense bushland near Gympie overnight.   William Kelvin Fox is believed to have gone to ground in the Glenwood area, about 30 kilometres north of Gympie.   Fox allegedly shot his estranged wife dead early yesterday morning, and wounded three others, sparking a massive search.   Police still believe they have him contained within a 15 kilometre wide cordon, and have postioned officers strategically around its border.   Inspector John Earea says intelligence is still being gathered on Fox from people in the local community.   And he says police are prepared to wait as long as it takes to capture Fox.   - - - -   FISCHER DECLINES CHINA COMMENT   Federal trade minister, Tim Fischer, has refused to react to the Defence minister's comments that China's recent assertiveness could spook foreign investors.   Leading a trade and investment delegation due to arrive in Shanghai today, Mr Fischer says a lot is riding on the annual trip and neither country want's the bilateral relationship stressed.   Mr Fischer says he's determined the visit will be low key and concentrated solely on trade and investment.   Defence Minister Ian Mclachlan questioned the attractiveness of China as an investment target a few days ago.   But Mr Fischer says the annual two-way trade between Australia and China is about to top 8-billion dollars and neither country would do anything to derail that.   - - - -   REEF LEVY FEE   The Head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says he's passed on industry concerns over an increase in a reef levy fee to the Federal Government.   Under the Federal Budget, the charge will be increased from one dollar per tourist per day to six which will be collected by tourism operators.   Doctor Ian McPhail says he's had a very strong and angry response from Tourism groups.   - - - -   DRAFT AIDS STRATEGY   A draft National HIV/AIDS strategy says more sophisticated ways of approaching prevention need to be devised if HIV infection -- currently at 480 new infections a year -- is to be reduced.   The draft has been prepared by the Department of Health and Family Services to direct Australia's response to HIV/AIDS and related communicable disease into the 21st Century.   It takes into account foreshadowed changes in public health between the Commonwealth, the States and Territories.   But the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisation says the strategy jeopardises funding to existing HIV areas by including other diseases.   - - - -   GOVT BACKS MOVES TO HAVE PARALYMPICS FIRSTt   There's been government support for moves to stage the Paralympic Games in Sydney before the Olympic Games.   Federal Minister for Sport and the New South Wales Premier say they'd support the moves.   Sports Minister Warwick Smith says the idea from the Australian paralympic federation is a good one.   Premier Bob Carr says the final decision wrests with the International Olympic Committee, but believves Sydney's organising committee should consider the change.   Meanwhile in Sydney last night, around twenty athletes arrived back from Atlanta, and said that public support played a big role in the team's record breaking performance in winning one-hundred and six medals.   - - - -   SPORTS BRIEFS   Canberra's Annabell Ellwood has caused one of the biggest upsets so far at the US Open at Flushing Meadow.  .   Ellwood defeated American Jennifer Capriati 6-4.  .6-4...   Earlier Scott Draper made it through to the second round in the mens singles.  .   Draper accounted for Galo Blanco in straight sets but Todd Woodbridge.  .  Ben Ellwood and Pat Cash have so far been eliminated today.  .   Stefan Edberg upset Richard Kriacheck while Pete Sampras.  .  Monica Seles and Aranta Sanchez Vicario made it through to the second round.  .   ***   In Rugby League.  .  Sydney City Roosters coach Phil Gould has named unknown Julian Troy and vetran Paul Dunn in the front row for Sundays game against the Sydney Tigers.  .   Gould was forced to make changes following the loss of terry Hermanson and Jason Lowry...   Meantime the Raiders will again check on the fitness of John Lomax today ahead of Sundays match against the South Queensland Crushers   ***   A decision will be made today on whether Carlton vetran Greg Williams will play again this season.  .  Williams continues to have problems with his right knee.  .   Meantime an announcement on whether Malcom Blight will take over the reigns at the Adelaide Crows is expected to be made next week...   While the Sydney Swans have been fined 4 thousand dollars because of coments by Rodney Eade and Ron Barrasi about Tony Lockett's tribunal appearance   ***   Chicago Bulls basketballer Micheal Jordan has again topped the list for money earned through endorsements...   Jordan made 48 million dollars.  .   ***   Sydney Kings guard Shane Heal has been suspended for 1 game after being found guilty of using foul language towards a referee.  .   ***   Australian cyclist Robbie McEwen is second after the first stage in the Tour of the Netherlands.  .   ***   The World track titles start tonight in Manchester with most attention on Shane Kelly in the 1000 metre time trial.  .   ***   New South Wales rugby union officals say they won't be appointing a new coach to replace Chris Hawkins for at least another month...   Hawkins resigned yesterday...   ***   Anthony Hill and Brett Martin have won through to the second round of the Hong Kong squash open.  .   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4949 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Australian Opposition says the budget can almost repair itself.   If the government would cut less, it would run the economy faster and the budget would be back in surplus before you could say structural deficit, the argument goes.   It has an air of supply-side Reaganism about it, but here is the view that Evans spelt out on Wednesday:   "The essential argument is that if you aim for and achieve higher growth, each year's deficit starting point is lower, so you can get to eventual balance with a fraction of the cuts that would otherwise be necessary," Evans told the press club.   "Moreover, with the higher employment associated with higher growth, the economy generates more savings (through more private income, more government revenue, and less government outlays).   "So if you put employment first, you have a good chance of solving both our continuing economic problems."   He added: "... it is our calculation that, on entirely reasonable assumptions about the growth that would be achievable under a less manic budgetary policy ... the no-policy-change underlying budget deficit would be reduced to around A$3 billion in 1998/99."   Perhaps the problem with the argument is in the condition in the first sentence: "If you aim for and achieve higher growth ..."   Economics is fashion, of course, and Evans is ignoring two highly fashionable beliefs.   Firstly, economists say budget deficits are a speed limit on economic growth.   You cannot "aim for and achieve" higher growth if you do not cut the budget, the economic community would chorus.   Growth without budget cuts produces current account blowouts in our savings-starved economy, so the the authorities would soon be forced to slow growth again, economists currently say.   Secondly, it is now popularly believed that budget cuts might themselves propel the economy faster, not slow it down (yes, this would have confounded the Keynesians, but they went out with flares).   Evans calculates that the budget cuts will cost up to 1.25 percentage points of GDP growth over the coming three years.   The Reserve Bank, a champion of the growth-through-retrenchment school, presumably does not share the view.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2370 
4950 !C13 !C31 !CCAT !E21 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GWELF  Australian Social Security Minister Jocelyn Newman said on Wednesday rises in private health insurance premiums would not undermine the government's plan to encourage people to join private health funds.   "The premium increases were approved before the budget by the Department of Health, under the legal requirements of the National Health Act," Newman said in a statement.   "Under the Act, there is a prudential requirement on funds to protect their contributors by maintaining a minimum reserve," she said in reponse to recent decisions by two health funds in the state of Victoria to raise premiums.   The Hospital Benefits Association (HBA) raised its premium by about six percent on August 12.   Australian Unity will raise its premium by nearly nine percent on September 1.   HBA's parent, National Mutual Health Insurance, said other insurers were likely to follow suit soon.   "Many commentators have forgotten that this is about the time of the year that people review their claims experience and adjust their premiums accordingly," National Mutual Health Insurance managing director Garry Richardson told Reuters.   "The interest this year is that it has happened at about the same time that the budget has formalised cash rebates to come into effect in July next year, and somehow the two have been linked," he added.   In the 1996/97 (July/June) budget unveiled last week, the government announced tax incentives worth about A$500 million a year to encourage people to take out private health insurance and to wean rich people off the public Medicare health system.   Newman attributed the premium increases to falling fund membership and rises in medical and hospitalisation charges.   "The private health insurance incentive strategy announced by the government last week is designed to stop that rapid outflow, and widen health care choices for all Australians," she said.   -- Canberra Bureau 616-273-2730 
4951 !C12 !C16 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The Australian Securities Commission (ASC) said on Wednesday that the federal court had upheld its appeal against a judgment setting aside the commission's litigation in the name of collapsed investment group Adsteam Ltd, against its former auditors, Deloittes Haskins and Sells and Deloitte Ross Tohmatsu.   The ASC's South Australian regional general counsel, Walter Malinaric, said the ASC would be seeking to reactivate the Adelaide proceedings with an early trial date.    The ASC has alleged that Adsteam's former directors, John Spalvins, Michael Kent, Neil Branford, Kenneth Russell and Michael Gregg, together with its former auditors, failed in Adsteam's 1990 accounts to properly account for various loans and inter-company transactions causing the company's reported profit to be overstated by at least A$518 million.   The ASC said it was seeking an amount of at least A$340 million, being equivalent to dividends it said were improperly paid by Adsteam with interest.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
4952 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !M14 !M142 !MCAT  The impending indefinite strike called at the Chilean state mining company Codelco's Salvador copper mine failed to excite copper trading in the Australian time zone on Wednesday.   "As far as we can tell there's no impact, it's been an extremely quiet day," a trader at Macquarie Bank Ltd said.   There had been little interest since the close of COMEX, he said.   A trader at Rothschild Australia Ltd said the strike was believed to be supportive to the market in the immediate short-term.    "But really it's the smallest site in Chile, so we don't see the reaction being too dramatic in the medium to long-term," he said.   A short-term knee-jerk reaction might push the copper price toward $1,950 a tonne, this dealer said.   But it was not thought to have a sustainable impact on the market, he said.   At 3.00 pm AET (0500 GMT), a few hours after the strike was called, the three month copper price was up by $1 to $1,943.   The summer period was traditionally quite and news such as the strike could provide a reason for traders to push the price up by $10-$15, he said.    Ben Suttie of C A & L Bell Commodities Corp sees the strike as likely to push prices up, especially if the strike lasts until September 18, the next LME prime date.   Salvador, the smallest of Codelco's four mines, produced 42,901 tonnes of fine copper in the first half of 1996.   Workers at the mine voted on Tuesday to begin an indefinite strike on August 31 to demand wage increases.   -- Michael Byrnes, Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4953 !E12 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Australian opposition Treasury spokesman Gareth Evans said on Wednesday that proposed quarterly rather than monthly publication of balance of payments data was intended to let the government avoid monthly debate.   "...I see this as nothing more than an exercise in avoiding the monthly debate which takes place about the current account deficit that we had to endure, whether we liked it or not," Evans told a luncheon at the National Press Club in Canberra.   "And which this government should certainly endure given its insistence that the current account manifestation of the saving problem is the biggest economic problem in the country."    Evans said the new Liberal-National government's insistence on running cost reductions from all departments and their units, including the Australian Bureau of Statistics, was palpable nonsense.   "It's a disgraceful little exercise.   One of many we are going to see, but that is the way I would certainly characterise it," Evans said.   The bureau has said it would continue to publish monthly merchandise trade, a component of the current account deficit, if it proceeded with the change.    The proposal is its preferred option, because it says only monthly trade data can be published reliably, and it says it would seek the opinions of users before making a final decision.   Earlier, a bureau spokesman told Reuters the decision would not be made by the government.   The Liberal-National coalition ousted Evans' Labor Party from office in March.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
4954 !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  Australia said on Wednesday it could not fully remedy appalling living conditions of Aborigines before the Sydney 2000 Olympics, when the nation's record on indigenous affairs was expected to come under world scrutiny.   Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Herron made the admission after a fellow conservative political leader said the nation risked embarrassment over "worse than Third World" conditions in some remote communities.   Queensland state's housing minister, Ray Connor, who recently toured outback aboriginal and island communities in the state's north, said people at one remote community drew water from septic reservoirs.   "It's just impossible to explain how bad the situation is," said Connor, who belongs to the rural-based National party, a partner in Prime Minister John Howard's government which came to power in March.   "Once you see a family of six trying to live in 12 sq metres (130 sq ft)...it's just impossible to imagine this happening in a place like Australia," Connor told state radio.   Herron said in response to Connor's remarks that the government was not proud of conditions at some aboriginal communities but said remedying all of them would take time.   Asked if this could be done before the Olympics, he said: "It couldn't possibly be."   But he added: "Things are being done in relation to water and power and sewerage and roads, housing, rubbish (collection)."   Some aboriginal leaders have warned of street protests at the Olympics to highlight Aborigines' concern that the new government is risking efforts to improve white-black relations.   Connor visited 10 communities during last week's tour of the Cape York peninsula, including island settlements in the Torres Strait, which separates north Australia from Papua New Guinea.   The island communities are among the most poorly housed, and nearly a fifth of houses there need to be replaced, he said.   "In a very short period of time we are going to have the...world watching us very, very closely," Connor said.   He agreed the situation in Queensland could embarrass Australia in the media glare surrounding the Sydney Olympics.   "We have a lot less than four years to get this right," Connor said.   Connor said the funds needed to address the problem were beyond the state's resources.   He estimated A$300 million (US$236 million) over the three years would only "scratch the surface".   He appealed for Canberra to help find and fund a solution.   "We need to deal with it at the most senior level," he said, suggesting a top-level political task force be formed.   Connor denied the problem would be exacerbated by spending cuts to the administration costs of aboriginal programmes in the 1996/97 (July/June) national budget, announced on August 20.   The cuts sparked a violent protest by Aborigines in the capital last week.   There are about 300,000 Aborigines in Australia's 18 million population.   (A$1 = US$0.7880) 
4955 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  New Zealand's general election is unlikely to spook foreign investors even if the ruling National party is ousted from the hot seat, Colonial Mutual chief investment officer Tom Tripp said on Wednesday.   In an interview with Reuters, Tripp said a new government could widen the Reserve Bank's current 0-2 percent target band for underlying inflation to -1 to 3 percent without posing a major problem for financial markets.    "Even a situation where the Reserve Bank is expected to consider economic growth in its monetary policy setting target -- I don't see that as much of a problem either," he said.   "Tinkering at the margins...could create some short term volatility in the market, but I think the real question for investors is what is the underlying value (of the markets) and is a change in government going to affect that?"   New Zealand will go into its first general election under a Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system on October 12, abandoning the British-style first-past-the-post system.    Recent polls have shown the three main opposition parties -- Labour, economic nationalist New Zealand First and the left-wing Alliance -- between them gleaning 57 percent support.   Support for the National Party had slipped to 34 percent, its lowest share of the party vote since May 1994.   It is widely expected that Labour and NZ First will be able to strike a deal after the election, but a NZ First-National coalition is seen as also possible but less likely.   "To me the polls changing a percentage or two is spurious information.   I question the accuracy of the polls, I question how meaningful they are," Tripp said.    "It seems to me that the local consensus is that a National-led government, whether it's a National majority, which seems highly unlikely, or a National minority government...is a precursor to economic success and anything else is like doomsday," he said.   "I personally think that's a little bit much."   Tripp said offshore investors, who owned the majority of New Zealand government securities, were not nearly as concerned about the election as local investors were.    "I really don't think offshore investors are going to get overly spooked with the outcome of the New Zealand election, unless, and I think it's a big unless, the government that wound up in place were to make fundamental changes to the economic structure.   "If you did have a serious attempt to start buying back Forestry Corporation or buying back Telecom or something like that, I think offshore investors would just take their money somewhere else."   Tripp would not be drawn on the likelihood of such an attempt.    The National party last week sold its shares in Forestry Corp of NZ, which controls 188,000 hectares of prime pine and fir forest in the central North Island, in New Zealand's second largest privatisation since the 1990 sale of Telecom Corp of NZ.   Both the Alliance party and NZ First promised to repurchase FCNZ if they became the government after the election.   Tripp said the worst case election outcome was not all that bad.    He said Labour's economic policies were reasonably similar to National's.   Labour has joined National in criticising NZ First's foreign investment policy, which aims to curtail foreign shareholding in New Zealand.   Tripp said NZ First's Peters had already softened his stance on foreign investment and would probably do so again.   "The question arises how much is rhetoric and how much is really going to happen at the end of the day," he said.   -- Wellington newsroom (64 4) 473 4746 
4956 !E12 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Asia-Pacific energy ministers have agreed to 14 non-binding energy policy principles, Australian Minister for Resources, Warwick Parer said on Wednesday.   Major advances have been made in issues of concern to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum members, Parer told reporters after emerging from a meeting of the ministers in Sydney.   The agreement was a key part of the meeting, he said.    The principles seek harmonisation on a wide range of environmental, economic and regulatory issues among the 18 APEC countries as they gear up to meet projected high energy demand requirements, Parer said.   "The ministers all agreed that we need in APEC to have open strong regional energy markets," he said   Parer also said it was an "absolute necessity" that the private sector invest in the APEC energy sector.   On Tuesday, Parer estimated it would cost about US$1.6 trillion to fully fund enough power projects to meet projected energy demand in APEC countries to 2010. 
4957 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Former New Zealand business high-flier Allan Hawkins said on Wednesday he would sue Australian authorities for costs after plans to extradite him on criminal charges collapsed.   The Australian National Crime Authority (NCA) on Tuesday withdrew an application in the Auckland District Court to extradite Hawkins, former executive chairman of collapsed Equiticorp International.   Hawkins immediately announced plans to take legal action to recover his costs.    "My nature is not just to let them walk away and say 'oh look, sorry, we made a mistake.   We have made your life and your wife's life a misery for the last couple of years'.   I am not going to let them do that," Hawkins told the New Zealand Press Association outside the court.   He said he would seek hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs from the Australian authorities.   "That is hundreds of thousands which I haven't got.   I have got to work out how to pay those bills," he said.    The NCA wanted Hawkins in Australia to face multimillion-dollar fraud charges alongside Elders IXL former chief John Elliott.   The Supreme Court of Victoria acquitted Elliott and three co-accused last week of charges that they defrauded Elders IXL of A$66.5 million.   This followed an earlier court ruling that much of the prosecution case was inadmissible.   Mark Woolford, the Auckland lawyer acting for the Australian NCA, told NZPA that Hawkins was discharged after Woolford applied to have the extradition application withdrawn.    Woolford said an arrest warrant issued against Hawkins some time ago would also be withdrawn.   Today's hearing lasted less than three minutes.   "The judge commented, 'It's your lucky day Mr Hawkins.   You had better go out and buy a Lotto ticket'," Woolford said.   The NCA began extradition proceedings last year but ran into legal difficulties when the admissibility of evidence against Elliott was challenged during his trial in Australia.   The evidence scheduled to be presented in Australia formed the basis of the NCA case against Hawkins for extradition .    Hawkins was freed from prison in New Zealand in July last year after serving 2-1/2 years of a six-year sentence on fraud and conspiracy charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office.   The charges followed an SFO investigation after the 1989 collapse of Equiticorp.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
4958 !C31 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  An impending strike at Chile's Salvador copper mine could be expected to push copper prices up, Ben Suttie of C A & L Bell Commodities Corp said on Wednesday.   Workers at the Codelco-owned mine voted on Tuesday to begin an indefinite strike on August 31.   There was tightness in the September dates anyway, Suttie said.   If the strike lasted until September 18 the cash price would start to rally, he said.   "We thought cash prices would come down, but I'd say this week we'd see a rally," he said.    The impending Salvador strike would not be likely to push copper in the Australian time zone up too much on Wednesday but it may react on the London Metal Exchange (LME) later on Wednesday, Suttie said.   Friday would give more direction, Suttie said.   September 18 is the next LME prime date.   Salvador, the smallest of Codelco's four mines, produced 42,901 tonnes of fine copper in the first half of 1996.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4959 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Shares in drug developer F.H. Faulding and Co Ltd slipped 12 cents to A$7.58 on Wednesday following the company's announcement that it had been named as a defendant in a U.S. court case.   Faulding said the action was brought in the U.S. district court of Delaware by The Purdue Frederick Co of Norwalk, and alleged that the manufacture and marketing in the U.S. of Kadian, a sustained release morphine product, infringed a U.S. patent assigned to Purdue and constituted an unfair competitive practice under Federal and State law.    "They are off on the back of the announcement," said a Sydney-based dealer, adding that at this early stage it was difficult to ascertain the merits of the action.   "It is difficult to say what is in the case at this stage."   By 12.30 p.m. (0230 GMT), F.H. Faulding shares were 10 cents lower at A$7.60 on turnover of 64,459 shares.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373 1800 
4960 !GCAT !GENV !GPOL  Energy ministers from the Asia-Pacific region meeting here on Wednesday acknowledged that the issue of global climate change needed to be addressed, Australia's assistant energy secretary for the Department of Primary Industries and Energy, Bob Alderson, said.   "There is no doubt that will come up for further discussion," Alderson told reporters after emerging from the inaugural session of Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) energy ministers.    Environmental groups have expressed concerns that tthe issue would not be discussed among the ministers in favor of emphasing the forging of closer links with the private energy sector.   Australia estimates APEC will need about US$1.6 trillion in new funds over the next 14 years to build enough power facilities to meet projected market growth.   Governments alone are unable to provide this amount of funds and need to seek out private investment, Warwick Parer, Australia's minister for resources and energy, said on Tuesday.    A mutual desire to eliminate impediments to liberalising APEC energy markets, such as sovereign risk and tariff and non-tariff barriers, were also acknowledged, Alderson said.   Energy ministers from the 18 APEC countries are holding two days of talks in Sydney.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
4961 !GCAT !GCRIM  Australian police on Wednesday continued to hunt a gunman in dense bushland after he killed his wife and wounded three other people, warning the man is extremely dangerous and may take a hostage to escape.   The shooting occured around 6.30 a.m. (2030 GMT) on Tuesday at Glenwood, south of Maryborough, about 150 km (93 miles) north of Brisbane on the Queensland state coast.   Police have declared an "emergent situation" in the area, giving them powers to raid houses, search cars, close schools, quarantine the area and evacuate people.   "It is one step short of an emergency situation," a police spokesman said via telephone from a command post in the bush.   "We have not had any sightings, but we suspect he is armed, possibly with a .22 rifle and/or a self-loading shotgun.   He is considered extremely dangerous," he said.   "It's a possibility, not a probability, he may take a hostage, but we have measures in place if that is the case."   William Fox broke into his wife's home on Tuesday morning, shooting her dead and wounding his 16-year-old son, his son's girlfriend and a neighbour, police said.   All three wounded are in a satisfactory condition in hospital.   Fox initially fled from the shooting in a car, but then abandoned the car and entered dense bushland.   Fox is a skilled bushman who knows the area very well, police said.   About 60 police, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have maintained an overnight cordon around 15 sq km (six sq miles) of bush near Glenwood.   The area is littered with caves and police believed Fox has a hideout which has enabled him to evade capture.   Australia's six states and two territories are involved in heated debate over the introduction of tough new firearm laws, including the banning rapid fire weapons, after a shooting massacre in the island state of Tasmania.   On April 28, a lone gunman went on a shooting rampage at the site of the historic Port Arthur penal settlement, killing 35 people. 
4962 !GCAT !GENV  Australian federal Primary Industries Minister John Anderson said on Wednesday he was prepared to authorise the controlled national release of the rabbit calicivirus.   "(The minister) today announced he was satisfied all requirements of the Commonwealth Biological Control Act 1984 for the declaration of Rabbit calcivirus disease as a biological control agent for rabbits had been met, clearing the path for a nationally co-ordinated release this spring," Anderson said in a statement.   Federal officials expect state ministers to soon declare their consent, after which the virus can be legally released.   The virus was released accidentlly last year but scientists say controlled release will kill more rabbits, which have been the bane of farmers since shortly after British settlers first arrived on the continent 208 years ago.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
4963 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA  A Labour government would inject almost NZ$2 billion more into the health system over three years, scrapping regional health authorities and replacing CHEs with elected health boards, the party said at its health policy launch on Wednesday.   Labour also confirmed pledges to scrap prescription charges, hospital charges and asset testing.   Over three years, Labour's policies would cost an extra $1.96 billion, on top of current health spending of $5.3 billion.    A $150 million three-year attack on waiting lists has been proposed, with the new health boards to get a $500 million cash injection to improve services.   Labour would also introduce a rural health premium, ensuring extra funding for boards providing services in provincial areas.   In a promised overhaul of the health system, Labour plans a return to elected health boards.   The 23 crown health enterprises would be replaced by district health services, comprising a majority of elected members and with a law change to ensure their prime objective is to provide public health services and promote health.    The four regional health authorities and the Ministry of Health would be abolished, and replaced with a Department of Health responsible for funding the district health services.   Labour would spend another $100 million to develop mental health services, with the party saying it is committed to properly resourcing community services.   Labour has also promised to increase resources for Maori and Pacific Island health initiatives, with both groups having worse health statistics than European New Zealanders.   The key points of Labour's policy in a three-year term are:   * $600 million to remove hospital charges and scrap asset testing;   * $270 million to remove prescription charges   * $340 million to reduce the costs of primary care   * establish a fund to provide for unexpected increases in acute surgery demands   * establish a fund to help build new community services to replace outdated facilities   * $150 million to reduce the waiting list   * introduce a maximum waiting time into the patients' code of rights    * $500 million to district health services to improve services   * $100 million to develop mental health services   * make GP visits free for children under five   * establish a New Zealand health strategy.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
4964 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The Australian Labor Opposition said it would seek to block the increase in court charges announced in the Liberal-National government's budget last week.   "The Labor party will seek to block another one of the budget nasties when the Senate resumes," opposition attorney-generals spokesman Nick Bolkus told reporters in announcing Labor's intention.    The government estimated in the budget the measure would raise about A$30 million a year from 1997/98, the first year in which it would be fully implemented.   "We feel that there are a number of problems with this proposal," Bolkus said.   "Initially when the (government) coalition went to the election they made a commitment to access to justice.   This is in direct contradiction to that commitment."   "We anticipate that there will be support from at least the Democrats and the Greens (in the Senate)," he said.    He said Labor had informally discussed support with the minor parties, but there was nothing concrete at this stage.   The conservative coalition is two votes short of a majority in the Senate.   Those two votes could come from Labor, the seven Democrats, two Greens or a pair of Independents.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
4965 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Australia-based drug manufacturer F.H. Faulding and Co Ltd said on Wednesday it had been named as a defendant in a U.S. court case linked to a patent dispute over its Kadian sustained release morphine product.    Faulding said the action was brought in the U.S. district court of Delaware by The Purdue Frederick Co of Norwalk, and alleged that the manufacture and marketing in the U.S. of Kadian infringed a U.S. patent assigned to Purdue and constituted an unfair competitive practice under Federal and State law.   Kadian is made by Purepac Pharmaceutical Co, an affiliate of Faulding and marketed by Zeneca Inc, all of which were named in the lawsuit.   "On the basis of information recieved so far, the claims in the lawsuit are without merit and will not impact on the launch of Kadian in the U.S.," Faulding said in a statement.    Faulding said Kadian was protected in the U.S. and Australia under its own patents granted prior to the Purdue patent under which the allegations had been made.   "Faulding, its affiliates and Zeneca will cooperate in the vigorous defence of this action filed against them," Faulding said.   At 11.45 a.m. (0145 GMT), Faulding shares were 12 cents weaker at A$7.58.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
4966 !GCAT  -- TOP STORIES - A judge was asked to withdraw from a case involving a New Zealand immigration fraud case after press allegations he had been subjected to political pressure by two colleagues.   -- Several newspapers received calls from men claiming to be associates of Yip Kai-foon, formerly known as Hong Kong's most wanted man, and who is now in prison facing trial, threatening to bomb branches of the Hongkong Bank if Yip "continued to be ill-treated in prison".   -- TA KUNG PAO - China urged Taiwan to respond positively to its efforts to begin direct cross-strait shipping links.   -- China's Foreign Ministry said the popularity of the book titled "China Can Say No" demonstrated there was freedom of speech in China.   -- ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS - Benny Cheung who won four gold medals for the British colony at the Atlanta Paralympic Games, arrived back in Hong Kong to a warm welcome.   -- HONG KONG ECONOMIC JOURNAL - CITIC Pacific reported a 255 percent increase in earnings for the first half of the year.   -- MING PAO DAILY NEWS - Seven H-share companies announced their first half results, most of them showing a drop in profits.   -- Well-known Chinese novelist Dai Houying was murdered in her Shanghai apartment three days ago.   Most of her works were about the Cultural Revolution and the lives of Chinese intellectuals.   -- Research showed that more than half of children in Beijing and Shanghai had psychological problems and suffered from "one-child syndrome".   Only eight percent were mentally healthy.   -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Chairman and chief executive officer of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp Kevin Hyde would step down upon completion of his contract in December.   The paper said he was likely to be replaced by a local business leader.   -- Analysts voiced concerns over the long-term funding requirements for Hopewell Holdings' massive infrastructure projects in Thailand and China.   -- Members of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's ruling council demanded that Choi Chen Po-sum, a former exchange vice-chairman facing bribery-related charges, resign her seat on the policy-making body.   -- HONG KONG STANDARD - China was set to adopt a controversial eugenics program in a dramatic move to restructure its decade-old family planning policy.   -- Hong Kong newsroom (852) 2843 6441 
4967 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  Japan's Supreme Court ordered Okinawa on Wednesday to forcibly appropriate land for U.S. military bases, rejecting an appeal by the island's governor that the military presence was unconstitutional.   The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court's 15-member Grand Bench effectively closed the door on Okinawa's legal battle against the central government over the bases, paving the way for Tokyo to continue securing land for them.   In unexpected addendums to the ruling, seven of the 15 judges said they understood the plight of the Okinawan people but said they had to make their decision on purely legal grounds.   "It is true that military facilities are concentrated on Okinawa which is just 0.6 percent of Japan's total land," said Judge Itsuo Sonobe in his addendum.   "But this does not mean the judiciary can make judgments out of the ordinary on the constitutionality of these land appropriations," he added.   In his court presentation, Governor Masahide Ota had argued U.S. bases on his island -- the biggest concentration in Japan -- violated the constitutional right of citizens to a peaceful livelihood and the principle of equality before the law.   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's central government said a provincial governor had no right to block leases for military bases, since local governments were not responsible for defence.   "This court rejects the appeal," Chief Justice Toru Miyoshi said in his ruling, which took less than a minute to deliver.   "I am dismayed by the fact that the Supreme Court did not hear any of our serious appeals," Ota told a news conference.   He did not say if he would follow the court's orders.   The case before the court involved 35 landowners who own plots on eight of 40 U.S. military facilities.   A total of about 3,000 Okinawans lease land to 13 of the 40 bases, some of it tiny plots only a few square metres in area.   The decision by no means puts an end to the bitter row between Okinawa and Tokyo, which erupted last year after the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.   The rape was a flashpoint for discontent that Okinawa is home to 75 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan and houses half of the 47,000 U.S. service personnel stationed in the country.   On September 8, Okinawans will vote in a non-binding referendum to phase out the bases by 2015.   Wednesday's ruling was over Ota's appeal against a lower court decision instructing him to sign documents necessary for the continued lease of private property by the U.S. military.   "This court does not regard the Special Land Appropriations Law for the U.S. military as unconstitutional nor application of the said law in Okinawa Prefecture," the decision said.   There was immediate anger from some residents of Okinawa.   "The Supreme Court has betrayed Okinawans," said Tokunobu Yamauchi, mayor of Yomitan village, host to one of the bases.   "The judges know nothing of our long suffering and I must say that this decision is nonsense," he said.   The central government appealed for Ota to back down and go ahead with signing documents for the appropriation of land.   "I hope Okinawa will take into consideration today's court decision and cooperate with the government," said Seiroku Kajiyama, the top government spokesman.   Inside the dark, sombre Supreme Court room, the session was over in a matter of seconds because Judge Miyoshi chose not to read the statement explaining the judgment.   "You Chief Judge!   You are not human!"   shouted an anti-bases activist from the spectators gallery.   "Re-do the trial!" 
4968 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Chinese political and business stories in leading newspapers, prepared by Reuters in Beijing.   Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.   Telephone: (8610) 6532-1921.   Fax: (8610) 6532-4978.   - - - -   CHINA DAILY   China slams Japan for not acknowledging atrocities its army carried out during the occupation of the 1930s and 1940s, and criticised the United States for selling arms to rival Taiwan.   - - - -   CHINA SECURITIES   The People's Bank of China has cut by an average of 0.5 percentage point the interest rate paid on reserves of Chinese banks and other financial institutions deposited in the central bank.   It also lowered interest on funds made available to commercial banks, cutting the rate on three-month money to 9.72 percent from 10.08 percent.   China selected a second batch of large state companies for reform.   China's state purchase of natural rubber set at 70,000 tonnes in 1996.   Front page editorial says China could cut interest rates a third time this year to boost the economy.   China may levy tax on interest earning from bank deposits. 
4969 !GCAT  Newspaper headlines   CHINA TIMES - Taiwan prosecutor recommends 16-year prison term for former colleage Hsu Liang-chien for Hsu's alleged involvement in video game parlour scandal.   Inter-party constitutional-reform committee under National Assembly will start operations in September.   UNITED DAILY NEWS - Taiwan to raise funds for science research in bid to promote Taiwan as island of technology.   Taiwan's business leading indicators remain in "yellow-blue light" condition, indicating possible slowdown.   COMMERCIAL TIMES - Taiwan's saving rate declines as funds flow out of island to Chinese mainland.   Taiwan, South Africa sign investment memoranda on telecommunications, aviation.   ECONOMIC DAILY NEWS - Banks' loans to private firms decrease at end of July as credit control tightens due to slow economy.   Taiwan to ease restrictions allowing more high-technology companies to be listed on over-the-counter market.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
4970 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Indonesian political and business stories in leading newspapers, prepared by Reuters in Jakarta.   Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.   Telephone: (6221) 384-6364.   Fax: (6221) 344-8404.   - - - -   KOMPAS   President Suharto said that Indonesia should respect the critical views of its intellectuals as long as they are made honestly and for the sake of improving the nation and its common interest.   - - - -   JAKARTA POST   Minister of Agriculture Syarifudin Baharsyah said the government would allow new sugar mills in eastern provinces to market 75 percent of their output by themselves and those in western provinces 50 percent of their own production.   Hong Kong Finance Secretary Donald Tsang said during a three-day official visit to Indonesia that press freedom, strong laws, a level playing field for investors and a low level of corruption were important for increased foreign investment.   - - - -   BISNIS INDONESIA   Timber industry figures say the value of Indonesian timber exports to Japan is likely to increase due to a rise in the price of plywood used in building construction.   - - --   MEDIA INDONESIA   Police have questioned three section heads at Bank Indonesia as their investigation continues into a seven billion rupiah fraud case involving officials at the central bank. 
4971 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Dissident Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary confirmed on Wednesday that he had broken with Pol Pot and other hardliners of the guerrilla group and had formed a rival movement.   Ieng Sary said in a written statement, the first since his split with Pol Pot earlier this month, that the new movement to be called the Democratic National United Movement (DNUM) would seek an end to civil war and work towards reconciliation with the Cambodian government.    "I would like to inform you about my decision to break away from Pol Pot, Ta Mok, Son Sen's dictatorial group," he said in a copy of the statement obtained by Reuters.   "We believe that our country will be reduced to nothing if the Khmer people continue to fight against each other indefinitely.... For this reason we decided to break away from that dictatorial group and found a movement named 'Democratic National United Movement'," he said.   Ieng Sary was sentenced to death in absentia for his role in the mass genocide in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge rule of terror between 1975-1979 when over a million people were executed or died of starvation, disease or overwork in mass labour camps.   The French-educated, former brother-in-law of Pol Pot was foreign minister in the Khmer Rouge government that ruled Cambodia and was seen as the group's second in command. 
4972 !GCAT !GCRIM  China has executed 13 people and sentenced another six to death for a series of murders, armed robberies and other major crimes, official news reports said on Wednesday.   The Supreme People's Court on Tuesday upheld death sentences given to seven defendants by lower courts in the central provinces of Henan and Anhui and in southwestern Sichuan province, the People's Daily said.   Three of the defendants had been convicted of murdering eight people and injuring 10, and committing 36 armed robberies in Henan between August 1992 and January 1996, it said.   The four other defendants had been convicted of killing a security guard and of armed robberies in Anhui and Sichuan in May and June this year.   It said the seven had been shot but did not elaborate.   Meanwhile, the Liberation Daily newspaper said that Shanghai courts on Tuesday had sentenced 12 people to death for robbery, rape and murder, and that six of them had already been executed.   One of the six executed on Tuesday, Gu Min, was convicted of killing two taxi drivers in late 1995 in the suburbs of Shanghai.   An accomplice was also sentenced to death, it said.   Another of those executed, Song Renfa, had robbed eight women between March 1995 and February 1996 and stolen goods worth 3,860 yuan ($465), it said.   He raped two of the women and tried to rape a third but failed.   China has executed more than 1,000 people since launching its nationwide "Strike Hard" campaign against crime in April.   ($1=8.3 yuan) 
4973 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  A senior U.N. official arrived in the Cambodian capital on Wednesday to discuss a poossible role for the world body in 1998 elections as concern grew that preparations, including a legal framework, were behind schedule.   Alvaro de Soto, U.N. assistant secretary-general for political affairs, said the United Nations was offering Cambodia help in coordinating assistance for the elections and advice on setting up appropriate laws.   "It's a very important phase in what we hope will be a consolidation of democracy in Cambodia," de Soto said of the polls due in 1998.   The United Nations supervised Cambodia's watershed 1993 election which saw the royalist FUNCINPEC party emerge with the most seats.   It formed an uneasy coalition with the incumbent former communist of the Cambodian Peoples' Party (CPP).   De Soto said he expected to meet Cambodia's two co-premiers to discuss what part the United Nations might play in 1998.   "I've come here in connection with the possibility that the U.N. might play a role in coordinating electoral assistance," he told Reuters on his arrival.   Analysts say much preparation is still required for the elections, in particular the introduction of laws governing the electoral process and political parties.   "The U.N. wants to get in early to see that the laws are in place," said one political analyst.   De Soto said the United Nations was offering the government its advice on setting up an appropriate legal framework but it remained to be seen what precise help the government wanted.   "There are laws that need to be put into place and we are advising the government, to the extent that they want our advice," he said.   Co-premier Hun Sen has hinted in recent speeches that he would not tolerate undue outside involvement in the elections, saying the United Nations would not oversee the process to the extent it did in 1993.   Some politicians say time is running out and without the necessary laws in place the poll would be a sham.   "It would be a fake election, a mockery of democracy," said former finance minister Sam Rainsy, Cambodia's most prominent opposition politician.   "I'm very concerned because we don't have anyone working on the electoral law yet," said FUNCINPEC's Ahmad Yahya.   "We haven't seen any of these laws in the national assembly but we need the laws of at least one-and-a-half years before the national elections in order to prepare ourselves," he said.   Rainsy said he was worried there was a lack of political will to push the necessary legislation through parliament an if preparations lagged much longer it would be too late.   "It's very late.   If we wait for six more months without any progress, then it will be too late," he said.   "Now we are defining the rules of the game (but) there's negative poltiical will to pass the appropriate set of laws because the present government, especially the CPP, wants to preserve the status quo," Rainsy told Reuters.   The CPP, which emerged from the Vietnamese-backed government which ruled Cambodia during the 1980s, is widely seen by political analysts as having the most control over levers of state power.   A serious row erupted in the coalition earlier this year when FUNCINPEC First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh threatened to pull out of the government unless CPP co-premier Hun Sen agreed to yield a greater share of power, particularly in administration at the grass-roots level. 
4974 !GCAT !GDIS  Two people were killed and six were injured after a helicopter crashed in bad weather in northern Cambodia, a government minister said on Wednesday.   The 15 survivors who had been on board the Russian-made MI-17 helicopter were taken to hospital from the remote jungle crash site about 150 km (90 miles) north of Phnom Penh, Information Minister Ieng Mouly said.   The cause of the crash of the helicopter, which went down on Sunday while on a routine resupply flight between Phnom Penh and Stung Treng, was not known.   Ieng Mouly said the aircraft went down during a rain storm. 
4975 !GCAT !GDIP  Diplomats from Japan and North Korea began two days of meetings in Beijing on Wednesday aimed at restarting negotiations on normalising diplomatic relations, Kyodo news agency reported.   Japan will seek negotiations to establish bilateral ties in parallel to efforts to persuade North Korea to join four-nation peace talks, the agency said, quoting Japanese Foreign Ministry officials.   The officials were not available to comment on the report.   Japan has urged Pyongyang to accept a proposal by South Korea and the United States to hold four-nation peace talks with North Korea, also involving China, to replace a truce agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.   But North Korea has insisted on bilateral talks with the United States to seek a peace agreement, saying neither South Korea nor Japan is a party to the armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.   The Beijing meeting follows similar contacts in the Chinese capital in March and in Tokyo in June which failed to achieve a breakthrough in acrimonious ties between Tokyo and the communist northern half of its former colony.   North Korea's Foreign Ministry said last month that Pyongyang was not interested in resuming diplomatic ties with Japan as long as Tokyo insisted on four-nation peace talks and remained elusive about wartime compensation.   Talks to normalise relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang began in 1991 but collapsed in November the following year when the North Koreans walked out after Japan demanded information about a Japanese woman alleged to have been abducted by Northern agents.   Japan, which annexed Korea in 1910 and subjected Koreans to to harsh colonial rule until its World War Two surrender in 1945, normalised ties with South Korea in 1965. 
4976 !C12 !C41 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The head of South Korea's Dong-Ah Group appealed on Wednesday against a jail term handed down on Monday for bribing former president Roh Tae-woo, a spokesman for the Seoul District Criminal Court said.    The spokesman said a lawyer for Dong-Ah chairman Choi Won-suk submitted the appeal to the three-judge panel that sentenced him to 2-1/2 years in prison on Monday.   Choi was among nine business tycoons convicted of bribing Roh.   Four were sentenced to jail and the others received suspended jail sentences.   The heads of Jinro and Hanbo groups, who received a two-year jail sentence, respectively, appealed to the court on Tuesday.   Roh was sentenced to 22-1/2 years in jail for mutiny and treason on top of corruption. 
4977 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  Prosecutors are set to charge the former head of AIDS research in Japan with negligence for the deaths of haemophiliacs who were given HIV-contaminated blood products, Japanese media reported on Wednesday.   The reports said the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office plans criminal charges against Takeshi Abe, former head of the Health Ministry's AIDS team, for using blood products that had not been heat-treated on patients despite medical reports that they may be tainted with the HIV virus.   The Mainichi Shimbun said prosecutors may act before the end of the week.   A spokesman for the prosecutors office and Abe had no comment on the reports.   Abe has been under investigation since complaints filed against him by the family of a haemophiliac who received untreated blood products at the hospital where Abe worked.   The patient died of AIDS in late 1991.   The 80-year-old professor and specialist in haemophilia served as head of a Health Ministry research team set up in 1983 to investigate the source of mushrooming AIDS cases in Japan.   Media reports have said Abe is believed to have influenced the team's conclusion in March of 1984 to favour use of untreated blood products, instead of a safer product, cryoprecipitate.   Investigators believe they have enough evidence to prove Abe was aware of the risks of using unheated blood products in 1985, when the patient whose family complained was infected with the HIV virus, the Yomiuri Shimbun, a mass-circulation daily, reported.   The expected action against Abe would be the latest development in the decade-long scandal in which over 2,000 haemophiliacs contracted HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus which can cause AIDS.   Osaka public prosecutors last week raided the offices of Green Cross Corp, a blood supply company, and questioned former company president Renzo Matsushita, who is accused of negligence in the death of a patient from AIDS.   The raids rekindled media interest in the case after a series of parliamentary hearings failed to shed light on the responsibility of health officials, doctors and drug firms.   Abe testified in a parliamentary session as an unsworn witness in July that he had no choice but to use untreated blood products in the 1980s.   Specialists however said it was possible to use other safer products, contrary to Abe's claim that such products easily became clogged in needles and blood vessels, Mainichi reported.   The Health Ministry, after maintaining for years it could not find key documents, in February made public files from a 1983 study group which indicated health authorities were aware of the danger of HIV infection from untreated blood products.   In March, Japanese haemophiliacs accepted an out-of-court settlement in which the plaintiffs agreed to a one-time payment of 45 million yen ($424,000) each, putting an end to a seven-year legal battle against the state and five pharmaceutical firms.   Recent health ministry figures show that there are 1,154 people with AIDS and 2,942 infected with the HIV virus in Japan, a nation of 123 million.   About 400 haemophiliacs have already died from AIDS and AIDS-related complications, activists say.   ($1=108 yen) 
4978 !GCAT !GCRIM  Manila newspapers said on Wednesday the tough verdicts a Seoul court imposed on two former South Korean presidents put to shame the Philippines' "quack justice" system which allows criminal officials to escape retribution.   "Not many Asian countries can do what South Korea has done and this is what is remarkable about Korean democracy which became functional only four years ago...," the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper said in an editorial.   It said the death sentence the court imposed on ex-president Chun Doo-hwan and the 22-1/2-year jail term meted out on his successor Roh Tae-woo "demonstrate that the Koreans have made a clean break with their dictatorial past".   In contrast, the Inquirer said, Philippine law had spared people associated with the martial law regime of late president Ferdinand Marcos.   It said: "Since the return of the Marcos family from exile, Imelda Marcos has now been politically rehabilitated.   She and her family are again displaying the arrogance they exhibited during their days of power."   "We have not brought to trial for treason people who tried to overthrow the elected government through a coup d'etat," it added, referring to army officers involved in failed attempts to overthrow then president Corazon Aquino between 1986 and 1989.   "The stern and uncompromising manner in which justice is dispensed in (Souh Korean) courts puts our...quack justice to shame," columnist Max Soliven wrote in the Philippine Star.   "Can you imagine something like that happening in the Philippines?"   The Manila Chronicle said the verdicts on Chun and Roh were a challenge to the Philippines to also "cleanse ourselves of our own corrupt and militaristic past".   "This question will haunt us until the time comes when we shall be able to decide to exorcise the ghost of martial rule and its depredations," it added. 
4979 !GCAT !GENT !GPOL  Hong Kong architects launched a worldwide appeal on Wednesday for the design of a monument to mark the British colony's return to Chinese rule next year.   "We want to mark this historic moment in Hong Kong, and we want young architects to be aware of the 1997 handover," Chung Wah-nan, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, told a news conference to announce the competition.   Chung said the institute would accept ideas from all over the world, even designs that were anti-China.   "Nobody can stop you from exploring your ideas," he said.   "Everyone's imagination can be explored to the fullest extent."   Judges would include architects from Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Malaysia, and the winning entry would receive HK$25,000 (US$3,200), Chung said.   The deadline for entries is the end of October, with the winning design to be announced in Hong Kong on November 24.   Britain hands Hong Kong back to China at midnight on June 30, 1997, after 150 years of colonial rule.   There is no guarantee the winning design will be built, however.   The institute said it had not decided whether to seek a sponsor for the construction of a monument, although anyone interested in doing so would be welcome.   The China-appointed Preparatory Committee overseeing the handover announced earlier this year that it wanted to build a statue to commemorate the territory's return to Chinese rule.   China has erected a giant clock in Beijing's Tiananmen Square which counts down the seconds to the handover. 
4980 !GCAT !GDIP  China on Wednesday called on Japan to acknowledge its wartime past and put a stop to a tide of resurgent militarism to prevent similar atrocities in future.   "Some Japanese are still unrepentant about the atrocities committed by the Japanese militarists during the war," said a commentary in the official China Daily.   "If they are still undecided whether the war Japan launched was aggressive in nature, it will be difficult to tell whether they will do the same again," the newspaper said.   China raised indignant protests after several Japanese cabinet ministers visited a shrine dedicated to their country's war dead on August 15, the 51st anniversary of Japan's World War Two surrender.   "Numerous Japanese politicians have tried to whitewash their country's war atrocities in recent years," the commentary said.   China estimates 35 million Chinese were killed or wounded by invading Japanese troops from 1931 to 1945.   "The Japanese have never genuinely apologised for their wartime crimes," the commentary said.   Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto marked the August 15 anniversary by expressing "remorse" for foreign victims of Japan's World War Two atrocities. 
4981 !GCAT !GVIO  Philippine government and Moslem rebel negotiators took their final steps down the road to peace on Wednesday, with both sides expecting a smooth run in two days of talks in Jakarta.   "We are now at the end of the road and this is the road to peace," said Nur Misuari, leader of the Moslem separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).   Misuari and government delegation leader Manuel Yan had separate courtesy meetings with Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas before the formal talks got under way.   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which has facilitated the peace talks to end a 24-year Moslem revolt in the southern Philippines which has claimed some 125,000 lives.   The five million Moslems on Mindanao regard the area as their ancestral homeland, although they now are outnumbered by Christian migrants.   Christian politicians and their followers have vowed to fight the peace deal, which involves a three-year interim Council for Peace and Development, to be followed in 1999 by a plebiscite leading to an autonomous regional government.   Yan conceded on Tuesday there were opponents of the peace accord.   "But those are in some areas only, and I believe the majority of the people there are for this council to be set up as a transitional structure leading towards regional autonomy," he told Reuters.   The peace agreement is due to be initialled by both parties in front of Indonesian President Suharto on Friday, and will then be formally signed in Manila on Monday.   Foreign Minister Alatas said various points of contention had already been settled, including the numbers of MNLF guerrillas to be integrated into the Philippine armed forces and composition of a police force for the Mindanao region.   He said the most important breakthrough had been agreement on how to implement the peace accord through creation of the Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development.   "We have finally come to the end of the road of negotiations that will provide an end to conflict and tension in the southern Philippines," he added.   Alatas said the peace agreement was also a success for the seven-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which comprises Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.   "By this agreement, ASEAN countries have once again shown their capacity for peaceful resolution of problems in their region," he said.   Islamic states had sought to mediate in the conflict in the mid-1970s, but it was only in 1993 that concrete moves towards peace got under way with Indonesia chairing the OIC ministerial committee.   Philippine and Indonesian officials said the peace accord would give a major boost to proposals for an East ASEAN Development Region taking in the southern Philippines, east Malaysia and eastern Indonesia.   Alatas said IOC members had shown an interest in promoting investment in the region, although this was still at an exploratory stage. 
4982 !GCAT !GVIO  Demolition crews braced for violence moved into Hong Kong's "Little Taiwan" shanty town on Wednesday, the scene of fierce resistance last month when riot police battled demonstrators opposed to the clearances.   But a government spokesman said there was no resistance from residents of Rennie's Mill, most of whom have left the enclave after negotiating better compensation.   "After our clearance operation on July 30, people fully understand the whole situation, they are aware that the new town development is urgently required," the spokesman said.   Protesters formed a human chain atop a mound of boxes and cooking gas cylinders and blocked the road to their remote settlement on the coast of the Kowloon peninsula and forced the government to postpone demolition last month.   Four people were injured in the melee, none seriously.   The demonstrators had demanded better compensation for the demolition of their homes to make way for public housing.   Some frayed and faded Taiwan flags continued to flutter over the township, once a haven for thousands of vanquished Nationalist soldiers and their families who fled the 1949 Communist takeover of China. 
4983 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  Hanoi and the European Union launched a $20 million programme on Wednesday aimed at ending the final chapter in a refugee drama dating back to the Vietnam War.   The new Returnee Assistance Programme (RAP) will seek to help integrate 48,000 boatpeople who have returned to Vietnam since July 1994 and around 20,000 others still facing repatriation to the country they left as would-be refugees.   But EU officials admitted on Wednesday that while the end of the Vietnam boatpeople saga might be in sight, handling the close of East Asia's most protracted refugee issue was likely to be the hardest stage so far.   "The task is especially difficult because the problems...are this time compounded by the great number of years these returnees have spent in camps," EU delegate Pierre Amilhat told a news conference in the Vietnamese capital.   EU officials said the final returnees included people who had spent up to eight years in regional detention camps.   Among them are children born after their parents left Vietnam, people suffering serious medical of psychiatric problems, and a so-called "hard core" adamantly opposed to being returned against their will.   "The earlier groups had family links still in place when they returned to Vietnam," said programme co-director Pollard Blakeley. "  (but) we think in some cases those links may now have fractured."   Blakeley added that returning families and individuals faced reintegration problems after years of detention in crowded and often violent refugee centres.   "The problem is institutionalisation... Despite the beneficial effects there's no longer the support, and it can be very difficult for these people to become self-reliant," he said.   According to U.N. High Commissioner for Refugee (UNHCR) data some 20,684 Vietnamese were being held in detention centres around the region as of the end of July, with 13,704 of those in Hong Kong.   UNHCR representative Cathryne Bertrand said on Wednesday that most Southeast Asian countries were likely to see the problem resolved by the end of this year.   She said Hong Kong would take longer but at current rates of return the territory could theoretically clear its camps in around 12 months.   In private, however, officials concede that returns from Hong Kong are likely to slow as repatriation programmes run up against hard-set resistance among remaining inmates.   The three-year EU programme -- which succeeds an earlier initiative -- will provide credit, job-training schemes and help with small-scale infrastructural projects in 21 provinces of Vietnam where boatpeople are being returned.   Officials said the aim was to help both the returnees and the receiving communities.   The human tide that became known as Vietnam's boatpeople began in 1975 following the communist victory over the U.S.-backed South Vietnam.   Although the exodus began from Vietnam's south, Hong Kong became a prime destination in the late 1980s for people escaping crippling poverty and other problems in the north.   China has said it wants the British colony's boatpeople camps emptied by June 30, 1997, when sovereignty is due to be handed back to Beijing. 
4984 !GCAT !GPOL  The leader of a junior partner in Japan's three-party ruling coalition plans to resign to quell a political rebellion, party officials said on Wednesday.   The officials said New Party Sakigake President Masayoshi Takemura, finance minister until the beginning of this year, promised his resignation in a meeting with the politician who set off the rebellion in the smallest coalition member.   They said the date of Takemura's resignation would be determined by party officials.   The Sakigake row has caused jitters in its coalition partners, Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the biggest grouping, and the Social Democratic Party.   But analysts said the row was not expected to immediately destabilise the government as even if Sakigake splits apart it has so few seats a loss of support would not lead to a general election.   The dispute pits Takemura, who founded Sakigake in 1993 as a reform-oriented LDP splinter group, against party official Yukio Hatoyama, who says he will leave Sakigake to form a reformist political group next month.   Hatoyama, the 49-year-old grandson of a 1950s prime minister, on Tuesday quit as Sakigake secretary general and has publicly snubbed the 62-year-old Takemura, pointedly ruling his mentor out as a possible member of the new political force.   Marathon talks between the two former allies on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning failed to resolve the dispute over the role of Takemura, seen by Hatoyama backers as tainted by his senior role in the LDP-dominated coalition.   The presence of Takemura, whose role as finance minister in passing an unpopular plan to use taxpayer funds to wind up failed housing loan firms ruined his reputation as a reformer, has stalled Hatoyama's efforts to attract to his new group defectors from the opposition camp, analysts said.   Media reports say that at most 10 of 23 Sakigake members, joined by a handful of Social Democrats, will follow Hatoyama when he bolts -- far short of the 50 lawmakers needed to topple Hashimoto's eight-month-old government.   Hashimoto -- who returns from a 10-day Latin American tour on Saturday -- must call polls by mid-1997, and has repeatedly said he would not call an early general election.   But many analysts and politicians believe he may dissolve parliament soon after it reconvenes in early October. 
4985 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Condemned South Korean former president Chun Doo Hwan on Wednesday kept the nation guessing on whether he would appeal his death sentence, with media reports saying he may be courting martyrdom.   The tough ex-general has seven days to appeal his conviction against mutiny, treason and corruption handed down by a Seoul court on Monday.   By letting the deadline slip away, Chun would be casting his life into the hands of current President Kim Young-sam, who has power to offer a pardon.   Political analysts said this would put Kim in the politically uncomfortable position of having to choose between satisfying a thirst for vengeance by some Koreans and holding on to Chun's political supporters.   "This will become a major headache for Kim and his party before presidential elections next year," said Cho Chang-hyun, political science professor at Hanyang University.   The Hankook Ilbo newspaper quoted Chun as telling one of his lawyers, "I'd prefer to end the whole thing by sacrificing myself rather than appealing.   I don't want the trial to be extended".   Lawyers for Chun were not immediately available for comment.   There was also no word on whether Chun's successor, Roh Tae-woo, would appeal his 22-1/2 year jail sentence on similar charges.   Analysts said President Kim almost certainly was hoping for a lengthy appeal process that would give him more time to gauge the public mood before making a decision.   "If Chun chooses not to appeal, the sentence would be carried out sooner than Kim's administration had estimated," said Cho.   "President Kim would have to make up his mind sooner than expected and that won't be easy."   Chun has done nothing to court public sympathy or curry favour with the judges.   He scoffed at legal proceedings, which he called a political circus orchestrated by Kim to settle a personal grudge and boost his popularity ratings.   For that reason, some analysts believe he may feel there is little point trying to escape death row.   A hunger strike while in detention left Chun hanging on to life by a thread.   His uncompromising stand has won him the grudging respect of some Koreans.   State prosecutors on Tuesday said they would decide by the end of this week whether to appeal against Roh's sentence.   They had demanded life in jail.   Business tycoons who received jail terms on Monday on charges of bribing Roh during his presidency began appealing against their sentences on Tuesday.   Jinro group chairman Chang Jin-ho and Hanbo group's honorary chairman Chung Tae-soo both filed appeals.   Daewoo head Kim Woo-choong and Dong-Ah chairman Choi Won-suk have said they will challenge the verdict.   Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee was handed a two year jail sentence suspended for three years.   Some media reports have speculated that Lee and four other tycoons handed suspended terms will not bother to return to court. 
4986 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GDIP  Japan's Supreme Court ordered Okinawa on Wednesday to forcibly appropriate land for U.S. military bases, rejecting an appeal by the island's governor that the huge U.S. military presence was unconstitutional.   The unanimous decision by the 15-member Grand Bench headed by Chief Justice Toru Miyoshi removed one of the biggest roadblocks to securing long-term leases on private land for U.S. bases on the southern Japanese island.   "This court rejects the appeal," Miyoshi said in his brief ruling.   In his presentation to the court, Governor Masahide Ota argued that U.S. bases on his island -- the biggest concentration in Japan -- violated the constitutional right of citizens to a peaceful livelihood and the principle of equality before the law.   Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's central government said a provincial governor had no right to block leases for military bases, since local governments were not responsible for the defence of the country.   Legal experts had not expected the Supreme Court, one of Japan's most conservative institutions, to rule against the central government.   With Ota's backing, 35 landowners who own plots on eight of 40 U.S. military facilities on Okinawa, were refusing to renew leases which expire this year.   About 3,000 Okinawans lease land to the military, some of it in tiny plots.   The issue came to a head last September soon after the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen who were jailed for up to 10 years.   The rape case highlighted the concentration of U.S. bases on Okinawa, a small island in the East China Sea and the poorest of Japan's 47 prefectures.   The island, scene of one of the fiercest battles of World War Two, covers less than one percent of Japan's land area but is home to 75 percent of U.S. military facilities in Japan.   Half of the 47,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan -- including a full Marine Corps division plus the personnel of a regional Air Force base -- live on Okinawa, the most strategic U.S. outpost in Asia because of its location close to China, Taiwan and North Korea.   Okinawa was under U.S. rule for 27 years until 1972, during which U.S. authorities forcibly appropriated land for their military.   Only 15 percent of the acreage used by the U.S. military has been returned to Okinawans since 1972.   While the judicial aspect of the Okinawa versus Tokyo row has apparently been settled, the political wrangling is by no means over.   Okinawa holds a referendum on the bases' future on September 8, the first referendum by a prefecture over any issue.   A huge "yes" vote for Ota's plan to reduce the bases and review the Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the legal status of U.S. military personnel, would mean a prolonged confrontation with Tokyo.   The referendum is non-binding and does not call for immediate scrapping of U.S. bases, but a phased withdrawal until 2015.   In April, Hashimoto and President Bill Clinton announced plans to streamline 15 of the 40 bases, giving back to Okinawans 20 percent of the land they occupy.   But the efforts backfired.   Alarmed by what it saw as a move to institutionalise the U.S. presence on Okinawa, Ota's government stepped up its efforts to close the installations. 
4987 !GCAT !GVIO  A fire bomb was thrown over the fence into the grounds of the U.S. Consulate-General in Indonesia's second largest city of Surabaya but no one was hurt, a mission official said on Wednesday.   Craig Stromme, U.S. embassy spokesman in Jakarta, 700 km (430 miles) west of Surabaya, confirmed the Tuesday morning attack.   "Somebody threw a molotov cocktail over the fence and it went into the parking lot.   It didn't hit anybody or anything," Stromme said.   He said there was no immediate explanation for the attack or any information on those responsible. 
4988 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT  A Shanghai novelist was murdered at her home on Sunday, an official of the city's Writers Association said on Wednesday.   The victim was Dai Houying, who wrote about China's 1966-76 leftist Cultural Revolution and the lives of Chinese intellectuals, the official said.   The killing was under investigation, she said.   She gave no further details.   Born in 1937 in the central province of Anhui, Dai came to Shanghai as a student and remained in the city as a prolific author and teacher of Chinese.   She was divorced and lived alone, leaving one daughter who received university education in Hawaii and lives in Chicago, a friend said.   Dai's most famous book, "Ren A Ren" (People, People), was translated into German and English, he said. 
4989 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Chances were slim for an out-of-court settlement in a suit brought by Indonesian democracy figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri against the government and political rivals, her lawyer said on Wednesday.   R.O. Tambunan, head of Megawati's legal team, told Reuters her lawyers would meet representatives of the government and party rivals later on Wednesday but he did not hold out much hope for a settlement.   "The possibility for an agreement is very thin," he said.   He refused to give details on when and where the meeting would take place.   But sources said this would be his third meeting with the defendants' lawyers since the case was adjourned last Thursday.   Megawati was ousted as leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) in June by deputy parliamentary speaker Surjadi at a rebel congress in Medan, north Sumatra, in a move backed by the government.   The judge in the case gave Megawati's legal team a week to explore an out-of-court settlement with the defendants, who included her rivals from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI), Interior Minister Yogie Memet, Armed Forces Chief General Feisal Tanjung and Indonesian Police Chief Lieutenant-General Dibyo Widodo.   "We will report to the judge tomorrow morning and if there is no agreement the court case will go ahead," Tambunan said.   Megawati, eldest daughter of Indonesia's late founding president Sukarno, was elected PDI chief in 1993 for a five-year term.   She has asked the court to declare illegal the Medan congress that replaced her.   President Suharto has since officially recognised Surjadi as leader of the PDI, one of three parties allowed to contest Indonesia's general election due in the middle of next year.   The worst riots in more than 20 years in Jakarta broke out on July 27 after police stormed PDI headquarters to remove Megawati loyalists who were occupying the building.   Four people died in the riots which caused widespread damage in central Jakarta.   More than 120 people face charges in connection with the riots, including a number of activists from the small left-wing People's Democratic Party (PRD) who are facing subversion charges.   Subversion carries the death penalty in Indonesia. 
4990 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  Japan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered authorities in Okinawa to extend leases on land occupied by U.S. military bases, removing a major threat to their future.   The order came in a decision by the court's 15-member Grand Bench turning down an appeal by Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota against a lower court ruling that he follow central government instructions to sign appropriation documents for plots of land on eight of the 40 U.S. military facilities on the southern Japanese island.    About 75 percent of U.S. military bases in Japan are located on the island, 625 miles (1,000 km) south of Tokyo.   About half of the 47,000 U.S. forces personnel in Japan live on the bases.   The Supreme Court ruling involved 35 landowners who, with Ota's backing, had refused to continue leasing their land for the bases.   The future of the bases, the most strategic U.S. presence in Asia because of their location close to China, Taiwan and North Korea, has been threatened since last September by outrage at the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen.   Ota wants the bases phased out by 2015.   On September 8, Okinawa is to hold a non-binding referendum on the future of the bases. 
4991 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  Japan on Wednesday turned over to South Korea a tuna trawler and surviving crew members from an apparent high seas mutiny in which the captain and 10 crew died, a Maritime Safety Agency spokesman said.   The action ended a five-nation wrangle over which country should exercise jurisdiction in a South Pacific drama whose story has been only half told.   The spokesman said the 250-ton Pescarmar No. 15 and its 13 crew, including six alleged mutineers, were turned over to a South Korean coastguard ship in international waters about 550 km (340 miles) south of Tokyo.   The survivors were six Chinese-Koreans, six Indonesians and one South Korean.   Since Sunday, negotiations over jurisdiction had gone on between Japan, which found the drifting trawler, South Korea and Indonesia, whose seamen were killed, Honduras where the boat was registered, and interests in Oman which owned the ship.   Korean police have said seven South Koreans, including the captain, three Indonesians and a Korean-Chinese died in an apparent August 2 mutiny when radio contact was lost with the ship until its discovery last Sunday drifting and out of fuel.   They said according to survivors' accounts the six mutineers demanded to leave the trawler because of harsh working conditions when the vessel was on its way to Samoa.   When the captain refused to put them ashore at the nearest port, the mutineers killed him and 10 loyal crewmen.   But then other crewmen somehow turned the tables on the alleged mutineers, locking them in a cabin until the trawler was rescued by the Japanese coastguard.   The Pescarmar No 15 had set sail for the South Pacific from the South Korean port of Pusan on July 14.   Foreign Ministry officials said Japan decided South Korea should exercise jurisdiction because most of the dead were its nationals and the trawler was managed by a South Korean company. 
4992 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Several hundred Burmese troops raided and torched a major heroin refinery on the Thai-Burmese border operated by former followers of the Shan drug warlord Khun Sa, Thai police sources said on Wednesday.   The Burmese raids on the refinery located in northwestern Mae Hong Son province, about 950 kms (594 miles) from Bangkok, began on Monday and ended early on Wednesday, they told Reuters.   This was the third heroin refinery in the remote jungle area that had been raided and destroyed by Burmese troops in the past two months, the sources said.   About 100 followers of the former opium king, who surrendered to Burmese authorities in January and is being detained in Rangoon, fled the raids and took sanctuary inside Thailand, they said.   Burmese soldiers destroyed the refinery located opposite the Burmese Maung District without encountering any resistance, they added.   Mae Hong Son neighbours Burma's Shan state where opium growing is said by anti-narcotics officials to be rife.   Burma is the world's largest producer of illegal opium and its refined form heroin, with an annual opium crop of more than 2,000 tonnes, enough to produce over 200 tonnes of heroin.   Before his surrender, Khun Sa was estimated to be responsible for approximately half of Burma's heroin output with former communist groups responsible for most of the remainder. 
4993 !GCAT !GPOL  The mayor of the southern Chinese boomtown of Guangzhou, Li Ziliu, has tendered his resignation on health grounds, the Beijing-funded Wen Wei Po newspaper said on Wednesday.   Lin Shusen, a member of the Standing Committee and vice secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, was elevated to the position of acting mayor during a party meeting on Tuesday, the Chinese language daily, published in Hong Kong, said.   Lin, who was born in 1946 and likes to watch English-language television programmes in his spare time, was named vice mayor only a day earlier.   Li had been mayor of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, for six years. 
4994 !GCAT !GVIO  The Philippine government and a Moslem separatist leader expressed optimism on Wednesday over the success of the final round of talks to bring peace to the southern Philippines.   Government delegation chief Manuel Yan and Nur Misuari, head of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), held a separate courtesy meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas before the start of talks in Jakarta.   Yan told Alatas he did not forsee any problems in the final two-day round of peace negotiations before a formal agreement is expected to be signed in Manila on Monday.   He said there were "a few adjustments" still to be made.   Misuari told Alatas: "We are now at the end of the road and this is the road to peace."   "We hope we will be able to finish our work in time," he said.   Alatas told Misuari he was delighted to welcome him to Jakarta.   "I think the atmosphere as compared to previous ones is much better...because we are nearly at the end of the road," he said.   Indonesia has chaired a six-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) committee brokering the talks to end a 25-year rebellion which has cost 125,000 lives in the southern Philippines.   "I am sure this will bring peace and prosperity to Mindanao," Alatas said of the planned agreement.   The accord will set up a Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development to supervise the development of 14 provinces on Mindanao island.   Mindanao's five million Moslems regard the region as their ancestral homeland, although decades of migration from other parts of the Philippines means they are outnumbered by some 15 million Christians.   The council is to be headed by Misuari and will serve as a forerunner of a Moslem autonomous region to be installed in three years.   The meetings with Alatas are being followed by a full-day of talks.   The discussions will include considering a report on the integration of Moslem guerrillas into the Philippine armed forces.   The talks will also cover an agreement on revenue sharing and the participation of a monitoring team from the OIC during the three-year peace transition period.   They were also to discuss the draft of the final agreement.   Further talks will be held on Thursday and the peace agreement will be initialled in front of President Suharto on Friday before the formal signing ceremony in Manila three days later. 
4995 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  China's Defence Minister Chi Haotian held talks with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Forouzandeh on Tuesday, Xinhua news agency said.   The two ministers exchanged views on improving relations between their armed forces, the news agency said in a report issued late on Tuesday.   Chi, who is also vice-chairman of the powerful Central Military Commission and a member of the State Council, or Cabinet, presided over a welcoming ceremony.   Forouzandeh arrived in Beijing on Monday on a goodwill visit, the agency said without giving further details. 
4996 !GCAT !GVIO  About 300 demonstrators stomped on cardboard effigies of Japan's wartime leaders before marching to the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong on Wednesday to demand compensation for victims of World War Two.   Japan's Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda arrived in the British colony early on Wednesday for a two-day visit but consular officials said he would not meet the demonstrators.   Brandishing placards and wearing narrow red banners slung over their shoulders, the demonstrators, many of them elderly and accompanied by children, began their march by stepping on effigies of Japan's World War Two prime minister General Hideki Tojo and the late Emperor Hirahito.   "They distorted history and glorified their crimes," chanted the protesters as they tore the effigies apart.   "We're against Japanese militarism and against those shameful politicians".   Wednesday's demonstration was the latest in several recent protests demanding that Japan compensate women forced into sex slavery during the war as well as holders of now worthless Japanese occupation military scrip and currency.   "We hope the Japanese will take the opportunity during (Foreign Minister Ikedo's) visit to Hong Kong to apologise to the Hong Kong people," said Ng Yat-hing, spokesman for the Reparation Association of Hong Kong.   Outside the Japanese consulate in Hong Kong's central business district, the protesters, many wearing slogans such as "the debt to Hong Kong has not been repaid" and "Japan is endangering world peace", demanded a meeting with the Japanese foreign minister.   Handing a petition letter to the Japanese Vice-Consul Gakahiro Maeda, Ng said, "We urge your foreign minister to take prompt action to resolve this issue".   Ng said Hong Kong people were cheated out of billions of dollars they were forced to exchange for Japanese military currency.   "Japan's credibility in the international community will be boosted if you take back the military paper and return our money," he told Maeda.   One of the protesters, 90-year-old Lee Sum said his family had been cheated out of $50,000 (US$6,500).   "I want them to return our money as soon as possible," he said.   The Vice-Consul told the demonstrators he could not speak on behalf of the Japanese government, and that Ikedo would be unable to meet them.   The Japanese invaded Hong Kong from China, crossing the border on December 8, 1941.   The colony held out for more than two weeks before falling on Christmas Day.   Hong Kong's British garrison marked for the last time on Monday the anniversary of the liberation from Japanese rule.   Britain will hand Hong Kong back to China at midnight on June 30, next year. 
4997 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Hong Kong, fearing a repeat of recent violence, laid on elaborate security precautions on Wednesday when it moved hundreds of Vietnamese migrants targeted for deportation out of the Whitehead detention centre.   There was no sign of trouble as the tranfer of over 2,300 people, many of them from northern Vietnam, progressed, a government official said at mid-morning.   Over 600 of those transferred on Wednesday were due to be taken to a remand prison ahead of their repatriation during the first two weeks of September.   The remaining 1,600 were to be bused to a holding centre at a remote detention camp.   The government said that following the transfers, there would be no northern Vietnamese left in the Whitehead detention centre.   Whitehead was the scene of fierce riots in May when inmates resisting deportation set sections of the camp ablaze and staged a mass escape.   They were quickly rounded up.   More than 13,000 Vietnamese migrants face repatriation from Hong Kong, which regards them as illegal economic immigrants and not as refugees fleeing political persecution.   The first Vietnamese boatpeople exodus which followed the fall of Saigon in 1975 came mainly from the defeated south.   Northern Vietnamese began arriving in Hong Kong in the mid to late 1980s.   Hong Kong is rushing to clear the camps before the handover to China in the middle of next year. 
4998 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  China's Vice Premier Li Lanqing said on Wednesday that no one can stand in the way of direct trade betwen China and Taiwan.   "Economic development between the two sides is the general trend and no single person can obstruct this," he told a seminar on economic links with Taiwan.    "Any person who tries to place artificial barriers to restrict economic cooperation is going against the will of the people of the two sides," he said.   Taiwan currently bans direct trade with China but it has allowed trade to be conducted through other territories such as Hong Kong.   China has been pressing Taiwan to open up direct links.   Last week, it issued a set of regulations it hopes will govern trade once there is agreement on the issue by the two sides.   The vice-premier also told the seminar, attended by a major delegation of Taiwanese businessmen, that he hoped Taiwan authorities would allow direct links as soon as possible. 
4999 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Russian patrol boats fired on two small Japanese fishing boats in waters around Russian-held islands claimed by Japan on Wednesday, injuring two crewmen, the Japanese coastguard said.   The shooting incident occured off Cape Nosappu, close to the Russian-held Habomai islets, a spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency said.   The two fishermen were seriously injured and taken to hospital in the nearby Japanese port of Nemuro, where they were listed in stable condition, the spokesman said.   Kunio Horiuchi, 44, the sole crewman of the four-tonne No. 28 Shokyu-maru, received a bullet in his back, while Akira Takiguchi, 54, from the other one-man boat, the 4.9-tonne No. 52 Taki-maru, took a round through his thigh.   The Shokyu-maru was riddled with about six rounds from the Russian patrol boat, the spokesman said.   It was not clear whether the boats were inside the Russian side of the demarcation line at the time of the shooting, the spokesman said.   Last year, Russian patrol boats opened fire on Japanese trawlers on eight separate occasions,injuring one Japanese fisherman.   In 1994, three fishermen were hurt in as many shooting incidents, most of them taking place in waters around the disputed islands.   The Russian border guard has repeatedly accused Japanese fishing boats of poaching in Russian waters.   Japan and Russia have been at odds over the islands, called the Northern Territories by Japan and the Southern Kuriles by Russia, since the Soviet Army seized them in the last days of World War Two.   Japan has refused to sign a World War Two peace treaty with Moscow without the return of the islands, located northeast of the main island of Hokkaido, but has normalised relations. 
5000 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  Burma's military government confirmed the recent sentencing of nine democracy activists, saying they were charged for attempting to destroy the peace and stability of the state, official media reported on Wednesday.   State-run media announced the names of nine members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, including the personal assistant and a bodyguard for Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.   Burma's tightly controlled official media is considered the mouthpiece of the ruling military State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).   NLD officials said earlier this month 11 pro-democracy activists had been sentenced to seven-year prison sentences at Rangoon's Insein Prison.   They included Suu Kyi's assistant Win Htein, a Buddhist monk and a woman.   The official media mentioned only nine, and said six of them, including Win Htein and one of Suu Kyi's bodyguards, Tin Hlaing, alias Eva, were given seven years under section five of the Emergency Provisions Act.   Three others -- Hlaing Myint, Kyaw Khin and Maung Maung Win -- were given the same seven-year term and three additional years for violating the 1985 Television and Video Act.   "Win Htein and the others were sentenced for malicious acts aimed at destruction of the peace and stability of the state," newspapers and television said.   "Win Htein agitated and organised members of the NLD...to provide news and figures that would be detrimental to the agricultural plans of the state."   Newspapers said Win Htein pursuaded some NLD members to videotape some unsuccessful rice paddy plots to show to Suu Kyi and eventually to send to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.   "They helped Aung San Suu Kyi fuel rumours and false news to those who gathered in front of her house on weekends," the newspapers said.   Suu Kyi regularly gives speeches to her supporters outside the front gates of her house on weekends.   The government also accused Tin Hlaing of speaking to a foreign journalist at Suu Kyi's house earlier this year.   "Eva is reported to have said that political prisoners have been tortured in jail, and other false and fabricated events."   The media said the three given the extra three-year sentences were guilty of organising youths to carry out anti-government activities and distributing illegal cassettes and videotapes.   The nine activists were among more than 250 NLD members arrested by the SLORC in a crackdown on democracy politicians in May.   Most of those arrested were later released.   The SLORC said at the time, the arrests were made to prevent anarchy as a result of the meeting. 
5001 !GCAT  With 307 days to go before the British colony reverts to China, the Hong Kong media focused mainly on domestic issues concerning alleged pressure on a judge, cross straights relations and the democratic lobby's relationship with Beijing.   The Beijing-funded WEN WEI PO said Taiwan's government could not hope to stem the island's economic and trade exchanges with China.   The paper said that using administrative power to limit economic activities across the Taiwan strait would not work.   MING PAO DAILY NEWS said it hoped Chinese officials would soon open dialogue with Hong Kong's Democratic Party and the newly-established democracy lobby, Frontier, in order to ease anxieties in the lead-up to the handover.   The English language SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST said the judiciary needed to take swift and decisive action in investigating the allegations that a judge had been subjected to pressure in a New Zealand immigration case involving allegations of fraud.   The independence of the judiciary and the rule of law were of paramount importance to Hong Kong's survival as a business centre.   The Chinese language daily HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES said the Legal Department had been indecisive in its handling of the judge's case.   Such hesitancy on the part of the government had damaged public confidence in the rule of law, the paper said.   -- Hong Kong newsroom (852) 2843 6441 
5002 !GCAT !GDIP  A senior aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday that Jordan's prime minister would visit the West Bank on Thursday.   "Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti will meet with President Arafat in Ramallah on Thursday.   The discussion will focus on the latest developments and deepening coordination between the two sides," Tayeb Abdel-Rahim told Reuters.   In Amman, a spokeswoman for Kabariti said the visit was only decided this week and a final schedule had not been set.   It would be Kabariti's first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots this month.   Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Ygal Palmor said Israel was coordinating the visit but Kabariti was not expected to meet Israeli officials.   "Obviously a visit on this level must be coordinated with us," Palmor said.   Under peace deals with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Israel controls the border between Jordan and the West Bank. 
5003 !GCAT !GDIP  A senior aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday that Jordan's prime minister would visit the West Bank on Thursday.   "Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti will meet with President Arafat in Ramallah on Thursday.   The discussion will focus on the latest developments and deepening coordination between the two sides," Tayeb Abdel-Rahim told Reuters.   In Amman, a spokeswoman for Kabariti said the visit was only decided this week and a final schedule had not been set.   It would be Kabariti's first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots this month.   Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on whether the visit was being coordinated with Israel.   Under peace deals with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Israel controls the border between Jordan and the West Bank. 
5004 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  A human rights activist said on Wednesday he had been released after more than two weeks in detention that followed his call for an inquiry into the death of a Gaza man interrogated by Palestinian police.   Mohammad Dahman, director of the Gaza-based Addameer Prisoners Support Association, said he was freed on Tuesday without being charged.   Palestinian Attorney-General Khaled al-Qidra was not immediately available to comment.   Qidra had said Dahman was arrested on suspicion of making a false statement.   The activist was detained by Palestinian intelligence service agents on August 12 after publishing a statement demanding an investigation into the death of a Gaza man who had been questioned by Palestinian authorities.   The Palestinian Authority said the dead man, Nahed Dahlan, had committed suicide.   Human rights groups had protested about Dahman's arrest in letters to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and to Qidra. 
5005 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Saudi Arabian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-RIYADH   - Higher Saudi committee provides oil to Bosnian hospitals and educational institutions to help reconstruction efforts.   - Ukrainian ambassador says his country's annual oil needs stand at 32 million tonnes, looking to import oil from Saudi Arabia.   AL-YAUM   - Saudi Arabia to spend 700 million riyals to maintain Mecca and holy shrines.   - Saudi Arabian Agricultural Bank takes no interests on loans extended to farmers.   ARAB NEWS   - Vegetable oil industry is set to grow five percent every year in Saudi Arabia.   - Saudi Arabian oil sector generated $41 billion in revenue in 1995, study says.   - Islamic Development Bank approves $213 million financial package.   - Saudi leaders heading for Manila for the signing of a peace pact between Philippine President Fidel Ramos and Moro Moslem leader Nur Misuari on September 2. 
5006 !GCAT !GPOL  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat flew for the first time in a Palestinian helicopter to the West Bank on Wednesday to attend a Palestinian legislature session on Jewish settlement expansion, witnesses said.   Arafat had been scheduled to make the maiden flight last week but postponed the journey after Israeli authorities for several hours withheld permission for his Russian-built M-17 helicopter to overfly the Jewish state.    Arafat had used Egyptian helicopters during previous visits to self-ruled areas of the West Bank.   His white presidential helicopter has room for 12 passengers.   It was accompanied on the flight to Ramallah by a twin M-17.   Arafat flew to Ramallah for the meeting a day after Israel said it would build a new neighbourhood in the Kiryat Sefer settlement west of the West Bank town and Israeli bulldozers demolished a Palestinian community centre in East Jerusalem.   "Everything that happened, all the Israeli measures, are a flagrant violation of what has been agreed and what we signed with the Israeli government," he said on arrival. 
5007 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Cyprus press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ALITHIA   - President Clerides says he will proceed with a cabinet reshuffle only when he thinks it is necessary.   - 12 more cases of meningitis in past 24 hours.   CHARAVGHI   - Russian Federation supports strengthening of U.N. role in resolving Cyprus problem.   CYPRUS MAIL   - Dhekelia-Famagusta road rerouted for economic and security reasons, government spokesman says.   PHILELEFTHEROS   - Ministry of Finance evaluating different scenarios for increasing military defence fund levy. 
5008 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Tunisian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LA PRESSE   - 100,000 Tunisian families have benefited from a programme to help the poor sponsored by President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.   - President Ben Ali receives the head of the state accounting court, recommends the best use of state money.   LE TEMPS   - The 9th development plan (1997-2001) aims at annual GDP growth of 6.2 percent.   - Transport Minister Sadok Rabeh to visit Baghdad. 
5009 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  Israeli police on Wednesday released from custody an Arab consultant for the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch organisation, which had charged interrogators abused him in jail.   "Bashir Tarabieh has been released," a police spokesman said, declining further comment.   Israel's Itim news agency said Tarabieh, a U.S. resident originally from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, was released from a hotel in the northern town of Acre where he had been under house arrest since his transfer from prison two days ago.   Tarabieh, 27, was arrested last week while on holiday in the Golan on suspicion he carried out activities against Israel, including the burning of a police station on the heights two months ago, Itim said.   The news agency reported that no evidence was found against him.   Human Rights Watch said interrogators at Kishon prison near Haifa had hooded Tarbieh, tied his arms and legs to a chair and forced him to sit in a contorted position for hours. 
5010 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Jordanian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JORDAN TIMES   - King: dialogue should be instrument for progress; visits Aiy in Karak governorate to cheering welcome, pledges to build state of law.   - Prime Minister Kabariti says Jordan will remain Iraqis' lifeline.   - Prince Hassan says royal commission on modernisation and reforms sets a framework and has proposals to achieve justice for all.   AD DUSTOUR   - The government will not backtrack on the decision on raising bread prices and three million have already received compensation payments under the government scheme.   - List of 118 detainees who were released in the aftermath of the riots.   - In a meeting of the parliamentary public liberties committee, focus on matters that have a direct impact on people's life.   AL ASWAQ   - King Hussein says every Jordanian will get his share of prosperity.   - Stocks continue upward trend with confidence in investment promotion moves.   AL RAI   - King Hussein says Jordan will set up a "civil society of rule of law and of institutions, and dialogue is our path to progress".   - King Hussein to visit Madaba governorate on Thursday.   - Release of 30 detainees in the Tafila governate.   - Turkish Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller to arrive in Amman next Tuesday. 
5011 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Turkish press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SABAH   - Islamist premier Necmettin Erbakan briefs the National Security Council of top military figures on his recent visit to Iran.   - Eight people have died in Istanbul this year through an overdose of drugs.   MILLIYET   - Parliament approved the lifting of compulsory saving cuts from employers and employees.   - The Islamist-led government will reduce government expenses as part of package aiming to raise financial resources.   HURRIYET   - The powerful National Security Council does not approve of narrowing the scope of emergency rule in 10 provinces of southeast Turkey to five and the plans of giving more water to Syria.   CUMHURIYET   - The justice ministry opens exams to recruit 5,000 people to work in prisons.   YENI YUZYIL   - The government fails to implement its promises in its first 60 days in office.   DUNYA   - The finance ministry has announced a lower-than-expected discount rate for the cash payment of tax and debt to the state.   ZAMAN   - Students going to Turkish Cyprus for education are caught up in a web of gambling. 
5012 !GCAT !GREL  Israel's deputy education minister said on Wednesday he wanted thousands of Jewish schoolchildren to go on field trips this year to a holy site in the flashpoint West Bank city of Hebron.   Moshe Peled of the right-wing Tsomet party said Israel should tailor any plan for army redeployment in Hebron to ensure the youngsters were well protected when they visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs.   The shrine, holy to Jews and Moslems, is a symbol of shared biblical roots and Israeli-Palestinian bloodshed.   Two years ago, Baruch Goldstein, a U.S.-born Jewish settler, massacred 29 Arab worshippers at the site.   "I know there are...hundreds of schools that have wanted to visit but were not permitted to do so for security reasons," Peled told Army Radio, calling on military authorities to review rules banning field trips to Hebron.   "The order stems from the days of the intifada," he said referring to the six-year-long Palestinian uprising that began in 1987.   "Then it was dangerous to walk around Hebron."   Peled said the field trips would not be compulsory.   Some 400 Jewish settlers live in heavily guarded armed compounds in Hebron amidst more than 100,000 Palestinians.   A settler spokesman, Noam Arnon, told the Maariv newspaper his community was preparing for the school visits.   "Educational teams, activity papers, special games and a special kit for learning about the Hebron area and the Tomb of the Patriarchs have been prepared," he said.   Israel committed to pull its troops back from Hebron under a peace deal reached between the PLO and the dovish Labour party government ousted by right-wing Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu in May elections.   But the withdrawal was delayed after Moslem suicide bombings killed 59 people in Israel in February and March.   Prime Minister Netanyahu has said he was studying a revised redeployment plan submitted by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai.   Palestinians view the redeployment as a litmus test for Netanyahu's intentions on Middle East peace moves and reject any renegotiation of the signed Hebron agreement.   Israeli troops are to remain in part of the city to guard the settlers. 
5013 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Syrian newspapers on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SYRIA TIMES   - Syrian President Hafez al-Assad receives message from Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak and reviews the Middle East peace process with Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.   - Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara says: "Just and comprehensive peace that is based on Israel's withdrawal ensures security and stability."   - Moussa says: "Syria's attitude to the peace process is logical, sound and based on agreed principles and the Madrid terms of refrences."   TISHREEN   - Palestinian ledaer Faisal al-Husseini says to Tishreen: "Israel is unable to change the Arab origion of Jerusalem."   - Syrian-Turkish industrial talks held in Turkey.   AL-THAWRA   - Lebanese President Elias Hrawi discusses with an American delegation the situation in the south and the work of the security committee.   - Egypt says in the tripartite Paris meeting: "Holding the economic conference depends on the progress in the peace process."   AL-BAATH   - Israel shells south Lebanon.   - The Damascus international fair opens today with the participation of 26 countries and 150 companies. 
5014 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Bahraini press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-AYAM   - Two armed people attack a guard at the Russian Consulate, Interior Ministry continues probe in the incident.   - Bahrain-based Gulf University to host a regional meeting for environmental experts in September.   AKHBAR AL-KHALEEJ   - Egyptian embassy official briefs Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak al-Khalifa about November's economic conference in Cairo.   - Pension fund paid 210,000 dinars in six months to relatives of government employees who have died. 
5015 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Egyptian press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-AHRAM   - Syrian-Egyptian talks in Damascus to push the Middle East peace process.   Foreign Minister Amr Moussa says: we refuse Israel's "Lebanon First" proposal and it is no longer up for discussion.   Syria's Farouq el-Shara says resuming peace talks will be based on the principle of land for peace.   - Aswan High Dam authority declares state of emergency after level of the Nile flood reached unusually high levels this year.   Khartoum is also under threat and Egypt is willing to give Sudan aid if it requests it.   - Public Enterprise Minister Atef Ebeid says revenue from selling public sector firms reached 3.016 billion pounds in June 1996.   State also paid off 2.7 billion pounds of debts which 31 public sector firms owed to banks.   - Within the last eight months, 174 touristic projects have been approved with a total cost of 8.8 billion pounds.   AL-AKHBAR   - Public Enterprise Minister Ebeid says the state will sell shares in six new spinning and chemical firms soon, will also distribute profits of public sector firms to its workers.   - Demonstrations in Sudan sparked by lack of water and electricity.   The people called for the downfall of the Islamist government.   Sudanese sources say members of the opposition also led a coup attempt.   AL-GOMHURIA   - Nile levels have risen to their highest levels in eight years.   Egypt is taking all precautions to safeguard the shores of Lake Nasser and also willing to help Sudan and Ethiopia.   - Privatisation committee says Cairo bourse turnover in July was 986 million pounds.   Shares of 58 companies rose, 23 fell and 40 were steady.   AL-AHALI   - The state is repeating the "Medinet Nasr Housing and Development" scandal!   The foreign investors are coming and the privatisation catastrophes approaching.   -- Cairo newsroom +20 2 578 3290/1 
5016 !GCAT !GDIP  A senior aide to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said on Wednesday that Jordan's prime minister would visit the West Bank on Thursday.   "Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti will meet with President Arafat in Ramallah on Thursday.   The discussion will focus on the latest developments and deepening coordination between the two sides," Tayeb Abdel-Rahim told Reuters.   Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on whether the visit was being coordinated with Israel.   Under peace deals with the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Israel controls the border between Jordan and the West Bank. 
5017 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the United Arab Emirates press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-ITTIHAD   - Security bodies ready to implement the new residency law; Tough penalties against illegal immigrants, workers starting Oct 1.   - Swimmers warned to stay clear of three Fujairah areas after two young UAE nationals drowned.   AL-KHALEEJ   - Iran, U.S. vie for influence in northern Iraq.   GULF NEWS   - Rent in capital unlikely to drop, says official.   - Marriage Fund not to increase grants; 70,000 dirhams enough to meet expenses, says the Fund's director.   KHALEEJ TIMES   - Dubai malls to have home page on Internet.   - Emirates Airlines reduces fares on selected routes. 
5018 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Kuwaiti press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-QABAS   - Parliament, government avert confrontation over alleged defence ministry irregularities.   Parliament has asked its public funds protection committee to probe allegations of impropriety.   An MP who complained about lack of cooperation from the ministry concerning the accusations said he wanted to question the defence minister.   - Municipality removes 360 farms built on state property.   AL-WATAN   - Kuwait Investment Company leads trade at the Kuwait Stock Exchange after big mid-year profit rise.   - Kuwait to create a mobile telecommunications firm with 49 percent state stake within a year.   AL-RAI AL-AAM   - State-owned Kuwait Oil Tanker Company reports 0.8 percent profit fall in fiscal year 1995/96 (June-July). 
5019 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Beirut press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AN-NAHAR   -A wave of rumours might alter the north Lebanon election results.   Omar Karami threatened to resign.   -Today ends the five-year exile period for former commander of the Lebanese army General Aoun.   -SOLIDERE to list on the Beirut Stock Exchange on October 1.   AS-SAFIR   -Syrian Foreign Minister Sharaa and Egyptian Foreign Minister Moussa agreed that the issue of "Lebanon First" is over.   -Geagea to be questionned today in connection with the 1987 murder of then prime minister Rachid Karami.   AL-ANWAR   -The Bank of Lebanon said the coincident indicator of economic activity rose to 168.8 in June.   AD-DIYAR   -Foreign Minister Bouez hoped peace talks with Israel would be resumed on the basis of Madrid conference.   -A Chinese economic delegation arrives in Beirut soon.   NIDA'A AL-WATAN   -The balance of trade registered a deficit of $506.1 million in June --bringing the mid-year deficit to $3 billion. 
5020 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the official Iraqi press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JUMHOURIYA   - Canada ready to supply Iraq with water purification technology   - National Assembly discusses tragedy of Iraqi POWs languishing in Iranian camps   - Turkish trade minister meets our trade delegation   - Chinese cargo ship carrying 12,000 tonnes of rice arrives at Umm Qasr   - Trade ministry scraps ban on the display of a number of banned goods   - Americans spend $17 billion on their pet animals.   THAWRA   - Mother Teresa says she prays for the lifting of sanctions on Iraq   - Foreign powers turn northern Iraq into arena of terrorism and murder   - Turkey says resumption of partial oil sales by Iraq opens new horizons for bilateral cooperation   - Commentary says that Iraq is the only country capable of providing peace and comfort to its ethnic Kurdish minority   IRAQ   - Commentary lashes out at the Iraqi Kurdish rebel leader Jalal Talabani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 
5021 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Israeli newspapers on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   HAARETZ   - High alert over warnings about Islamic Jihad intention to carry out spectacular terror attack.   - U.S. Senator Spector left for Syria, will pass Israeli message to Syrian President Assad.   - Prime Minister Netanyahu: The stock market will go up once it becomes clear how serious we are about privatisation and cutting the budget.   - Netanyahu: No special signs of Syrian movement of forces or heightened alert.   - Infrastructure Minister Sharon decides to build railway line between Israel's Ashdod port and Erez border crossing to Gaza.   - Syrian trade minister: Peace process could get off track unless solution found to economic distress.   - Jerusalem municipality demolishes Palestinian structure.   YEDIOTH AHRONOTH   - Justice Barak responds to invitation for talks with Ultra-Orthodox.   - Security sources: Syrian army movements not offensive.   - Bank of Israel works to prevent deterioration of dollar.   - Currency basket reaches red line.   JERUSALEM POST   - Syria prepared to resume peace talks.   - Justice Barak receives telephone death threats.   - Palestinians protest demolition of illegally built club for disabled.   - Shekel appreciates to central bank's limit.   - PM's office: Public options plan for shares in state-owned companies not high priority.   - Zim stake to be sold, says official.   - Foreign investment up 25 percent in first six months of 1996.   MAARIV   - Dollar continues to fall, economic officials concerned.   - Alert to prevent multiple bombings.   - Secret talks in Paris aimed at renewing talks with Syria and Lebanon.   GLOBES   - Basket falls seven percent below median - Bank of Israel does not intervene.   - Zisser-Wertheimer purchases additional seven percent of Africa-Israel shares; submits proposal to buy all Bank Leumi holdings in the company.   - Insurance sector officials: contacts renewed for compromise in class-action suit against La Nationale.   - 25 percent drop in Q2 Clal profit.   - Tomorrow: Hapoalim Investments tender closes. 
5022 !GCAT !GVIO  Three bombs shook Corsica early on Wednesday, bringing to 20 the number of blasts on the French Mediterranean resort island in the past two weeks.   The pace of bombings attributed by police to Corsican nationalists seeking greater autonomy from mainland France has picked up markedly since separatist guerrillas called off a shaky truce earlier this month.   Police said no one was seriously injured in the latest attacks, which damaged a tax office in Prunelli di Fiumorbo in northern Corsica, destroyed state prosecutor Jean-Jacques Bosc's car in the southwestern city of Ajaccio and blew up an advertising agency in the southern town of Porto-Vecchio.   But tax collector Celine Venturi, 27, was taken to hospital and treated for shock after the blast in Prunelli di Fiumorbo.   She was in her apartment across the street from the tax office at the time of the bombing.   No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks.   The outlawed Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC), one of the main guerrilla groups on the island, ended a seven-month truce last week, accusing the government of reneging on secret commitments.   Economy Minister Jean Arthuis condemned the latest attacks and a series of blasts in recent weeks on treasuries and tax and customs offices, reaffirming in a statement that "the government will maintain republican laws and the public service in all areas of Corsica".   Judges on the island had accused the government of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while it conducted widely-reported talks with separatists which have now failed. 
5023 !GCAT !GCRIM  Heavy rain delayed a second day of digging by Belgian police investigating a child sex and kidnapping scandal on Wednesday as they searched for bodies at a house owned by chief suspect Marc Dutroux.   Speculation grew in the Belgian media about the possibility of five bodies at the site, including those of teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks whom Dutroux says he kidnapped a year ago from the port of Ostend.   Their fate remains unknown.   "The unbearable wait," wrote popular daily La Derniere Heure across its front page above pictures of Marchal's parents, looking strained, and of searches at the house in Jumet, southern Belgium, on Tuesday.   "Expecting the worst," exclaimed Vers L'Avenir.   "Concern for the lot of missing girls grows," Flemish daily the Standaard declared.   Late on Tuesday darkness forced police to suspend their excavations at the house which was formerly occupied by Dutroux' dead accomplice Bernard Weinstein.   Work had been due to resume at nine a.m. (0700 GMT) on Wednesday, but a Reuter reporter on the scene said the start appeared to have been delayed by rain.   Dutroux, a convicted child rapist and unemployed father of three, led police 11 days ago to the bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in the garden of another of the six houses he owns around the southern city of Charleroi.   The body of Weinstein, whom Dutroux admits to killing, was buried at the same site.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, prompting allegations of police bungling or a possible high-level cover-up.   Dutroux said the two girls starved to death early this year, nine months after being abducted in June 1995.   He denies killing them but admits paying two accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap the two friends.   They were buried on Thursday amid an outpouring of grief across Europe and some calls for the reinstatement of the death penalty.   Foreign experts assisted in the excavations on Tuesday after Dutroux, 39, was taken to the house in handcuffs and suggested sites to dig.   Prosecutor Michel Bourlet said Dutroux was a calculating and highly manipulative personality.   Superintendent John Bennett, the British police officer who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West murder case in England two years ago using sophisticated radar imaging equipment, was brought in last week to help.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of Dutroux' houses.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair".   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin has been charged as an accomplice.   Seven others face charges of criminal association.   At least 15 children have gone missing in Belgium in the past six years.   To date seven have been found dead, two have been rescued and six are still officially listed as missing.   A Brussels police official told Reuters police were looking for at least three other Belgian girls who have disappeared in the last five years.   It was not known if Dutroux was involved.   On Tuesday Slovak police said they were cooperating with Belgian collegues in the search for An and Eefje.   They said Dutroux visited Slovakia a number of times and that about 10 young Slovak women went to Belgium at his invitation. 
5024 !GCAT  NEUE ZUERCHER ZEITUNG   - The population in Switzerland grew last year by 0.6 percent to 7,062,400 people, the smallest increase since the beginning of the 1990s.   - Transport group Kuehne & Nagel posted a rise in net profit of 9.2 percent to 32 million Swiss francs for the first half of the year despite lagging sales.   - Chemical and pharmaceuticals giant Roche increased first-half group profit by 16 percent to 2.2 billion Swiss francs, compared to the same period the year before.   - Clariant International's group profit rose by 14.3 percent in the first half of 1996 despite a marginal turnover increase.   - Holderbank cement firm is buying a majority stake in the Puttalam Cement Co.   Ltd. on Sri Lanka.   TAGES ANZEIGER   - Schild AG announced it will close further shops in the western region of Switzerland by the end of the year.   - Winterthur-based Rieter's sales rose by 12 percent to 1.02 billion Swiss francs in the first half of 1996, mainly due to its acquisition of U.S. automobile deliverer Globe.   - Electronic firm Zellweger Luwa achieved a 40 percent lower profit figure in the first-half, down to 9.4 million Swiss francs.   JOURNAL DE GENEVE   - Swiss Re becomes the biggest reinsurance group worldwide with its acquisition of British insurance firm Mercantile & General Re for 3.15 billion Swiss francs. 
5025 !GCAT  Headlines from major national newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL PAIS   - Work groups and weekend arrest to quell juvenile violence in Basque Country   EL MUNDO   - Aleix Vidal-Quadras - Catalan nationalists are demanding my defenestration   DIARIO 16   - Catalan nationalists say the 1997 budget will make Spaniards sweat   ABC   - Worldwide alarm over child prostitution   CINCO DIAS   - Banco Santander starts conquest of the east.   EXPANSION   - Government will finish pension reform before the year 2000   GACETA DE LOS NEGOCIOS   - Caja de Madrid stagnates during struggle for presidency 
5026 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Algerian press on Wednesday as reported by the official Algerian news agency APS.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL MOUDJAHID   - National conference between political parties and authorities over reforms may be held on September 7.   L'OPINION   - Islamist Hamas party wants Algerian general elections before 1997.   - Government on Thursday meets workers' union and business organisations to discuss working conditions, business debt and salaries.   LE MATIN   - Workers' union leader Abdelhaq Benhamouda says ahead of meeting with government that his union will press authorities to improve purchasing power of workers and protect jobs. 
5027 !GCAT !GDIP  Iran has asked Germany to extradite its former president Abolhassan Banisadr for alleged hijacking, an Iranian embassy spokesman said on Wednesday.   Banisadr angered Tehran last week by accusing top Iranian leaders of ordering the assassination of Iranian Kurdish leaders in a Berlin restaurant in 1992.   He made the allegations at the trial of an Iranian and four Lebanese accused of carrying out the attack.   An Iranian embassy spokesman said in response to an inquiry that Iran had formally requested Banisadr's extradition for hijacking the military aircraft which he commandeered to flee Iran in July 1981.   "We submitted the request three or four days ago," he said.   German authorities could not immediately be reached for comment.   Banisadr lives under round-the-clock security in France, fearing Tehran could make an attempt on his life.   He is due back in Berlin on September 5 to continue his testimony, which has backed up German prosecutors' allegations that Tehran ordered the attack on the exiled leaders.   Three dissidents and their translator were killed in the gangland-style machinegun attack.   Iran has warned Germany that bilateral relations could suffer if it pays heed to the testimony of Banisadr, an architect of Iran's Islamic revolution who has been a sworn enemy of Tehran since he fell from favour after a year as president. 
5028 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Italy's cabinet met for the first time since the summer recess on Wednesday, amid expectations it could approve a decree by-passing a court ruling requiring former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to shut one of his three TV stations.   Newspapers reported that the government would present a decree freezing the current situation until the end of January.   The cabinet was also due to discuss the budget, which must be presented to parliament by the end of September.   Prime Minister Romano Prodi has already said he plans to cut 32.4 trillion lire from the 1997 state budget.   -- Rome newsroom =396 678 2501 
5029 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Top military officials from North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries will tour Spain and Portugal next month for their annual inspection of alliance country installations and forces.   NATO said in a statement received on Wednesday that its military committee would visit the two countries between September 8 and 13.   The committee consists of the chiefs of defence staff of each alliance country except Iceland, which has no armed forces.   NATO's top military men -- General George Joulwan, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and General John Sheehan, Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic -- will also attend.   The committee's last tour was in September 1995 in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.   REUTER 
5030 !GCAT !GCRIM  Finnish police said on Wednesday they had discovered in a Helsinki flat a massive computer library of exceptionally severe child pornography including pictures of mutilated people and cannibalism.   "These pictures of adults having sex with children are really hard pornography.   This is exceptionally large, exceptionally severe hard pornography involving very severe abuse of children," said police specialist Kaj Malmberg.   In a raid last week police seized computers and nearly 350 floppy disks at the home of a 19-year-old student, but could not arrest him because they lack the powers under Finnish law, he said.   The computers could be connected to the Internet but seemed mainly to operate as a dial-in library for callers to collect or deliver pictures, which made it likely they had been mainly used by local or regional people, he said.   Malmberg said his investigation started with a floppy disk which contained a descriptive menu of about 3,000 exceptionally perverse pictures, but the library could countain hundreds of thousands of them.   "It's the biggest thing I've seen," he said.   The children were both Caucasian and Asian.   As well as perverse sex scenes, there were also pictures showing torture and sadism.   Possession of "ordinary" pornography is not a crime under Finnish law, Malmberg said.   But owning "hard" pornography is an offence with a maximum penalty of six months in jail.   This may be raised to two years next year.   Because police cannot arrest the student, they must wait until he returns from his university term outside the capital before they can interview him, Malmberg said. 
5031 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  A postal train was derailed by a mudslide in northern Italy on Wednesday, slightly injuring two drivers, after a heavy rainstorm hit the region, police said.   The incident happened in the early hours of the morning as the train neared a station in the Alpine lake region north of Milan.   Traffic on part of the line was suspended but officials hoped to resume normal services during the afternoon.   The drivers were not seriously hurt. 
5032 !GCAT !GDIP  An international refugee agency warned German leaders on Wednesday it would be too dangerous for Bosnian refugees to return home in October and that they should stay in Germany until next spring or summer.   The premiers of the states of Bavaria, Lower Saxony and the city-state of Hamburg were due to visit Bosnia on Friday to see whether conditions were right for the return of some 320,000 Bosnian refugees living all over Germany.   Stefan Teloeken, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Germany, told German regional radio that Bosnia was still strictly divided between Serbs on one side and Moslems and Croats on the other.   Refugees would be risking their lives by returning home to a part of Bosnia that was dominated by a different ethnic group, he told the radio station.   He urged decision-makers to wait until next spring or summer before forcing their return.   Despite the fact that refugees were needed to reconstruct their country, there were very few areas which the UNHCR had managed to make safe enough for their return, he said.   Regional leaders are meeting Germany's interior minister Manfred Kanther on September 19 to decide whether to keep to an October 1 deadline -- after which German states will be allowed to start repatriating refugees -- or whether to put the date back again.   Originally they agreed on a July 1 deadline.   But this was put back to October 1 because the situation was still unstable.   Germany's regional states, who have taken in half of the Bosnian refugees living outside former Yugoslavia, must decide jointly with the federal interior minister when conditions would be safe enough for compulsory repatriation.   Germany's policy is to encourage voluntary repatriation before forcing refugees to return home. 
5033 !GCAT !GCRIM  Belgian police resumed excavations on Wednesday at a house owned by Marc Dutroux, chief suspect in a child sex and kidnapping scandal, after a delay due to heavy rain.   "(Digging) work has resumed in the shed and in the yard," gendarmerie spokesman Major Jean-Marie Boudin told reporters at the scene.   Investigators were using an excavator in the yard -- which has been cleared of debris -- and were also digging beneath the concrete floor of a shed at three spots located by sniffer dogs on Tuesday.   Nearly 20 people were involved in the search.   "We're looking for all possible indications, but of course primarily bodies," Boudin added.   "We will dig as deep as is needed".   Before darkness forced police to suspend their search late on Tuesday, they had excavated to a depth of two metres (6-1/2 ft) at one of four locations indicated by specially trained dogs at the property, and to six metres (19-1/2 ft) at one spot in the garden. 
5034 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in Norwegian papers this morning:   AFTENPOSTEN   - Local government minister Gunnar Berge launches a campaign to help establish new companies.   According to Berge local authorities have an obligation to help people set up business and supply the necessary information.   - Artist Vebjoern Sand has taken an initiative to build a bridge, drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, at Aas south of Oslo.   Sand is in discussion with local authorities to build a small version of the bridge in wood.   DAGENS NAERINGSLIV   - Norwegian industrial group Kvaerner ASA is competing for a drilling contract worth 3-5 billion crowns in Australia.   - Norwegian state-owned telecompany Telenor is building a world wide communication network for shipping.   The project, called Marlink, will offer international shipping industry an integrated solution for information, communication and telecommunication.   - Aker Oil and Gas Technology ASA buys 70 percent of stock in McNulty Offshore Services to strengthen its position in Britain, especially in the floating production sector. 
5035 !GCAT  Here are the highlights of stories in the Danish press on Wednesday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   BERLINGSKE TIDENDE   --- Ex-CEO Poul Andreassen of troubled Danish cleaning group ISS has now formed his own cleaning company ICS-International Care Service A/S.   The patent authorities say the new company was approved six months before Andreassen left ISS over a crisis involving financial irregularities in the company's U.S. unit.   POLITIKEN   --- Eli Lilly, major U.S. producer of insulin, accuses Danish rival Novo Nordisk of abusing its monopoly on treatment of Danish diabetics.   Eli Lilly has tried to enter the Danish market for six months now without success.   JYLLANDS POSTEN   --- Danish Justice Minister Bjoern Westh wants to intensify moves against sex tourism in countries like Thailand, making crimes committed abroad subject to the same sentences as in Denmark and putting aside funds to fly witnesses in from the Far East to sex crime trials if necessary.   --- Attempts to mediate between the two rival biker groups in Denmark, Hell's Angels and Bandidos, failed according to a Danish lawyer involved in stopping the escalating war.   --- The first newspaper for homeless in Denmark has been launched.   BORSEN   --- Danish Foreign Minister Niels Helveg Petersen and Agriculture Minister Henrik Dam Kristensen have set off on a major trade offensive in China, Malaysia and the Philippines, accompanied by a delegation of representatives from Danish firms. 
5036 !GCAT  The following are leading domestic stories in Portuguese newspapers.   DIARIO ECONOMICO   - A national plan for Portuguese roads is to cost 1.4 billion escudos up to the year 2000 by which time the government wants all important routes to be completed or under construction.   - The Justice Ministry will propose an alteration of tax regulations to the Finance Ministry to ease the number of court cases involving tax.   - Portugal's second largest trade union, the UGT, wants salary rises above inflation and considers a government proposal of 2.5 percent unrealistic.   PUBLICO   - Retail trade grew 10 percent in the first four months of 1996 compared to the same period in 1995, according to a report from the National Statistics Institute.   - Gec-Alsthom looks likely to win a government contract to supply rail carriages for Lisbon's 25 of April Bridge ahead of Germany's Siemens and Canada's Bombardier.   DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   - The UGT trade union said the government's 1997 budget should be committed to tackling unemployment.   - The price which Banco Portugues de Investimento (BPI) is paying for Banco de Fomento e Exterior (BFE), which will be announced today, has left the share market nervous.   --Lisbon bureau 3511-3538254 
5037 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in the Swedish papers this morning.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAGENS NYHETER   - Drugs in Sweden are to become more expensive next year as the government cuts down on subsidising the costs of buying drugs.   - New jobs in the Swedish retail business are not likely to arise until the year 2000.   - The chief economist at Sweden's trade union federation (TCO) says Sweden needs an inflation rate of 2-3 percent to get the economy growing.   SVENSKA DAGBLADET   - The Swedish government hopes to cut the national debt by 500 billion crowns within the next ten years, said a government adviser.   - At a conference debate for the Socialist Democrat Party (SDP) party members said it was possible for Sweden to join the European Monetary Union in 1999 if it wanted to.   - The popularity of mobile phones in Sweden has led to a shortage in supply.   - Swedish commercial banks are increasingly less dependent on giving and taking loans while financial transaction profits and commission income are becoming a greater revenue maker.   DAGENS INDUSTRI   - An increasing amount of large Swedish corporations will in the future employ foreign managers and chief executives.   The difficulty is to get them to move to Sweden as income taxes are so high, but one option is to allow senior executives to be stationed abroad.   - Representatives of nine Swedish power companies met this week to discuss a strategy to counteract high prices on the Swedish/Norwegian electricity futures market.   - General Motors continues to increase its involvement in Saab automobile as it is to produce all platforms of Saab cars and 55 percent of all Saab components.   -- Paul de Bendern, Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700 1006 
5038 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Employment in Italian industrial firms with more than 500 employees fell 1.5 percent year-on-year in May, the national statistics institute Istat said on Wednesday.   Its employment index for the sector stood at 76.7 (1988=100) in May, with month-on-month employment flat.   Hours worked per employee fell 0.7 percent year-on-year.   Istat said the number of working days in the two periods was the same.   The number of people put on temporary lay-off schemes fell 11.2 percent year-on-year.   In the services sector, the employment index stood at 90.9 (1992=100), a fall of 1.8 percent year-on-year and a rise of 0.2 percent compared with April.   -- Rome newsroom +396 678 2501 
5039 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Wednesday morning's German newspapers:   FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG   - Michael Glos, the parliamentary leader of the Christian Social Union, accuses the opposition Social Democrats of preventing many parliamentary bills from going ahead by rejecting the government's austerity programme.   - The regional state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern decided to participate in Bremer Vulkan shipyards in Wismar and Stralsund.   - Information technology: optimal conditions.   Education and Science minister Juergen Ruettgers opens the Cebit Home Electronics trade fair in Hanover.   - IW German economic institute said that American investors had been avoiding Germany in the last few years.   - The German government wants to simplify the planning permission regulations.   HANDELSBLATT   - Cebit trade fair: mobile radio equipment and wireless phones are the front runners.   Compared to other electronic branches that are weakening, information and communications technology are growing.   - Positive signals for economy in the east.   Indicators shows that for the first time in 12 months the economy in east Germany has not gone backwards.   - Government leader Bernd Seite in regional state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern says that government must improve austerity programme which his opposition Social Democrats rejected.   - Economics Minister Guenther Rexrodt wants to continue negotiations with the European Union over Saxony's subsidies to Volkswagen.   But Premier of the east German regional state Kurt Biedenkopf remains adamant that the payments were justified.   - Social Democrats finance experts from the Bonn parliament and the regions have agreed on a concept for tax reform.   - Banks accused of accomplices.   Capital flight and Luxembourg bank account tricks.   The German tax trade union accused banks of having systematically contributed to the evasion of some two billion marks in taxes in North Rhine-Westphalia alone.   - Alexandre Lamfalussy, the President of the European Monetary Institute, said that he could see a realistic chance of the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union starting in 1999.   SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG   - Staff at DGB German trade union federation are discontent over proposed staff cuts and no pay rises.   - Investigators accuse banks of complicity in tax evasion.   Investigations into four credit institutes show more than 10,000 cases of tax fraud.   - Ifo economic research institute says it is increasingly optimistic over west German trade and industry.   - Otmar Issing said Germany will flunk 1996 debt criteria to qualify to join the single European currency.   DIE WELT   - Civil servants salaries will raised from March 1.   - In German 24 out of 100 people have personal computers.   The computer fair Cebit Home opens in Hanover.   - Government decides on new building regulations to make it easier to build in inner cities.   - Economics Minister Rexrodt wants solution to row with EU over Saxony's subsidies to Volkswagen.   -- Bonn Newsroom +49 228 2609760 
5040 !GCAT  The following are some of the leading stories in Finnish papers this morning.   HELSINGIN SANOMAT   - Finnish decision-makers most satisfied with the present role of European Union in the world, EU survey shows.   - Swedish King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia and Crown Princess Victoria to start official visit to Finland today.   - There is now at least one woman on boards of all majority state-owned companies; transport and labour ministries best at filling the quotas, study shows.   @   - Rabies vaccine to be distributed in eastern border region to prevent spread of forest rabies from Russian animals to Finland.   - A squirrel jumping on the wires cut off electricity supply in parts of Helsinki, YLE radio also had problems.   - Finns spend least money on clothing and shoes in Europe, study shows.   - Dream start for Finnish ice-hockey team in the World Cup -- beat the Czechs 7-3.   @   KAUPPALEHTI   - Forestry firms raised price of fine paper already during August.   Metsa-Serla says will stick to higher prices even if this means stoppages.   DEMARI   - Study abroad increasingly popular among Finnish students.   - Finnish knowledge of Russia still best in the world, Finnish EU official Timo Summa says.   Says Finns should have a higher profile in showing their skills.   @   AAMULEHTI   - Army chief commander Gustav Hagglund on visit to Russia suggested about five billion markka of Russian debt could be paid off with Russian fighter helicopters, radio news said.   - Mother of 11-year old boy found in Estonia after he had been missing for nine months confessed together with her male companion they had helped to hide the boy.   - Tampere Dolphinarium excitedly awaits birth of two dolphin babies -- many pregnancies so far have been unsuccessful.   -- Paivi Mattila, Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 292 
5041 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Wednesday morning's Austrian newspapers.   DER STANDARD   - Industry Minister Johann Farnleitner has announced that a new levy on Austrian motorways will not have any exceptions, even though some provinces demand it.   - Austria has fewer farmers than most other European countries.   Only five percent of the working population were farmers in 1995 - compared to 15 percent 25 years ago, economic research institute WIFO said.   - Paper producer KNP Leykam expects paper prices to rise in the autumn, however a dividend is not likely, as the firm has already reported a net loss of 300 million schillings in the first half of 1996.   KURIER   - Building giant Bau Holding AG will make a profit this year, even though income has fallen and market conditions are difficult, said chairman Erwin Soravia.   DIE PRESSE   - 1,000 billion schillings are redistributed each year amongst Austrians, a study by WIFO says.   Main beneficiaries of this process are pensioners, big families and the unemployed.   However, low income earners do not receive more than others the study critises.   - Brau-Union is trying to overcome weak domestic beer sales with new products, as pre-tax profit went down by 26 percent to 30.5 million schillings in the first half.   However exports are very strong.   WIRTSCHAFTSBLATT   - Austrian labour contract laws will be revised in the wake of widespread criticism.   Four ministers expected to work out a new model by the autumn.   SALZBURGER NACHRICHTEN   - Finance Minister Viktor Klima reiterated that there was more than one party interested in the privatisation of Creditanstalt.   Klima is waiting to hear the outcome of talks within the EA-Generali and Erste consortium. 
5042 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   LES ECHOS   -- Foreign minister Herve de Charette says France is readying national legislation to retaliate against U.S. sanctions blocking foreign investment in Cuba.   -- Government hesitates extending flat 20 percent tax allowance to higher brackets.   -- Accounting watchdog hints privatisation costs too high.   -- July new housing starts up slightly.   -- Franc weakens against mark again.   LA TRIBUNE DESFOSSES   -- Exclusive poll reports 77 percent of respondents expect tough strike action this autumn, 62 percent will sustain consumer purchases and 35 percent plan to cut consumption.   -- Algeria decides against privatising major state-owned companies.   L'AGEFI   -- Cap-Gemini urges banks to prepare switch to single Euro currency now.   LE FIGARO-ECONOMIE   -- Air France Europe managing director Jean-Pierre Courcol resigns.   LIBERATION   -- Former unofficial treasurer of conservative RPR party Yvonne Cassetta allegedly under investigation in low-income housing scandal.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- Kimberly-Clark absorbs Peaudouce trademark.   -- Christian trade union CFTC foresees strikes this autumn.   LE PARISIEN   -- Suicide ranks second after road accidents as the leading cause of death in the 15 to 24 age group and the prime cause of death in the 25 to 34 age group in France.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
5043 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iraq has balked at the number of U.N. staff needed to implement the oil-for-food deal, blaming the United States for insisting on stringent monitoring.   In comments to reporters and a statement on Tuesday, Iraqi diplomats said the cost of the monitors and other staff, which Baghdad has to finance, surpasses funds allocated for electricity, water, sewers, education and agriculture.   At issue was a May 20 agreement allowing Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil to purchase badly needed food, medicine and other supplies to ease the impact of sanctions in force since its troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.   The Iraqi statement said the United States was "interfering and pressing to augment the number of international staff and this is not legal and not justified."   Iraq's deputy ambassador, Saeed Hasan, noted that the May 20 accord said that the number of personnel would be determined by the United Nations and that the government of Iraq would be consulted.   Saeed in his comments did not threaten to call off the deal and the U.N. officials said they expected it to go into force next month after Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali reports that arrangements are in place.   The U.N. Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA), which has to coordinate the distribution of food, medicine and other goods, increased the number of monitors earlier this month at the insistence of the United States.   According to U.N. officials and diplomats, Iraq would have about $1.13 billion to spend for food, medicine and other goods after monies for a reparations fund for Gulf War victims and costs for U.N. weapons inspections were deducted.   The cost of the U.N. staff overseeing the distribution of food and other supplies was estimated to cost $31 million.   In addition another $12 million was anticipated to cover other expenses, such as oil experts and administrative costs.   For the distribution and supervision of humanitarian supplies the United Nations estimated it needed 1,190 people, including 267 international staff and 923 Iraqi support staff.   Of this number 64 foreign and 598 local staff would be in the northern Kurdish provinces, no longer the direct control of the Baghdad government.   Another 203 international staff and 325 Iraqis would run the programme in the central and southern parts of the country.   There are also 14 monitors to watch oil flows, 32 customs experts and four New York-based oil experts or overseers to approve contracts.   Yasushi Akashi, the DHA undersecretary-general, told the Security Council last week that the "financial requirements to support the (humanitarian) programme represent a very modest percentile of the total...roughly 3 percent." 
5044 !GCAT  The following are some of the top headlines in leading Italian newspapers.   ----------   TOP POLITICAL STORIES   * Police say the daughter and 14-year old nephew of a mafia boss were shot dead in a Scilian cemetery on Tuesday in a mob vendetta.   (All)   ----------   TOP BUSINESS STORIES   * The Italian government is drafting a decree law which will allow Silvio Berlusconi's broadcasting networks to stay on the air until parliament enacts new legislation.   (All)   * Treasury minister Carlo Azeglio Ciampi says that without joining the European Union there will be less work.   (Repubblica)   * The government meets later today to discuss the latest unemployment figures, which have reached almost 3 million.   (Corriere)   * The government said Tuesday that soccer clubs will shortly be able to seek stock exchange listings.   (Il Sole)   * President of pension fund Ania, Antonio Longo, says pension funds should cut themselves out of business.   (Il Sole)   -----------   Reuters has not verified these stories and can not vouch for their accuracy.   -- Rome bureau ++396 6782501 
5045 !GCAT  Following are the highlights of stories reported in the Irish press on Wednesday.   IRISH INDEPENDENT -   - Ireland's Prime Minister John Bruton on Tuesday offered talks at short notice to representatives of loyalist fringe parties following dire warnings that their ceasefire was on the brink of collapse.   - A man who was closely involved with the controversial All-Ireland Children's Hospice, which is being investigated by Irish police, is now involved in the organisation of a new charity for sick children.   - A woman prisoner has escaped from custody while on a day release from Mountjoy Jail in Dublin to visit her child at a health care centre.   - The auditor for one of the main trading companies in the Taylor and Associates Financial Services Group would not sign off the accounts of that company for the past six years meaning that accounts have not been filed with the Companies Office since 1989.   IRISH TIMES   - Irish political parties may receive one million Irish pounds a year less than they envisaged in State aid under the new Electoral Bill, if changes contemplated by the Minister for the Environment, Brendan Howlin, are adopted by the government.   - A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions about the alleged role of a Dublin solicitor in a car accident fraud network and 60 people are already facing charges.   - The Insurance Ombudsman of Ireland received 58 complaints relating to investment intermediaries in 1995, but could not act on them as they were outside her terms of reference.   - Future growth in the tourism industry could be jeopardised by a chronic recruitment crisis, according to CERT, the State tourism training agency.   - The outlook for mortgage lending remains bright, with the demand for new home loans expected to remain healthy for the rest of 1996.   -- Dublin Newsroom + 353-1-6603377 
5046 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GPOL  Swedish Finance Minister Erik Asbrink said on Wednesday Swedish adhesion to Economic and Monetary Union could be delayed.   "It is not a question of yes or no to currency union.   It is rather about 'yes now' or 'no now'," he said in a signed article in Dagens Nyheter newspaper.   Asbrink added that Sweden should go further than current plans and aim for a permanent budget surplus from 1998.    "We should go further than we have so far with regard to the long-term objective for public sector finances.   There is much to suggest that the target for beyond 1998 should be to achieve a permanent surplus," Asbrink said.   The finance minister highlighted what he saw as some of the problems associated with membership of the currency union, including the fact that Sweden's constitution may need to be changed.   A constitutional revision could even be necessitated by Sweden's current status as a participant of stage two of the Economic and Monetary Union.   "The second stage of the EMU...means that the governor of the Riksbank (central bank) may only be removed if he or she shows serious negligence or no longer fulfills the demands made on the exercise of the office," he said.    One other area that could need reform is the Riksbank's monopoly on issuing banknotes.   Asbrink said he would be calling all-party talks on this and other EMU-related issues.   Membership of the currency union would mean relinquishing a degree of national sovereignty, he said.   "The extension of the currency union holds a possibility of more centralised decision-making, even in areas such as financial and fiscal policy," he said.   Sweden would not have carte blanche to return to an economy geared to rising budget deficits and high inflation, he said.   "It would be a fatal mistake to believe that we could return to a sloppy economic policy," Asbrink said.   -- Stockholm newsroom, +46-8-700 1006 
5047 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Dutch newspapers today.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   HET FINANCIEELE DAGBLAD   - Cabinet opens attack on pollution by setting aside Dfl 700 million to limit carbondioxide exhaust by traffic.   (p1)   - Construction and dredging group HBG outperforms analysts' forecasts.   (p1)   - Cable producer NKF books 6.8 higher net in H1 due to growth of cable market.   (p3)   - Retailer Ahold plans to merge another two of its U.S. food store chains.   (p3)   - Publisher VNU's gross profit margin falls to 12.7 percent due to losses on commercial television activities.   (p3)   - Ian Thomas will step down as executive director of publisher Reed Elsevier as of October 1, 1996.   (p3)   - Engineering bureau Heidemij books slightly higher first half net of Dfl 12.6 million.   (p4)   DE VOLKSKRANT   - Economic Institute for Agriculture (LEI) sees gloomy times ahead for Dutch agricultural and horticultural sector.   (p1)   - Dutch national debt will fall by 1.5 pct a year after next year's 2.5 pct decrease.   (p2)   - ING's automated teller machine that accepts the two types of Dutch smartcards is very popular with retailers.   (p2)   - Biotechnolgy concern Gist-brocades extends its stake in Bio-Intermediar Int.   to 93.4 pct.   (p17)   DE TELEGRAAF   - Philips introduces 107 centimeter flat-screen TV on Hannover bourse, sees sales of a million a year by 2000.   (p1)   - Growing opposition in parliament against cabinet's plan to increase tobacco excise by Dfl 0.50.   (p6)   - More arrests expected in BolsWessanen insider trading case.   (p25)   - Privatisation of Schiphol Airport is nearing fast; cabinet proposals expected before end of the year.   (p25)   TROUW   - South Korean industrial giant Samsung to coordinate European distribution from the Netherlands.   (p7)   - Rabobank cuts mortgage rates.   (p7)   ALGEMEEN DAGBLAD   - Dutch parliament divided on Euro works councils' authority.   (p11)   - Garden and building materials concern Ubbink posts first half net loss of Dfl 0.7 million.   (p11)   -- Amsterdam newsdesk +31-20-504-5000 
5048 !GCAT !GHEA  Teenagers who withdraw from friends, act strangely and start getting low grades at school may not be rebels without a cause -- they could be showing early symptoms of schizophrenia.   Since film legend James Dean immortalised the anguished teenager in the 1950s, parents have taken it for granted that adolescents go through a period of feeling misunderstood during which they sometimes become anti-social and defy authority.   "That is often used as an excuse for not actually carefully looking at what kind of problems are going on," Professor Patrick McGorry, an expert in schizophrenia, told a meeting at the World Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid.   "Often the more non-specific things which you do see in adolescence can be the very first signs of psychotic illness," said McGorry, of the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention Centre (EPPIC) in Melbourne, Australia.   Schizophrenia is a mental illness which affects one person in 100 before the age of 45 and mainly strikes young people.   Acute schizophrenics lose touch with reality and suffer from hallucinations and paranoia, which cut them off from the rest of the world and trigger intense anxiety and depression.   They begin to avoid social contact and their mental faculties become blunted until they find themselves unable to perform even small daily tasks.   The precise causes of schizophrenia are unknown and, until now, its treatment has focused on patients in advanced stages of the illness.   The EPPIC is trying to change that by educating general practitioners (GPs) and school counsellors to recognise early warning signs so youngsters can be helped before they develop full-blown psychotic symptoms.   Teenagers who have had no previous problems and suddenly become withdrawn or develop serious problems relating to their peers are among those who should be referred.   "One of the big problems with the treatment of schizophrenia is that (doctors) have really only started to treat people when the illness has become extremely established," said McGorry.   "It's as if cancer services or diabetes services refused to see anybody until they got to a very serious stage of the illness."   Even when a person has become psychotic -- the stage at which they have hallucinations or delusions -- there is an average of about one year's delay in getting treatment in many countries, sometimes longer, McGorry said.   "GPs are notoriously poor at picking up psychological problems, even more obvious ones such as depression," he added.   "But things are really changing very fast at the moment.   The idea that we can intervene early and significantly improve the outcomes for young people...is really taking root now."   The problem is in informing parents and teachers without causing undue alarm.   For instance, a sudden drop in school grades can be due to any number of factors and is only useful as a screening indicator.   McGorry and his colleagues have set up the Personal Assistance and Crisis Evaluation (PACE) service, a clinic where young people with problems can be evaluated without suffering from the stigma linked with psychiatric clinics.   Because the approach is new, doctors are still not sure what the best form of preventive treatment is: psychological counselling, low-dose drug treatment or a combination of both.   Meanwhile, other researchers are looking back to childhood to try to pinpoint what sets future schizophrenics apart, in the hope that one day they will be able to predict the disease.   Travelling back in time, they analyse school and health records and even home movies for signs of abnormal behaviour.   So far, they have found that pre-schizophrenics -- along with other children who later develop some sort of emotional or neurotic illness -- are slower in learning how to walk and talk and have a lower I.Q. than other children their age.   But it is their social behaviour that really set these toddlers apart.   One study found that children aged four and six who later became schizophrenic were more than twice as likely to prefer playing by themselves than others their age.   Professor Elaine Walker, of the Emory University of Psychology in Atlanta, Georgia, studied childhood home movies and found that these babies were also more likely to have negative facial expressions and move their limbs in abnormal ways.   But she stressed that home movies were far from being a reliable way of predicting schizophrenia.   "As a diagnostic tool, it's very far away," Walker told Reuters.   "There might be a point in the future where you can identify individuals at risk and induct physiological tests."   Will doctors one day be able to identify young children as future schizophrenics and prevent the onset of the disease through drugs?   "That is not out of the question," Walker said, but added: "It is probably far away." 
5049 !GCAT !GCRIM  From a cramped cell in a special wing of Paris's sprawling La Sante jail, guerrilla mastermind Carlos the Jackal suddenly yells out: "I'm Carlos!   It's me, Carlos!"   Fellow inmates shout back "Who?"  , and "Carlos who?"   On a floor above, notorious French mercenary "Colonel" Bob Denard dabbles with a paintbrush.   A few metal doors away, the former head of France's state railways reads a biography of late president Francois Mitterrand.   A typical scene in the VIP wing of the 129-year-old, grey stone La Sante in south-east Paris, home to high-risk prisoners and members of France's business and political elite washed up there by a recent wave of anti-corruption investigations.   The prison governors, and lawyers with clients behind bars, insist that there are no perks for so-called "exceptional" inmates held above the medical section, for the most part in preventive custody.   They play cards or chess, and learn to paint, in the "cardio-training" room of France's third-largest jail, which houses 1,600 inmates and lost a few in spectacular escapes, including one which involved a helicopter a decade ago.   "For us a prisoner is a prisoner.   Everybody is treated the same way," said a senior warden who would not be named.   But the differences start from the moment the great and the not-so-good enter the prison gates.   When SNCF railways ex-chairman Loik Le Floch-Prigent was ordered held in preventive custody, La Sante's governor turned out to greet him at around three in the morning.   Like other establishment figures, Le Floch-Prigent bypassed the regulation stay in a trial cell.   Instead, once he had been stripped of his tie and shoelaces, he was moved to a private cell after he was body-searched and his fingerprints taken.   "If he went straight through, that's because you have to eliminate any risks that he may face," said Le Floch-Prigent's lawyer Olivier Metzner.   "He's separated from other inmates simply for his own protection.   He reads books, he works, he has the normal life of a prisoner.   Don't think it's easy for him to get a whisky or something," Metzner said.   High-profile inmates, along with lawyers, civil servants, police officers, and tax inspectors, boast private nine-square metre (97 square feet) cells.   Hoodlums and drug dealers are packed four or six to a cell 12 square metres (130 square feet) in size.   Inmates held in preventive custody and awaiting trial are supposed to be alone in a cell, under a bill due to be debated by parliament in October.   But so far this is the exception rather than the rule for the 20,000 or so people held in France under such conditions.   At La Sante, only one "exceptional" prisoner, Jean-Louis Petriat, former head of the civil servants' mutual benefit society, has demanded to share a cell with an "ordinary" inmate.   Rubbing shoulders until recently in the "Camembert courtyard" walking area, nicknamed after the pungent cheese because of its round and sliced-up shape, have been Jacques Crozemarie, ousted head of a cancer research agency, and Pierre Botton, son-in-law of ex-trade minister Michel Noir.   "We were in good company," said Denard, source of a wealth of anecdotes on life behind bars after nine months there.   "I make a principle of never tackling personal issues, because otherwise people start harping on about legal cases.   And that's not good for morale," he said.   He remembers Carlos or someone calling himself Carlos -- no other inmates ever saw him -- shouting from his cell in the highest-security corridor of La Sante.   Venezuelan-born Carlos, who bombed his way to notoriety in the 1970s and 1980s, has been switched from jail to jail in France since his arrest two years ago.   In the courtyard, Le Floch-Prigent once stripped to his waist, spread his shirt on the filthy concrete, and lay down to tan.   To all and sundry, textile baron Maurice Bidermann handed out a raft of coupons for free clothes at his Paris store.   After Denard bought a football, many of the establishment figures teamed up to play against other "exceptionals" including jailed police officers.   "There aren't really any privileges at La Sante," said Denard's lawyer Daniel Soulez-Lariviere.   "You can't ignore sociology and the origins of the prisoners.   There is one wing for people with a certain background, one for the French, one for North Africans, and another is a mix.   "The "exceptionals' go from a pretty comfortable life to custody, and that creates problems which are different from those faced by the majority who have a difficult lot outside," he said.   Soulez-Lariviere says there is little new about VIPs at La Sante.   He can remember representing agents from the Warsaw Pact who were accused of spying around 1970 during the Cold War.   "Things haven't changed in 25 years, apart from the fact that the prison guards have higher qualifications.   The lawyers' visits are still the same with the same visiting room, the same table.   It's as unattractive as ever." 
5050 !GCAT !GDIP  Black helicopters, white painted vehicles, U.N. insigna -- and the Internet is up and away again about mysterious United Nations vehicles roaming the United States.   U.N. officials on Tuesday sought to quash a new alarm spread via the Internet about U.N. vehicle sightings, long a staple of anti-government U.S. groups who say the global body is trying to take over the United States.   The most recent report, discovered by U.N. officials, came from "Kathy" to "Sister Paula" on an Internet chat group, saying her husband saw tanks, armoured cars and troops transport trucks bearing the U.N. emblem being carried on train flatcars through their town.   "We live in Indiana and this track runs from New York to California.   Thought that you might find this interesting," Kathy added.   "What does this mean?"   said chief U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa at her daily briefing on Tuesday.   "Well, we checked, and yes there are six leased armoured personnel carriers of various types being transported back to the United States from U.N. peacekeeping missions."   The vehicles, leased from the United States, were used in Rwanda and in Somalia and were being shipped back to the U.S. Defence Distribution Depot in Texakana, Texas, she said.   "There is no cause for alarm and they will be repainted once they get to the depot.   So anyone here who sees APCs travelling across America, not to worry," Foa added. 
5051 !GCAT !GCRIM  Speculation mounted that Belgium's child sex and porn scandal might turn into an echo of Britain's "House of Horrors" mass murders as police rifled the house once occupied by Bernard Weinstein, murdered by Belgian gang leader Marc Dutroux.   Belgian media speculated about the possibility of five bodies at the site, including those of An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks who Dutroux says he kidnapped a year ago from the port of Ostend.   Their fate remains unknown.   Dutroux, a convicted child rapist and unemployed father of three, led police 10 days ago to the bodies of eight-year-olds Julie Lejeune and Melissa Russo in the garden of one of the six houses he owns around the southern city of Charleroi.   The case, which has also involved the arrest of a chief police detective on Sunday on fraud charges, has prompted allegations of police bungling or a possible high-level cover-up.   Dutroux said the two girls starved to death early this year, nine months after being abducted in June 1995.   He denies killing them but admits paying two accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) for kidnapping the two friends.   They were buried on Thursday to an outpouring of grief across Europe and some calls for reinstatement of the death penalty.   Foreign experts assisted in the excavations on Tuesday after Dutroux, 39, was taken to the house in handcuffs and suggested sites to dig.   Proscecutor Michel Bourlet said Dutroux was a calculating and highly manipulative personality.   Superintendent John Bennett, the British police officer who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West murder case in England two years ago which involved the use of sophisticated radar imaging equipment, was brought in last week to help.   Dutroux led police to the bodies of Melissa, Julie and Weinstein 10 days ago.   They were buried in the garden of one of Dutroux' five other houses in and around the city of Charleroi.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of Dutroux' houses.   Dutroux has also admitted kidnapping teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks a year ago.   Police are still searching for them.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair".   Dutroux and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin has been charged as an accomplice.   Seven others face charges of criminal association.   The case has given an injection of adrenalin to the hunt for other missing Belgian children.   At least 15 children have gone missing in Belgium in the past six years.   To date seven have been found dead, two have been rescued and six are still officially listed as missing.   A Brussels police official told Reuters police were looking for at least three other Belgian girls who have disappeared in the last five years.   It was not known if Dutroux was involved.   On Tuesday Slovak police said they were cooperating with Belgian collegues in the search for An and Eefje.   They said Dutroux visited Slovakia a number of times and that about 10 young Slovak women went to Belgium at his invitation.   A court in Neufchateau on Tuesday confirmed the charges of criminal association against Michel Diakostavrianos and Claude Thirault, two men arrested in the Dutroux affair last week.   In total 10 people have now been arrested in the case. 
5052 !GCAT !GSPO  Saying there were no more challenges left as an amateur, three-time U.S. Amateur Golf champion Tiger Woods turned professional on Wednesday.   Woods, 20, who won his record third consecutive amateur title on Sunday, will begin his professional career on Thursday at the PGA Greater Milwaukee Open tournament.   "I knew that after I won there was not much to achieve in amateur golf," Woods said at a news conference.   Never in the history of the game has a young golfer been saddled with such huge expectations as Woods.   Not only is he expected to win tournaments and sign up for lucrative endorsement contracts, he is touted as a huge draw for minorities to golf, which has had few prominent black golfers.   But, showing some of the poise that he exhibits on the golf course, Woods said of all the pressure: "I'm going to play one shot at a time and have one hell of a good time."   Woods, from Cypress, California, is not a stranger to professional golf.   The amateur sensation has teed it up 17 times with professionals-- 13 of them when he was still a teenager-- and six times in major championships.   "Tiger is ready for this," said his father, Earl.   "I saw talent in him when he was three days old.   I've been preparing him for this for 20 years.   I've been preparing him to be his own boss."   Woods' best finish in a professional event was a tie for 22nd at the British Open in July.   "In my life, I've never gone to a tournament thinking I couldn't win," Woods said.   "That's just my mindset.   It's something I've always believed in.   It's something I always will."   Woods has participated in 17 professional events since 1992, making seven cuts.   His best finish was a tie for 22nd at the British Open in July.   "I do have goals.   Obviously one is to try to make the Tour," Woods said.   "Anything more specific I can't share with you because they're personal."   In turning pro, Woods turns his back on a collegiate career and the opportunity for a degree at Stanford, where he won the NCAA title last year.   He said leaving school was his only regret.   "(I'm) leaving some of my best friends," he said.   "I can't hop over to their place at 11 at night and hang out with them.   That I will miss."   Woods, who said he will play in five more PGA tournaments this year with sponsor exemptions, also said he still has not signed any endorsement contracts, although reports have indicated he will receive $40 million from Nike over five years and another $3-$5 million from Titleist.   "I haven't signed for a penny yet," he said.   "What's been printed is nice.   I hope I get that.   But I haven't seen any check in the mail yet, so I'm still broke."   He said he had to pay for dinner Tuesday night with a gift certificate he had received.   Butch Harmon, Woods' Houston-based swing instructor, said he had to loan his pupil $100 so he could pay the entry fee for the Milwaukee tournament.   Turning professional "wasn't about money," Woods said.   "It was about happiness.   The time was right.   I knew my golf game was good enough.   It boiled down to, how happy am I?   And I'm happy."   Wednesday seemed to begin with some of the ingredients for happiness, or at least a stark contrast to his penny-pinching days as an amateur.   When he opened his locker Wednesday morning, he found it stocked with three boxes of new golf balls and four golf gloves.   He had arrived at the course in his own courtesy car.   "He was like a 10-year-old dropped into the middle of (a toy store)," Harmon said.   "As far as pure, raw athletic ability, he's got more of that than any golfer who has ever been great," Harmon said.   PGA Tour veteran Duffy Waldorf was paired with Woods in a pro-am tournament on Wednesday and quickly concluded that Woods has "it" -- that undefinable aura that surrounds superstars.   "I got to see the future of golf, I think," Waldorf said of Woods.   "He's got all the potential to be the best, no doubt about it.   He's young, he's smart and he's got all the shots."   290131 GMT aug 96 
5053 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  U.S. aviation authorities on Thursday gave ValuJet Airlines tentative approval to resume operations, and officials said the low-cost carrier could be flying in again in a week.   Atlanta-based ValuJet was grounded on June 17 after a heightened safety inspection of the carrier following a crash in the Florida Everglades on May 11 that killed 110 people.   The Federal Aviation Administration said it returned the carrier's operating certificate after a review found ValuJet to have corrected the maintenance and operation failings that led to the grounding.   The Transportation Department, the FAA's parent agency, also issued a tentative finding that ValuJet's management and its financial status made it fit and able to operate a scheduled air service.   Officials said interested people had seven days to challenge ValuJet's fitness and if no objections were raised, they would move promptly to issue final flight approval.   They added there would be four days for response to any objections, and then the department would review the complaints and responses before acting.   ValuJet, whenever final flight approval is given, would get close safety scrutiny, the officials said.   Even if all goes well, ValuJet will resume flights as a far smaller carrier than when grounded.   At that time, it flew 51 planes between cities throughout the southeast U.S.   At first, it would be will allowed to fly nine planes and add six more over the next few days.   Further additions would require closer FAA oversight.   The FAA first began closer oversight of the fast-growing carrier in 1995, after a series of accidents, and intensified the scrutiny after the Everglades crash.   Investigators have not yet determined the cause of the crash, but they believe that improperly labeled oxgyen generators in the plane's cargo hold may have started the fire that led to the crash.   When it grounded ValuJet, the FAA cited operational and maintenance shortcomings, saying safe operations were called into questions by the numerous outside maintenance stations it used as well as to its lack of safety oversight.   In returning ValuJet's certificate to fly, the FAA required the carrier to retrain its pilots, instructors and maintenance personnel and to reduce the number of outside contractors it uses for maintenance and repair.   In addition, it must initially fly only one configuration of the DC-9 aircraft it uses to make it easier to train flight crews and the workers who maintain the planes.   The FAA has acknowledged that ValuJet grew too quickly and the agency did not give the start-up airline the close watch it should have, but they said this past shortcoming was being remedied.   The department, in its tenative approval, said the principle managers at the carrier were fully qualified to oversee their carrier's operations, a ncessary finding.   It added that a review of the company's forecasts and current financial condition showed it to have available funds to allow its limited resumption of flights without undue economic risk to consumers. 
5054 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A former tobacco company executive accused of accepting $4.5 million in bribes was ordered extradited Thursday to Hong Kong to face charges there.   A U.S. magistrate ordered Lui Kin-Hong, former director of exports at the Hong Kong subsidiary of B.A.T Industries Plc, to return to Hong Kong to face nine charges he took payments from a cigarette distributor, the U.S. attorney's office in Boston said.   Judge Zachary Karol said in a 57-page opinion that he found sufficient evidence to support Hong Kong charges that Lui accepted about $3 million in outright payments and an additional $1.5 million in unsecured loans from the principals of Giant Island Ltd.   Lui allegedly took the payments from the distributor of British-American Tobacco Co. (HK) Ltd. cigarettes to ensure that Giant Island was supplied with the most popular brands.   Lui, who became a Canadian citizen in 1994, was arrested while on personal business in Boston last December and has been held in custody here since.   Lui argued that the extradition treaty between the United States and Britain would no longer include Hong Kong since the British protectorate will revert to China next year.   Judge Karol concluded that the U.S. secretary of state and not the judiciary should determine whether Hong Kong's status would affect Liu's case, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Boston. 
5055 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Institutional Affairs [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]] 01.   1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.744 ) 2.   Approval of minutes of meeting of: - 8 and 9 July 1996 (PE218.742 ) 3.   Chairman's announcements ===] In the presence of the Council and Commission 4.   Relations between the European Parliament and the national parliaments (T046 34) [1] INI0485 INI0485 + INST Fond R NEYTS-UYTTEBROECK An (ELD) (PE218.746 ) - Consideration of working document 5.   Conference on the local and regional authorities, players in the political U nion (European Parliament and regional authorities) - Draftsman: Gutierrez Diaz - Consideration of draft opinion (PE218.743 ) - Deadline for tabling amendments 6.   The constitutional status of European political parties (T04615) INI0471 INI0471 + INST Fond R TSATSOS Dimitrios.   (PSE) (PE218.742 ) - Consideration of working document 7.   Participation in the institutional system of the EU and IGC by social repres entatives and other citizens (T04618) INI0474 INI0474 + INST Fond R HERZOG Philippe.   (GUE) (PE218.253/A ) - Consideration of draft report 8.   The field of application of codecision - Report of the European Commission p ursuant to Article 189b(8) of the Treaty - Rapporteurs: Bourlanges and De Giovanni - Exchange of views 9.   Exchange of views with Mrs Fontaine, Chairman of the European Parliament del egation to the Conciliation Committee, on the difficulties in implementing Artic le 189b (Conciliation Committee) ([2] ) 10.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + INST Avis A DELL'ALBA Gianfranco (ARE) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.265 ) - Consideration of draft opinion - Deadline for tabling amendments 11.1 'Suiveurs' of the Intergovernmental Conference - 1.   Citizenship, fundamental rights, uniform electoral procedure: AGLIETTA/Greens - 2.   Social dimension, employment and environmental dimension: BARROS MOURA/PSE - 3.   CFSP and common defence: SPAAK/ELDR - 4.   Openness, transparency, simplification and codification: BONDE/EDN 11.2 'Suiveurs' (cont.)   - 5.   Institutions, subsidiarity, flexibility: DELL'ALBA/ARE - 6.1.   3rd Pillar: CEDERSCHIOLD/PPE - 6.2.   Majority voting, unanimity, weighting of votes and legislative procedure s: SCHWAIGER/PPE - 7.   Financing, budget, fraud: MARRA/UPE - 8.   Role of the Committee of the Regions and economic cohesion: GUTIERREZ DIAZ /GUE 12.   Application of the 'Modus Vivendi' in the field of comitology - 'Suiveurs': Mr Bourlanges and Mr De Giovanni - Consideration of working document 13.   Any other business 14.   Date of next meeting - in Strasbourg: - Monday, 16 September 1996, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. - in Brussels: - Wednesday, 25 September 1996, from 3 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. - Thursday, 26 September 1996, from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 6.30 p .  m. 14.1 14.2 14.3   [FOOTNOTES]1. )   Document to be considered on Monday, 2 September 1996 from 3 p.m. 2. )   Exchange of views to be held on Tuesday, 3 September 1996, from 3 p.m. - FIN - END OF DOCUMENT. 
5056 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Budgetary Control [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]] Belliard 61 0.1 ===] Monday 2 September at 3 p.m. 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.777 ) 2.   Approval of minutes of meeting of: (PE218.778 ) - 24 and 25 July 1996 in Brussels 3.   Chairman's announcements 4.   Decisions on procedure 5.   Protection of the EU's financial interests - Joint motion for a resolution with the Committee on Civil Liberties - Rapporteur: Diemut THEATO - Exchange of views Exchange of views and - Adoption of motion for a resolution (PE218.776 ) 6.   SEM 2000 - rationalization of ex ante control and development of internal audit (INS95-2065) - Member responsible: Joan COLOM I NAVAL - Consideration of working document (PE218.773 ) 7.   Discharge for clearance of 1992 EAGGF accounts (T04837) COS0417 C(96)0417 C4-0259/96 + CONT Fond R MULDER Jan. (ELD)   (PE218.780 ) - Consideration of working document 8.   Interparliamentary conference on combating fraud against the Community budget (T04884) INI0504 INI0504 + CONT Fond R THEATO Diemut.   (PPE) (PE218.049 ) - Consideration and adoption of a draft report 9.   Additional protocol to the Convention on protection of the Communities' financial interests (legal persons' liability) (T04757) (T04757) CNS95360 COM(95)0693 C4-0137/96 + CONT Avis A THEATO Diemut.   (PPE) (PE217.464 ) F LIBE Fond R BONTEMPI Rinaldo.   (PSE) (PE217.473 ) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 9.1 * * * * * * ===] Tuesday 3 September 9.3 *** In camera *** ===] In the presence of Mr WILLIAMSON, Secretary-General of the Commission 10.   Situation concerning the Emerson and tourism cases - Exchange of views 10.1 *** 11.   Revision of internal rules for implementation of Parliament's budget - Member responsible: John TOMLINSON - Exchange of views ===] 10 a.m. in the presence of: - Mr Hans KOSCHNICK, former EU administrator in Mostar - Mr Jan O. KARLSSON, Member of the Court of Auditors 12.   Court of Auditors' special report 2/96 on the EU's administration of Mostar and the administrator's expenses - Member responsible: Edith MULLER - Presentation of the report and exchange of views 12.1 *** 13.   Control and implementation of the current budget (T04932) ATT1232 + CONT Fond ELLES James E. (PPE) - Exchange of views 13.1 Early warning system no 7/96 (SEC (96)1350 final) 14.   Implementation of the EU's budget for 1996 - other institutions - Rapporteur: Joaquim MIRANDA 14.1 Transfer of appropriations 26/96 - NCE - Economic and Social Committee / Committee of the Regions (GBD2696 ) 14.2 Transfer of appropriations 23/96 - NCE - Court of Auditors (GBD2396 ) - Consideration Further consideration 15.   Any other business 16.   Date of next meeting (in Brussels): (PE/XV/OJ/96-11 ) END OF DOCUMENT. 
5057 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]] 0.1 ===] Monday, 2 September 1996, 3.00pm 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.662 ) 2.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 8-9 July 1996 (PE218.661 ) - 22-23 July 1996 (PE218.663 ) 3.   Chairman's announcements 4.   Comparative advertising (Dir.   84/450/EEC) (T01054) (T01054) COD0343 COM(94)0151 C4-0325/96 + ENVI Fond R OOMEN-RUIJTEN M.G.H. (PPE) - Consideration of common position 5.   Community Action Programme on health data and indicators, to provide informa tion back-up (cancer, AIDS, etc.) (T03748) (T03748) COD95238 COM(96)0222 C4-0354/96 + ENVI Fond R POGGIOLINI Danilo.   (PPE) (PE218.544 ) - Consideration of draft recommendation for 2nd reading 6.   Cocoa and chocolate products for human consumption - Proposal for EP and Cou ncil Directive (T04894) (T04894) COD96112 COM(95)0722 C4-0303/96 + ENVI Fond R LANNOYE Paul.   (V ) - Discussion on procedure 7.   Consumer access to justice and the settlement of consumer disputes in the in ternal market (T04803) (T04803) COS0398 COM(96)0013 C4-0195/96 + ENVI Avis A KUHN Annemarie.   (PSE) (PE218.663 ) F JURI Fond R FLORIO Luigi A. (UPE) (PE218.241 ) - Consideration of draft opinion 8.   Network for surveillance of communicable diseases in the European Community (T04784) (T04784) COD96052 COM(96)0078 C4-0189/96 + ENVI Fond R CABROL Christian E. (UPE) (PE218.210 ) - Consideration of draft report ===] Tuesday, 3 September 1996, 9.00am 9.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure 10.   CITES: Convention on endangered species of wild flora and fauna (T01053) **II (T01053) SYN0370 COM(93)0599 C4-0285/96 + ENVI Fond R PUTTEN Maartje J. (PSE) (PE218.009 ) - Adoption of draft recommendation for 2nd reading 11.   Supervision and control of shipments of waste within, into and out of the E uropean Community (T04044) **II (T04044) SYN95107 COM(96)0062 C4-0331/96 + ENVI Fond R VIRGIN Ivar.   (PPE)   (PE218.547 ) - Adoption of draft recommendation for 2nd reading 12.   Air quality: improvement of comparability and transparency at European leve l (reduction of emissions) (T02662) **II (T02662) SYN94194 COM(95)0468 C4-0330/96 + ENVI Fond R POLLACK Anita.   (PSE) (PE218.542 ) - Adoption of draft recommendation for 2nd reading 13.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + ENVI Avis A FLORENZ Karl-Heinz.   (PPE) (PE218.209/DEF) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.327 ) - Consideration of draft opinion 14.   Maritime strategy 14.1 Towards a new maritime strategy (T04818) (T04818) COS0405 COM(96)0081 C4-0237/96 + ENVI Avis L (PE218.664 ) F TRAN Fond R DANESIN Alessandro.   (UPE) (PE218.415 ) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 14.2 Competitiveness of the shipping industry (T04389) (T04389) COS0402 COM(96)0084 C4-0211/96 + ENVI Avis L   (PE218.665 ) F ECON Fond R KATIFORIS Georgios.   (PSE) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 15.   Trade and environment - Commission communication (T04781) (T04781) COS0391 COM(96)0054 C4-0158/96 + ENVI Avis A PIMENTA Carlos.   (ELD) F RELA Fond R KREISSL-DORFLER Wolf (V ) (PE218.562/A ) - Consideration of draft opinion 16.   The legal protection of biotechnological inventions (T04629) (T04629) COD95350 COM(95)0661 C4-0063/96 + ENVI Avis A SANDB K Ulla.   (EDN) (PE218.217/DT ) F JURI Fond R ROTHLEY Willi.   (PSE) (PE218.021 ) - Consideration of working document 17.   Reciprocal recognition of approval for motor vehicle equipment and parts - EC accession to 1958 Agreement (T04728) (T04728) AVC96006 COM(95)0723 C4-0186/96 + ENVI Avis L F RELA Fond R KITTELMANN Peter.   (PPE) (PE217.860 ) - Consideration and possible adoption of draft opinion 18.   Any other business 19.   Date of next meeting in Brussels (PE/XI/OJ/96-15 )   [FOOTNOTES]1. )   Coordinators meeting to be held on Monday, 2 September 1996, at 6.00pm A N N E X ===] Item 9 of the agenda ===] Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure ===] CONSULTATIONS ===] - Responsible 1.   Recasting of Directive 88/379/EEC on the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous preparations (T04363) COD96200 COM(96)0347 C4-0426/96 + ENVI Fond 2.   Extraction solvents used in the production of foodstuffs (amendment of Directive 88/344/EEC) (T04944) COD96195 COM(96)0375 C4-0428/96 + ENVI Fond 3.   BSE - protection of human and animal health (T04923) COS0437 C4-417/96 C4-0417/96 + ENVI Fond R PAPAYANNAKIS Mihail.   (GUE) ===] - Opinion 4.   Defining a Community aviation safety improvement strategy (T04934) COS0438 SEC(96)1083 C4-0423/96 + ENVI Avis F TRAN Fond R (PPE) A D D E N D U M 0.1 ===] After item 13, add the following item 13.1 Complementary (or non-conventional) medicine (T03525) INI0330 INI0330 B4-0024/94 B4-0024/94 + ENVI Fond R LANNOYE Paul.   (V ) (PE216.066 ) - Further consideration of draft report g END OF DOCUMENT. 
5058 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on External Economic Relations   [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]]   P U B L I C M E E T I N G   ===] Monday 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.809 ) 2.   Chairman's announcements ===] In the presence of the Council and Commission 3.1 Information from the Commission on work in progress 3.2 Helms-Burton Act - Decision on procedure 4.   Agreements between the EC and Israel on procurement by government and telcommunications operators (T04821) CNS96104 COM(96)0148 C4-0323/96 + RELA Fond R DE CLERCQ W. (ELD) (PE218.552 ) - Consideration of draft report 5.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + RELA Avis A MONIZ Fernando.   (PSE) (PE218.566 ) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.328 ) - Consideration of draft opinion - Deadline for tabling amendments 6.   White Paper on an air traffic management (Freeing Europe's airspace) (T03915) (T03915) COS0394 COM(96)0057 C4-0191/96 + RELA Avis A BERES Pervenche.   (PSE) (PE217.851 ) F TRAN Fond R CORNELISSEN Petrus A (PPE) (PE218.713 ) - Consideration of draft opinion 7.   Trans-European cooperation scheme for higher education (TEMPUS II) (1 July 1994 - 30 June 2000) (T04858) (T04858) CNS96133 COM(96)0198 C4-0361/96 + RELA Avis A PORTO Manuel.   (ELD) (PE217.870 ) F JEUN Fond R EVANS Robert J. (PSE) - Consideration of draft opinion - Deadline for tabling amendments 8.   The changeover to the single currency (report by the European Monetary Institute) (T04566) COS0336 C4-596/95 C4-0559/95 + RELA Avis A DE CLERCQ W. (ELD) F ECON Fond R HOPPENSTEDT Karsten (PPE) - Exchange of views 9.   Delegation visit to Oporto from 30 September to 2 October 1996 - Presentation of the draft programme by Mr MONIZ ===] Coordinators' meeting at 6.15 p.m. 9.2 - oOo-===] Tuesday 10.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure (see addendum) 11.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 8-9 July 1996 (PE218.559 ) 12.   Slovenia: negotiation of a Europe association agreement - economic/trade aspects (T04059) INI0417 INI0417 + RELA Fond R POSSELT Bernd.   (PPE) (PE218.553/A ) - Adoption of draft report 13.   Aid to shipbuilding - proposal for a Council regulation (T04859) CNS96165 COM(96)0309 C4-0387/96 + RELA Avis A SAINJON (ELD) (PE218.625 ) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 14.   Application of the PHARE and TACIS programmes - Preparation for a joint meeting (30 October 1996, 3 - 5.30 p.m.) with the committees and delegations concerned 15.1 World Trade Organization (T03463) (T03463) INI0268 INI0268 + RELA Fond R KITTELMANN Peter.   (PPE) (PE218.565/A ) + RELA Fond S KITTELMANN Peter.   (PPE) (PE218.565/A ) - Consideration of draft report - Deadline for tabling amendments 15.2 Strengthening international cooperation and rules (T04150) COS0290 COM(95)0359 C4-0352/95 + RELA Fond R KITTELMANN Peter.   (PPE) (PE217.869/A ) - Consideration of draft report - Deadline for tabling amendments 15.3 Trade and environment - Commission communication (T04781) (T04781) COS0391 COM(96)0054 C4-0158/96 + RELA Fond R KREISSL-DORFLER Wolf (V ) (PE218.562 ) - Consideration of draft report - Deadline for tabling amendments 16.   Any other business 17.   Date of next meeting (in Strasbourg): (PE/VI/OJ/96-19 ) A D D E N D U M ===] Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure ===] - Opinion ===] CONSULTATIONS 1.   Algeria: Euro-Mediterranean association agreement (T04799) ATT1198 + RELA Avis F POLI Fond - Appointment of draftsman 2.   Implementation of the action plan annexed to the Barcelona Declaration (T04510) COS0436 7987/96 C4-0414/96 + RELA Avis F POLI Fond SAKELLARIOU Jannis.   (PSE) (PE218.799/B ) - Appointment of draftsman 3.   Amendment of Regulation 40/94 on the Community trade mark (Protocol on the International Registration of Trade Marks) (T03826) CNS96198 COM(96)0372 + RELA Avis F JURI Fond - Appointment of draftsman 4.   EC accession to the Madrid Protocol on the International Recognition of Marks (proposal for a decision) (T04948) CNS96190 COM(96)0367 + RELA Avis F JURI Fond - Appointment of draftsman ===] Any other business 5.   Petition 1181/95 by Mr Spencer on the destruction of the Amazon rain forests - Decision on procedure 9 END OF DOCUMENT   Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights   [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]]   1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.249 )   1.1 In the presence of the Council and Commission   2.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 12.02.1996 (PE216.133 ) - 03.  -04.06.1996 (PE217.576 ) - 21.  -22.06.1995 (PE213.157 )   ===] Monday, 2 September 1996   ===] afternoon   3.   Free movement of doctors and recognition of their diplomas, certificates and other qualifications (T03603) (95/014) COD94305 COM(95)0437 C4-0381/96 + JURI Fond R FONTAINE Nicole.   (PPE) (PE218.248/RC )   - Consideration of a draft recommendation - Decision on procedure   4.   Merger control (amendment of Council Regulation (EEC No 4064/89) - Green Pap er (T04371) (96/030) (T04371) COS0373 COM(96)0019 C4-0106/96 + JURI Avis A JANSSEN van R. (PPE) (PE217.897 ) F ECON Fond R RAPKAY Bernhard.   (PSE) (PE218.622 )   - Adoption of draft opinion   5.1 1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (96/007/A) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + JURI Avis A ROTHLEY Willi.   (PSE) (PE216.131/AM1) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.265 )   - Adoption of amendments   5.2 1997 budget - other sections (T04557) (96/007/B) (T0457) BUD0075 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + JURI Avis A ROTHLEY Willi.   (PSE) (PE216.131/AM1) F BUDG Fond R FABRA VALLES J. (PPE)   (PE218.286 )   - Adoption of amendments   6.   Interparliamentary conference on combating fraud against the Community budge t (T04884) (96/084) (T04884) INI0504 INI0504 + JURI Avis L ODDY Christine M. (PSE) (PE218.246 ) F CONT Fond R THEATO Diemut.   (PPE) (PE218.049 )   - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter   7.   Priorities for consumer policy 1996-1998 (T03746) (95/134) (T03746) COS0324 COM(95)0519 C4-0501/95 + JURI Avis A ANOVEROS TRIAS d. (PPE) (PE216.128 ) F ENVI Fond R WHITEHEAD Phillip.   (PSE) (PE218.208/A )   - Consideration of draft opinion - Decision on procedure   8.   Convention on the European Information System (T04120) (95/091) (T04120) COS0275 12029/94 C4-0249/95 + JURI Avis A SCHAFFNER Anne-Marie (UPE) (PE214.185 ) F LIBE Fond R TERRON I C. (PSE) (PE215.800 )   ===] Tuesday, 3 September 1996   ===] morning   9.   (96/001) Decisions on the opportunity to introduce proceedings before the Eu ropean Court of Justice   9.1 This item will be held IN CAMERA on Tuesday 3 September 1996 at 9 am with th e participation of Mr GARZON CLARIANA, Jurisconsult   10.   Agreements between the EC and Israel on procurement by government and telco mmunications operators (T04821) (96/090) CNS96104 COM(96)0148 C4-0323/96 + JURI Avis S SIERRA GONZ uLEZ A. (GUE) F RELA Fond R DE CLERCQ W. (ELD) (PE218.552 )   11.   Common Catalogue of Varieties (70/457/EEC amended 17 times) - codification (T02734) (96/009C) CNS95322 COM(95)0628 C4-0080/96 + JURI Fond ULLMANN Wolfgang.   (V ) (PE218.245/CM )   - Exchange of views   12.   Injunctions for the protection of consumers' interests (Member States' legi slation) (T03102) (96/035) COD96025 COM(95)0712 C4-0127/96 + JURI Fond R VERDE I A. (PSE) (PE216.820/DT )   - Exchange of views on the basis of a working document   ===] afternoon   13.   25th annual report on competition policy (T04761) (96/44) (T04761) COS0408 COM(96)0126 C4-0240/96 + JURI Avis A FLORIO Luigi A. (UPE) (PE217.327 ) F ECON Fond R GARCIA ARIAS L. (PSE) (PE218.621 )   - Adoption of draft opinion   14.   Social security for migrant workers: amendment of Regulations 1408/71 and 5 74/72 (persons seeking employment) (T03825) (96/019) (T03825) CNS96004 COM(95)0734 C4-0116/96 + JURI Avis A HLAVAC Elisabeth.   (PSE) (PE217.325/DT ) F ASOC Fond R OOMEN-RUIJTEN M.G.H. (PE217.872 ) (PPE)   - Exchange of views on the basis of a working document   15.   Recognition of qualifications: craft trades and other business activities ( T03668) (96/036) COD96031 COM(96)0022 C4-0123/96 + JURI Fond R GEBHARDT Evelyne.   (PSE) (PE216.818 )   - Exchange of views   16.   Convention on computerization in the field of customs (T04119) (95/090) (T04119) COS0274 LET 8406/95 C4-0248/95 + JURI Avis A ULLMANN Wolfgang.   (V ) (PE214.186 ) F LIBE Fond R SCHULZ Martin.   (PSE) (PE215.793 )   - Consideration of draft opinion - Decision on procedure   17.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure - (PE218.249/AN1) - (PE218.249/AN2)   18.   Any other business   19.   Date of next meeting (PE/VII/OJ/16-96 )   19.1 Deadline for texts for translation before the next meeting (reminder): - Wednesday, 14 August 1996   A N N E X I   ===] APPOINTMENT OF RAPPORTEUR   1.   Settlement finality and collateral security (proposal for directive) (T04890 ) (96/077) (T04890) COD96126 COM(96)0193 C4-0306/96 + JURI Fond - item held over from the meeting of 22-24 July 1996 - Rapporteur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Group - - - - - - Points - - - - - 2.   Progamme of incentives and exchanges for practitioners in the justice area ( proposal for a Council decision) (T04902) (96/085) (T04902) CNS96146 COM(96)0253 + JURI Fond - item held over from the meeting of 22-24 July 1996 - Rapporteur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Group - - - - - - Points - - - - - 3.   Amendment of Regulation 40/94 on the Community trade mark (Protocol on the I nternational Registration of Trade Marks) (T03826) (96/086) (T03826) CNS96198 COM(96)0372 + JURI Fond - Rapporteur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Group - - - - - - Points - - - - - 4.   EC accession to the Madrid Protocol on the International Recognition of Mark s (proposal for a decision) (T04948) (96/094) (T04948) CNS96190 COM(96)0367 + JURI Fond - Rapporteur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Group - - - - - - Points - - - - - 4.1 * * * ===] Petition forwarded by the Committee on Petitions to the Legal Affairs Commi ttee for information: 5.   Petition 1107/95 by Mr Leo De Nul on exclusion from amnesty of those guilty of the unlawful practice of the profession of oral surgeon - On 22 July 1996 Mr Newman, the chairman of the Committee on Petitions, wrote t o Mr Casini forwarding this petition - to the Legal Affairs Committee for information.   - The Committee on Petitions has closed examination of the petition but asks the Legal Affairs Committee to inform it - of any action taken.   A N N E X II ===] Rule 45 motion referred to the committee as committee responsible at the pa rt-session from 15 to 19 July 1996 - Decision on procedure (Rule 45(2)) - include the motion with other motions or reports - deliver an opinion, possibly in letter form - draw up a report, for which authorization has to be obtained from the Conferen ce of Presidents 19.   Promoting the sponsorship of children in care who have reached the age of l egal majority (B4-0699/96) ( (96/089) ) - Rapporteur - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Group - - - - - - Points - - - - - - FIN - END OF DOCUMENT. 
5059 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Research, Technological Development and Energy   [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]]   ===] Monday, 2 September 1996 at 3 pm.   1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.596 )   ===] In the presence of the Council and Commission 2.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 2/3/4 June 1996 - Delegation Sicily (PE218.172 ) - 10/11 June 1996 in Brussels (PE218.165 ) - 18 June 1996 in Strasbourg (to be controled) (PE218.173 ) 3.   Chairman's announcements 4.   Any other business 5.   Improving energy efficiency: continuation of the SAVE programme after 1995 ( CO2 strategy) (T03884) **II (T03884) SYN95131 COM(96)0195 C4-0375/96 + ENER Fond R BLOCH von B. (V ) - Consideration of Common Position of Council 6.   1997 budget - Section III (T04556) (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + ENER Avis A McNALLY Eryl M. (PSE) (PE218.171/DEF) F BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.307 ) - First consideration of draft opinion - Deadline for tabling amendments 7.   Rational planning techniques in the electricity and gas distribution sectors (T03727) **I (T03727) SYN95208 COM(95)0369 C4-0030/96 + ENER Fond R McNALLY Eryl M. (PSE) (PE216.801/REV) - Further consideration of draft report - Consideration of amendments 8.   Towards sustainability: Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment (T03713) (T03713) COD96027 COM(95)0647 C4-0147/96 + ENER Avis A AHERN Nuala.   (V )   (PE217.782 ) F ENVI Fond R DYBKJ R Lone.   (ELD) (PE217.883 ) - Further consideration of draft opinion - Consideration of amendments 9.   Community policy in the field of telecommunications and postal services (T04 820) (T04820) CNS96042 COM(96)0045 C4-0284/96 + ENER Avis A McNALLY Eryl M. (PSE) (PE218.586 ) F ECON Fond R van VELZEN W. (PPE) - First consideration of draft opinion - Deadline for tabling amendments 10.   White Paper on an energy policy for the European Union (T03923) (T03923) COS0361 SEC(95)2283 C4-0018/96 + ENER Fond R van VELZEN W. (PPE) (PE217.771 ) - First consideration of draft report - Deadline for tabling amendments ===] Possibly, followed by coordinators' meeting ===] Tuesday, 3 September 1996 at 9 am.   11.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure 12.   Rational planning techniques in the electricity and gas distribution sector s (T03727) **I (T03727) SYN95208 COM(95)0369 C4-0030/96 + ENER Fond R McNALLY Eryl M. (PSE) (PE216.801/REV) - Vote on and adoption of draft report 13.   Towards a European Union strategy for relations with the Transcaucasian Rep ublics (T04279) (T04279) COS0410 COM(95)0205 C4-0242/96 + ENER Avis L (PE218.591 ) F POLI Fond R CARRERE D'ENCAUSSE H (UPE) (PE217.251/REV) - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter 14.   Towards sustainability: Community programme of policy and action in relatio n to the environment (T03713) (T03713) COD96027 COM(95)0647 C4-0147/96 + ENER Avis A AHERN Nuala.   (V )   (PE217.782 ) F ENVI Fond R DYBKJ R Lone.   (ELD) (PE217.883 ) - Vote on and adoption of draft opinion 15.   Petition no 751/94 and 1030/94 - construction of an electricity interconnec tor between Scotland and N-Ireland (PET0045 ) - Further consideration of draft opinion - Vote on and adoption of draft opinion 16.   Euro-Mediterranean partnership in the energy sector (T04819) (T04819) COS0406 COM(96)0149 C4-0238/96 + ENER Fond R SCAPAGNINI Umberto.   (UPE) (PE218.594 ) - First consideration of draft report - Deadline for tabling amendments ===] From 11 am - 12.30 pm: Colloque 17.   Community policy on research and sustainable development (T04003) (T04003) INI0404 INI0404 + ENER Fond R MARSET CAMPOS P. (GUE) - Exchange of views with experts 18.   Date of next meeting (PE/V/OJ/96-18 ) - FIN - 6 END OF DOCUMENT. 
5060 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]] SUBCOMMITTEE ON MONETARY AFFAIRS 0.1 ===] Monday 2 September 1996, pm 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.617 ) 2.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 24-25 June 1996 (PE218.615 ) - 1 July 1996 (PE218.616 ) 3.   Chairman's announcements 4.   Current monetary situation: Bullletin 22, September 96 5.   Effects of the EMU on certain fiscal aspects (T03944) INI0348 INI0348 + ECON Fond R CHRISTODOULOU Efthym (PPE) (PE217.518/DT ) - First consideration of draft report 6.   Monetary policies and their effects on the real economy in the context of pr eparation for the third stage of EMU (T03572) INI0316 + ECON Fond R HARRISON Lyndon.   (PSE) (PE217.495/AM ) - Further consideration of draft report 7.   Convergence criteria, the third stage of EMU and the various social security systems (T04222) INI0514 INI0514 B4-0589/95 B4-0589/95 + ECON Fond R WILLOCKX Frederik A. (PE217.722/AM ) (PSE) - Further consideration of draft report 8.   Hearing of experts on new technologies and money - Hearing of experts - Rapporteur: John STEVENS - (Monday 2 September from 4.30 pm) ===] Tuesday 3 September 1996, am 9.   Hearing of experts from the European chemical and pharmaceutical industry (f rom 9 am) - Hearing of experts - (Tuesday 3 September from 9 am) 10.   Report on convergence (T04762) ATT1183 + ECON Fond R METTEN Alman.   (PSE) (PE217.509/DT ) - Further consideration of working document 11.   The changeover to the single currency (report by the European Monetary Inst itute) (T04566) COS0336 C4-596/95 C4-0559/95 + ECON Fond R HOPPENSTEDT Karsten (PPE) - First consideration of draft report 12.   Consideration of written questions for Mr DUISENBERG, successor to Mr Lamfa lussy, President of the EMI 13.   Any other business 14.   Date of next meeting (PE/IV/OJ/96-10/S-C ) - FIN - END OF DOCUMENT. 
5061 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Budgets [[ Tuesday 03 September 1996 ]] 1.   Adoption of draft agenda (218.334 ) 2.   Chairman's announcements 3.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 24-25 June 1996 (218.298 ) 4.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure ===] 1997 budget 5.1 1997 budget - Section III (T04556) BUD0074 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + BUDG Fond R BRINKHORST Laurens J (ELD) (PE218.328 ) - Consideration of working document Consideration of working document 12: Council draft budget - Consideration of working document Consideration of working document 13: Nomenclature - former Yugoslavia 5.2 1997 budget - other sections (T04557) BUD0075 COM(96)0300 C4-0350/96 + BUDG Fond R FABRA VALLES J. (PPE) (PE218.325 ) - Consideration of working document Consideration of working document 6: first reading by the Council 5.3 Incorporation of the ECSC in the EC budget (T03409) INI0260 INI0260 + BUDG Fond R COLOM I N. (PSE) (PE218.313 ) - Consideration of draft report 5.4 Draft ECSC Operating Budget for 1997 (T04913) BUD0080 SEC(96)0981 C4-0359/96 + BUDG Fond R GIANSILY Jean-Antoin (UPE) - Exchange of views ===] Implementation of the budget for 1996 6.1 Control and implementation of the current budget (T04932) ATT1232 + BUDG Avis F CONT Fond ELLES James E. (PPE) 6.2 Transfer of appropriations No 16/96 - Section III - Commission - of the 1996 general budget (GBD1696 ) 6.3 Transfer of appropriations No 22/96 - NCE - Additional appropriations: humanitarian aid for former-Yugoslavia (GBD2296 ) 6.4 Transfer of appropriations No 25/96 - NCE - Commission (1996 budget) (GBD2596 ) 7.   Future financing of the European Union in respect of enlargement (T04589) PE216.971 INI0445 INI0445 + BUDG Fond R CHRISTODOULOU Efthym (PPE) (PE216.971 ) - Exchange of views (PE216.997 ) - (PE218.269 ) 8.   Decision setting up an Employment and Labour Market Policy Committee (T04861) CNS96097 COM(96)0134 C4-0396/96 + BUDG Avis REHN Olli.   (ELD) (PE218.311 ) F ASOC Fond R THEONAS Ioannis.   (GUE) (PE219.311 ) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 9.   EP - Local Authorities Conference - Rapporteur: Herbert BOSCH - ref: DVR0386,DVR0387,DVR0383 - Consideration of working document Consideration of working document: the future of economic and social cohesion 10.   Specific measures for live plants and floricultural products (proposal for a Council regulation) (T04899) CNS96155 COM(96)0261 C4-0390/96 + BUDG Avis A WYNN Terence.   (PSE) (PE218.331 ) F AGRI Fond R FILIPPI Livio.   (PPE) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 11.   Provision of loan guarantees for investments carried out by SMEs creating employment (ELISE) (T04827) CNS96107 COM(96)0155 C4-0314/96 + BUDG Avis A HAUG Jutta.   (PSE) (PE218.316 ) F ECON Fond R KUCKELKORN Wilfried.   (PSE) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 12.   Multiannual programme to assist European tourism, 1997-2000 (PHILOXENIA) (T04854) CNS96127 COM(96)0168 C4-0356/96 + BUDG Avis L (PE218.305/REV) F TRAN Fond BENNASAR TOUS F. (PPE) (PE218.418 ) - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion 13.   Fisheries agreement with Mauritania - Draftsman: Karin Jons - Consideration and adoption of draft opinion ===] Simplified procedure 14.1 Integrated administrative and control system for certain Community aid schemes (amendment of Regulation 3508/92) (T04839) CNS96122 COM(96)0174 C4-0313/96 + BUDG Avis L   (PE218.300 ) F CONT Fond R GARRIGA POLLEDO S. (PPE) (PE218.055 ) - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter 14.2 Support system for producers of certain arable crops - Council regulation amending Regulation 1765/92 (T04914) CNS96167 COM(96)0175 C4-0389/96 + BUDG Avis L (PE218.324 ) F AGRI Fond - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter 14.3 Veterinary checks (amendment of Directives 71/118, 72/462, 85/73, 91/67, 91/492, 91/493, 92/45 and 92/118) (T04873) CNS96109 COM(96)0170 C4-0334/96 CNS96110 COM(96)0170 C4-0335/96 + BUDG Avis L (PE218.332 ) + BUDG Avis F ENVI Fond R OLSSON Karl-Erik.   (ELD) - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter 14.4 Partnership and cooperation agreement between the EC and Russia (T04900) AVC96106 COM(96)0150 + BUDG Avis A McCARTIN John J. (PPE) (PE218.323 ) F POLI Fond - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter 15.   Date of next meeting (PE/III/OJ/96-19 ) 16.   Deadline for presenting texts for translation for the next meeting: - 24-25 September 1996 - texts available by 6 September at the latest END OF DOCUMENT. 
5062 !G15 !GCAT  Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development   [[ Monday 02 September 1996 ]]   PUBLIC MEETING   1.   Adoption of draft agenda (PE218.438 ) 2.   Approval of minutes of meetings of: - 10/11 June 1996 (PE217.844 ) - 17 June 1996 (PE218.430 ) - 25/26 June 1996 (PE218.432 ) - 8/9 July 1996 (PE218.434 ) - 15 July 1996 (PE218.437 ) ===] In the presence of the Commission 3.   General Community strategy for the forestry sector (T03499) INI0287 INI0287 B4-0186/94 B4-0186/94 B4-0462/94 B4-0462/94 B4-0051/94 B4-0051/94 + AGRI Fond R THOMAS David E. (PSE) (PE213.578/A ) - Vote on and adoption of draft report 4.   Minimum standards for the protection of calves (amendment of Directive 91/62 9/EEC) (T04750) CNS96029 COM(96)0021 C4-0133/96 + AGRI Fond R ROSADO FERNANDES R. (UPE) (PE217.832 ) - Vote on and adoption of draft report 5.   Trade arrangements for goods derived from the processing of agricultural pro ducts (amendment of Regulation 3448/93) (T04755) CNS96039 COM(96)0049 C4-0156/96 + AGRI Fond R GILLIS Alan L. (PPE) (PE217.834 ) - Consideration and adoption of a draft report 6.   Community water policy (T04766) COS0387 COM(96)0059 C4-0144/96 + AGRI Avis A des PLACES E. (EDN) (PE214.530 ) F ENVI Fond R FLORENZ Karl-Heinz.   (PPE) (PE218.545 ) - Consideration of draft opinion ===] Tuesday, 3 September at 9 a.m. 7.   Exchange of views with Mr Ivan YATES, Ireland's Minister for Agriculture, Fo od and Forestry, President-in-Office of the Council, on current problems 8.   Creation of a European Rural Charter (T03605) INI0418 INI0418 B4-0019/94 B4-0019/94 B4-0055/95 B4-0055/95 + AGRI Fond C HYLAND Liam.   (UPE) (PE216.622 ) + AGRI Fond R HYLAND Liam.   (UPE) (PE216.622 ) - Vote on and adoption of draft report 9.   White Paper on an energy policy for the European Union (T03923) COS0361 SEC(95)2283 C4-0018/96 + AGRI Avis A SCHIERHUBER Agnes.   (PPE) (PE218.439 ) F ENER Fond R van VELZEN W. (PPE) (PE217.771 ) - Consideration of draft opinion 10.   Integrated administrative and control system for certain Community aid sche mes (amendment of Regulation 3508/92) (T04839) CNS96122 COM(96)0174 C4-0313/96 + AGRI Avis L   (PE218.440 ) F CONT Fond R GARRIGA POLLEDO S. (PPE) (PE218.055 ) - Adoption of a draft opinion in the form of a letter 11.   Sugar, honey, fruit juice, milk and jams for human consumption - proposal f or a Council directive (T04896) + T04893 and T04894 CNS96113 COM(95)0722 C4-0402/96 CNS96114 COM(95)0722 C4-0403/96 CNS96115 COM(95)0722 C4-0404/96 CNS96116 COM(95)0722 C4-0405/96 CNS96118 COM(95)0722 C4-0406/96 + AGRI Avis A HAPPART Jose H. (PSE) + AGRI Avis HAPPART Jose H. (PSE) F ENVI Fond R LANNOYE Paul.   (V ) F ENVI Fond LANNOYE Paul.   (V ) - Exchange of views 12.   Application of the procedure without report (Rule 143(1) of the Rules of Pr ocedure) 12.1 Marketing of lemon products.   Derogation from Reg.  (EC) 1035/77 for 96/97 an d amendment of Reg.   1543/95 (T04895) CNS96144 COM(96)0240 C4-0392/96 CNS96145 COM(96)0240 C4-0393/96 + AGRI Fond 13.   Decision on procedure (Rules 52, 99, 59 or 143) (possibly) 14.   Appointment of rapporteurs and draftsmen - decisions on procedure (possibly) 15.   Any other business 16.   Date of next meeting in BRUSSELS (PE/II/OJ/96-19 ) 16.1 16.2 N.B. The coordinators will meet during this meeting.   A D D E N D U M 0.1 0.2 ===] Insert two new items after Item 5 0.4 5.1 Beef, arable crops and agricultural structures: amendment of Rgulations (EEC) 805/68, 1765/92 and 2328/91 (T04950) CNS96211 COM(96)0422 C4-0447/96 CNS96213 COM(96)0422 C4-0449/96 CNS96212 COM(96)0422 C4-0448/96 + AGRI Fond - The Council has asked for the urgent procedure (Rule 97) for the part-session of 4-5 September - Decision on procedure 5.2 1997 budget - Section III - Draftsman: Anthony Joseph WILSON - Deadline for tabling amendments Deadline for tabling amendments to the draft Council budget - FIN - END OF DOCUMENT. 
5063 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   Aircraft noise and emissions Economic assessment of proposals for a common European Union position for CAEP 4 Consultancy services Call for tender (96/C 251/09)   Provision of overland transport services for material and equipment for European Commission delegations in European Third Countries and in the New Independent States (NIS) Contract notice No TRA/96/003/IAE-3 - Open procedure (96/C 251/08)   Microfiche production system Open procedure Invitation to tender DI 96/04 Micromation (96/C 251/07)   Aircraft noise and emissions Gaseous emissions from aircraft in the atmosphere Consultancy services Call for tender (96/C 251/06)   Tacis - support framework for the coordination and development of the Tacis information and communications programme Notice of open invitation to tender for a public service contract (96/C 251/05)   COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 4064/89 (96/C 251/04)   FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY AT 31 DECEMBER 1995 (96/C 251/03)   Average prices and representative prices for table wines at the various marketing centres (96/C 251/02)   Ecu (1) 28 August 1996 (96/C 251/01) END OF DOCUMENT. 
5064 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1691/96 of 28 August 1996 fixing the maximum export refunds for olive oil for the 18th partial invitation to tender under the standing invitation to tender issued by Regulation (EC) No 2544/95   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1690/96 of 28 August 1996 fixing the export refunds on olive oil   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1689/96 of 28 August 1996 fixing the import duties in the rice sector   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1688/96 of 28 August 1996 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1687/96 of 28 August 1996 fixing the representative prices and the additional import duties for molasses in the sugar sector   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1686/96 of 28 August 1996 fixing the maximum export refund for white sugar for the fourth partial invitation to tender issued within the framework of the standing invitation to tender provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1464/96   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1685/96 of 28 August 1996 fixing the export refunds on white sugar and raw sugar exported in its unaltered state END OF DOCUMENT. 
5065 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Britain's B.A.T Industries Plc said Thursday it and the tobacco industry as a whole are confident that U.S. tobacco litigants would ultimately make no significant progress.   In a letter to be mailed to shareholders, B.A.T said it was also confident that the recent award of damages against it to a plaintiff who suffered from lung cancer would be overturned.   "Notwithstanding this, the litigious framework in the U.S. means that we will see continuing activity in the courtrooms of America," B.A.T said in the letter.   The letter follows a slump in B.A.T's share price after news last week of a lung cancer award by a Florida court and moves by President Clinton to support the Food and Drug Administration's proposal limiting youth access to tobacco products.   Shares in the group, which plunged to a year-low of around 420 pence on the two developments, have since moved up to 445 pence.   Referring to Clinton's approval for the new FDA regulations on youth access, B.A.T said it strongly opposed government regulations "whose true purpose is to restrict the rights of adults to smoke ..."   "It is very unfortunate that the discussions between the U.S. administration and members of the U.S. tobacco businesses ... have been sacrificed to political grandstanding ahead of the U.S. presidential elections in November," it added. 
5066 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  The European Commission said on Thursday it would study scientific reports saying Britain's mad cow epidemic would die out by 2001 but offered little prospect the findings would change an agreed slaughter campaign.   "Obviously we are interested in this research.   We will ask the (EU) scientific and veterinary committee to examine it," Commission spokesman Gerard Kiely told Reuters.   But he added that new research into the dynamics of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal brain-wasting disease suffered by cattle, was unlikely to alter a slaughter plan agreed by Britain and its 14 EU partners.   "We agreed that following detailed scientific analysis using a methodology which would take out the maximum number of BSE cases possible.   I think it would be very difficult to sell to the European Commission a programme which would involve the elimination of fewer BSE cases," Kiely said.   "We have always avoided the question of numbers of animals to be slaughtered, that's not the issue.   The issue is the protection of consumers' health and the rapid eradication of BSE," he added.   Separately, Kiely told reporters the scientific and veterinary committee would review on September 6 findings that were announced earlier this month that mad cow disease can be passed from cows to their calves.   He said the committee could decide that a "wider, more selective cull" was needed, but could equally decide that the present plan was adequate.   "We'll see where we go after we have the opinion of the scientific and veterinary committee," he said. "  (It) may well say everything is fine, there's no need to do any more."   The Commission's reaction to the latest findings is likely to disappoint British farmers, who seized on research by Oxford scientists in the scientific journal Nature saying it would be hard to get rid of the disease any faster than 2001 without killing vast numbers of cattle.   The researchers predicted there would be 340 new infections and 14,000 new cases of BSE before 2001.   British farmers' leader called on Wednesday for an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss the report.   "I hope the government will now make it clear they believe there is a better way of dealing with this issue," National Farmers Union president Sir David Naish told BBC radio.   Naish said there was no need for Britain to carry out a planned cull of some 147,000 cattle to which it had reluctantly agreed to placate its European partners.   The report could   well reopen a damaging row between Britain and the EU, which slapped a worldwide ban on British beef after the government said there could be a link between BSE and the human form of the disease.   The issue flared in in March when government scientists admitted that people could become infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) from eating BSE-infected beef. 
5067 !C24 !C31 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GVIO  Thousands of farmers threw up surprise blockades on roads across France overnight, stopping and checking lorries suspected of importing non-European Union beef in protest at falling prices following the mad cow crisis.   Farmers had threatened an "incendiary" end to the summer holidays and this show of force was the first in a wave of social unrest expected to target the austerity-minded government in coming weeks.   The FNSEA farmers' union, which mobilised demonstrators with mobile phones and faxes in complete secrecy, said about 15,000 farmers set up blockades on main roads and at motorway toll gates in many areas to carry out spot checks on cargoes.   The main quarry were trucks carrying imports from Britain, outside the European Union and especially cheap imports from eastern Europe, which breeders say have helped force beef prices down by a third in recent months.   "I'm very happy with today's mobilisation.   The aim of the checks is to ensure that both producers and consumers benefit from complete openness on the origin of meat," FNSEA head Luc Guyau told Europe-1 radio.   "We will be inflexible," he said, adding that checks were still continuing although the great majority of trucks checked had been cleared.   More than 2,000 lorries were searched.   "We're going to take things into our own hands and clean things up.   We'll find what we're looking for, that's for certain," echoed an FNSEA official in western Mayenne.   A dozen trucks had suspect cargoes.   On the Franco-Belgian border, one Dutch driver who resisted orders to have his load searched had the tyres of his lorry punctured.   His cargo was handed over to local customs officials.   In the Losere region, farmers who stopped a truck found frozen meat among more than 500 kg (1,100 lb) of frozen fish.   The blockades coincided with surprise protests called in a host of towns, on the eve of a European Union meeting on how to counter the mad cow crisis.   In Laval, farmers unloaded veal in the streets.   Protesters occupied the offices of the prefecture (local government authority) in the Creuse region.   Near Grenoble, 100 farmers occupied a slaughterhouse at Hieres sur Amby to check the origin of meat, police reported.   Asked whether he wanted a ban on imports from outside the EU, Guyau said: "When we talk about stopping the fall in prices, it's crucial we start by dealing with imports.   We don't want to close borders but we want agreements to be totally respected."   In a separate protest, a group of breeders who have marched their cows from the provinces to Paris will walk into the courtyard of President Jacques Chirac's Elysee palace on Friday and put their grievances to him.   European beef sales plunged after Britain announced the discovery of a likely link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, and its fatal human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).   Marc Blondel, leader of the Force Ouvriere union, warned that social conflicts in the autumn could be worse than last year's crippling public sector strikes over welfare reform.   "It's my problem as a unionist that this risks happening outside the control of the unions.   More a sort of 'Poujadism'," Blondel said, referring to a popular political uprising led by grocer Jean-Pierre Poujade in the 1950s.   Chirac, chairing his first post-holiday cabinet meeting on Wednesday, urged his ministers to "get yourselves together" and exude optimism to help snap France out of doldrums fuelled by record unemployment, planned spending cuts and layoffs. 
5068 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Thousands of farmers threw up surprise blockades on roads across France overnight, stopping and checking lorries suspected of importing non-European Union beef in protest at falling prices following the mad cow crisis.   The FNSEA farmers union, which had organised the operation in complete secrecy, said about 15,000 farmers set up blockades on several main roads and at motorway toll gates in many areas to carry out spot checks on cargoes.   "I'm very happy with today's mobilisation.   The aim of the checks is to ensure that both producers and consumers benefit from complete openness on the origin of meat," FNSEA head Luc Guyot told Europe-1 radio.   "We will be inflexible," he said, adding that checks were still continuing although the great majority of trucks checked had been cleared.   By 3 a.m. (0100 GMT), more than 2,000 lorries had been stopped and searched.   About a dozen trucks, Guyot said, had cargoes of suspect origin.   "If the imports are not OK then we will hand them over to authorities," he said.   European beef sales plunged after Britain announced the discovery of a likely link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, and its fatal human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).   The French farmers staged their protest on the eve of a European Union meeting on how to counter the mad cow crisis.   On the Franco-Belgian border, one Dutch driver who resisted orders to have his load searched had the tyres of his lorry punctured.   His cargo was handed over to local customs officials.   In the Losere region, farmers who stopped a truck found frozen meat among more than 500 kg of frozen fish.   The blockades coincided with surprise protests called in a host of cities and towns.   In Laval, farmers unloaded veal in the streets.   A group of protesters occupied the offices of the prefecture (local government authority) in the Creuse region.   Near Grenoble, 100 farmers occupied a slaughterhouse at Hieres sur Amby to check the origin of meat, local gendarmerie paramilitary police reported.   Asked whether he was lobbying for a ban on beef imports from outside the European Union, Guyot answered: "When we talk about stopping the fall in prices, it's crucial that we start by dealing with imports.   We don't want to close borders but we want agreements to be totally respected." 
5069 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday blocked a bid by controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to receive more than $1 billion from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.   The decision came shortly before Farrakhan arrived in the Libyan capital of Tripoli and thanked his hosts in a statement for the humanitarian award, Libyan radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported on Thursday.   Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi pledged $1 billion to the Nation of Islam after meeting Farrakhan in Libya last January.   The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control denied applications for Farrakhan to receive either a $250,000 honorarium or the $1 billion in humanitarian aid.   Richard Newcomb, director of the U.S. Treasury branch that oversees travel and trade restrictions against U.S. citizens' dealing with Libya, had cited among reasons for the denial the belief that Libya was "a strong supporter of terrorist groups."   Farrakhan said he would fight any U.S. government effort to deny him the Libyan funds, which he said would be used to build schools and business in American black communities.   But Treasury said that after consulting with the State Department, it was turning down Farrakhan's applications because of longstanding grievances with the Libyan regime and because U.S. law prohibited accepting it.   "United States foreign policy has consistently sought the international isolation of the Libyan regime for a number of reasons," a Treasury Dept.   statement said.   It said Libya has been on a list of states that sponsor international terrorism since December 1979, and noted that Libya refused to turn over two Libyan suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.   That refusal led to the imposition of United Nations sanctions against Libya.   In Chicago, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin said he was not personally involved in the decision, but said it was the result of "a very extensive and thoughtful process with the State Department."   The White House had signalled on Tuesday that a denial of Farrakhan's license application was likely.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry, travelling with President Bill Clinton, told reporters that "we would expect American citizens to honour their obligations under U.S. law, which prohibits economic transactions involving the government of Libya that are not sanctioned by licenses issued through the Treasury Department."   Farrakhan was the organiser of last October's Million Man March, which brought thousands of black men to Washington for a peaceful rally.   But he drew more attention during a lengthy tour early this year that included stops in Libya, Iran and Iraq -- all states that the United States considers sponsors of terrorism.   Farrakhan's trip drew widespread criticism and sparked congressional hearings into it. 
5070 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  An airliner carrying coal miners from Russia crashed into a mountain on Thursday on the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen and all 141 passengers and crew were feared to have died, Norwegian officials said.   Norwegian officials on Spitzbergen rejected a report from Moscow that five people had survived when the Tupolev jet crashed as it approached the island's only airport.   If all 141 people are confirmed dead, the crash would be the worst in Norwegian history.   The island governor's office said no survivors had been found and rejected the Russian report.   "This is totally unknown to us and wrong," it said.   "In that case they must have walked away from the site without us noticing, so that has got to be wrong."   A spokeswoman for the Russian Emergencies Ministry said her ministry had a report from the crash site that five people may have survived the crash.   But a spokesman for Vnukovo Airlines, which owned the plane that was flying the miners to the Arctic settlement, could not confirm the report.   The accident occurred in bad weather 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen.   The jet crashed at a remote site, with no roads nearby.   "No survivors have been found and our first aid staff are returning from the crash site," local government official Kjetil Hansen told reporters.   The plane had been chartered by coal mining company Trust Arktik Ugol.   The Norwegian aviation inspectorate said the plane was making a normal instrument landing and was in touch with Longyearbyen airport when it crashed.   The miners were travelling to work in one of the island's three open-cast coal mines.   Some of them were accompanied by their families, Russian officials told the Norwegian news agency.   Air traffic officials said they had lost contact with the flight, scheduled to arrive at around 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT), shortly before it was due to land.   First rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. and reported that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest was found on the slopes.   The miners, most of them Ukrainians, represented a considerable part of the Russian community on Spitzbergen, which numbers around 2,000 people.   They were due to replace more than 100 other Russian miners who should have returned to Moscow on the doomed flight.   Their colleagues wept when they were told the plane had crashed a few minutes away from the landing site, Norwegian radio reported.   Spitzbergen is a Norwegian coal-mining settlement.   The only other community is in the Russian village of Barentsburg.   Russia and Norway share the island's resources under a treaty dating back to the 1920s. 
5071 !E11 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  Britain took its first official steps towards costing environmental damage and depletion on Wednesday, releasing national accounts measuring air pollution, spending on environmental protection and oil and gas reserves.   The report, produced by the Office for National Statistics and covering 70 industries, pointed the finger at certain sectors for the bulk of Britain's air pollution problems.   It also showed UK net national income may have been overestimated because the costs of falling oil and gas reserves have not been accounted for to date.   At current rates of extraction, Britain's oil and gas supplies will last only 40 years, the report said.   For 1993, the ONS said pre-tax profits from exploiting oil and gas were 2.2 billion pounds ($3.43 billion) in excess of a "normal state of return".   It said it regarded that as a measure of the cost of depletion of reserves.   So net national income, for that year at least, could be said to have been overstated to the tune of two billion pounds.   But city economists said that will be of little concern to the financial markets.   "The markets are interested in the rate of GDP growth not absolute national income per se," said John Shepperd, chief economist at Yamaichi International.   The key growth figure for the markets is gross domestic product.   Depreciation, be it for oil and gas or any other industry, would only relate to net income figures, not gross.   "We're not heading towards a green GDP figure," an ONS official said.   "What we are producing is a one-year profile of environmental costs over the economy.   That hasn't been done before."   The accounts will be developed further to analyse how economic developments will affect pollution in the future, the ONS said.   Next year, for example, the accounts will include a look at radioactive waste and water emissions.   The report also put the spotlight on the electricity generation industry and transport for the bulk of Britain's air pollution problems.   The ONS report said electricity generation produced 25 percent of greenhouse gas and 44 percent of acid rain emissions in 1993.   Transport -- including road haulage, transport used by industry and private transport and road vehicles -- produced 22 percent of greenhouse gases and 30 percent of acid rain in Britain.   The large part of that pollution was not created by the road haulage industry, the ONS said.   But a high proportion of black smoke was emitted by heavy goods vehicles, the majority of which are based in road haulage, it said.   But British industries are facing up to some of their environmental responsibilities, the report showed.   Total environmental expenditure by the extraction, manufacturing, energy production and water industries totalled 2.3 billion stg in 1993.   The chemicals, paper and publishing and food manufacturing industries spent most on environmental protection.   ($1=.6421 Pound) 
5072 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  President Fidel Ramos on Thursday pledged to pump his government's entire available resources to develop the southern Philippines after a peace deal is signed with Moslem guerrillas.   He said he was optimistic that government and rebel panels meeting in Jakarta would resolve remaining issues to clear the way for the signing in Manila on Monday of a final agreement ending a 24-year rebellion on Mindanao island and adjacent islands.   "With peace installed, the government commits its total efforts and available resources to accelerate economic, social and human development in southern Philippines," he said in a statement.   He said the signing of the accord would usher in "a new era of peace in Mindanao which has known mostly hostilities for the last 400 years".   Mindanao, 800 km (500 miles) south of Manila, has been racked by violence since the 16th century when Spain colonised the Philippines and launched a campaign to Christianise the southern region, which the Moslems regard as their ancestral homeland.   The Spanish colonial rulers failed to subjugate the Moslems.   Fighting raged intermittently in the area after the United States ousted the Spanish colonial rulers towards the end of the 19th century, and continued after the Philippines won independence in 1946.   More than 125,000 people have died in the current conflict which began in 1972.   Negotiators for the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) met for their final round of talks in Jakarta on Thursday to agree on the text of a formal accord expected to be initialled in the Indonesian capital on Friday.   "We face the final day of our long journey towards peace," government delegation chief Manuel Yan told the opening ceremony chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.   Indonesia heads an Islamic panel which is mediating the talks. 
5073 !C16 !C17 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Bondholders of beleaguered Amcol Holdings will go to court in a bid to secure an assurance they will be paid, a source close to the case said on Thursday.   The source said they would try on Friday to get the High Court to instruct Amcol's judicial managers to get an assurance from white knight Sinar Mas that bondholders would be paid in full.   The interim judicial managers -- Nicky Tan, Deborah Ong and Yeoh Oon Jin, all partners of Price Waterhouse -- were due to appear in court on Friday to have their appointments confirmed.   "The position of the bondholders is that they are not happy to confirm them (the interim judicial managers) unless certain conditions are met," the source, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.   At a meeting on Tuesday, more than 100 Amcol bondholders met the judicial managers to seek a commitment on bond obligations from Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas before Friday's court date.   The source said lawyers for HSBC Trustee, which is acting on behalf of the bondholders, would air bondholders' grievances and state their conditions at the hearing.   The bondholders, with interests in three classes of Amcol bonds totalling S$285 million, represent Amcol's largest creditor.   "The first thing the bondholders want is a written guarantee, perferably backed by a bank," the source said.   They feared that they could be "left dangling in the air" without an assurance, he said.   He added that the judicial managers had not revealed other rescue offers and creditors and shareholders could therefore not judge whether they got the best deal.   Property and trading firm Amcol has been under judicial management since July 21, when a Price Waterhouse audit revealed the company had liabilities of S$1.16 billion.   -- Singapore newsroom (65-8703080) 
5074 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Thursday that he remained committed to the tough goals set out in the Maastricht Treaty for an EU single currency but the rest of Europe might need to grant Italy a little leeway.   "(European Monetary Union) must go ahead, it must start as soon as possible," Prodi said in an interview with news magazine Panorama released ahead of publication.   "If then, in agreement with our partners, special, intermediate, brief stages should have to be set up for our country... well, we can live with that."   Prodi said France and Germany had "never been so convinced that it's difficult to go ahead... without Italy".   But creeping doubts about the feasibility of starting EMU as planned in 1999 have swept the 15-member European Union as states struggle with recession and unemployment to meet Maastricht's tough budget deficit, debt and inflation goals.   With Italy hopelessly behind on the debt target and still lagging on the other criteria, dissent at home has grown.   Cesare Romiti, the powerful boss of car firm Fiat, said last week it could be worthwhile for Italy to delay joining a single currency for some time if it allowed more jobs to be created.   Deputy Prime Minister Walter Veltroni also said a re-think of the timing and criteria could be needed.   Prodi said the Maastricht Treaty should not be changed.   "It's like when you take out a mortgage to buy a house," he said.   "Maybe you go ahead and then change your mind.   But what can you do, you've just got to keep paying the instalments."   Italy's centre-left government must unveil its 1997 budget by the end of September and Prodi said this autumn would prove crucial to its hopes of making the grade for a single currency and of lowering interest rates "once and for all".   "The autumn will be a decisive moment, a turning point and a completion of the programme," he said.   Prodi has said he plans to slash 32 trillion lire ($21 billion) from the 1997 state budget, but has not yet said how.   "The budget arithmetic has been worked out with two aims in mind -- the first is to go into Europe, but not with a dead country...then a secondary, but no less important goal -- reducing interest rates once and for all," Prodi said.   Italy finally cut its discount rate by 0.75 point to 8.25 percent on July 24 after keeping financial markets on tenterhooks for more than a year.   But Prodi said he aimed to bring Italy's rates in line with those of Germany, which at 2.5 percent for the discount rate and 4.5 percent for the Lombard rate, are near historic lows.   "Obviously we have to go softly, softly... But I can't have a country always with a primary surplus but which can't invest in development or schools because there's no cash," he said.   "I've got to aim for rates level with Germany's and that will give me 40-50 billion lire a year to relaunch the country."   Asked when the Italian economy would pick up, Prodi said: "The most trustworthy forecasts lead us to believe that the turning point will come around the end of the year."   He brushed aside talk that his coalition of ex-communists, centrists and Greens was creaking at the seams but admitted it was difficult having to rely on support from the hardline Communist Refoundation party for a majority in the lower house.   But he said he had always forseen the problems and had no intention of changing strategy or the thrust of the 1997 budget. 
5075 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  The European Commission said on Thursday it would study scientific reports saying Britain's mad cow epidemic would die out by 2001 but offered little prospect the findings would change an agreed slaughter campaign.   "Obviously we are interested in this research.   We will ask the (EU) scientific and veterinary committee to examine it," Commission spokesman Gerard Kiely told Reuters.   But he added that new research into the dynamics of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal brain-wasting disease suffered by cattle, was unlikely to alter a slaughter plan agreed by Britain and its 14 EU partners.   "We agreed that following detailed scientific analysis using a methodology which would take out the maximum number of BSE cases possible.   I think it would be very difficult to sell to the European Commission a programme which would involve the elimination of fewer BSE cases," Kiely said.   "We will look at our approach (to the plan) but we won't get involved with the number of animals to be slaughtered," he said.   "We have always avoided the question of numbers of animals to be slaughtered, that's not the issue.   The issue is the protection of consumers' health and the rapid eradication of BSE," he added.   The reaction is likely to disappoint British farmers, who seized on research by Oxford scientists in the scientific journal Nature saying it would be hard to get rid of the disease any faster than 2001 without killing vast numbers of cattle.   The researchers predicted there would be 340 new infections and 14,000 new cases of BSE before 2001.   British farmers' leader called on Wednesday for an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss the report.   "I hope the government will now make it clear they believe there is a better way of dealing with this issue," National Farmers Union president Sir David Naish told BBC radio.   Naish said there was no need for Britain to carry out a planned cull of some 147,000 cattle to which it had reluctantly agreed to placate its European partners.   "The new evidence to me means some of that proposal should be re-examined because we could get away with considerably less animals being culled if in fact scientists throughout Europe accepted this evidence," Naish said.   The report could well reopen a damaging row between Britain and the EU, which slapped a worldwide ban on British beef after the government said there could be a link between BSE and the human form of the disease.   The issue flared in in March when government scientists admitted that people could become infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) from eating BSE-infected beef. 
5076 !GCAT !GENT  What do the author Henry James, the rock group Queen and the late New York artist Jean Michel Basquiat have in common?   Just check out the programme of the Venice Film Festival.   Many of the films at Venice this year look to other art forms -- literature, music or visual arts -- for inspiration.   Continuing cinema's fascination in recent years with 19th century literature, New Zealand-born director Jane Campion will unveil her adaptation of James's novel "Portrait of a Lady" in an out-of-competition screening.   The film, starring Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich, has its world premiere on September 6.   German director Volker Schlondorff also turned to the written word for his film "The Ogre" based on the 1970 novel by French writer Michel Tournier, "The Erl-King".   The World War Two drama also stars Malkovich.   "Michel Tournier's book both fascinated and frightened me," Schlondorff said in an interview released by publicists.   "It is a very French view of Germany, a kind of realist fairy tale," he said.   "It's the story of someone who is nothing at home and who, once dragged into the war, suddenly believes his destiny is coming to pass and that great things are waiting for him."   Another book-turned-film competing at Venice is Colombian director Sergio Cabrera's "Ilona Llega con la Lluvia" (Ilona Arrives with the Rain), based on the novel by the same name by fellow Colombian Alvaro Mutis.   The New York City art scene is scrutinised in "Basquiat", which is also competing for the Golden Lion prize to be awarded on September 7, the final day of the festival.   The film, about the life of artist Basquiat who died of a heroin overdose in 1988, is the directing debut of artist Julian Schnabel, who was Basquiat's friend.   Singer David Bowie appears in the film as Basquiat's mentor, pop art legend Andy Warhol.   Queen, the British rock group whose flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991, is featured in "Made in Heaven", a compilation of seven short films produced by the British Film Institute.   It was shown out of competition at a private screening on Wednesday, the festival's opening day.   French director Jean-Luc Godard also evokes music in his entry, "Forever Mozart", set in Sarajevo during Bosnia's war.   The film is made up of four loosely-linked vignettes about efforts by artists to continue their trade despite the fighting.   Godard dedicated the final segment to a young pianist who performs a Mozart piano concerto in the film.   But not all movies at Venice are so artistically-inclined.   One character from a real-life drama is making his acting debut.   Bernard Tapie, France's former businessman, soccer boss and cabinet minister until the collapse of his business empire in 1994, will be starring in Claude Lelouch's "Hommes, femmes, mode d'emploi" (Men, Women, Instructions for Use).   Tapie, who is appealing two jail sentences imposed for tax fraud and rigging a soccer match, plays an over-stressed lawyer.   Lelouch said during filming that he hired Tapie because he was so impressed by his magnetic personality.   "He's a born actor," he said.   The film will be screened on September 4. 
5077 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Thousands of farmers threw up roadblocks across France overnight, stopping and checking lorries suspected of importing meat from outside the European Union, French radios reported on Thursday.   Radio stations said around 15,000 farmers, angered by a fall in beef prices following the mad cow disease crisis, staged protests in many areas and blockaded several main roads and motorways.   By 3 a.m. (0100 GMT) more than 2,000 lorries had been stopped and searched.   European beef sales plunged after Britain announced the discovery of a likely link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, and its fatal human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). 
5078 !GCAT !GSPO  Sweden beat the Czech Republic 3-0 in a World Cup ice hockey game on Thursday, setting up a showdown for European group supremacy against Finland and leaving the reigning world champions searching for answers.   The fast-skating Swedes seized control of the game from the opening faceoff, forcing the Czechs to take several early penalties and keeping its vaunted offense in check.   Toronto Maple Leaf winger Mats Sundin opened the scoring midway through the first period when he sped around the Czech defense and pulled Dallas Stars' goalie Roman Turek across the crease before sliding the puck between the netminder's legs.   The Swedish National Hockey League (NHL) connection struck again early in the second frame when Washington Capital defenseman Calle Johansson blasted a slapshot from the blue line past a screened Turek with only 57 seconds gone.   Turek, voted best goalie at the world championships for the past two years, was once again screened when a weak shot from Jonas Bergqvist found the bottom corner of the net to close out the scoring for the undefeated Swedes.   The Czechs came into the tournament riding high after capturing the world title in Vienna in May, but have lost the first two games of the tournament and are in danger of crashing out despite having their version of the "Dream Team".   With the addition of Pittsburgh Penguins duo Jaromir Jagr and Petr Nedved, Montreal Canadiens sharpshooter Martin Rucinsky and the core of the world championship team in tact, the Czechs were looking to prove they belonged at the pinnacle of the hockey world.   The match at Prague's Sports Hall was to be a homecoming of sorts for the Czechs, their first home game since beating Canada 3-2 in a thrilling world championship final on a last minute goal.   But after a demoralising loss to Finland in its tournament opener on Tuesday, and another listless effort on Thursday, Czech fans had had enough, pelting the Czech bench with beer cans near the end of the game.   Even Czech coach Ludek Bukac, a veteran coach with almost 30 years behind the bench, was left searching for an answer to his sputtering offense and the team's lack of dynamism.   "The Swedes played well, you've got to hand it to them.   But the fact that we didn't score at home is not a very good showing," he said.   Added Jagr: "We aren't that bad, but our performance is not showing it."   Bukac, who has often expressed his disdain for bringing in players who have talent but not team spirit refused to comment on whether he would invite the same team back if he could do it all again.   But with nine players on the roster with seven or less of national team games under their belts, the Czech players know they must come together quickly, or face the embarassment of failing to win in what is touted as the true battle for hockey supremacy.   "We've got to concentrate on winning against Germany and moving on to the next round, nothing else," added Robert Reichel, who recently re-signed with the Calgary Flames after playing one year in Germany.   The win allows Sweden to keep pace with group leaders Finland, who have also won both their games so far but have a better goal difference.   The two teams meet on Sunday in Stockholm while the Czechs must regroup and beat winless Germany in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday to move into the quarterfinals next week in North America. 
5079 !GCAT !GSPO  Top European moneywinner Ian Woosnam hit out on Thursday at greens he described as "the worst I've ever played on."   Woosnam fell six behind British Masters halfway leaders Mark Roe of England and Robert Allenby of Australia after a 76.   But 12 other players opted not to complete their second rounds as strong winds added to the problems.    The state of the greens was such that not only the players received an apology from Mike Stewart, tournament director at the Collingtree Park course.    Talk of fines swiftly faded as Stewart said: "The apology goes to everyone -- players, media, public, officials and volunteers."    Three weeks ago he was told the surfaces had been affected by something called meadow grass decline.   Woosnam, now on the two-over-par mark of 146, commented: "I think they should have moved the tournament.   The greens are diabolical and have gone.   "The sponsors are putting in so much money, and when it's like this it does not do them or the tour any good."   Stewart said the problem had struck too late to make a switch of venue a realistic option.   Mark James, Clark's partner in last year's Ryder Cup victory for Europe, slumped to an 85, and Irish pair David Feherty and Paul McGinley shot 83s.    Defending champion Sam Torrance could improve only five strokes on his "terrible" opening round of 79 and also missed the halfway cut.   Colin Montgomerie could only match Woosnam's 76 and it put him on level par, four behind Roe and Allenby who both added 71s to their opening 69s.   The Scot, 51,000 pounds ($79,500) behind Woosnam in his bid to win the European Order of Merit for a record-equalling fourth successive time, said of the greens: "This must not happen again.   It can't happen again."   But Allenby, winner this year of the English and French Opens, said: "I'm in a positive frame of mind and maybe that's why I'm four under.   "The greens are the same for everyone and may the best man win.   We can't do anything about it."   First day leader Gavin Levenson of South Africa returned a 75, but still lies only a stroke off the lead. 
5080 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading scores after   the second round of the British Masters on Thursday (British   unless stated):   140 Robert Allenby (Australia) 69 71, Mark Roe 69 71   141 Francisco Cea (Spain) 70 71, Gavin Levenson (South Africa)   66 75   142 Daniel Chopra (Sweden) 74 68   143 David Gilford 69 74   144 Peter O'Malley (Australia) 71 73, Costantino Rocca (Italy)   71 73, Colin Montgomerie 68 76, David Howell 70 74, Mark    Davis 71 73   145 Peter Mitchell 74 71, Philip Walton (Ireland) 71 74, Retief   Goosen (South Africa) 71 74, Ove Sellberg (Sweden) 71 74,    Peter Hedblom (Sweden) 70 75, Pedro Linhart (Spain) 72 73,   Mike Clayton (Australia) 69 76, Emanuele Canonica (Italy)   69 76, Miguel Angel Martin (Spain) 75 70   146 Iain Pyman 71 75, Eduardo Romero (Argentina) 70 76, Ian   Woosnam 70 76, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 74 72, Klas   Eriksson (Sweden) 71 75, Paul Eales 75 71   147 Antoine Lebouc (France) 74 73, Paul Curry 76 71, Andrew   Coltart 72 75, Paul Lawrie 72 75, Jose Coceres (Argentina)   69 78, Raymond Russell 69 78, Roger Chapman 71 76, Paul   Affleck 74 73. 
5081 !GCAT !GSPO  Britain's Chris Boardman broke the world record again on Thursday to defeat Olympic champion Andrea Collinelli of Italy in the final of the 4-km pursuit at the world cycling championships.   In Atlanta, Boardman felt unable to defend the title he won at Barcelona.   "It was too much to ride the Games only four days after finishing the Tour de France," he said.    "Even if I had ridden in Atlanta I don't think I would have beaten Collinelli."    Boardman reserved his energies for the the time-trial race later in the Games although he had to settle for a bronze behind Spaniards Miguel Indurain and Abraham Olano.   On home territory on Thursday it was all different.   In addition to regaining the world title he last held in 1994, Boardman also broke the world 4,000 metres record twice during his three-race series.   Collinelli's world mark of 4:19.699 set in Atlanta, was lowered to 4:13.353 by Boardman in Wednesday's qualifying round, and improved again to 4:11.114 in Thursday's final.    The 28-year-old Merseyside rider did not panic when Collinelli led by 1 6 seconds after 1.5 kilometres.   He hit back to take the lead just after the halfway stage, and then gained steadily to beat the demoralised Italian by over nine seconds.   Although the Tour de France cut across his Olympic plans, Boardman said he had the 3,800 km classic to thank for his current outstanding form.   "It was a particularly hard Tour this year, but now I'm feeling the benefit," said the Briton who averaged 57.3 kph in Thursday's title-winning ride.    He will have to cover more than 55.291 km in one hour if he is to achieve his next aim of beating the world hour record which he plans to attack here on the indoor velodrome next month.    Boardman was very nervous before the start.   "It was as bad as the Barcelona Olympics but now I've learned to live with the tension," he said.   "I suffered no physical discomfort, the pressure is all mental.   I expected Collinelli to make a very fast start, (but) I knew that he would crack.   It's just a pity he took so long.   I was starting to get concerned after a couple of kilometres but then he started coming back."   In other medal action, Australia's all-star Olympic sprint trio proved too fast for reigning champions Germany in the final.   Darryn Hill, Shane Kelly and Gary Neiwand -- all current or former world champions -- won the 750-metre event in 44.804 seconds.   It was Kelly's second world title less than 24 hours after his victory in the one kilometre time trial on Wednesday.   With each rider in turn setting the pace for one lap, the Australians had 0.65 seconds to spare over the Germans, whose trio of Jens Fiedler, Michael Hubner and Soren Lausberg took the title in Colombia last year. 
5082 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results and overall standings after the 19.6 kilometre fourth stage of the Tour of the Netherlands on Thursday, a time trial starting and finishing in Doetinchem.    1.   Rolf Sorensen (Denmark) Rabobank  22 minutes 40 seconds    2.   Lance Armstrong (U.S.) Motorola  1 second behind    3.   Vyacheslav Ekimov (Russia) Rabobank 29 seconds behind    4.   Erik Dekker (Netherlands) Rabobank 43    5.   Giunluca Gorini (Italy) Aki 45    6.   Erik Breukink (Netherlands) Rabobank 48    7.   Wilfried Peeters (Belgium) Mapei  51    8.   Bart Voskamp (Netherlands) TVM  53    9.   Michael Andersson (Sweden) Telekom 54   10.   Gregory Randolph (USA) Motorola  1 minute 3 seconds   Leading overall placings after three stages:    1.   Sorensen  11.20:33    2.   Armstrong  3 seconds behind    3.   Ekimov  1 minute 7 seconds    4.   Marco Lietti (Italy) MG-Technogym  1 minute 14 seconds    5.   Dekker  1 minute 21 seconds    6.   Breukink  1 minute 26 seconds    7.   Maarten den Bakker (Netherlands) TVM 1 minute 31 seconds    8.   Voskamp  same time    9.   Andersson  1 minute 32 seconds   10.   Olaf Ludwig (Germany) Telekom  1 minute 44 seconds   The race continues on Friday with the 178 kilometre fifth-stage from Zevenaar to Venray. 
5083 !GCAT !GSPO  England captain Mike Atherton hit a gutsy 65 to lead his team to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the opening one-day international at Old Trafford on Thursday.   Coming in at the fall of the first wicket, when Nick Knight was caught behind off Wasim Akram for 26, Atherton, named man of the match by former Pakistan captain Mushtaq Mohammed, remained at the crease until he was the fourth man out with the score on 200, deceived by a Wasim slower ball.   By then, though, England, needing 226 to win, were safe.   Although Matthew Maynard was bowled by Wasim for 41, six runs short of the target, newcomer Graham Lloyd and Ronnie Irani saw England home with 3.2 overs to spare.   After a 2-0 defeat in the test series it was a comfort of sorts for England, although the performance of their new-look bowling attack was highly encouraging and prompted questions of what might have been.   Allan Mullally was his usual reliable self but there was extra bite with the introduction of Kent's Dean Headley and the recall of Yorkshire's Darren Gough.   Mullally and Gough picked up a wicket each, as did Ronnie Irani.   But it was the bowling of off-spinner Robert Croft which was principally responsible for Pakistan reaching only 225 for five in their 50 overs after they had won the toss and chosen to bat first.   Croft, who was one of the few Englishmen to make a good impression in his test debut at The Oval last week, showed great control as he stemmed the Pakistan run flow and then collected the wickets of Aamir Sohail and Wasim in a spell of 10-1-36-2.   On a poor-quality pitch, Pakistan made a solid start as Sohail and Saeed Anwar put together an opening partnership of 82 although Mullally's opening spell of 7-3-11-0 kept them in check during the opening 15 overs.   Anwar made 57 from 75 balls before skying a catch off Irani to Mullally at long-on.   Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed then added 59 for the second wicket before England struck back with three wickets for 19 in the space of five overs.   Croft removed the two left-handers, Sohail for 48, and Wasim, who promoted himself to number four, for six, both of them beaten and bowled by well-flighted deliveries.   Shortly after, Ijaz was also back in the pavilion for 48 after Irani had repaid Mullally with another good catch at long-on.   Gough later bowled Moin Khan with an inswinging yorker but Inzamam-ul-Haq, 37 not out from 28 deliveries, and Salim Malik took Pakistan to 225 for five when the overs ran out.   Knight and Alec Stewart gave England a brisk start, putting on 57 for the first wicket before Wasim accounted for Knight.   Stewart went on to make 48 before falling to Waqar Younis and Graham Thorpe was stumped by Moin Khan off Aamir Sohail for 23.   Wasim later added the scalps of Atherton and Maynard to finish with three for 45 from 9.4 overs.   The two teams meet in the second match in the series at Edgbaston on Saturday with the final game being played at Trent Bridge on Sunday.    Atherton said: "Once the openers had got the field back, it was really only up to the middle order to push the ball around."   England coach David Lloyd said of the pitch: "It looked like it was going to disintegrate but it did not do that.   It was very slow but for all its cracks and bareness it went through quite normally." 
5084 !GCAT !GSPO  England beat Pakistan by five wickets to win the first one-day (50 overs-a-side) international at Old Trafford on Thursday.   Scores: Pakistan 225-5 innings closed (Saeed Anwar 57), England 226-5 in 46.4 overs (M.Atherton 65). 
5085 !GCAT !GSPO  Results at the world track cycling championships on Thursday:   Individual pursuit semifinals (over 4,000 metres):   Chris Boardman (Britain) 4:15.006 beat Alexei Markov (Russia) 4:23.029   Andrea Collinelli (Italy) 4:16.141 beat Francis Moreau (France) 4:19.665   Moreau takes bronze medal as faster losing semifinalist.    Final:   Chris Boardman (Britain) 4:11.114 (world record) beat Andrea Collinelli (Italy) 4:20.341    Olympic sprint championship (three-man teams):   1.   Australia (Darryn Hill, Shane Kelly, Gary Neiwand) 44.804   seconds   2.   Germany (Jens Fiedler, Michael Hubner, Soren Lausberg)     45.455   3.   France (Laurent Gane, Florian Rousseau, Herve Thuet)      45.810   4.   Greece (Dimitrios Georgalis, Georgios Chimonetos, Lampros   Vasilopoulos) 46.538   Women's world sprint championship quarter-finals (best of   three matches):   Magali Faure (France) beat Kathrin Freitag (Germany) two   matches to nil (with times for the last 200 metres of 11.833   seconds and 12.033 seconds)   Felicia Ballanger (France) beat Oksana Grichina (Russia) 2-0,   (11.776/12.442)   Tanya Dubnicoff (Canada) beat Michelle Ferris (Australia) 2-0,   (12.211/12.208)   Annett Neumann (Germany) beat Galina Enioukhina (Russia) 2-0,   (12.434/12.177). 
5086 !GCAT !GSPO  Former Arsenal boss George Graham turned down a chance to return to management after 18 months in the cold when he rejected an offer to take over at English first division Manchester City on Thursday.   "I was very pleased to be approached but, after careful thought, have decided to decline their very fair offer as I do not think it is right for me at this time," he said in a short statement.   Graham, who was sacked by Arsenal and subsequently banned from management for a year for accepting illegal payments from an agent in two transfer deals, was offered the job after the resignation of Alan Ball on Monday.   "I am dumbfounded but nothing surprises me in this game," City chairman Francis Lee said.   "We thought we made him a very good offer both in personal terms and the amount of money he would have available as working capital.   We were surprised to say the least when he said `no'.   "I don't know why he turned us down, it leaves me completely baffled."   Another former Arsenal manager, Bruce Rioch, who was sacked five days before the start of the new season, is now favourite to take the job.   Kenny Dalglish, Jack Charlton and current Swindon manager Steve McMahon have also been mentioned. 
5087 !GCAT !GSPO  Tight bowling from Glamorgan off-spinner Robert Croft helped England to restrict Pakistan to 225 for five in their 50 overs in the first one-day international at Old Trafford on Thursday.   Croft, who was one of the few Englishmen to make a good impression in his test debut at The Oval last week, showed great control as he first dried up the early flow of Pakistan runs and then collected the wickets of Aamir Sohail and Wasim Akram in a spell of 10-1-36-2.   There was also a wicket each for Ronnie Irani, Allan Mullally and Darren Gough although there was no joy for Dean Headley who, along with Lancashire batsman Graham Lloyd, was making his international debut.   After Wasim had won the toss and chosen to bat first, Pakistani made an excellent start as Sohail and Saeed Anwar continued their good form with an opening partnership of 82.   Anwar, who struck a superb 176 at The Oval, was the more aggressive as he made 57 from 75 balls before skying a catch off Irani to Mullally at long-on.   Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed then added 59 for the second wicket before England struck back with three wickets for 19 in the space of five overs.   First, Sohail, after making 48, was bowled by Croft as he stepped back to try and hit through the off-side.   Wasim, who promoted himself to number four in the order, followed for six when Croft drifted another well-flighted delivery behind his legs.   Shortly after Ijaz was also back in the pavilion for 48 after Irani had repaid Mullally with another good catch at long-on.   Gough later bowled Moin Khan with an inswinging yorker but Inzamam-ul-Haq, 37 not out, and Salim Malik took Pakistan to 225 for five when the overs ran out. 
5088 !GCAT !GSPO  Scoreboard of the   first one-day (50 overs-a-side) match between England and   Pakistan at Old Trafford on Thursday:   Pakistan    Saeed Anwar c Mullally b Irani 57    Aamir Sohail b Croft 48    Ijaz Ahmed c Irani b Mullally 48    Wasim Akram b Croft 6    Inzamam-ul-Haq not out 37    Moin Khan b Gough 10    Salim Malik not out 6    Extras (b-2 lb-4 w-7) 13    Total (for 5 wickets, innings closed) 225   Fall: 1-82 2-141 3-160 4-174 5-203.   Did Not Bat: Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Ata-ur-Rehman,   Saqlain Mushtaq.    Bowling: Gough 10-0-44-1, Mullally 10-3-31-1, Headley   10-0-52-0, Irani 10-0-56-1, Croft 10-1-36-2.   England    N.Knight c Moin Khan b Wasim Akram  26    A.Stewart lbw b Waqar Younis 48    M.Atherton b Wasim Akram 65    G.Thorpe st Moin Khan b Aamir Sohail 23    M.Maynard b Wasim Akram 41    G.Lloyd not out 2    R.Irani not out 6    Extras (lb-4 w-7 nb-4) 15    Total (for 5 wickets, 46.4 overs)  226   Fall of wickets: 1-57 2-98 3-146 4-200 5-220.   Did not bat: R.Croft, D.Gough, D.Headley, A.Mullally.   Bowling: Wasim Akram 9.4-1-45-3, Waqar Younis 7-0-28-1,   Saqlain Mushtaq 10-1-54-0, Ata-ur-Rehman 3-0-14-0, Mushtaq Ahmed   10-0-52-0, Aamir Sohail 7-1-29-1.   Result: England won by five wickets.   Second match: August 31, Edgbaston (Birmingham)   Third: September 1, Trent Bridge (Nottingham) 
5089 !GCAT !GSPO  David Batty was winning his fitness battle on Thursday ahead of England's opening World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Sunday.   Batty, recalled by new coach Glenn Hoddle after more than a year in the international wilderness, was unable to train at the start of the week after spraining an ankle in Newcastle's shock home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.   But Hoddle said the combative midfielder was making rapid strides in his recovery.   "I think it's now 60-40 in his favour, but obviously it will have to be down to the boy himself.   David has come through two sessions, yesterday and today, although we have had to protect him a bit."   Batty's Newcastle team mate Les Ferdinand and Rangers midfielder Paul Gascoigne proved their recovery from respective toe and Achilles heel problems that had sidelined them at the start of the week.   But Internazionale midfielder Paul Ince and Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham were unable to train after picking up minor injuries.   "It's just an ankle with one of them and a thigh with the other.   They'll be fit to train tomorrow.   It's just slight problems," said Hoddle.   Hoddle said there were no worries over Manchester United central defender Gary Pallister, who was ruled out of Euro 96 because of a troublesome back injury.   "He got a knee in his back against Blackburn on Sunday, and when he started rubbing it people reacted by thinking it had gone again.   "But he says he's fine, and he's certainly shown that with his movements in training." 
5090 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results   in the 122-km third stage of the Tour of the Netherlands on from   Almere and Thursday:    1.   Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) Polti 2 hours 35 minutes 29 secs    2.   Rolf Sorensen (Denmark) Rabobank    3.   Lance Armstrong (U.S.) Motorola    4.   Maarten den Bakker (Netherlands) TVM  all same time    5.   Marco Lietti (Italy) MG-Technogym  1 second behind    6.   Hans de Clerq (Belgium) Palmans 27 seconds    7.   Marty Jemison (U.S.) U.S. Postal    8.   Servais Knaven (Netherlands) TVM    9.   Olaf Ludwig (Germany) Telekom all same time    10.   Jeroen Blijlevens (Netherlands) TVM  31   Leading overall placings (after three stages):    1.   Sorensen 10 hours 57 minutes 33 secs    2.   Lombardi  1 second behind    3.   Armstrong  2 seconds    4.   Den Bakker  7    5.   Lietti 8    6.   Federico Colonna (Italy) Mapei 27    7.   Max van Heeswijk (Netherlands) Motorola 28    8.   Sven Teutenberg (Germany) U.S. Postal  31    9.   Johan Capiot (Belgium) Collstrop  32    10.   Jans Koerts (Netherlands) Palmans  34 
5091 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results and overall standings after the 122 kilometre third stage of the Tour of the Netherlands on Thursday between Almere and Doetinchem.    1.   Giovanni Lombardi (Italy) Polti  2 hours 35 minutes   29 seconds    2.   Rolf Sorensen (Denmark) Rabobank    3.   Lance Armstrong (U.S.) Motorola    4.   Maarten den Bakker (Netherlands) TVM  all same time    5.   Marco Lietti (Italy) MG-Technogym  1 second behind    6.   Hans de Clerq (Belgium) Palmans 27 seconds    7.   Marty Jemison (U.S.) U.S. Postal    8.   Servais Knaven (Netherlands) TVM    9.   Olaf Ludwig (Germany) Telekom all same time    10.   Jeroen Blijlevens (Netherlands) TVM  31   Leading overall placings after three stages:    1.   Sorensen  10.57:33    2.   Lombardi  1 second behind    3.   Armstrong  2 seconds    4.   Den Bakker  7    5.   Lietti 8    6.   Federico Colonna (Italy) Mapei 27    7.   Max van Heeswijk (Netherlands) Motorola 28    8.   Sven Teutenberg (Germany) U.S. Postal  31    9.   Johan Capiot (Belgium) Collstrop  32    10.   Jans Koerts (Netherlands) Palmans  34   The race continues on Thursday afternoon with a 19.6 fourth-stage Doetinchem-Doetinchem time trial 
5092 !GCAT !GSPO  Howard Clark may be fined after joining fellow Ryder Cup player Sandy Lyle in a British Masters walkout on Thursday.   Clark, a member of last year's winning European Ryder Cup side, told his playing partners that he was not going on after nine holes of his second round.   Before play started tournament director Mike Stewart issued an apology to the entire field about the poor state of the Collingtree Park greens.   "The circumstances are being investigated and Howard could be fined," said Stewart.   Lyle gave up even sooner, not completing the final hole of his first round after pitching into the lake in front of the green.   The former British Open and U.S Masters champion told officials that he had an arm injury and then revealed that his wife Yolande was in hospital.   "I shouldn't be here," said Lyle, who had told his caddie on the 18th fairway: "If I birdie this hole we'll carry on, but if I go in the water we won't."   A total of eight players had withdrawn before the second day of the rain-affected tournament was halfway through.   Ian Woosnam complained about having to work overtime before continuing his bid for a fifth win of the year.   The opening day of the 700,000 pounds ($1.09 million) event had been halted by two thunderstorms and Woosnam was one of 77 players who had to return to the course at dawn to complete their first rounds.   After a two-under-par 70, which left him four behind first round leader Gavin Levenson of South Africa, the Welshman said: "I thought we could have played for another hour yesterday evening.   It was throwing it down with more rain in the middle of the night and the course was in no better condition this morning.   In fact, it was twice as difficult because there was a wind." 
5093 !GCAT !GSPO  Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat in the first one-day cricket international between England and Pakistan at Old Trafford on Thursday.   Teams:   England - Mike Atherton (captain), Nick Knight, Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, Matthew Maynard, Graham Lloyd, Ronnie Irani, Robert Croft, Darren Gough, Dean Headley, Alan Mullally.   Pakistan: Aamir Sohail, Saeed Anwar, Ijaz Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Salim Malik, Wasim Akram (captain), Moin Khan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Waqar Younis, Ata-ur-Rehman, Saqlain Mushtaq. 
5094 !GCAT !GSPO  Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle were unhappy men on Thursday after being forced to rise before dawn to resume their opening rounds at the sodden British Masters at Collingtree Park.   After play was called off on Wednesday following two thunderstorms, Woosnam found himself required to return early to complete three unfinished holes and despite a round of 70 was uncomplimentary about the tournament director's decision.   "I thought we could have played for another hour yesterday evening.   It was throwing it down with more rain in the middle of the night and the course was in no better condition this morning.   In fact, it was twice as difficult because there was a wind."   Woosnam's playing partner Lyle did not even bother to finish his round, deciding to quit when he went into the water at the last.   The former Open and US Masters champion bogeyed the 16th and double-bogeyed the 17th to be four over and told his caddie on the last fairway: "If I birdie this hole we'll stay, but if I go into the lake we won't."   The latter happened with his pitch and Lyle said afterwards: "I shouldn't be here.   My wife's in hospital for a hysterectomy."   Lyle has been having a rough time of things lately.   Both his parents have died this year and his wife Yolande lost her father recently.   With a forecast of more rain it was also doubtful whether the second round would be completed on schedule. 
5095 !GCAT !GSPO  Ex-Scottish international midfielder Gordon Strachan could face a serious disciplinary charge after causing the temporary abandonment of Coventry City's reserve match at West Bromwich Albion on Thursday.   Strachan refused to go off after being dismissed for foul language.   Referee Tony Green left the pitch and called the teams' managers to meet him in his dressing room.   The game was finally re-started -- without Strachan -- after a 14-minute delay. 
5096 !GCAT !GSPO  Surrey defied the Test and County Cricket Board on Thursday when they not only played their dumped England all-rounder Chris Lewis in the crucial championship match against Warwickshire, but also made him captain.   Lewis, dropped from the England one-day squad after arriving late on the fourth day of the third test against Pakistan, responded in excellent fashion by taking four for 45 as well as a fine catch as fifth-placed Surrey boosted their championship hopes by bowling out Warwickshire for 195 at the Oval.    By the close Surrey, 13 points behind joint-leaders Essex and Kent at the start of play, had reached 82 without loss.   Essex, with a game in hand over Kent, were held up by a defiant 76 from Craig White but still dismissed sixth-placed Yorkshire for 290 at Headingley.   They then made fair progress with the bat reaching 79 for two.   Meanwhile, Kent's efforts to scramble back lost ground were washed away at Tunbridge Wells where they only had time to reduce Nottinghamshire to 40 for three before the weather closed in.   Third-placed Derbyshire kept up the pace as they dismissed Worcestershire for 238 despite the efforts of opener Phil Weston who carried his bat for 100 not out.   Kim Barnett then led the charge with 83 not out as Derbyshire raced to 166 for one.   Leicestershire, 10 points off the lead in fourth spot, enjoyed the best of days as David Millns took four for 35 as they dismissed Somerset for a paltry 83.   Leicestershire had opened up a lead of 119 as they reached 202 for five by stumps.   At Portsmouth, Liam Botham was unable to quite match his bowling success of Wednesday with the bat.   He made 30 in an hour as Hampshire were bowled out for 232.    They took a first-innings lead of 33 but Middlesex had reached 226 for one at the close with Mark Ramprakash passing 1,000 runs for the season on his way to 81 not out and Jason Pooley hitting a stylish unbeaten 106. 
5097 !GCAT !GSPO  Less than 48 hours before the start of the new season, English rugby was facing the fresh prospect of a split on Thursday after officials from the top 24 clubs began moves for a breakaway from the Rugby Football Union (RFU).   This new bombshell for the RFU comes in the same week as they were issued an ultimatum by their Five Nations counterparts to reconsider their solo television contract or be expelled from the tournament.   The RFU and the English Professional Rugby Union Clubs (EPRUC), the body representing the clubs, went their separate ways earlier in the year before coming to an agreement over the structuring and running of professional English rugby in May.   However, EPRUC issued a statement on Thursday announcing that the first and second division clubs were unanimous in wanting to run their own affairs.   "We have taken this step with considerable reluctance but the fact is that the whole organisation at Twickenham is paralysed by the in-fighting between rival parties," said EPRUC chairman Donald Kerr.    Kerr said that following the agreement between the two bodies on May 24, the clubs had experienced "nothing other than provocation" from Twickenham.   "We cannot sit back and wait not knowing when that may or not be resolved.   We have to embrace professionalism and make our plans."   The next step is likely to come within the next three weeks after a number of the clubs have canvassed support from their members although the incorporated clubs have already given their support.   The long-term effects of the decision are that the top players would not be available for the England team, which is run by the RFU although EPRUC are likely to start negotiations to field their own England side, playing matches away from Twickenham.    British Lions manager Fran Cotton, a former England captain, said: "If there is a complete breakaway it will be a total disaster for the game in England, in Europe and the northern hemisphere."    The RFU said: "The RFU is bitterly disappointed and surprised to receive the announcement from EPRUC, as its representatives are still in the process of negotiating the final points of an agreement, the majority of which has already been settled." 
5098 !GCAT !GSPO  Close of play scores in English county championship matches on Thursday:   Tunbridge Wells: Nottinghamshire 40-3 v Kent   London (The Oval): Warwickshire 195 (A.Giles 50; B.Julian 4-66, C.Lewis 4-45), Surrey 82-0.   Hove: Sussex 285-6 (W.Athey 111) v Lancashire   Leeds (Headingley): Yorkshire 290 (C.White 76, M.Moxon 59, R.Blakey 57), Essex 79-2.    Chester-le-Street: Glamorgan 259 (P.Cottey 81; M.Saggers 6-65) and 8-0, Durham 114 (S.Watkin 4-28)   Chesterfield: Worcestershire 238 (W.Weston 100 not out, V.Solanki 58; A.Harris 4-31), Derbyshire 166-1 (K.Barnett 83 not out)   Portsmouth: Middlesex 199 and 226-1 (J.Pooley 106 not out, M.Ramprakash 81 not out), Hampshire 232 (A.Fraser 5-55, R.Fay 4-77)   Leicester: Somerset 83 (D.Millns 4-35), Leicestershire 202-5    Bristol: Gloucestershire 183 (J.Russell 50), Northamptonshire 123-4 (K.Curran 51 not out). 
5099 !GCAT !GSPO  Va'aiga Tuigamala's return to rugby union was under threat on Thursday with his new club Wasps threatening legal action after the British government refused to grant him a work permit.   The former All Black winger, signed from rugby league champions Wigan, has fallen foul of an agreement between the Rugby Football Union and the Department of Employment which states that union teams can sign overseas players only if they have played a union test within the last 18 months.   The big Samoan has been playing rugby league since 1993 and, because he does not have a British grandparent, is considered ineligible for a work permit.   "We applied for an extension of Inga's work permit but it was turned down.   We find it irrational and we are having a judicial review," said Wasps' legal advisor Charles Levenson.   Tuigamala commented: "It's important for me to come back and play against the best rugby union players in the world and to encourage and support the talent here at Wasps.   But if I am denied the chance I will go back home to Western Samoa for the first time in three years."   The deeply religious Tuigamala added: "I put my faith in the man above." 
5100 !GCAT !GSPO  Scotland have given defender Colin Hendry another 48 hours to prove his fitness for Saturday's World Cup opener against Austria in Vienna.   Manager Craig Brown leads his side into the new campaign with a question mark against the Blackburn player's participation.   A scan on Hendry's groin has revealed no major damage, but Brown will wait until match day before deciding if he plays.   "The scan does not show up any major problem but Colin is still suffering some pain," said Brown before the squad left Glasgow on Thursday.   "He managed to do some light training with us this morning.   We will give him another session in Vienna tomorrow then leave it until Saturday before making the decision.   "It would obviously mean a change in personnel if Colin doesn't make it and we won't risk him unless he's absolutely right.   We have alternatives in mind but we'll give him as long as we can." 
5101 !GCAT !GSPO  Scotland's Jim Telfer was officially confirmed on Thursday as assistant coach for the British Lions tour to South Africa next year.   Telfer, who has put on hold his role as Scotland team manager for a year, will act as assistant to Ian McGeechan.   The pair last worked together when Scotland won the Five Nations grand slam in 1990.   The tour party will be announced towards the end of March. 
5102 !GCAT !GSPO  Paul Gascoigne showed he was back to full fitness as he joined the rest of England's World Cup squad in training on Thursday.   The Rangers midfielder had been doubtful for Sunday's opening qualifying match against Moldova earlier in the week when he suffered a reaction to the Achilles heel problem which dogged him in pre-season.   Newcastle's combative midfielder David Batty, troubled by a sprained ankle, was able to join in at the start of the session, but sat out a training game.   Internazionale's Paul Ince and Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham remained on the sidelines along with Liverpool pair Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler, both definitely out of the reckoning for the visit to Kishinev because of back injuries. 
5103 !GCAT !GSPO  Linford Christie has confirmed he will run in a "Dream Team" sprint relay at the Berlin grand prix athletics meeting on Friday.   A spokeswoman for Christie said the former Olympic 100 metres champion had agreed to captain a quality quartet which also includes Canada's Donovan Bailey, the current Olympic champion and world record holder, and Namibian Frankie Fredericks.   Christie is retiring from international competition at the end of the season, but Berlin promoter Rudi Thiel has persuaded him to join what is intended to be a special tribute to Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals 60 years ago at the Berlin Olympics. 
5104 !GCAT !GSPO  England-based goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar has been appointed temporary head coach of the Zimbabwe national soccer team for two international matches, the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) said on Thursday.   ZIFA vice-chairman Vincent Pamire said Grobbelaar would take charge for a match against Tanzania in Harare on September 29 in the five-nation Castle Cup of Africa tournament and an African Nations' Cup first round qualifier against Sudan in Khartoum on October 5 .   Grobbelaar takes over until a permanent replacement is appointed for Zimbabwe's previous coach, Switzerland's Marc Duvillard.   Grobbelaar now plays for English second division leaders Plymouth Argyle after years in the top flight with Liverpool and Southampton.   Grobbelaar, fellow goalkeeper Hans Segers, retired striker John Fashanu and Malaysian businessman Heng Suan Lim pleaded not guilty in May to charges of giving or accepting bribes to fix English premier league matches.   They are due to stand trial next January. 
5105 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympiakos of Greece beat Russia's Dinamo 69-60 (halftime 35-23) in the third match of an international basketball tournament on Thursday, qualifying for the finals.   Partizan and Red Star of Yugoslavia, Alba of Germany, and Benetton of Italy are also taking part in the event which continues until Saturday.    Add results   Partizan beat Benetton 97-94 (halftime 39-32).   Final Partizan v Olympiakos. 
5106 !GCAT !GSPO  Sweden beat reigning world champions the Czech Republic 3-0 in a World Cup ice hockey game on Thursday, setting up a Nordic showdown for European group supremacy against leaders Finland.   Toronto Maple Leaf winger Mats Sundin opened the scoring midway through the first period when he sped round the Czech defence and pulled Dallas Stars' goaltender Roman Turek across the crease before sliding the puck between his legs.   Sweden struck again early in the second period when Washington Capital defender Calle Johansson blasted a slapshot from the blue line past a screened Turek with only 57 seconds gone.   Turek, voted best goaltender at the world championship for the past two years, was beaten again when a weak shot from Jonas Bergqvist found the bottom corner of the net to close out the scoring for the undefeated Swedes.   The victory enabled Sweden to keep pace with group leaders Finland, who have also won both their games so far but have a better goal difference.   The two teams meet on Sunday in Stockholm while the Czechs must regroup and beat winless Germany in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday to move into the quarter-finals next week in North America.    The Czechs came into this tournament riding high after capturing the world title in Vienna in May but have lost the first two games of the series and are in danger of early elimination.   The match at Prague's Sports Hall was the first home game for the Czechs since they beat Canada 3-2 in the world championship final.   But after a demoralising loss to Finland on Tuesday and another listless effort on Thursday, Czech fans had had enough, pelting the Czech bench with beer cans near the end of the game.   Even Czech coach Ludek Bukac, a veteran of almost 30 years experience, was left searching for an answer to his sputtering offence and the team's lack of dynamism.   "The Swedes played well, you've got to hand it to them.   But the fact that we didn't score at home is not a very good showing," he said. 
5107 !GCAT !GSPO  Sweden beat the Czech Republic 3-0   (period scores 1-0 2-0 0-0) in their World Cup ice hockey   European group first round match on Thursday:   Scorers: Mats Sundin (9:42), Calle Johansson (20:57), Jonas   Bergqvist (33:44)   Penalties - Sweden eight minutes, Czech Republic 12 minutes.   Standings (tabulated under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, against, points):    Finland  2 2 0 0 15 6 4    Sweden  2 2 0 0 9 1 4    Czech Republic 2 0 0 2 3 10 0    Germany  2 0 0 2 4 14 0   Remaining matches: Aug 31 Germany v Czech Republic, Sept 1   Sweden v Finland. 
5108 !GCAT !GSPO  Sweden beat the Czech Republic 3-0 in a World Cup ice hockey game on Thursday, setting up a Scandinavian showdown for European group supremacy against leaders Finland.   The fast-skating Swedes seized control of the game from the opening faceoff, forcing the reigning world champions to take several early penalties and keeping its vaunted offense in check.   Toronto Maple Leaf winger Mats Sundin opened the scoring midway through the first period when he sped around the Czech defense and pulled Dallas Stars' goalie Roman Turek across the crease before sliding the puck between the netminder's legs.   The Swedish National Hockey League (NHL) connection struck again early in the second frame when Washington Capital defenseman Calle Johansson blasted a slapshot from the blue line past a screened Turek with only 57 seconds gone.   Turek, voted best goalie at the world championships for the past two years, was once again screened when a weak shot from Jonas Bergqvist found the bottom corner of the net to close out the scoring for the undefeated Swedes.   The win allows Sweden to keep pace with group leaders Finland, who are also 2-0 but lead with a better goal differential.   The two teams are scheduled to meet on Sunday in Stockholm while the Czechs must regroup and beat winless Germany in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday to move into the quarterfinals next week in North America. 
5109 !GCAT !GSPO  Third-seeded Australian Brett Martin blamed ring-rustiness for his defeat at the hands of compatriot Dan Jenson in the second round of the Hong Kong Open on Thursday.   Veteran Martin, losing finalist to Jansher Khan last year, has not played competitively since May and failed to get into his rhythm as world number 23 Jenson took the match 15-9 17-14 7-15 9-15 15-14.   "I felt like I was struggling throughout and it felt very hot on court," said 33-year-old Martin, winner here in 1993.   "I have not had any match practice and it's difficult getting back into it.   That was the first time I've played Dan.   He is a tough player, he keeps fighting."   Jenson, 21, a product of the South Australian Institute of Sport, plays compatriot Anthony Hill in the quarter-finals.   The volatile Hill kept his temper under control to beat Pakistan's Mir Zaman Gul 15-12 15-11 15-13.   There has been bad blood between the two for more than two years following incidents at the 1994 British Open, when Gul was disqualified for butting Hill, and last year's world team championship, when Hill physically and verbally abused Gul.   But both were on their best behaviour and ended up laughing after Gul accidentally hit Hill in the mouth with his elbow.   Hill faces a fine of up to 200 pounds sterling ($310) from the Professional Squash Association (PSA) after receiving a conduct warning for verbal abuse during his first round win over eighth-seeded Mark Chaloner of England on Tuesday.   The temperamental Australian received a three-month ban for misbehaviour at last November's World Open and will be suspended for a year if his penalties in 1996 exceed 500 pounds ($780).   Top seed Jansher Khan of Pakistan, aiming to win the title for the eighth time, suffered a hiccup on his way to the quarter-finals.   Jansher, playing his first tournament in three months, lost the third game against German qualifier Simon Frenz before striking back to win 15-12 15-7 12-15 15-10.   "I was slipping a lot on the court and could not concentrate fully in the third game," Jansher said.   "But I am quite happy with the way I am playing.   I feel good physically."   In the last eight, Jansher will meet England's world number 12 Mark Cairns who beat Australian qualifier Joseph Kneipp 8-15 15-12 15-8 15-8.   "He (Jansher) is a little bit good at the moment but I have got a chance.   There is no point competing if you do not think you can win," Cairns said.   "He has lost here before to Rodney Martin -- maybe I'll ring him tonight and get the game plan." 
5110 !GCAT !GSPO  Second round results in the Hong Kong Open on Thursday (prefix number denotes seeding):   1-Jansher Khan (Pakistan) beat Simon Frenz (Germany) 15-12 15-7 12-15 15-10   Mark Cairns (England) beat Joseph Kneipp (Australia) 8-15 15-12 15-8 15-8   Anthony Hill (Australia) beat Mir Zaman Gul (Pakistan) 15-12 15-11 15-13   Dan Jenson (Australia) beat 3-Brett Martin (Australia) 15-9 17-14 7-15 9-15 15-14   4-Peter Nicol (Scotland) beat Jonathon Power (Canada) 15-10 15-9 15-9   7-Chris Walker (England) beat Amr Shabana (Egypt) 15-13 15-10 15-6   Derek Ryan (Ireland) beat Paul Johnson (England) 10-15 15-5 12-15 15-12 15-11   2-Rodney Eyles (Australia) beat Zubair Jahan Khan (Pakistan) 15-10 15-8 9-15 13-15 15-4. 
5111 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South Korean pro-soccer   games played on Wednesday.    Chonan  4 Anyang  1 (halftime 1-0)    Suwon  4 Pusan  0 (halftime 2-0)   Standings after games played on Wednesday (tabulate under -   won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):    W D L G/F G/A P    Chonan 3 0 1 13 10 9    Puchon 2 1 0 4 0 7    Suwon 1 3 0 7 3 6    Pohang 1 1 1 8 8 4    Ulsan 1 0 1 6 6 3    Anyang 0 3 1 6 9 3    Chonnam  0 2 1 4 5 2    Pusan 0 2 1 3 7 2    Chonbuk  0 0 2 2 5 0 
5112 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South Korean   pro-baseball games played on Wednesday.    LG 5  OB 1    OB 4  LG 3    Ssangbangwool  12  Hanwha  0    Hanwha 12  Ssangbangwool 5    Lotte 4  Hyundai  0    Samsung 7  Haitai  1   Note - LG and OB, Ssangbangwool and Hanwha played two games.   Standings after games played on Wednesday (tabulate under   won, drawn, lost, winning percentage, games behind first place)    W D L PCT  GB    Haitai  63 2 42 .598  -    Ssangbangwool 59 2 48 .500  5    Hanwha  57 1 49 .537  6 1/2    Hyundai  56 5 48 .536  6 1/2    Samsung  48 5 55 .468  14    Lotte  45 6 53 .462 14 1/2    LG 45 5 59 .436 17 1/2    OB 42 6 61 .413  20 
5113 !GCAT !GSPO  Saying there were no more challenges left as an amateur, three-time U.S. Amateur Golf champion Tiger Woods turned professional on Wednesday.   Woods, 20, who won his record third consecutive amateur title on Sunday, will begin his professional career on Thursday at the PGA Greater Milwaukee Open tournament.   "I knew that after I won there was not much to achieve in amateur golf," Woods said at a news conference.   Never in the history of the game has a young golfer been saddled with such huge expectations as Woods.   Not only is he expected to win tournaments and sign up for lucrative endorsement contracts, he is touted as a huge draw for minorities to golf, which has had few prominent black golfers.   But, showing some of the poise that he exhibits on the golf course, Woods said of all the pressure: "I'm going to play one shot at a time and have one hell of a good time."   Woods, from Cypress, California, is not a stranger to professional golf.   The amateur sensation has teed it up 17 times with professionals-- 13 of them when he was still a teenager-- and six times in major championships.   "Tiger is ready for this," said his father, Earl.   "I saw talent in him when he was three days old.   I've been preparing him for this for 20 years.   I've been preparing him to be his own boss."   Woods' best finish in a professional event was a tie for 22nd at the British Open in July.   "In my life, I've never gone to a tournament thinking I couldn't win," Woods said.   "That's just my mindset.   It's something I've always believed in.   It's something I always will."   Woods has participated in 17 professional events since 1992, making seven cuts.   His best finish was a tie for 22nd at the British Open in July.   "I do have goals.   Obviously one is to try to make the Tour," Woods said.   "Anything more specific I can't share with you because they're personal."   In turning pro, Woods turns his back on a collegiate career and the opportunity for a degree at Stanford, where he won the NCAA title last year.   He said leaving school was his only regret.   "(I'm) leaving some of my best friends," he said.   "I can't hop over to their place at 11 at night and hang out with them.   That I will miss."   Woods, who said he will play in five more PGA tournaments this year with sponsor exemptions, also said he still has not signed any endorsement contracts, although reports have indicated he will receive $40 million from Nike over five years and another $3-$5 million from Titleist.   "I haven't signed for a penny yet," he said.   "What's been printed is nice.   I hope I get that.   But I haven't seen any check in the mail yet, so I'm still broke."   He said he had to pay for dinner Tuesday night with a gift certificate he had received.   Butch Harmon, Woods' Houston-based swing instructor, said he had to loan his pupil $100 so he could pay the entry fee for the Milwaukee tournament.   Turning professional "wasn't about money," Woods said.   "It was about happiness.   The time was right.   I knew my golf game was good enough.   It boiled down to, how happy am I?   And I'm happy."   Wednesday seemed to begin with some of the ingredients for happiness, or at least a stark contrast to his penny-pinching days as an amateur.   When he opened his locker Wednesday morning, he found it stocked with three boxes of new golf balls and four golf gloves.   He had arrived at the course in his own courtesy car.   "He was like a 10-year-old dropped into the middle of (a toy store)," Harmon said.   "As far as pure, raw athletic ability, he's got more of that than any golfer who has ever been great," Harmon said.   PGA Tour veteran Duffy Waldorf was paired with Woods in a pro-am tournament on Wednesday and quickly concluded that Woods has "it" -- that undefinable aura that surrounds superstars.   "I got to see the future of golf, I think," Waldorf said of Woods.   "He's got all the potential to be the best, no doubt about it.   He's young, he's smart and he's got all the shots."   290131 GMT aug 96 
5114 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic gold medallist Andre Agassi dodged a bronze bullet on Thursday before claiming his place in the third round of the U.S. Open.   The sixth-seeded American star was a set and two breaks down to 149th-ranked Leander Paes of India before roaring back for a 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 victory over the Atlanta Games bronze medallist.   After a day bereft of players with star-power, Thursday's Open schedule was packed with Grand Slam winners and Olympic medallists.   But no one puts fans in the seats quite the way Agassi does and the packed stadium crowd looked to be witnessing an enormous upset in the making as Paes, playing a brilliantly athletic style of tennis, went for the gold, grabbing a 6-3 4-0 lead.   "He was playing really out-of-this-world tennis," said Agassi admiringly.   "It wasn't possible to play much better than he was playing.   "Every time I made a selection for a shot, he had an answer," added Agassi, who beat Paes in straight sets in the Olympic semifinals.   In the fifth game, Agassi saved five break points to keep from going down 0-5 and stop the bleeding.   Then he won another game and another as Agassi, the 1994 Open champion, kicked his game into a gear they don't have in India, where Paes's bronze medal made him a national hero.   "I kind of had to elevate my game and start hitting bigger.   I just stepped it up a little bit, driving through my shots a little more, taking a few more chances," Agassi explained.   In the last game of the second set Agassi ran in to retrieve a Paes drop shot, and when the Indian deposited the ball into the open court for an apparent winner, Agassi raced back and delivered a remarkable backhand passing shot.   The Las Vegas showman screamed, pumped his fists in an exaggerated windmill fashion a la Jimmy Connors and the fans went wild.   When all was said and done, Agassi had won 18 of the last 19 games.   "I just turned around rather quickly," he said.   Said Paes: "Give a player of his calibre one chance and he can get back in a match.   "He showed today what kind of champion he is."   While Agassi was mounting his whirlwind comeback in the stadium, the seemingly permanently disgruntled Thomas Muster was finishing off 171st-ranked German Dirk Dier 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the cosier granstand court.   The second-ranked third seed belted 18 aces, winning all his service games.   "Every time I needed to be aggressive, I was aggressive," said the Austrian clay court master.   "In a Grand Slam, you get over in three sets, you're very luck and very happy," added Muster.   Despite his professed happiness, the 1995 French Open winner found time to complain about not getting to play on the stadium court.   "I think the stars should play on the centre court and the not so good players should play here," he said.   Muster's win set up a marquee third-round matchup of former French Open champions when the Austrian takes on Spaniard Sergi Bruguera, who ruled Roland Garros in 1993 and 1994.   Bruguera, the Olympic silver medallist, opened the fourth day by thoroughly outplaying former Wimbledon champion and this year's French runner-up Michael Stich 6-3 6-2 6-4.   "I didn't have a chance.   It was terrible," said Stich, the highest-ranked unseeded player in the tournament at 18th.   Stich, finalist here in 1994, was hampered by a sore shoulder and he sprayed 44 unforced errors compared with just 12 by the steady Spaniard, who had only one miscue in the second set.   Bruguera, whose ranking has plummeted to 73rd during an injury-plagued year, turned the corner at the Atlanta Games and played more like the top-five player he was two years ago.   Getting the silver medal made him "so much more relaxed," he said, adding that "in my worst year" he achieved "the one thing that I'm going to remember all my life."   The women finally got through a day without losing any seeded players.   Top seed and defending champion Steffi Graf sailed into the third round with a 6-2 6-1 win over Austrian Karen Kschwendt.   Graf, aiming for her fifth U.S. Open crown and 21st major title, admitted afterward that a calf injury nearly caused her to pass up the year's final Grand Slam.   There was no evidence of the injury in her fluid movement Thursday.   Also moving into the third round were Jana Novotna (7), Barbara Paulus (14), Martina Hingis (16) Karina Habsudova (17) and Russian teen phenom Anna Kournikova. 
5115 !GCAT !GSPO  While fans rushed to get the autograph of 15-year-old Anna Kournikova after a 6-3 6-3 second-round win over Natalia Baudone at the U.S. Open on Thursday, her coach, Nick Bollettieri, stood nearby and tried to preach patience in anointing her the next world beater.   "There is no question she has the ability to be in the top 10, but she has to accept that her career is a long career and she can't base everything on making a big splash right now," he said of the blonde Russian who has spent the last six years at Bolletieri's famed Florida tennis school.   But her star turn may not be far off, noted Bollettieri, whose list of teenage phenoms to pass his way includes Monica Seles and Mary Pierce.   "Next year this time you will be hearing a lot about Anna Kournikova," Bollettieri predicted.   "Her name will be one of the girls that people will be saying has a big future."   So far Kournikova is not getting swept up by the hoopla surrounding her Grand Slam debut.   "I had to start somewhere," said Kournikova, whose ranking of 144 forced her to get through the qualifying tournament last week before entering the main draw.   "I'm just playing it match by match, tournament by tournament.   "I don't know what's going to happen," added Kournikova, whose looks and charisma could have Hollywood calling as easily as Wimbledon.   "Maybe the world is going to end.   I have to wait and see."   Kournikova's championship potentional is obvious from watching the Open's youngest player hit the ball.   The 5-foot, 6-inch (1.68m) right-hander has a strong serve, can hit with slice and topspin from the baseline and is not afraid to go to the net and volley.   "She is one of the few on the women's tour that can do it all," Bollettieri said of his star pupil, who started playing at the age of 5 in Moscow.   "She will be a complete player in the next 12-18 months." 
5116 !GCAT !GSPO  It figured to be the most compelling matchup of the U.S. Open so far when a pair of unseeded players with impressive Grand Slam credentials locked horns on the Stadium court on Thursday.   But two-time French Open winner Sergi Bruguera of Spain thoroughly dominated an error-prone Michael Stich in the second-round encounter, sending the former Wimbledon champion to ignominious defeat 6-3 6-2 6-4.   Both players were recovering from injuries, but Stich's sore shoulder must have been worse than the Spaniard's bum ankle as the promise of a highly competitive match never materialised.   "I didn't have a chance.   It was terrible," said Stich, the highest-ranked unseeded player in the tournament at 18th.   "I didn't have any strength behind my balls.   I couldn't play my kind of game," added the German, who was runner-up here in 1994 and also reached the French Open final this year.   The once third-ranked Bruguera, whose ranking has plummeted to 73rd in the world during an injury-plagued year, regained much of his flagging confidence with his silver medal performance at the Atlanta Olympics and he displayed some of his best French Open form on Thursday.   "He's not as good as he used to be but still good enough for me today," lamented Stich.   Joining Bruguera in the third round was 13th-seeded Swede Thomas Enqvist, who made short work of Frenchman Guillaume Raoux 6-3 6-2 6-3.   The 22-year-old Enqvist, who reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Open this year for his best career Grand Slam showing, did not face a single break point in the 90-minute match on the Grandstand court.    Women's top seed and defending champion Steffi Graf followed Bruguera onto the sun-drenched Stadium court but stayed for less than an hour.   After a surprisingly tough first-round encounter with Indonesian Yayuk Basuki, Graf reverted to type, bulldozing Austrian Karen Kschwendt 6-2 6-1 in 52 minutes as she settled down for a run at her fifth U.S. Open title.   There were no tense moments for Graf this time.   She saved all four break points she faced -- all in the first set -- and captured Kschwendt's serve five times to set up a third-round meeting with Natasha Zvereva of Belarus.   The 27th-ranked Zvereva upended 26th-ranked rising Japanese player Ai Sugiyama 4-6 6-4 6-3.   Fourteenth seed Barbara Paulus of Austria, the only other seed left in Graf's quarter, also advanced, 7-5 7-6 over Elena Wagner of Germany.   And 15-year-old Russian prodigy Anna Kournakova, the junior champion with the cover girl looks, moved easily into the third round, 6-3 6-3 over Italian Natalia Baudone.   But nothing looked easy for Stich, who could not overcome a startling 44 unforced errors compared to just 12 for Bruguera.   "I think I made more unforced errors than I ever did in my career before," said the German, who managed to save three match points before succumbing on a Bruguera service winner.   Stich was misfiring all too often on his volleys and spraying ground strokes long and wide.   When he tried to pull Bruguera off the baseline with short balls, the Spaniard responded with sizzling backhands down the line.   And when Stich was able to fight his way to the net, more than a few times Bruguera came up with beautifully executed passing shots.   "I was playing very deep with big topspin," said Bruguera.   "He was trying to attack from very far.   It was impossible.   I was not giving easy balls to attack."   Bruguera said it was the Atlanta Olympic Games that really turned his year around.   "I was very nervous about my game, that I cannot recover from my injury," said the deeply tanned Spaniard.   "Then when I get the silver medal I was so much more relaxed.   "I make in my worst year the one thing that I'm going to remember all my life." 
5117 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of second round matches on Thursday in the U.S. Open Tennis Championships at the National Tennis Centre (prefix number denotes seeding):   Women's singles   Anna Kournikova (Russia) beat Natalia Baudone (Italy) 6-3 6-3   Rita Grande (Italy) beat Tina Krizan (Slovenia) 6-2 6-0   Els Callens (Belgium) beat Annabel Ellwood (Australia) 6-4   1-6 6-1   Elena Likhovtseva (Russia) beat Lila Osterloh (U.S.) 6-4 6-2   Sandra Dopfer (Austria) beat Nanne Dahlman (Finland) 2-6 6-2   6- 3   Men's singles   13-Thomas Enqvist (Sweden) beat Guillaume Raoux (France) 6-3   6- 2 6-3   Sergi Bruguera (Spain) beat Michael Stich (Germany) 6-3 6-2   6-4   Jakob Hlasek (Switzerland) beat Alberto Berasategui (Spain) 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (9-7) 6-0   Women's singles, second round   1-Steffi Graf (Germany) beat Karin Kschwendt (Austria) 6-2 6-1   Naoko Kijimuta (Japan) beat Alexandra Fusai (France) 6-4 7-5   Natasha Zvereva (Belarus) beat Ai Sugiyama (Japan) 4-6 6-4 6-3   14-Barbara Paulus (Austria) beat Elena Wagner (Germany) 7-5 7-6 (7-5)   Petra Langrova (Czech Republic) beat Naoko Sawamatsu (Japan) 6- 4 3-6 7-5   17-Karina Habsudova (Slovakia) beat Nathalie Dechy (France) 6-4 6-2   Women's singles, second round   7-Jana Novotna (Czech Republic) beat Florencia Labat (Argentina ) 6-2 4-6 6-2   Men's singles, second round   3-Thomas Muster (Austria) beat Dirk Dier (Germany) 6-3 6-2 6-4   Pablo Campana (Ecuador) beat Mark Knowles (Bahamas) 7-6 (7-3) 3 -6 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 6-3   Jason Stoltenberg (Australia) beat Kenneth Carlsen (Denmark) 6- 3 7-6 (7-1) 6-3   Arnaud Boetsch (France) beat Magnus Gustafsson (Sweden) 7-6 (8- 6) 6-3 6-1   Add Women's singles, second round   16-Martina Hingis (Switzerland) beat Miriam Oremans (Netherlands) 6-4 6-4   Tami Whitlinger Jones (U.S.) beat Amy Frazier (U.S.) 7-6 (7-3) 6-2   Judith Wiesner (Austria) beat Debbie Graham (U.S.) 6-2 7-5   Add Men's singles, second round   6-Andre Agassi (U.S.) beat Leander Paes (India) 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-0   Javier Sanchez (Spain) beat Jim Grabb (U.S.) 6-2 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3   Hernan Gumy (Argentina) beat Jared Palmer (U.S.) 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 0-6 7-6 (7-1)    :   Women's singles, second round   3-Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Spain) beat Nicole Arendt (U.S.)   6-2 6-2   Men's singles, second round   David Wheaton (U.S.) beat Frederic Vitoux (France) 6-4 6-4   4-6 7-6 (7-4)   Jan Siemerink (Netherlands) beat Carlos Moya (Spain) 7-6   (7-2) 6-4 6-4 
5118 !GCAT !GSPO  Major League Baseball   standings after games played on Wednesday (tabulate under won,   lost, winning percentage and games behind):     AMERICAN LEAGUE     EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB   NEW YORK  74 58 .561 -   BALTIMORE  70 62 .530 4   BOSTON  69 65 .515 6   TORONTO  63 71 .470 12   DETROIT  47 86 .353 27 1/2    CENTRAL DIVISION   CLEVELAND  80 53 .602 -   CHICAGO  71 64 .526 10   MINNESOTA  66 67 .496 14   MILWAUKEE  64 70 .478 16 1/2   KANSAS CITY  61 73 .455 19 1/2    WESTERN DIVISION   TEXAS 75 58 .564 -   SEATTLE  69 63 .523 5 1/2   OAKLAND  64 72 .471 12 1/2   CALIFORNIA  61 72 .459 14    THURSDAY, AUGUST 29TH SCHEDULE   KANSAS CITY AT DETROIT    MINNESOTA AT MILWAUKEE    NEW YORK AT CALIFORNIA    BALTIMORE AT SEATTLE     NATIONAL LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB   ATLANTA  82 49 .626 -   MONTREAL  71 60 .542 11   FLORIDA  63 70 .474 20   NEW YORK  59 74 .444 24   PHILADELPHIA 54 80 .403 29 1/2    CENTRAL DIVISION   HOUSTON  72 62 .537 -   ST LOUIS  69 64 .519 2 1/2   CINCINNATI  65 67 .492 6   CHICAGO  64 66 .492 6   PITTSBURGH  56 76 .424 15    WESTERN DIVISION   SAN DIEGO  74 60 .552 -   LOS ANGELES  71 61 .538 2   COLORADO  70 64 .522 4   SAN FRANCISCO 57 74 .435 15 1/2     THURSDAY, AUGUST 29TH SCHEDULE   SAN DIEGO AT NEW YORK    CHICAGO AT HOUSTON    CINCINNATI AT COLORADO    ATLANTA AT PITTSBURGH    LOS ANGELES AT MONTREAL   FLORIDA AT ST LOUIS 
5119 !GCAT !GSPO  Jay Buhner hit a three-run homer and former Yankee Terry Mulholland allowed one run over seven innings as the Seattle Mariners completed a sweep of New York with a 10-2 victory in a game marred by a bench-clearing brawl.   Including the last three games of last October's Divisional Playoff Series, the Mariners have beaten the Yankees 12 of the past 15 meetings overall and 14 of the last 16 in the Kingdome.   Five players were ejected after Yankees' outfielder Paul O'Neill and Seattle catcher John Marzano got into a fight after O'Neill had been brushed back.   In Baltimore, Don Wengert threw a nine-hitter for his first shutout and Jose Herrera had a two-run double in a three-run fifth inning as the Oakland Athletics blanked the Baltimore Orioles 3-0.   Wengert (7-9), who failed to record a shutout in his previous 86 starts in either the minors or majors, did not walk a batter and struck out three for Oakland.   In Chicago, James Baldwin scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings and Ray Durham and Ozzie Guillen had RBI hits in the second inning as the Chicago White Sox blanked the Milwaukee Brewers 2-0.   Baldwin (10-4) struck out four and did not walk a batter for Chicago, which won for only the fourth time in 15 games.   Dave Nilsson had three hits for the Brewers.   In Kansas City, Jose Offerman's single with two out in the 12th inning scored Johnny Damon with the winning run and lifted the Kansas City Royals to a 4-3 victory over the Texas Rangers.   Rick Huisman (1-1) allowed one hit and a walk in the 12th to post his first major-league win.   In Toronto, Pat Hentgen tossed a five-hitter for his fifth consecutive complete game and three players drove in two runs apiece as the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Minnesota Twins 6-1 for their ninth win in 11 games.   Hentgen (17-7) surrendered just three doubles and a pair of singles in tossing his major-league leading ninth complete game.   He walked three and struck out three in winning for the 10th time in his last 11 decisions.   In Detroit, Orel Hershiser recorded his fourth straight win and Albert Belle snapped a sixth-inning tie with a grand slam as the Cleveland Indians completed a season sweep of the Detroit Tigers with a 9-3 victory.   Hershiser (14-7), who allowed three runs, eight hits and one walk with five strikeouts over seven innings, improved to 4-0 in his last six starts, including a pair of wins over Detroit in the last 11 days.   At California,   In Seattle, 
5120 !GCAT !GSPO  Andres Galarraga's two-run homer snapped a tie and Vinny Castilla belted a three-run shot as the Colorado Rockies beat the Cincinnati Reds 10-9 on Wednesday and became the first National League team in 67 years to have four players reach 100 RBI.   Galarraga's homer, his 40th of the season, came off Reds reliever Jeff Shaw (5-5) and broke an 8-8 tie.   "I was ready for a fastball and that's what he threw.   I was just trying to make hard contact," Galarraga said.   Castilla's homer in the fourth gave him 102 RBI on the season.   In Houston, Brian Hunter's two-out double into the left-centre field gap scored Kirt Manwaring from first base with the winning run as the Houston Astros edged the Chicago Cubs 5-4.   Gregg Olson notched the victory in his first appearance for the Astros, who have won four of their last five following a three-game losing streak.   In Montreal, David Segui singled in Henry Rodriguez with the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Montreal Expos erased a five-run deficit and grabbed back the wild card lead from the Los Angeles Dodgers with a 6-5 victory.   The Expos scored three times in the eighth to tie the game before Segui's third hit made a winner out of Mel Rojas (7-4).   In New York, Ken Caminiti broke the National League record for switch-hit homers in a game and pinch-hitter Archi Cianfrocco's single in the top of the 12th inning scored Chris Gomez with the go-ahead run as the San Diego Padres edged the New York Mets 3-2.   Baltimore's Eddie Murray holds the major-league record with 11 games with homers from both sides of the plate.   New York had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the 11th by putting runners on the corners with two out, but Chris Jones grounded out to third.   In Pittsburgh, Ryan Klesko homered twice and drove in three runs and Terry Pendleton had a bases-clearing double in the second inning as the Atlanta Braves coasted to a 9-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates.   Klesko's first homer of the game and 31st of the season, a two-run shot in the first off Esteban Loaiza (0-1), gave the Braves a 2-0 lead.   He added a solo shot in the seventh off reliever Ramon Morel to extend the advantage to 9-2.   "We've known for a long time that Ryan Klesko is going to be a big-time power hitter, plus he's a good kid," Braves manager Bobby Cox said.   Dave Clark and Mike Kingery homered for the Pirates, who have lost eight of 11 meetings with the Braves this season.   In St Louis, Devon White's sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th inning lifted the Florida Marlins to their fifth straight victory, a 3-2 triumph over the slumping St. Louis Cardinals.   Chris Hammond (5-7) worked one scoreless inning for the victory and Robb Nen needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order in the 10th for his 28th save.   In San Francisco, Glenallen Hill's run-scoring single snapped a tie as the San Francisco Giants had six straight singles in a five-run seventh inning to rally for a 7-6 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the rubber game of a three-game series.   The Phillies led 5-2 entering the seventh but the Giants banged out six straight hits against four pitchers to take a 7-5 lead. 
5121 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Baseball games played on Wednesday (home team in CAPS):     National League    COLORADO  10 Cincinnati  9    MONTREAL  6 Los Angeles  5    Atlanta  9 PITTSBURGH  4    San Diego  3 NEW YORK  2 (10 innings)    HOUSTON  5 Chicago  4 (11 innings)    Florida  3 ST LOUIS  2 (10 innings)    SAN FRANCISCO 7 Philadelphia 6     American League    Cleveland  9 DETROIT  3    CHICAGO  2 Milwaukee  0    Oakland  3 BALTIMORE  0    TORONTO  6 Minnesota  1    KANSAS CITY  4 Texas 3 (12 innings)    Boston  7 CALIFORNIA  4    SEATTLE  10 New York  2 
5122 !GCAT !GSPO  Jerry Rice, who has caught more passes and scored more touchdowns than any player in NFL history, will end his career with the San Francisco 49ers after signing a seven-year contract extension Wednesday.   Rice agreed to the extension which runs through 2002 and is worth approximately $4 million per season, according to a 49ers spokeswoman.   "(Team president) Carmen Policy, (owner) Eddie DeBartolo, they've been good to me over the years," Rice said.   "This is a very class organisation.   I'm glad to be a part of it, and really honoured to finish my career here." 
5123 !GCAT !GSPO  Michael Chang put a fast finish to a drab day at the U.S. Open on Wednesday with a 6-1 6-3 6-1 demolition of South African qualifier Neville Godwin that put the second-seeded American into the third round.   Overcast skies, humid air and a lack of star power on the schedule infused the National Tennis Centre day with a sluggish feel, but Chang and women's fourth seed Conchita Martinez added some energy with commanding performances in the night programme.   Chang approached perfection against the 118th-ranked Godwin, who had vaulted into prominence with a fourth-round showing at Wimbledon.   "Everything comes back so hard from Michael," said Godwin.   "You think you've put one away and it comes back.   You think you've put away another one and it comes back.   It's just an ongoing saga.   It's not nice.   It's not fun."   Chang's idea of fun was a fast decision.   "I've had matches when I'm cruising along and the tide changes," he said.   "I just try to beat guys as bad as I can."   Godwin managed to have some fun by the third set as the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd roared each, rare point that he won.   "The crowd was unbelievable," said the outclassed South African after the one hour 39 minute match.   Chang faces compatriot Vince Spadea in the round of 32.   Spadea beat Germany's David Prinosil 6-2 1-6 6-2 6-4.   Asked to rate Chang's chances, Godwin joked: "If he got to play me seven times he'd have a great chance to win."   The fourth-seeded Martinez, who has decided to embrace the aggressiveness of New York City to get in the proper mood for the Open, ran over France's Nathalie Tauziat 6-1 6-3 to take her place in the third round.   "I've been trying my whole career to be aggressive," said Martinez, 24, after crushing Tauziat in just over an hour.   "What I'm trying to do is be aggressive all the time, maybe go up to the net a few times like I did tonight."   Earlier, 12th-seeded Todd Martin shared the men's spotlight with South African David Nainkin, a qualifier ranked 215th.   Martin, eager to make up for his collapse in the Wimbledon semifinals, belted 14 aces as he served and volleyed his way past little-known Younes El Aynaoui 6-3 6-2 4-6 6-4.   Martin squandered a seemingly insurmountable 5-1 fifth-set lead at Wimbledon against compatriot MaliVai Washington but was never in danger against the Moroccan.   Nainkin stunned ninth-seeded countryman Wayne Ferreira, who had been one of the hot players coming into the Open.   Ferreira, ranked seventh after last week's title in Toronto, saw his impressive 18-4 summer record on hardcourts evaporate with a 6-4 6-4 2-7 7-5 surrender.   "I felt like I've been playing tennis every day for the last five months.   That's how I felt today," said Ferreira, who also lost to a qualifier in the first round here last year.   The freckle-faced Ferreira joined a list of first-round seeded casualties that includes Richard Krajicek (5), Alberto Costa (14) and Marc Rosset (15).   In only his third career meeting against a top-10 player, Nainkin had no trouble finding motivation.   "I really wanted to win.   I had a will power that I didn't know I had," said the 25-year-old from Durban.   "I dug deep."   The only other men's seed in action was Spanish clay court specialist Felix Mantilla, who was awarded a 17th seeding after French Open champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov pulled out injured and insulted over a seeding demotion.   Assigned to one of the smallest outside courts, Mantilla posted a 6-1 6-7 7-6 6-3 win over Brazilian Fernando Meligeni for his first career victory on a hard court.   Ukrainian Andrei Medvedev, working his way back to form after an injury-plagued couple of years, took the prize for swiftest first-round victory as he wiped out Frenchman Jean- Philippe Fleurian 6-2 6-0 6-1 in a mere 77 minutes.   The women's draw saw yet another seeded casualty Wednesday, when 63rd-ranked Barbara Rittner of Germany crushed 13th seed Brenda Schultz-McCarthy of the Netherlands 6-2 6-1.   Schultz-McCarthy committed an incredible 41 unforced errors allowing Rittner to advance by winning just two dozen points on her own.   Eighth-seeded Olympic heroine Lindsay Davenport sailed into the third round with a 6-0 6-4 win over Slovakian Henrieta Nagyova, and 15th seed Gabriela Sabatini, the 1990 champion, also advanced in straight sets over Ann Grossman.   Second seeded two-time champion Monica Seles took her expected place in the third round, but did so without playing a point when opponent Laurence Courtois pulled out with a knee injury.   The stars return in force Thursday, with top-seeded defending women's champion Steffi Graf preceeding 1994 champion Andre Agassi onto the Stadium Court. 
5124 !GCAT !GSPO  Matches scheduled for the featured courts Thursday at the U.S. Open tennis championships at the National Tennis Centre (prefix denotes seeding):   Stadium (starting at 11 a.m., 1500 gmt)   Sergi Bruguera (Spain) v Michael Stich (Germany)   1-Steffi Graff (Germany) v Karin Kschwendt (Austria)   6-Andre Agassi (U.S.) v Leander Paes (India)   Grandstand   Ai Sugiyama (Japan) v Natasha Zvereva (Belarus)   3-Thomas Muster (Austria) v Dirk Dier (Germany)   16-Martina Hingis (Switzerland) v Miriam Oremans   (Netherlands)   Stadium evening session (starting 7:30 p.m., 2330 g)   3-Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (Spain) v Nicole Arendt (U.S.)   11-MaliVai Washington (U.S.) v Alex O'Brien (U.S.)   Grandstand   10-Marcelo Rios (Chile) v Jeff Tarango (U.S.) 
5125 !GCAT !GSPO  Conchita Martinez decided that when in New York, do as the New Yorkers do -- and the Spaniard's new-found aggressiveness seems to have put her in the right frame of mind for the U.S. Open.   The fourth-seeded Spaniard, who is tackling the world class traffic of New York City as a warm-up by driving to the tennis centre for her matches, ran over France's Nathalie Tauziat 6-1 6-3 on Wednesday to take her place in the third round.   "I've been trying my whole career to be aggressive," said the 24-year-old Martinez after crushing Tauziat in just over an hour.   "What I'm trying to do is be aggressive all the time, maybe go up to the net a few times like I did tonight.   That would really help."   Martinez, the 1994 Wimbledon champion, used to struggle at the Open, but has come to terms with the noise, crowds and chaos.   "There is a lot of things that can happen," Martinez said about her early difficulties adjusting to tennis on the cement at Flushing Meadows.   "Like traffic.   We stay in Manhattan and it's a long way to come.   The crowds, they speak louder or they move.   That doesn't happen in other Grand Slams.   That's where the real champion wins.   You have to concentrate for these two weeks."   It took Martinez four Opens to get as far as the quarters, and another four to match that.   Last year, Martinez, who finished 1995 ranked second in the world, reached the semifinals before bowing out to Monica Seles.   Now she feels she is in the swing of things.   "I have my own car now and that helps," said Martinez.   "Sometimes the transportation they (the tournament) provide gets a little messed up.   This time it didn't happen.   I do the driving and I love it.   It gets my adrenalin going, those taxi drivers.   "We change lanes all the time in Barcelona.   I'm used to it and I like to drive fast." 
5126 !GCAT !GSPO  The defending world champion Atlanta Braves, with the best record and best pitching in baseball, added another weapon Wednesday, acquiring Denny Neagle, the winningest left-hander in the National League, from the Pittsburgh Pirates.   The Pirates, who conceded earlier this week they would be forced to trim salary from next season's payroll, received Ron Wright, a first baseman at Double-A Greenville; Corey Pointer, a pitcher at Class-A Eugene, and a player to be named.   It was another stunning mid-season acquisition for the Braves, who already have an 11-game lead in the National League Eastern Division.   In the last 15 days, Atlanta has traded for third baseman Terry Pendleton, claimed outfielder Luis Polonia on waivers and called up minor-league phenom Andruw Jones, all in preparation for their fifth post-season. 
5127 !GCAT !GSPO  Saying there were no more challenges left as an amateur, three-time U.S. Amateur Golf champion Tiger Woods turned professional on Wednesday.   Woods, 20, who won his record third consecutive amateur title on Sunday, will begin his professional career on Thursday at the PGA Greater Milwaukee Open tournament.   "I knew that after I won there was not much to achieve in amateur golf," Woods said at a news conference.   Never in the history of the game has a young golfer been saddled with such huge expectations as Woods.   Not only is he expected to win tournaments and sign up for lucrative endorsement contracts, he is touted as a huge draw for minorities to golf, which has had few prominent black golfers.   But, showing some of the poise that he exhibits on the golf course, Woods said of all the pressure: "I'm going to play one shot at a time and have one hell of a good time."   Woods, from Cypress, California, is not a stranger to professional golf.   The amateur sensation has teed it up 17 times with professionals-- 13 of them when he was still a teenager-- and six times in major championships.   "Tiger is ready for this," said his father, Earl.   "I saw talent in him when he was three days old.   I've been preparing him for this for 20 years.   I've been preparing him to be his own boss."   Woods' best finish in a professional event was a tie for 22nd at the British Open in July.   "In my life, I've never gone to a tournament thinking I couldn't win," Woods said.   "That's just my mindset.   It's something I've always believed in.   It's something I always will."   Woods has participated in 17 professional events since 1992, making seven cuts.   His best finish was a tie for 22nd at the British Open in July.   "I do have goals.   Obviously one is to try to make the Tour," Woods said.   "Anything more specific I can't share with you because they're personal."   In turning pro, Woods turns his back on a collegiate career and the opportunity for a degree at Stanford, where he won the NCAA title last year.   He said leaving school was his only regret.   "(I'm) leaving some of my best friends," he said.   "I can't hop over to their place at 11 at night and hang out with them.   That I will miss."   Woods, who said he will play in five more PGA tournaments this year with sponsor exemptions, also said he still has not signed any endorsement contracts, although reports have indicated he will receive $40 million from Nike over five years and another $3-$5 million from Titleist.   "I haven't signed for a penny yet," he said.   "What's been printed is nice.   I hope I get that.   But I haven't seen any check in the mail yet, so I'm still broke."   He said he had to pay for dinner Tuesday night with a gift certificate he had received.   Butch Harmon, Woods' Houston-based swing instructor, said he had to loan his pupil $100 so he could pay the entry fee for the Milwaukee tournament.   Turning professional "wasn't about money," Woods said.   "It was about happiness.   The time was right.   I knew my golf game was good enough.   It boiled down to, how happy am I?   And I'm happy."   Wednesday seemed to begin with some of the ingredients for happiness, or at least a stark contrast to his penny-pinching days as an amateur.   When he opened his locker Wednesday morning, he found it stocked with three boxes of new golf balls and four golf gloves.   He had arrived at the course in his own courtesy car.   "He was like a 10-year-old dropped into the middle of (a toy store)," Harmon said.   "As far as pure, raw athletic ability, he's got more of that than any golfer who has ever been great," Harmon said.   PGA Tour veteran Duffy Waldorf was paired with Woods in a pro-am tournament on Wednesday and quickly concluded that Woods has "it" -- that undefinable aura that surrounds superstars.   "I got to see the future of golf, I think," Waldorf said of Woods.   "He's got all the potential to be the best, no doubt about it.   He's young, he's smart and he's got all the shots." 
5128 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic champions Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson may argue over which of them is the fastest runner ever but Ben Johnson is the man, according to former gold medallist Allan Wells.   Johnson clocked the fastest non wind-assisted time ever for 100 metres of 9.79 seconds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics before he was stripped of his gold medal following a positive test for steroids.   The previous year the Canadian clocked 9.83 to win the world title in Rome but it was thrown out of the record books in 1989 after Johnson admitted he had cheated with drugs in his career.   Nonetheless, 1980 Olympic 100 metres champion Wells said on Thursday: "You can't ignore it.   He is the fastest man over 100 metres.   I'm talking about what he did on the track, not off it.   "He did run it (9.79).   The record was not recognised, obviously...But unofficially he is the fastest man ever...The way he came out of the blocks was awesome.   It was like a fire out of a cannon."   The Briton was talking after 100 metres world record holder Bailey and 200 record holder Johnson got involved in a debate at a news conference before Friday's Berlin Grand Prix meeting.   Bailey, who set a world record 9.84 at the Atlanta Olympics, and Johnson, who destroyed the 200 best by clocking 19.32 at the Games, are both running in a "Dream Team" relay in honour of Jesse Owens on Friday.   Asked who was the fastest man alive, Johnson immediately sprang up to claim the accolade.   Bailey clearly did not agree.   "Nobody can beat me over 100.   I'm the fastest," Canada's Bailey said.   "No one else has run 23 miles per hour (34 kph)," American Johnson retorted after returning to his chair.   Then American 1968 Olympic 100 champion Jim Hines jumped up from his seat in the audience and said he was fastest because he ran the first-ever sub-10 second 100 metres.   Britain's 1992 Olympic champion Linford Christie added his support for a Bailey-Johnson clash over 150 metres to settle the issue. 
5129 !GCAT !GSPO  Summary of Dutch first division soccer match played on Thursday:   NAC Breda 1 (Abdellaoui 20th penalty) NEC Nijmegen 1 (Graef 36th).   Halftime 1-1.   Attendance 10,760. 
5130 !GCAT !GSPO  Result of a Dutch first   division soccer match played on Thursday:    NAC Breda 1 NEC Nijmegen 1   Played on Wednesday:    Vitesse Arnhem  1 Sparta Rotterdam  1    Utrecht 0 Twente Enschede  0    Groningen 1 Roda JC Kerkrade  1    Feyenoord 2 Graafschap Doetinchem 1    Willem II Tilburg  1 RKC Waalwijk 3    Volendam 1 PSV Eindhoven 3    Ajax Amsterdam  1 AZ Alkmaar 0   Played on Tuesday:    Fortuna Sittard  2 Heerenveen 4   Standings (tabulate under played, won, drawn, lost, goals   for, goals against, points):    PSV Eindhoven 3 3 0 0 11 3 9    Feyenoord Rotterdam  3 2 1 0 6 2 7    Vitesse Arnhem 3 2 1 0 4 1 7    Heerenveen 3 2 0 1 7 5 6    Ajax Amsterdam 3 2 0 1 2 2 6    Twente Enschede  3 1 2 0 4 2 5    RKC Waalwijk 3 1 1 1 7 6 4    Graafschap Doetinchem 3 1 1 1 5 5 4    NAC Breda 3 1 1 1 2 2 4    Fortuna Sittard  3 1 1 1 3 4 4    Roda JC Kerkrade  3 0 3 0 3 3 3    Utrecht 3 0 2 1 2 3 2    Sparta Rotterdam  3 0 2 1 1 2 2    Groningen 3 0 2 1 2 5 2    NEC Nijmegen 3 0 2 1 2 5 2    Willem II Tilburg  3 0 1 2 1 4 1    AZ Alkmaar 3 0 1 1 0 3 1    Volendam 3 0 1 2 2 7 1 
5131 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic champions Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey and former champion Linford Christie will run in a "Dream Team" sprint relay squad in honour of Jesse Owens on Friday.   Johnson, the 200 metres world record holder, and Britain's 1992 Olympic 100 champion Christie confirmed on Thursday that they would join 100 record holder Bailey and Namibia's Frankie Fredericks in one of the greatest 4x100 squads ever assembled.   They will run against quartets from the United States, Europe and Africa in a special race at the Berlin Grand Prix meeting to mark the 60th anniversary of Owens's four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in the German capital.   Christie will run the anchor leg after Canada's Bailey, American Johnson and Olympic silver medallist Fredericks have run the first three stages of the relay.   The participation of Bailey and Fredericks had been known before Thursday.   But Christie did not announce his decision to run until the eve of the meeting when organisers also confirmed Johnson would take part.   Christie is due to retire from international competition at the end of the season although he may compete for Britain in next season's European Cup.   Although Christie, who is not racing the individual 100 metres in Berlin, took his time to agree to run, the veteran was clearly delighted to be part of the tribute to the black American.   When five former Olympic 100 champions from 1948 to 1980, who have been invited to watch the race, turned up at a news conference on Thursday, Christie was quick to put his autograph book in front of the them.   "I don't normally do this but can you please sign," he said thrusting an ornate white book in front of Americans Harrison Dillard (1948), Lindy Remigino (1952), Jim Hines (1968), Trinidad's Hasely Crawford (1976) and Britain's Allan Wells (1980).   "Jesse Owens inspired everyone here and it is great to have a tribute to him."   Owens's widow Ruth is not well enough to attend but a message from her will be read out by the sprinter's grand-daughter Gina Tillman during the meeting   Berlin organisers hoped to have American 1984 and 1988 champion Carl Lewis in the squad but he injured himself in last Friday's Brussels meeting. 
5132 !GCAT !GSPO  Italian soccer's sports judge on Thursday ruled that Genoa, beaten 3-0 by Lecce in the first round of the Italian Cup, should be awarded a 2-0 victory because their opponents fielded a banned player.   The ruling meant that serie B club Genoa now meet local serie A arch-rivals Sampdoria in the second round.   Genoa appealed after their defeat last Saturday on the grounds that Lecce striker Jonathan Bachini, who came on in the 71st minute with his team leading 2-0, still had a one-match suspension to serve from last season. 
5133 !GCAT !GSPO  Struggling French first division side Nice on Thursday announced they were parting with coach Albert Emon after a string of poor results.   Club president Andre Bois said a successor would be named on Friday.   A former player for Marseille and Monaco, Emon, 43, has coached Nice since 1992.   The announcement came 24 hours after the team from the French Riviera lost at home to Guingamp 2-1 in a league match.   Nice are 18th in the table. 
5134 !GCAT !GSPO  Three Dutch players have pulled out of the squad for Saturday's friendly international soccer match against Brazil in Amsterdam.   Ajax defender John Veldman and his team mate Richard Witschge are injured, while PSV midfielder Philip Cocu has a fever.   Dutch coach Guus Hiddink called in Feyenoord midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Vitesse defender Ferdy Vierklau for Cocu and Veldman, but did not name a replacement for midfielder Witschge. 
5135 !GCAT !GSPO  Tennis star Steffi Graf told a newspaper on Thursday she had considered pulling out of the U.S. Open in New York because it overlaps with the opening of her father's tax evasion trial in Germany.   After winning the U.S. Open a year ago, Graf broke down in tears at a news conference when she was grilled about her father Peter, who had just been arrested.   But in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, the world number one and defending champion at the U.S. Open said she had overcome her worries on a new media onslaught by "sharing her problems" with other people.   Asked how she felt about competing on the tennis court as her father enters the dock on September 5, she said: "An unfortunate date.   But now I am calmer than I was."   The New York tournament ends on Sunday, September 8.   Peter Graf and a family tax adviser Joachim Eckardt will be on trial accused of evading taxes on 42 million marks ($28 million) of the star's income for the tax years 1989 to 1993.   The tennis star herself is still under investigation in the tax case and has been interviewed by prosecutors several times.   It is unclear whether she may be asked to testify in court.   During recent weeks in the U.S. the upcoming trial "bothered me and I didn't want to come to New York at all," she said in the interview, conducted in New York.   "Also, fear of the press and the public reaction to the trial kept distracting me...But since then I have been able to talk about it and share my problems with others.   That has helped immensely," she said.   German justice authorities originally said they would set the trial date for Graf and Eckhart after the U.S. Open, where Steffi bids to win her third Grand Slam title this year and the 21st of her career.   Both men face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of depriving state coffers of over 19 million marks ($12.5 million) in taxes.   The German media have reported every supposed twist and turn in the case, and reduced the tennis star to tears with their questioning on several occasions.   But most of the time she has managed to put her private troubles to one side when she steps onto the tennis court.   Graf was asked if she had considered leaving Germany during the tortuous probe into her tax affairs.   "Yes, sometimes.   But Bruehl (Graf's home town) remains my home," she replied.   Graf's father has been in jail since August last year.   "I see him every two weeks.   But it is extremely difficult to keep in touch when you sit in the (visiting) room and have only half an hour," she said.   "You have no time to talk properly."   Steffi, who made her father responsible for her financial affairs from an early stage in her career, said she had learnt a lot over the last year and had been obliged to take responsibility for her financial affairs for the first time. 
5136 !GCAT !GSPO  Namibia's Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks has good reason to believe that fate is not on his side this season as he bids for a share of a lucrative athletics jackpot on Friday -- $250,000 in gold bars.   Fredericks, second over 100 and 200 metres at the Atlanta Games, is one of six athletes who can win the prize if he triumphs in the 200 metres at Berlin's grand prix, last meeting of the Golden Four series.   But after staying in the hunt for the gold by winning the event at the three other meetings in Oslo, Zurich and Brussels, Fredericks must now beat the formidable Michael Johnson, the American world record holder and Olympic champion.   Before the Olympics, Fredericks handed Johnson his first defeat in any race for two years in Oslo in early July.    Johnson, who smashed the 200 world record with an astonishing time of 19.32 seconds in Atlanta, missed the Zurich meeting earlier this month because of injury and cruised to an easy victory over 400 metres in Brussels last week.   But the Texan, who made history with a 200-400 double in Atlanta, has decided to step down to the shorter race for the Berlin finale.   Fredericks will need to run out of his skin to beat the American again in the German capital.   Namibia's former world champion may just have to face the fact that 1996 was a year when he has been forced to play second fiddle to his rivals despite some superb form earlier in the season.   Just before the Olympics, Fredericks looked a hot favourite to win the 100 metres, defeating one of the fastest men's sprint fields ever assembled in Lausanne to clock 9.86, just 0.01 of a second outside the then world record.   But Canadian Donovan Bailey, who could only finish second in the Swiss race, defeated the Namibian in Atlanta with a world record 9.84 to steal the glory.   The race for the gold will be one of the highlights of the meeting at the end of which Bailey will figure in a special 4X100 metres relay to mark the 60th anniversary of Jesse Owens's four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.   Fredericks has also agreed to run with Bailey in an invitation "Dream Team" which will take on squads from Africa, Europe and the United States.   Most of the Olympic 100 metres champions since 1948 will be in the stadium to watch.   Four other men and one woman are in the running for the gold bars -- Denmark's Wilson Kipketer (800), American Derrick Adkins (400 hurdles), Britain's Jonathan Edwards (triple jump), German Lars Riedel (discus) and Bulgaria's high jumper Stefka Kostadinova.   Kenyan Daniel Komen, who has gone close to breaking both the 3,000 and 5,000 world records in recent weeks, will also make a bid to break the 5,000 mark of 12:44.39 set by Ethiopia's Haile Gebreselassie in Zurich last year.   Gebreselassie lost his 10,000 world record to Moroccan Salah Hissou in Brussels last Friday and was beaten by Komen in Zurich in one of the greatest 5,000 races in history just over two weeks ago.   After an intense battle over the last two laps, the Kenyan won a sprint finish to clock the second fastest time in history of 12:45.09.   On Friday, Komen should have the track to himself since Gebreselassie is not competing. 
5137 !GCAT !GSPO  Jesse Owens, who was forced to race against dogs and horses to make ends meet after he made Olympic history 60 years ago, will be honoured by sprinting millionaires from another world on Friday.   Six decades after Owens won four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, destroying Adolf Hitler's hopes of a showcase for his notions of Aryan supremacy, Olympic sprint champions past and present will travel to the German capital to pay tribute.   Canada's reigning Olympic 100 metres champion Donovan Bailey will head a "Dream Team" relay in a special 4x100 metres race at a grand prix meeting to be held in the stadium where the black American made history.   Britain's 1992 Olympic champion Linford Christie and American 200 and 400 champion Michael Johnson have also been invited to run a race which will be watched by most of the Olympic 100 metres champions since 1948.   Owens, who died of lung cancer in 1980, shared a desire with Bailey and his modern-day rivals to be the world's fastest human.   But his life could not have been more different to theirs.   With the Olympic title to his name, world record holder Bailey can demand lucrative appearance fees just to put on his spikes.   Making more than $50,000 in less than 10 seconds is all in a day's work for the Canadian on the grand prix circuit.   Six athletes at Friday's grand prix, the final meeting of the rich Golden Four series, have a chance of a share of a jackpot of 20 one-kilo gold bars worth $250,000 if they win their events.   Even if they fail, the leading stars are guaranteed a regular income from lucrative sponsorship deals.   After his Olympic triumph, Owens, by contrast, had to take a $130-a-month job as a playground instructor in Cleveland to keep his head above water.   He also ran in exhibition races against dogs, horses and motorcycles.   The Alabama-born athlete eventually achieved financial security when he opened a public relations firm and became a public speaker.   But Owens had a rough ride for one of the most famous athletes in history.   Before the Berlin Olympics, Nazi propaganda had portrayed Negroes as inferior, taunting the United States for relying on "black auxiliaries".   Hitler had wanted to show off his supposedly superior race in the German capital.   Owens, who knew of the Nazi desire to prove their theory of Aryan superiority, stole the show with gold medals in the 100 and 200 metres, long jump and sprint relay.   One of the most striking moments of the Games came in the long jump when Owens became friends with Luz Long, a white, blye-eyed, blond German -- physically a perfect model for Hitler's Aryan race.   Long chatted with Owens during the qualifying, telling him that he did not believe in Hitler's theories of a dominant race and joking about that fact that he looked the part.   After Owens clinched the gold medal, Long, who finished second, was the first person to congratulate him in full view of the "Fuehrer".   "You can melt down all the medals and cups I have and they wouldn't be a plating on the 24-carat friendship I felt for Luz Long at that moment," Owens wrote later.   Long was killed in battle in 1943 but Owens continued to correspond with his family.   Visitors to Berlin's Olympic stadium are immediately reminded of the role Owens played in the history of world and German sport.   While scores of Hitler Squares were erased from the maps of German cities after the end of the Second World War, Owens has an avenue bearing his name near the Olympic stadium.   At one end of the arena, his performances are remembered on a plaque.   The American's widow Ruth is too ill to attend the meeting but Owens is expected to be represented by a relative and a message from Ruth will be read out. 
5138 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  The Zimbabwean government awarded civil servants a 20 percent salary rise on Thursday to end a crippling 10-day strike, but workers stayed on the streets to press the government to reverse some dismissals.   Union leaders met state officials and one told reporters the Public Service Association (PSA) was likely to accept the pay offer as well as the government's proposal for open-ended talks on wages and working conditions for its 180,000 workers once the dismissal issue was settled.   "For us it's crucial that the government makes a clear undertaking that it will reverse the so-called dismissals and will not get on a witch-hunt, otherwise we are fairly flexible and may accept its offers," said a PSA spokesman who declined to be named.   Government officials were unavailable for comment.   In a statement published by state media on Thursday, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro said the government was paying the 20 percent increase in addition to a nine percent rise because it had belatedly realised it had made a commitment last year to do so.   She did not clarify whether the government was reversing its decision to fire the strikers, estimated by the PSA to involve 70-80 percent of civil servants.   Until Thursday, President Robert Mugabe's government had publicly taken a tough stance against the workers.   But privately, senior government officials said Mugabe was looking for a compromise to cut the growing social, economic and political costs of the strike.   "The government has now reviewed the submissions of the civil servants...and realised that its commitment to award 20 percent salary increases under recommendations of the job evaluation exercise had not been effected," Chitauro said.   "It therefore must be noted that (the) government was not aware of that situation until after the payslips had come out, and if the workers had notified us we should have ratified it without any negotiation at all.   The commitment of the 20 percent (rise) is being implemented now," she added.   Chitauro said the 20 percent pay rise would be a top-up to an up to nine percent award made recently which the workers had rejected as an insult.   Economists warned on Thursday the government -- under pressure from international donors to slash its spending -- risked missing key economic targets in its 1996/97 budget as it would have to look for additional funding for the new increases.   Chitauro said the government was talking to the unions about pay and working conditions of its workers, many of whom have been on strike since August 20 demanding rises of 30-60 percent.   The government's change of heart comes just days after it fired thousands of strikers for defying orders to return to work.   It has faced growing pressure to settle the dispute.   On average, Zimbabwean civil servants earn Z$1,000 (U.S.$99) a month and they say their salaries have fallen behind annual inflation which has averaged 22 percent over the last two years.   The strike, Zimbabwe's worst civil service strife on record -- involving key professionals such as doctors, nurses, firefighters, magistrates, prosecutors and tax-collectors -- left essential social services barely functioning.   The main private sector labour body threatened a general solidarity strike.   The crisis also deeply divided Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party, with some senior officials, including from a parliament regarded by many as an official rubber-stamp, pressing the government to consider the workers' demands.    ($1=10.10) 
5139 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  South Africa, seeking to cut the state wage bill, has asked foreign donors to help finance what President Nelson Mandela on Thursday called a "wholesale exodus of teachers".   Education Minister Sibusiso Bengu acknowledged in a statement that provinces would not be able to afford the full cost of redundancy packages offered to teachers across the country.   "The president has initiated a request for foreign assistance with regard to some educational matters, including voluntary severance packages.   "The initiative is progressing well and we are drafting business plans for a number of projects," he said.   Mandela said separately, however, that the search for funds was proving difficult, telling religious leaders at a meeting in Cape Town:   "I have been busy trying to ensure that we raise enough funds to address this question.   There are problems, but not insoluble."   Mandela said he was worried that the voluntary redundancies designed to bring pupil-teacher ratios at traditionally white schools in line with black schools neglected under apartheid would rob the country of its best teachers.   The high-school ratio will be raised from about 20 pupils per teacher in white schools now to a national average of 35 to one.   The national average will be 40 to one in primary schools.   "We are going to have a wholesale exodus of a large number of teachers," Mandela said.   "The large number of teachers who want to take severance packages is going to lead to a situation where we are going to be short of teachers.   We have to find a way of ensuring that the best teachers remain to do their work," he said.   Teachers who accept redundancy packages have to accept that they will never again teach in state schools, but some are clubbing together and using their pay-offs to set up private schools.   Others are emigrating.   Education ministry officials have said privately they fear that those who know they can find work elsewhere are leaving while those who fear they would be unemployable are not.   Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told the Senate on Thursday the packages comprised accumulated pension contributions, including the state's share, a payout for accumulated leave, an equivalent of six months housing and car allowance, a share of the so-called gratuity a teacher would have earned at retirement and a resettlement allowance.   He said the pension portion would be paid out of the state pension fund, but education departments would have to fund the rest themselves.   Bengu said it was too early to tell how much the country would need to cover the packages, but promised: "I can assure educators that requests for the voluntary severance package will not be turned down solely because of a lack of funds." 
5140 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South African legislators on Thursday approved legislation overturning strict apartheid-era censorship laws but retained bans on child pornography and "hate speech".   The opposition National Party (NP), responsible for the original laws gagging political opponents and barring the publication of bare breasts, voted in favour of the new Film and Publications Bill.   But the right-wing Freedom Front (FF) opposed it as a pornographers' charter that would lead to increased rape and the liberal Democratic Party (DP) objected to a prohibition on publications or films which promote hatred against religions.   DP member Dene Smuts said this clause restricted freedom of speech.   "For as long as race and politics intersect in South Africa, for so long will 'hate speech' provisions be vulnerable to exploitation by the strong against the weak, and for so long will they lead to self-censorship or the inhibition of debate about the very pressures we need to confront," she said.   The legislation bans child pornography and depictions of bestiality or sexual violence but allows soft porn to be sold to adults.   FF legislator Willem Botha told his fellow members of parliament that the availability of any form of pornography meant their wives and daughters were not safe.   "The use of pornography is a disease like alcoholism or gambling, but worse," he said.   Magazines like Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler were banned by the previous apartheid regime but became freely available after the constitution was rewritten to guarantee freedom of expression.   The new bill, which must be approved by the senate before it becomes law, aims to prevent children buying or reading this material. 
5141 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd director George Burne said on Thursday instability in Angola's diamond-rich areas and delays in the country's political process were worrying.   "The political process should continue and the normal operation of the government should resume.   We are concerned that this may be delayed, but De Beers has always operated in Angola and we will continue to do so," Burne told Reuters.   In June Angola's state-owned diamond company Endiama and De Beers Angola Prospecting Ltd signed new prospecting agreements to search for diamonds in three areas -- the first for the diamond giant since Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975.   Before, De Beers was in partnership with Diamang, a joint venture between the Portugal and foreign share-holders.   Burne, on a two-day visit to Angola, said prospecting for new kimberlites had already started at one of the concessions between Saurimo and Lucapa in the Lunda Norte region.   The company also has concessions at Mavinga in Cuando Cubango and at Quela in Malange.   Burne said a political settlement between the Angolan government and opposition UNITA was vital for the diamond sector.   "We are looking forward to a settlement.   It will be good for UNITA to join the government of unity.   We are waiting for the appointment of a minister of mines... It is not satisfactory not having a minister," he said.   Under a 1994 peace pact between the government and UNITA to end a two-decade long civil war, the former rebel movement will head the ministries of mines, health, tourism and trade.   The ministers' positions allocated to UNITA have been left open by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and are currently being run by deputy ministers from the MPLA-led government.   "Our concern is that the diamond sector appears to have become unstable... with many illegal diamond operators," said Burne.   "This can only damage the long-term future of Angola's diamond sector, which could be considerably beneficial to the country." 
5142 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GREL  President Nelson Mandela was scheduled to meet Western Cape church leaders on Thursday for a one-hour discussion organised by his African National Congress (ANC) to discuss anti-crime strategies, a spokesman said.   Party spokesman Brent Simons said the discussion, including Justice Minister Dullah Omar and Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi, would be a precursor to an ANC summit on crime at the weekend.   "We feel that the best section of society to put at the forefront of the fight against crime is the religious community," he said.   "The meeting will be to see whether we can get away from a campaign by one group and form a broad front against crime."   Simons said the meeting would include leaders of Moslem, Christian, Jewish, Hindu and other faiths.   He said People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad), the Moslem vigilante movement targeting known drug dealers in Cape Town, had not been invited to the meeting.   Pagad supporters publicly burned and shot Hard Livings gang leader Rashaad Staggie in Cape Town last month, triggering an intense public debate about crime and the ability of the police to control it.   Pagad members have criticised the government's commitment to the fight against crime and death threats have forced Justice Minister Omar, himself a Moslem, to flee his home in a traditionally Moslem part of Cape Town.   Pagad leader Ali Parker earlier this week threatened to torpedo Cape Town's bid to host the Olympic Games in 2004 if there was no visible crackdown on gangsters and drug dealers.   Heavily armed Pagad supporters have repeatedly marched on the homes of alleged drug dealers, handing out warnings of further action if they continue their trade.   "What's happening now is that the community has decided to take law and order into its own hands.   We say let's fight crime within the limits of the law and let's do it together," said Simons. 
5143 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Malawi press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   THE NATION   - Finance and economic minister Aleke Banda said on Monday it was naive to say there was a government on earth that was not free from corruption.   Banda, believed to be leaving the country to scout for donor aid, said allegations that the Malawi government was corrupt would frustrate his efforts but admitted that there could be one or two corrupt people in government.   - - - -   THE DAILY TIMES   - A chick with four legs and three anal parts was hatched on Monday in a Blantyre district village among nine normal chicks hatched on the same day.   Two of the four legs were suspended, said the owner but added that he had not established if the chick was using all three anal parts.   - Opposition Alliance For Democracy (AFORD) members of parliament on Wednesday boycotted an environmental seminar in northern Malawi after learning that it would be officially opened by a fellow AFORD MP Myinga Mkandawire, who accepted appointment as research and environment minister after his party severed coalition partnership with the ruling United Democratic Front party. 
5144 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in Zimbabwe's state-owned Herald newspaper on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE FINANCIAL GAZETTE   - The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the country's largest private labour body, has threatened to call a general strike if the government does not negotiate with civil servants currently on strike to press for salary increases.   - A Zimbabwean member of parliament says the country is losing about Z$10 million a day through the on-going by civil servants.   - The state-owned National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) is losing an average Z$150 million annually to other regional railways because NRZ management is failing to properly utilise wagons owned by the parastatal.   BUSINESS HERALD   - The labour dispute between Zimbabwe's civil servants and the government has cost the country millions of dollars in uncollected revenue, resulted in a loss of production hours and caused much suffering to hospital patients.   - Zimbabwe's small scale miners, struggling with undercapitalisation, need Z$1.5 billion to buy equipment and build a strong base for their sustainable participation in the mining industry.   THE HERALD   - About 16,000 people attended the annual Harare agricultural show on its third day on Wednesday to witness an array of events and conduct business.   - Zimbabwe's members of parliament have voiced full support for civil servants striking to press for wage hikes, saying the workers have genuine grievances which the government has failed to hand properly.   --Stella Mapenzauswa, Harare Newsroom:   +263-4 72 52 28/9-- 
5145 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the South African press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   BUSINESS DAY   - In South Africa's biggest black empowerment deal, Anglo American Corp Ltd and the National Empowerment Consortium (NEC) have signed an agreement for Anglo to sell most of its 47.4 percent stake in industrial group Johnnic to the NEC over the next 18 months.   - Fast-growing transport, motor and financial services group Imperial Holdings doubled attributable income to 246.3 million rand in the year to June, after improvements were shown by all divisions, except the motor retail businesses, which suffered lower margins.   - Private sector credit growth remained high in July, with latest Reserve Bank figures showing only a slight fall in the annual rate of increase to 18.5 percent from 18.65 percent in June.   - The weekly newspaper New Nation could be closed, following its failure to break into profit, owner New Africa Investments (Nail) said on Wednesday.   - - - -   BUSINESS REPORT   - The National Empowerment Consortium (NEC), a group of black investors, finally bought control of Johnnic on Wednesday, the 8.5 billion rand industrial holdings company 48 percent-owned by Anglo American, in the largest black economic empowerment deal ever in South Africa.   - Johnnic, the industrial, holdings group, reported a 41 percent increase in equity-accounted earnings on Wednesday, to 3.26 a share in the 12 months to June 30, from 2.33 a year ago, buoyed by a strong performance from its 13 percent stake in South African Breweries Ltd .   - The finance department is investigating the possibility of opening a foreign bank account to limit its losses if the rand continues to fall, Hannes Smith, the director-general of state expenditure, said in parliament on Wednesday.   - - - -   THE STAR   - The killing during a car hijacking of soccer star Doctor Khumalo's father has prompted Gauteng Safety and Security MEC Jessie Duarte to call an urgent meeting with top police officers to discuss rampant crime.   - Anglo American Corp Ltd said on Wednesday it was selling the bulk of its stake in Johnnic to black investors in a landmark deal for black economic empowerment.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
5146 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Belgrade press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified them and does not vouch for their accuracy.   NASA BORBA   - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum to start his Balkan tour today taking him to Belgrade, Zagreb and Sarajevo.   - Zastava arms factory workers continue their strike, and call for the director to revoke his decree on mandatory leave.   - Poor turnout of refugees to vote for Bosnia elections in Yugoslavia.   - Both houses of the federal parliament hold sessions today to confirm bilateral international cooperation agreements and discuss normalisation of relations with the IMF.   - Second international Belgrade swimming marathon to be held on Sunday, Sept 1.   So far 21 competitors have reigstered.   - London Pirbright laboratory has found positive samples of foot-and-mouth disease from Yugoslavia's Kosovo province, says assistant Serbian agriculture minister Georgije Trbojevic.   POLITIKA   - Yugoslav Prime Minister to visit Macedonia on September 3 and 4.   This is the first official visit after the signing of the agreement on regulating relations between Yugoslavia and Macedonia on April 8.   - First Macedonian ambassador in Belgrade Slavko Milosavlevski to take over his post today.   - Meat prices rise sharply in August.   - Mineral processing plant production in Serbian province of Vojvodina up 49 percent on the same period last year.   - Federal parliament to elect a new federal election commission.   The present commission's mandate expires four days before scheduled November 3 elections.   - Monthly exports for Petrohemija of Pancevo to stand at $16 million from September to the end of the year.   BORBA   - Exhibition of machine tools, grouping 40 domestic and foreign producers, opened in Pirot in south Serbia by government minister Milun Babic.   POLITIKA EKSPRES   - In the predominantly Albanian province of Kosovo, a police station was bombed in the village of Celopek, near Pec and a policeman was shot dead in Pristina in two seperate attacks on Wednesday.   -- Belgrade newsroom, +381 11 224305 
5147 !GCAT !GDIP  Britain joined the United States on Thursday in welcoming Romania and Hungary's agreement on the text of a much-delayed friendship treaty, which it said would contribute to stability in the area.   "The United Kingdom believes that such a treaty will contribute positively to the further development of good neighbourly relations between the two countries and enhance the stability of the region," said the British Foreign office statement.   The accord, agreed two weeks ago, is expected to end years of disputes over the status of Romania's large ethnic Hungarian minority.   It will also boost both countries' ambitions to join NATO and the European Union.   Bucharest and Budapest say the treaty should be signed in the first half of September.   "The United Kingdom looks forward to the early signature of the treaty," the statement said. 
5148 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Poland wants to tighten economic ties with fast-growing Southeast Asian countries at next week's Warsaw conference aimed at boosting bilateral investment and trade, the Polish trade minister said on Thursday.   "Trade with Southeast Asia is very important to us...the region is Poland's second largest trading partner after Europe and it could surpass Europe in the next several years," Jacek Buchacz told a news conference.   Buchacz said in the last 15 years the share of Southeast Asian countries in Polish trade doubled from 13 to 26 percent, but that Poland ran a trade deficit with the region.   "Through this economic forum, we aim to help small and medium-size firms and promote Poland as an economic partner for Southeast Asia," Buchacz said.   The First Economic Forum Poland-South East Asia, will gather government officials and industry leaders from 15 countries on September 3-4.   Government officials from Hong Kong, Vietnam, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand will attend as well as representatives from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations Development Organisation (UNIDO).   Observers from China, Japan, South Korea, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia will be present.   Poland had a $76 million deficit with ASEAN countries in the first five months of this year, but bilateral trade grew by over 50 percent from the same period of 1995 to $411 million.   -- Wojciech Moskwa +48 22 653 9700 
5149 !GCAT !GPOL  The two parties in Poland's ruling left-wing coalition are close to agreement on a cabinet reshuffle linked to a coming reorganisation of ministries, Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said on Thursday.   Cimoszewicz said his party, the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), and the smaller Polish Peasant Party (PSL) neared a deal, on the line-up of ministers after the reform, during a late-night meeting on Wednesday.   "It is my deep conviction that both sides have come closer to an agreement, with their positions almost identical," Cimoszewicz told private Radio Zet.   "However, the results of the negotiations have yet to be accepted by the presidiums of the parties," he said.   Senior Peasant party official Franciszek Stefaniuk confirmed the assessment, saying.   "Our positions have indeed converged."   The reform, scrapping several ministries, creating new ones and merging others to streamline decision-making, has divided the parties who have shared power since 1993 despite repeated conflicts.   The Peasant party fears that the stronger ex-communists may use the reshuffle to gain more power within the cabinet, now roughly divided in half between the two sides.   The hottest argument concerns appointments to the powerful new treasury and economy ministries as well as the finance portfolio, whose role, though diminished, will remain crucial.   Trade-offs inside the coalition could lead to the dismissal of Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko.   Kolodko, a non-party technocrat linked to the ex-communists and the author of the government's economic policy, has won praise from international financial institutions for maintaining economic stablity and growth.   The Peasant Party wants implementation of the reform to involve the dismissal of the entire current cabinet and appointment of a new one, although its influential Agriculture Minister Roman Jagielinski has argued against this approach.   But Cimoszewicz insisted on a gradual replacement of ministers from October, when the months-long process of creating new ministries is due to begin.   -- Jan Strupczewski +48 22 653 9700 
5150 !GCAT !GPOL  The two parties in Poland's ruling leftist coalition failed to agree on a planned cabinet reshuffle at a late night meeting, PAP news agency said on Thursday.   It quoted Franciszek Stefaniuk -- an official of the smaller Polish Peasant Party -- as saying that the two groupings would meet again to discuss appointments in new ministries, to be created under a coming government reform.   The reform, due to begin in October, provides for scrapping several ministries and creating new ones to make the work of the cabinet more efficient.   The Peasants and the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) are divided over the legal mechanisms for transforming the current cabinet and over who should head the two new ministries of the treasury and the economy as well as the finance ministry.   PAP quoted Leszek Miller, a senior SLD official, as saying that coalition leaders also met Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko to discuss implementation of this year's budget.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
5151 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Croatian newspapers on Thursday.   - Postponement of municipal elections in Bosnia could negatively affect peace process, say Bosnian Croat leaders.   - Croatian institutions are slow to enter Eastern Slavonia, last Serb-held region in the country.   Government is holding talks on Thursday with local Serb representatives to inform them of their rights.   - Yugoslavia's allegation that it holds no Croats in its prisons must be treated with reserve.   - Normalisation of relations between Croatia and Yugoslavia: railway and road links will be established when bilateral agreements are reached.   - Government has reached decision on setting maximum bread price but it will not come into force for some time yet -- manufacturers and traders still have time to set price themselves.   - In first seven months of 1996, exports totalled $2.58 billion, or 5.2 percent less than in the same period last year.   Imports were 4.28 percent lower at $4.29 billion.   Croatia's main trade partners were Germany and Italy.   - In its portfolio Croatian Privatisation Fund still has shares worth 29 billion kuna.   But further privatisation process should not be based on provisional assessment of firms' worth.   VECERNJI LIST   - Figures on industrial output provided by Central Statistics Bureau may not correspond to real situation since they do not include all small entrepreneurs - if they did, the picture would be much better.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - In further negotiations with Yugoslavia, Croatia will demand 150 billion kuna for war reparations.   - Croatian Electricity Board is to sign agreement with Hungarian counterpart in Budapest on electricity grid which is to link Croatia with central and eastern Europe.   Croatia will invest 120 million German marks in project.   -- Zagreb Newsroom, 385-1-4557075 
5152 !GCAT !GDIP  The Hungarian parliament will hold an extraordinary session on September 3 to discuss a treaty which Hungary plans to sign with Romania next month, Zoltan Gal, Chairman of the Parliament said on Wednesday.   The accord, which lays new foundations for their relationship, is vital for both countries' ambitions to join NATO and the European Union.   The extraordinary session was initiated by the left-wing opposition to Hungary's ruling socialist-liberal coalition.   According to the original schedule, the parliament should only assemble in the second week of September.   Hungarian opposition leaders and representatives of Hungarian communities in both Romania and Slovakia have accused Budapest of neglecting the interests of millions of Hungarians living in neighbouring countries.   The focus of their anger is a footnote to the treaty agreed with Romania as a way out of the deadlock which they allege limits the scope of autonomy for Hungarian ethnic minorities living in the neighbouring countries, such as Romania and Slovakia.   The government said the treaty would guarantee the rights of Hungarian ethnic minorities and Hungary would sign the accord with Romania despite the criticism.   The ruling coalition holds more than two-thirds of the votes in parliament, and that is enough for the parliament to approve the treaty despite opposition protests.   REUTER 
5153 !GCAT !GENT  Bucharest cinema list:   Down Periscope  - PATRIA 2118625    0900 1115 1330 1545 1800 2000    - LUCEAFARUL  6158767    0900 1100 1300 1500 1715 1930   Gaddaar - BUCURESTI 6156154    0845 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900   Last Dance - SALA PALATULUI  6157372   (Aug 29) 1730 2000   The Birdcage - SCALA 2110372    0900 1115 1330 1545 1800 2015    - GLORIA 6474675    1000 1215 1430 1645 1900   Executive Decision  - CORSO 6151334    0900 1130 1400 1630 1900    - CULTURAL 6835013    0900 1130 1400 1630 1900   Stolen Hearts  - MIORITA 6142714    1000 1200 1400 1600 1800    - STUDIO MARTIN  2123242    1400 1600 1800   Before and After  - STUDIO 6595315    1000 1215 1500 1715 1930    - FAVORIT 7453170    1000 1200 1400 1600 1800   Spy Hard - AURORA 6350466    1400 1630 1900 (Sat, Sun also 1130)   Vampire in Brooklyn - EXCELSIOR 6654945    1600 1800 (Sat, Sun also 1400)   12 Monkeys - FLOREASCA 2122972    1500 1715 (Sat, Sun 1300 1515 1730)   Sergent Bilko  - OLYMPIA PALACE  2223085    1000 1200 1400   The Jurror - DRUMUL SARII  4102344    1500 1715 (Fri/Sat closed, Sun also 1100)   Desperado - FLAMURA 6857712    1000 1230 1500 1730   Sudden Death - FESTIVAL 6156384    0900 1100 1300 1500 1700 1900   Judge Dreed - LUMINA 6157416    1000 1200 1400 1600 1800   Terror in Beverly Hills - DACIA 6503594   (Aug 29) 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800   (Source: Romaniafilm distribution company) 
5154 !GCAT !GCRIM  Austrian police said on Thursday they had arrested three men on suspicion of sexually abusing children and producing child pornography in what looked like a "child-for-hire" network spread across central Europe.   Vice squad officers seized box-loads of videos and other pornographic material from the home of one of the suspects at the start of a major investigation into the procuring of children, some as young as seven, to paedophiles in the region.   The hunt for others connected to the ring could involve neighbouring Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany.   "The three men, who are aged between 40 and 51, have been arrested and there appears to be evidence of child abuse," a Vienna police spokesman said.   Two of the men are Austrian citizens, one born in Slovakia and the other in the Czech Republic.   The third is Polish, police said.   Police declined to comment on whether there was a connection with a Belgian murder and child abuse case which has caused a wave of revulsion across Europe.   Belgian Marc Dutroux, alleged to be the dominant person in a paedophile pornography ring, has been named by police in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, as a suspect in the murder of one Slovak woman and the kidnapping of another.   Austrian current affairs magazine News launched a major investigative report into the Vienna-based network which provided clients in the Austrian capital with a choice of 70 girls, largely from Slovakia, aged between seven and 13.   Some visited customers in Vienna's top hotels, it said.   Catalogues and videos are sent to clients showing the girls parading like models and a code number for booking them -- material which appears not to be illegal in Austria.   A News team went under cover to check out the network and met a major "child trader" in Bratislava who led them to a city apartment where three girls aged 12 and 13 awaited them.   Vienna police sources said paedophiles made contact by using codes in sex magazines, some of which experts had cracked.   Apart from more sophisticated communications through computers, paedophiles were also putting ads in magazines to buy and sell "art objects", such as a statue of a child, which was understood to mean the procuring of a child for sex.   News published its report in this week's edition issued on Thursday but accompanying photographs showing young girls naked with only a black box over their eyes and their genitals obscured raised questions over the magazine's ethics.   "The story exposing the network is good but the words are enough," said Greens spokesman Stefan Schennach.   "It's not necessary to show such photos.   It's a step over the limit."   News's deputy editor Walter Pohl defended the magazine's decision to publish the pictures, saying it was part of a strategy to force police action.   "We showed the pictures to the police before publication and it was a big shock to them.   We are not sure they would have made the arrests if we had not done so," Pohl told Reuters.   Asked whether the photos were little more than soft porn pandering to the tastes of paedophiles, Pohl said: "Maybe 50 to 100 paedophiles in Austria will think it is porn, but on the other hand police have made arrests and hopefully some of these girls in Bratislava will no longer work in these networks." 
5155 !E21 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Greece will receive an additional 58 billion drachmas from the European Union, Deputy National Economy Minister Christos Pachtas was quoted as saying in a ministry statement.   "This amount is due to 1995 inflation and comes from European Union funds," the national economy ministry said in a statement.   Pachtas sent a letter to the European Commission suggesting an allocation for the sum of 28.3 billion drachmas that Greece will receive due to 1996 inflation, it said.   --Dimitris Kontogiannis, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
5156 !GCAT !GDIP  The U.S. embassy in Athens, the consulates general in Athens and Thessaloniki and all U.S. government offices in Greece will be closed on Monday, September 2 in observance of Labour Day, a U.S. national holiday, the embassy said.   --George Georgiopoulos, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
5157 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Greek conservative New democracy party picked Bold/Ogilvy and Mather advertising companies for its pre-election campaign and Spot Thomson to help party president Miltiadis Evert on communication strategy, it said in a statement.   Spot Thomson will also be responsible for the campaign TV and radio spots, it said.   --Dimitris Kontogiannis, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
5158 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The British Columbia Securities Commission confirmed Thursday that the chief executive officer of Doman Industries Ltd and two other people were found guilty of insider trading.   A lawyer for Herb Doman, chief executive of Doman Industries, announced the ruling earlier.    The commission said it imposed a 10-year prohibition from trading securities on Doman, William Bennett and Russell Bennett.   The three are also prohibited from serving as officers or directors of a public company for 10 years, though Doman is permitted to return to Doman Industries in such a capacity after one year.    His return is contingent on certain conditions being met, including the appointment of independent directors to chair the board of Doman and its committees, adoption of a governance policy consistent with Toronto Stock Exchange guidelines and creation of a committee of independent directors to review all trading in Doman shares by employees, officers and directors.   The three were also ordered to pay costs of the commission hearing from August 1994 to April 1996.   "Insider trading is often characterized by deceit and greed and sometimes by conspiracy.   All these elements were present in this case," the commission said.   In a separate statement,   Doman Industries said the prohibition on Doman acting as an officer or director does not apply to its three wholly owned subsidiaries, Western Forest Products, Western Pulp and Doman Forest Products.   Doman "was extremely disappointed with the decision and intends to appeal the same vigorously," the company said.   -- Reuters Vancouver Bureau (604) 664-7314 
5159 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The chief executive of forestry concern Doman Industries Ltd and two other people were found guilty of insider trading by the British Columbia Securities Commission, a lawyer for Doman said on Thursday.   He said the agency's ruling prohibits the three from acting as officers or directors of public companies for 10 years, except in the case of Herb Doman, the chief of Doman Industries.   He must resign from his post for a year and if he does not comply then the 10-year ban would go into effect, lawyer Marvin Storrow said.   The three were also banned from trading in stocks for 10 years on the Vancouver exchange.    Storrow said that ban might apply to other exchanges as well, but the scope of the ruling was not immediately clear.   Doman "is very upset," Storrow said.   He plans an immediate appeal of the decision and will ask the courts to stay the penalty.   The other two found guilty were former British Columbia provincial premier Bill Bennett and his brother, Russell Bennett.   The case has been underway for eight years and revolves around the collapse on November 4, 1998 of a takeover bid by Louisiana-Pacific Corp for Doman.    Doman was accused of passing along a tip to Russell Bennett that the takeover had fallen through.   The Bennetts sold all their Doman shares on November 4, 1988, minutes before trading was halted for announcement of the news.   Regulators said the Bennetts made a C$2 million profit.   Doman and the Bennetts insisted the allegations were untrue.   They were acquitted by a provincial court of similar charges in 1989.   Regulators continued to pursue the case through numerous legal battles that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.   -- Reuters Vancouver Bureau (604) 664-7314 
5160 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GPOL  A leading Nigerian human rights activist urged the international community on Thursday to pressure the country's military regime to free political prisoners.   "My immediate concern is getting our people out of prison," Olawale Fapohunda, a lawyer with Nigeria's Civil Liberties Organization, said after a speech to an international law conference.   Olisa Agbakoba, the lawyer who represented executed activist Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight others, had been scheduled to speak at the Commonwealth Law Conference in Vancouver, but the Nigerian government barred him from leaving the country.   Fapohunda, who spoke in his place, used a secret route to leave Nigeria and reach Vancouver.   He called for greater international pressure but did not back demands for an oil embargo, saying people there were already suffering enough.   Dozens of people have been detained in the west African nation since it fell into political crisis after a former military government annulled 1993 elections.   The presumed winner of the elections, Moshood Abiola, and former military president Olusegun Obasanjo are among the detainees. 
5161 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GOBIT !GPRO  Agnico-Eagle Mines Ltd said on Thursday Wencel Hubacheck was appointed president and chief executive following the death Agnico's long-time president, CEO and chairman of the board Paul Penna.   Agnico said Charles Langston was appointed chairman of the board.   Hubacheck has been a director of Agnico for almost two years, a vice-president for the past five years and has provided mining, engineering, geology and management services to Agnico through W.A. Hubacheck Consultants Ltd for over 30 years, Agnico said.   It said Langston has been a director of Agnico for the past six years and sits as a member of the board's corporate governance and compensation committees.   Penna had served aas CEO and chairman of Agnico and its predecessor company for over 33 years.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau (416) 941-8100 
5162 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The preliminary estimate of average weekly earnings for Canadian workers in all industries except agriculture and fishing rose 2.8 vercent in June from a year earlier to a seasonally adjusted C$588.87, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.   From the month before, earnings rose 0.3 percent.   Seasonally adjusted payroll employment fell 0.4 percent in June to 10.92 million from a revised 10.96 million in May.   A Reuter survey of economists had forecast that average weekly earnings would rise by 2.1 percent, year-on-year, after May's 2.4 percent rise.   (For more information, contact Statistics Canada analyst Stephen Johnson at (613) 951-4090.)   -- Reuter Ottawa Bureau (613) 235-6745 
5163 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A London court frustrated the hopes of hundreds of British prisoners on Thursday and allowed embarrassed interior minister Michael Howard to block their early release.   Two judges sitting in Britain's High Court backed a move by Home Secretary Howard to halt a flood of releases from jails which began this month when the Prison Service adopted new guidelines for calculating the length of sentences.   The guidelines, under which more than 500 inmates have been freed, were described by one of the judges, Oliver Popplewell, as "totally absurd".   The Prison Service believed previous court judgments showed that the time a prisoner spent in jail awaiting trial had to be deducted from each of his sentences -- even if the court ordered them served consecutively.   Thus a prisoner who spent six months on remand then received three consecutive one-year sentences would spend only 18 further months in prison, rather than 2-1/2 years.   Howard, an advocate of tough sentencing for whom the unexpected released was an acute political embarassment, gave Prison Service head Richard Tilt a severe dressing down this week and won an apology from him for "serious failures".   Howard also instructed prison governors to revert to the previous interpretation of the law under which a period on remand was deducted only once from the total term of a prisoner serving consecutive sentences.   John Naughton, a 32-year-old serving a total of three years from robbery and possession of cannabis, challenged that instruction on behalf of hundreds of fellow inmates.   He sought immediate release, saying he should have been let out of jail on Christmas Eve last year rather than next month.   Having lost, he may still appeal to Britain's most senior court, the House of Lords.   "I am delighted that the court has reached a clear view that remand time cannot be counted twice," Howard said in a statement after the ruling.   "The court will have more to say on this very complex matter next week.   I have therefore decided that the suspension of the release of prisoners...will remain in place until we have the opportunity to consider the judgement carefully," he added.   A Home Office (interior ministry) spokeswoman said she could not immediately comment on whether the prisoners released on what the court ruling indicates was a mistaken interpretation of the law will be asked to return to jail to serve out their sentences.   If Howard had lost Thursday's case, the government could have faced large claims for compensation from convicts who spent too long in prison. 
5164 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Here follows a list of major world air crashes involving over 100 deaths, dating back to the start of 1994:   -- August 29, 1996 - A Tupolev 154 carrying about 140 passengers and crew to the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen crashed, killing all but five possible survivors, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.   It was chartered by the Russian mining company Trust Arktik Ugol.   -- July 17, 1996 - TWA flight 800 exploded in a fireball over the Atlantic Ocean after taking off from Kennedy Airport, New York, en route for Paris.   All 230 people on board died.   -- May 10, 1996 - A ValuJet Airlines DC-9 jet with 110 people on board crashed in the swampy Everglades near Miami International Airport.   There were no survivors.   -- February 29, 1996 - In the worst accident in Peru's history, a Boeing 737 crashed in the Andes, killing all 117 passengers and six crew members.   The plane belonging to local Faucett airline, on a flight from Lima, slammed into a mountain as it prepared to land at the city of Arequipa, 625 miles south of Lima.   -- February 6, 1996 - A Dominican Alas Nacionales, Boeing 757 carrying 189 people plunged into waters off the Dominican Republic, killing all on board.   -- January 8, 1996 - A Russian-built Antonov-32 cargo plane crashed into a crowded market in the centre of the Zaire capital, Kinshasa, killing at least 350 people.   -- December 20, 1995 - An American Airlines passenger jet en route from Miami slammed into a mountain in southwest Colombia and burst into flames, killing 163 people on board.   Only four people survived the crash.   -- December 18, 1995 - A Zairean passenger plane crashed in Northern Angola, killing 141 people.   The plane, an Electra, was owned by Trans Service Airlift, a private company, based at Kinshasa's Ndjili airport.   -- September 8, 1994 - A USAir Boeing 737 crashed near Pittsburgh International Airport as it was coming in to land from Chicago.   All 132 people on board were killed.   -- June 6, 1994 - A China Northwest Airlines Tupolev-154 on a flight from Xian to Guangzhou crashed, killing all 146 passengers and 14 crew on board.   It was the worst reported plane crash in China.   -- April 26, 1994 - A Taiwanese China Airlines A300-600 Airbus crashed at the south end of Nagoya Airport some 160 miles west of Tokyo, killing 264 people.   The aircraft was carrying 271 passengers and crew.   -- January 3, 1994 - A Russian plane crashed near Mamony in Siberia, killing all 124 people on board, including 16 foreigners.   A farmer on the ground was also killed.   The Tupolev-154 craft, operated by Baikal Air, had reported one of its engines catching fire minutes after taking off from the Siberian city of Irkutsk on a flight to Moscow. 
5165 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Britain's B.A.T Industries Plc said Thursday it and the tobacco industry as a whole are confident that U.S. tobacco litigants would ultimately make no significant progress.   In a letter to be mailed to shareholders, B.A.T said it was also confident that the recent award of damages against it to a plaintiff who suffered from lung cancer would be overturned.   "Notwithstanding this, the litigious framework in the U.S. means that we will see continuing activity in the courtrooms of America," B.A.T said in the letter.   The letter follows a slump in B.A.T's share price after after an Aug. 9 lung cancer award in a Florida court and moves last week by President Clinton to support the Food and Drug Administration's proposal limiting youth access to tobacco products.   However, tobacco stocks were boosted after an Indianapolis, Ind., jury sided with tobacco companies last Friday in a case filed by the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer.   Shares in B.A.T, which plunged to a year-low of around 420 pence on the two developments, have since moved up to 445 pence.   Referring to Clinton's approval for the new FDA regulations on youth access, B.A.T said it strongly opposed government regulations "whose true purpose is to restrict the rights of adults to smoke ..."   "It is very unfortunate that the discussions between the U.S. administration and members of the U.S. tobacco businesses ... have been sacrificed to political grandstanding ahead of the U.S. presidential elections in November," it added. 
5166 !GCAT !GHEA  People who have chronic bronchitis may be more likely to have heart attacks, Finnish researchers reported on Friday.   Dr Pekka Jousilahti and fellow epidemiologists at the National Public Health Institute in Helsinki followed 19,000 men and women for up to 13 years.   They found that men who reported having a cough with phlegm for three months a year were 52 percent more likely to have a heart attack, and were 74 percent more likely to die of a heart attack, than men who did not cough so much.   Women with bad coughs had a 49 percent greater chance of dying of a heart attack then women who did not cough.   Even when other known causes of heart disease such as smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol were factored in, the bronchitis was a clear predictor of heart attacks, Jousilahti's group said.   There could be many causes, they wrote in a report in the Lancet medical journal.   Infection can be a cause of blood clots or damage to the walls of blood vessels.   "Even local and minor infections can detectably change blood coagulation," they wrote.   "Based on our data, the observed association is most probably due to bronchial infection and inflammation in general, rather than some particular pathogen," they concluded. 
5167 !GCAT !GHEA  A fourth British cattle farmer has died from the human version of mad cow disease, raising fears that it may be possible to get the disease from simple contact with infected animals or feed, scientists said on Friday.   Experts who monitor Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) in Britain said the case of the farmer, who died last year, had concerned them.   The British government said in March it had identified a new strain of CJD in 12 victims and said they probably caught it from eating beef infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease).   The 59-year-old farmer evidently did not have this new strain, James Ironside and colleagues at the National CJD Surveillance Unit in Edinburgh said.   In a letter to the Lancet medical journal they said he seemed to have succumbed to "sporadic" CJD, which naturally kills about one in a million people per year, and which has an incubation period of around 30 years.   Yet they said four cases of cattle farmers with CJD in Britain made them suspicious.   "The apparent excess of recent cases of CJD in the U.K. occurring in people exposed to cattle affected with BSE has increased speculation that CJD may result from the transmission of BSE to human beings," they wrote.   They noted that other countries, which do not have BSE epidemics, have the same rate of CJD in dairy farmers.   They said it could be that doctors are aware of BSE fears and thus look harder for CJD symptoms in dairy farmers.   Scientists say the current epidemic of BSE was started when cows were fed the rendered remains of sheep infected with scrapie, their own version of the disease.   Such feed has been banned, and slaughterhouses are told to remove all tissue known to carry BSE infection, such as brains.   Ironside's group said they did not know how the farmer could have become infected by BSE, if he had.   "He was not known to have had contact with meat and bonemeal and denied ever having tasted animal feed.   He had not drunk unpasteurised milk since 1972," they wrote. 
5168 !C13 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Captive bolt stunners used to knock out cows before they are slaughtered could spread potentially infectious brain tissue through their bodies, U.S. veterinarians said on Friday.   Tam Garland and colleagues at Texas A&M University said their findings could mean that people are at risk of catching the human version of mad cow disease despite precautions aimed at keeping beef safe.   "We found grossly visible brain tissue in the left and right branches of the main pulmonary artery (the artery leading to the lungs) of 2.5 to five percent of cattle after slaughter," they wrote in a letter to the Lancet medical journal.   "It is likely that prion proteins (the agent believed to carry mad cow infection) are found throughout the bodies of animals stunned for slaughter."   Britain currently requires that slaughterhouses remove tissue considered to be infectious from all cattle carcasses.   This includes the brain, spinal cord and certain organs.   But Garland said current slaughter practices literally blew bits of brain throughout the cow's body.   Because it takes a cow several minutes to die after stunning, the pieces could be pumped into a number of organs.   She said she thought to check for the effect because she knew people who have head traumas often turn up with brain tissue in other parts of their bodies.   "Since it is well documented in human literature, the thought occurred to me that oh, when we stun animals we are creating head trauma," she said in a telephone interview.   She and colleagues checked and: "Oh, boy did we find it."   The British Meat and Livestock Commission said the findings were irrelevant because it "did not know" of any abattoir in Britain which used the stunners referred to in the study.   The organisation, which represents slaughterhouses and meat retailers, added in a statement that the use of cattle lungs was illegal in British meat products.   Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease) is epidemic in Britain but only occurs occasionally in other countries, including the United States.   However, scientists say it is the probable cause of a new strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a fatal brain illness.   Garland said her research centred on one particular pneumatic stunner known as "The Knocker", which is used about 50 percent of the time in U.S. slaughterhouses.   Her group was now investigating other slaughterhouse practices.   Garland said she feared the only methods guaranteed not to spread brain tissue were electric stunning or Islamic halal and Jewish kosher slaughter, which involve slitting the animal's throat while conscious. 
5169 !C21 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  A common anti-malarial drug, mefloquine, can cause nightmares, dizziness and other potentially serious side-effects and should be used carefully, British doctors reported on Friday.   Such side-effects are more common than believed and can affect up to 40 percent of people who take anti-malarial drugs, Dr Paul Clarke of Medical Advisory Services for Travellers Abroad Ltd and colleagues at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine reported.   "This study shows that about 40 percent of travellers taking either mefloquine or chloroquine and proguanil can expect to experience some sort of adverse side effect, although most effects will be relatively trivial," they wrote in the British Medical Journal.   But one in 140 people who take mefloquine (Hoffman-La Roche's Lariam) are temporarily disabled by neurological or psychiatric side-effects, they said.   "These include anxiety, depression, sleep disturbances, nightmares, hallucinations, and, in a few people, overt psychotic attacks or convulsions," they wrote.   The report will come as bad news to Swiss pharmaceutical giant Hoffman-La Roche, which is fighting a class action suit by a group of 500 British travellers who alleged they were not warned about side-effects that included hallucinations, seizures and severe mood swings.   Lariam, brought to the market in the 1980s, is now the most commonly prescribed drug against chloroquine-resistant malaria.   Clarke's group surveyed 1,200 adults who took mefloquine and 1,200 who took chloroquine plus proguanil, two other common drugs.   They recorded 333 "neuropsychiatric events" in mefloquine users and 189 in others, although fewer than one percent of these "events" were disabling.   "Mefloquine is appropriate only when the risk is high both of malaria and of chloroquine resistance," they concluded. 
5170 !GCAT !GHEA  More and more children are becoming allergic to peanuts and this could be because more pregnant women are eating them, sensitising their unborn babies, British doctors said on Friday.   Allergy to peanuts is the most common cause of fatal allergic reaction to food.   In severe cases just a tiny amount of peanut is needed to set off a reaction.   Dr Jonathan Hourihane and colleagues at Southampton General Hospital tested 622 adults and children with known or suspected peanut allergy.   They found it is more common than believed.   Reporting in the British Medical Journal, they said just over one percent of the British population was allergic to peanuts, while seven percent of brothers or sisters of someone allergic to peanuts were also allergic.   Mothers of allergic children were also more likely to be allergic than fathers, and the researchers said they found a tendency for allergy to run in families.   "It has been suggested that before first exposure to peanut foods some infants have been sensitised to peanut by infant milk formulas that contain peanut protein or peanut oil," they wrote.   "Our simple survey of peanut consumption during pregnancy and breast feeding by mothers of these children with peanut allergy may suggest that they are being exposed to peanut allergens in utero or via breast milk."   They suggested that pregnant and breast-feeding women avoid peanuts -- especially if they have other allergies.   In a second study, Dr Syed Tariq and colleagues at St Mary's Hospital in Newport found that one in 100 children can become allergic to peanuts by the age of four.   Tests on 1,200 children showed that those born to families with allergies were much more prone to peanut and nut allergies and should avoid both.   They also found that children with peanut allergies always had some other allergy, such as eczema or asthma. 
5171 !GCAT !GPOL  An opinion poll on Thursday showed a narrow majority in favour of abolishing the monarchy in Britain before Prince Charles can become the next king.   The poll for a BBC television programme showed 52 percent believed that Queen Elizabeth should be Britain's last monarch, while 48 percent said the monarchy should continue.   More than 42,000 people phoned in their votes to the programme debating the future of British royalty.   The poll came the day after Charles and Princess Diana divorced following a marital breakdown many Britons blame on the prince's 26-year relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles.   Although the queen is widely respected, the divorces of three of her children, a series of scandals and griping over the cost of the royal family to the taxpayer has eroded the popularity of the monarchy.   The royal family has been considering a number of changes to the way it works to try to win back public favour, including ending its public subsidy and giving royal daughters the same rights of accession as their brothers.   But there is deep discontent at the idea of Charles becoming the next king, because he is seen to have betrayed the highly-popular Diana.   Church leaders have said that, as an adulterer, the prince is unfit to become monarch when the queen, who is 70, either dies or stands down.   As king, Charles would become the head of the Anglican Church.   Opinion polls have shown a majority of Britons believe he should abdicate if he wants to marry Parker Bowles, a divorcee and mother of two.   The next in line for the throne after Charles is his 14-year-old son Prince William. 
5172 !GCAT  Following are some of the major events to have occurred on September 5 in history.   1638 - Louis XIV (the Sun King) born.   King of France from 1643-1715, during an age of great French literature, art and music.   He built the Palace of Versailles during what was the longest reign in European history.   1735 - Johann Christian Bach (called The "English Bach") born.   German composer, son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he became Music Master to Queen Charlotte of Britain.   He composed over 40 symphonies and several operas.   1774 - The first Continental Congress of the 13 U.S. colonies met at Philadelphia with all attending except Georgia.   It ended on October 26 with criticism of British influence in North America.   1791 - Giacomo Meyerbeer born as Jakob Liebmann.   German operatic composer best known for his "Les Huguenots" and "L'Africaine".   1800 - Malta was surrendered to the British under Admiral Nelson after they blockaded French troops occupying the island.   1847 - Jesse James born.   U.S. outlaw who led many notorious bank and train robberies.   He was eventually killed by one of his own gang.   1857 - Auguste Comte died.   French philosopher and founding father of sociology.   He wrote his "Systeme de Politique Positive" between 1851-1854 which established Positivism.   1902 - Darryl F(rancis) Zanuck born.   Hollywood film producer and executive, he was an important innovator of trends and techniques.   Best known as a producer for "Young Mr Lincoln" "All About Eve" and "The Longest Day".   1905 - The Treaty of Portsmouth (New Hampshire) was signed ending the Russo-Japanese War.   Mediated by Theodore Roosevelt, Russia ceded Port Arthur to Japan though the treaty did not provide Japan with a war indemnity.   1914 - Charles Peguy, French poet and philosopher and champion of Alfred Dreyfus, was shot by German soldiers in World War One.   1939 - President Roosevelt declared U.S. neutrality at the start of World War Two in Europe.   1940 - Raquel Welch born as Jo-Raquel Tejada in Chicago.   U.S. film actress and star of "One Million Years BC" and "Three Musketeers".   1960 - In the Congo, President Joseph Kasavubu sacked Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and appointed Joseph Ileo.   However prime minister Lumumba refused to leave his position and proceeded to remove Kasavubu from his position as President.   1972 - During the Olympic games, Arab terrorists of the Black September movement attacked an Israeli dormitory in the Olympic village at Munich, killing two members of the Israeli Olympic team.   Nine Israelis, five terrorists and a West German policeman later died in a shoot-out at Munich Airport.   1975 - In Sacramento, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a follower of the cult leader Charles Manson, attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford.   1977 - West German terrorists kidnapped businessman and President of the Federation of West German Industries Hans Martin Schleyer.   His body was found on October 19 in France.   1980 - The ten-mile St Gotthard road tunnel in Switzerland, the longest in the world, was opened at a cost of 690 million swiss francs.   It was begun in late 1969.   1982 - Briton Douglas Bader who lost his legs in flying accidents, and became a World War Two fighter pilot, died.   1990 - Prime ministers of North and South Korea met and opened talks in Seoul, the highest-level inter-Korean meeting ever.   1991 - After seven decades of certainty, the Soviet Union destroyed its old power structures and virtually abolished the constitution.   President Gorbachev created a transitional regime robbing him of much of his power and delivering it to the republics.   1995 - France conducted an underground nuclear test on Mururoa Atoll, causing worldwide condemnation.   Anti-nuclear and independence protesters rioted in Tahiti for two days. 
5173 !GCAT !GPRO  Former England rugby captain Will Carling, whose marriage broke down after he was romantically linked to Princess Diana, was divorced by his wife on Thursday, just 24 hours after Diana and Prince Charles divorced.   The Times newspaper said Diana was not named in the divorce petition heard by a court in Surrey, southern England.   But Julia Carling, a television presenter, is said to have blamed Diana for the problems in her marriage and she has repeatedly mocked the princess on her breakfast television programme.   Diana met Will Carling at an exclusive gymnasium in London.   He has always insisted that they were just friends. 
5174 !GCAT !GENV !GODD !GSCI  The environment may indirectly benefit from the current scare over mad cow disease, New Scientist magazine reported on Thursday.   It quoted British scientists as saying reductions in British cattle herds because of the epidemic would cut emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.   "Beef is a greenhouse-intensive food," the magazine quoted Susan Subak of University College London as saying.   She estimates that, if British cattle herds are cut in half as a result of the epidemic, methane emissions from their belches would decline by up to three percent.   Cattle have long been blamed as contributors to global warming.   They belch and fart methane, estimated at an average of 48 kilograms (105 lb) a year per cow.   In addition, fossil fuels are burned to produce fertiliser used on the crops fed to cattle.   Fossil fuels send carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.   Britain is currently planning to cull 147,000 cows because of fears about Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease).   This is a small percentage of the 11 million national cattle herd. 
5175 !C23 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV !GSCI  The first pharmaceuticals company to test drugs exclusively on human tissue, bypassing the need for controversial animal tests, will open its doors in October, New Scientist magazine reported on Thursday.   It said Pharmagene, based in Royston, central England, could start research because of the opening this year of the first European human tissue bank.   Donors can offer tissue after death in the same way they donate organs.   "We think we're the first company in the world to do all our work on human tissue," Bob Coleman, a founder of the company, told New Scientist.   "We are going to miss out animals altogether," added Gordon Baxter, who helped found the company.   "If you have information on human genes, what's the point of going back to animals?"   Animal tests are controversial not only because animal welfare groups think they are cruel, but because the results often do not translate to people.   For example, aspirin kills cats but is widely used for headaches, fever and heart disease in humans.   Coleman said the tissue bank would include contributions from every part of the human body, but it would be kept in test tubes.   "We won't have arms and legs stored on meat hooks," he said. 
5176 !C12 !C15 !C151 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  British components firm T&N triggered a wave of negative sentiment, that overpowered the good news on earnings in its results, by quantifying a new level of possible asbestos liability risk, analysts said on Thursday.   T&N said that if a U.S. class action claims-handling system, known as Georgine, is confirmed as illegal later this autumn it will have to make a provision of the order of 50 million pounds to cover the likely cost of new health claims that may follow.   The engineering and motor components firm's pre-tax profit for the first six months fell to 58.1 million pounds ($90.61 million) from 73.2 million, in line with share market expectations, mainly as a result of its moves to cut the cash it ties up in undelivered product stocks.   The company's shares fell sharply after the results, and analysts said the reaction showed how sentiment was hit by the asbestos warning.   By 1430 GMT the shares were off 9p at 135p.   "It's the first time they have quantified the amount of additional provisions that may happen if Georgine collapses, but even so we all knew there would be something," one analyst said.   He stressed that no investor familiar with T&N's story, and the court review of Georgine earlier this year which led to its being declared illegal, should have been shocked by the amount.   However, analysts agreed that simply the warning of another risk ahead was an overpowering signal not to buy the shares.   "With the Georgine settlement in the balance it increases the risk profile of an investment in this stock and, at present, outweighs the excellent industrial fundamentals," another said.   Before Georgine was brought into jeopardy by a U.S. court ruling, which T&N is currently seeking leave to appeal, there had been a partial revival of investor interest in its shares.   Analysts said that earlier this year some investors could be encouraged that the asbestos liabilities of the group were at least containable, even if not quantifiable, with a cap.   "Now, we're back to the old days -- the uncertainty around asbestos makes it hard to recommend a buy, and the shares are unlikely to rise," said one analyst, who declined to be named.   "You can't quantify the liability, so how can you suggest someone to buy it when you don't really know what its worth ?"  .   All is not lost for T&N, however, as the company is still followed closely by automotive engineering and components sector analysts who respect its drive to become more cash efficient.   Even though Thursday's results showed a drop in pretax profits, such analysts had been fully aware of the factors of de-stocking, market weakness and disposals that caused it.   Edward Stanford, of stockbrokers Albert E Sharp said, "I think what they're doing internally is a tremendous improvement, and the unsung hero of these results is the really dramatic leap forward that has been made in their internal processes."   "I firmly believe there will come time when you can say they have fundamentally redesigned all their processes, and in the course of doing that will have improved their efficiency and their working capital management," Stanford added.   However, for the time being, analysts agree, asbestos dominates T&N as the liability situation is unresolved.   And until the uncertainty over it is firmly removed, it will continue to mask the glow from some of the company's brightest lights -- including its plans to roll out new investments in developing countries to increase its international reach. 
5177 !C41 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  The Marquesa de Varela, aristocratic international fixer who has secured some of Hello!   magazine's biggest scoops, said on Thursday a rift with the editor may force her to quit the top-selling gossip bible.   The socially well-connected Uruguayan, who brought Hello!   such exclusives as interviews with the Duchess of York and the news that the Duke of York's former girlfriend Koo Stark is pregnant, is at odds with the magazine's editor, Maggie Koumi.   "I am at the end of my tether.   We have two different opinions," Varela told Sky News Television.   "Thank God I have other offers on the table.   If I have to go I will go."   She added: "I would miss Hello!   But when you are not happy it is like marriage.   It is not a happy situation.   I have continual aggression from the financial department."   Varela is international editor at Hello!   Her society contacts -- and the Spanish-based, globally-circulated weekly magazine's willingness to pay well for uncritical interviews -- have brought many of its best stories.   Sales soared earlier this year after she secured exclusive rights to pictures of the wedding of England soccer player Paul Gascoigne.   Rather than visit the Hello!   office in London, she prefers to work from home, and she is only still with the magazine because of her good relationship with its owner, Spaniard Eduardo Sanchez Junco.   "You know, I have my family living abroad, and the owner understands it, he loves me.   He is the only thing that keeps me still there."   Apart from London, she has homes in Madrid, and in Uruguay, where she keeps about 50 stray dogs she has rescued.   Friction between her and Koumi -- a chain-smoking workaholic -- has forced her to bring her problems into the open.   Varela says he is angry that her home phone bills of up to 2,000 pounds ($3,000) a month are no longer being paid by the magazine.   Hello!   declined to go into details about the marquesa's grievances, but said it would be sorry to lose her.   "The marquesa is a valued contributor to Hello!   who has brought us many very good exclusives over the years," publishing director Sally Cartwright told Reuters.   "I would be very sorry if she were to leave Hello!  , but the magazine would survive the departure of any individual." 
5178 !GCAT !GSPO  Whitewashing the Springboks in South Africa on Sunday morning would lift a 47-year burden from the shoulders of nearly all the remaining members of the 1949 All Blacks beaten 4-0 in South Africa, the Evening Post reports.   "It would make my life complete," said scrummaging powerhouse Johnny Simpson.   "It means everything to me.   There was nothing more humiliating than losing 4-0 to them," the former prop said.   His front-row partner, Kevin Skinner, agreed, but said: "I at least had a little bit of satisfaction when playing in the last two tests when we won the series in 1956 (in New Zealand).    "Coming home from the 49 tour, it felt like we were slipping in the back door," Skinner said.   "It (the current series) is just a repayment for 1949," fullback legend Bob Scott said.   For Scott however, the goalkicker on the tour, nothing will ever remove the responsibility he felt for being unable to land penalty goal attempts during the series.   "I feel great pride with what the boys have done.   But it won't lift the weight off my shoulders, I'll take that to my grave," Scott said.    "Throughout all the years I have lived in a shell of my own, I took it very personally.   I don't think I've ever been more miserable.   "There was a certain disappointment that I never achieved what I wanted to on that tour.   I guess that's because I am a perfectionist -- not around the house or in the garden, but in rugby I was," he said.   Scott did receive support from his fellow players on the tour but still feels the frustration.   "They didn't have to kick the goals, I did," he said.    It reached the point where Scott didn't want to kick in the final test, but skipper Ron Elvidge, who had taken over from Fred Allen who dropped himself to look after the coaching duties, wanted him to continue.   Scott felt a piece of bad luck in the first test could have altered the series.   "We were up 11-3 at one stage when I ran into the backline and passed to Ron Elvidge with the line wide open.   He juggled, but held, the ball.   However, a juggle like that was a knock-on in those days.   I am sure we would have won the series if we had won the first test," he said.    The hardness of the tour, the scrummaging of the South Africans, the disruptive play of No 8 Hennie Muller, who took up permanent station in midfield, and the goal-kicking of Okey Geffin, are all associated with what is the low point in All Blacks history.   Two tests against Australia were lost back in New Zealand when the All Blacks were in South Africa, while the tour itself was not helped by the failure of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to appoint Vic Cavanagh as coach and the selection policy of only picking big forwards.    The players certainly felt the pressure of facing a whitewash when preparing for the fourth test of that series.   "We trained really hard.   We were all aware that it could be a clean sweep and we talked about it in the lead-up," Simpson said.   Skinner said: "It wasn't so much the last test, every test was the same.   We found out what South African refereeing was like very early in the tour.   It didn't take till the fourth test to work that out.   Simpson added: "Neutral referees have made all the difference now."    Scott wasn't so inclined to blame referees for the team's problems and added that New Zealand wasn't blameless when the South Africans toured here.   But he was more disappointed with the politics of rugby in New Zealand which contributed to the team's situation.   By comparison to that tour, John Hart, Ross Cooper and Gordon Hunter had set up a good situation for the All Blacks who had made the most of their chances in the series, Scott felt.   All three legends were agreed, however, that the Springboks will not lie down in Sunday's game.    Simpson summed up their feelings when he said: "It will be very difficult.   The South Africans don't take it lightly.   I can visualise them being even harder in the final test.   I do feel sorry for the All Blacks in the number of tests they have had to play.   "But it has been exciting.   The ball skills that most of them have got are outstanding.   They just have to retain possession," he said.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
5179 !GCAT !GSPO  THE AUSTRALIAN   Australian ironman Jonathan Crowe won the first round of the Uncle Toby's Super Series in Los Angeles yesterday, an event which carried A$88,662 in prizemoney but no competition points.   Crowe won the race by more than a minute after Phil Clayton gave up he lead when he made a wrong turn.   Page 20.   --   Despite missing a spot in the Australian women's Olympic team, basketballer Gina Stevens has hit the best form of her career, averaging 21 points a game.   The Perth Breakers guard is the Women's National Basketball League leading scorer.   Page 21.   --   Another Australian Rugby League-contracted player is set to join a Super League club, with Penrith expected to soon announce a three-year, A$825,000 contract with Illawarra captain John Cross.   There is also intense speculation that Manly winger Jack Elseood has signed with the Canterbury Bulldogs.   Page 22.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   With Scott Bowen unavailable after breaking his leg in a rugby union club match and Pat Howard moving to the inside-centre position, Australian coach Greg Smith has tipped Tim Wallace to be David Knox's back-up as five-eighth on the Australian Wallaby tour to Europe.   Page 42.   --   South Sydney president George Piggins said last night if the rugby league competition is rationalised, ideally Easts, Balmain and Souths would each put 33 and a third percent into the inner-city franchise.   However, he warned Sydney City would face a figt if they continued to lock the Rabbitohs out of merger talks.   Page 42.   --   Following yesterday's confirmation from the Australian Rugby League that rebel clubs would not receive end-of-year grants unless they agreed to provide the ARL with their financial details, the Canberra Raiders are set to take legal action against the ARL to recoup compensation for television games this year.   Page 42.   --   THE AGE   Although he received definite riding instructions in the Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley last Saturday week, jockey Darren Gauci will be given a free hand on Octagonal in tomorrow's Memsie stakes at Caulfield.   Page C7.   --   After scoring his best result in a grand slam at last year's U.S. Tennis Open, Australia's Michael Tebbutt has got off to another good start, defeating American Richey Reneberg on the third day's play, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3.   Tebbutt has a world ranking of 110 compared with Reneberg's ranking of 27.   Page C8.   --   In a bid to create a cricket pitch-free winter venue, the Melbourne Cricket Club will add a trial removable cricket pitch to the 10-pitch strong centre wicket area at the MCG to test whether the removable strip would stand up to international cricket stanards.   Page C12.   --   HERALD SUN   Tigers guard Lanard Copeland doesn't believe the Perth Wildcats can win the NBL title despite being the defending champions and holding five high-powered Americans in uniform.   Copeland claims Perth could be the victim of too much talent and too little qulity playing time for a selective few.   Meanwhile the Tigers are set to battle the Brisbane Bullets tonight in Melbourne, another team on a roll having won five straight games.   Page 104.   --   After meeting the Melbourne board for more than two hours yesterday, mining multi-millionaire Joseph Gutnick said he was determined to stop the club merging with Hawthorn, but would not commit himself to underwrite the club for the next twenty years, descibing Melbourne's demands as childish and ridiculous.   Page 108.   --   Despite being selected for the SCG clash, Sydney spearhead Tony Lockett is struggling to overcome an injured left knee and may not play in tomorrow's AFL game against West Coast.   Lockett will meet coach Rodney Eade and the Swans doctor and physiotherapis tomorrow morning for a last minute examination.   Page 112.   --   THE DAILY TELEGRAPH   The Brisbane Bears' Michael Voss is favourite to win the AFL's Brownlow Medal, following a betting plunge that has put him at odds of 7/4 to win the award.   Voss received plenty of support even before Collingwood's Nathan Buckley was suspended, a move which cost punters about A$250,000.   Page 104.   --   Australian cricket coach Geoff Marsh has promised his team has a few surprises in store for Sri Lanka's opening batsmen when the two teams meet in tonight's Singer Cup clash.   Jayasuriya and Kaluwitharana smashed a 129-run partnership against India on Wedesday night, including 96 in the first 15 overs.   Page 105.   --   Australian cyclist Shane Kelly made up for some of his Atlanta Games disappointment yesterday, winning the 1000m time trial title on the opening day of the World Track Cycling Championships in Manchester, England.   Australia also won two silver medals, wih Gary Neiwand coming second in the Keirin and Stephen Pate and Scott McGroy taking second in the 50km American Madison.   Page 112.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
5180 !GCAT !GSPO  Five months of expectation will be fulfilled when Australia take on Sri Lanka in a Singer World Series one-day match in Colombo today, the first time the sides have met since the World Cup final in March.   Australia waited until the last minute before confirming they would take part in the tournament, with security still an issue after the Australians refused to play in Sri Lanka during the World Cup and a bitter tour by Sri Lanka last year.   All appears sweetness and light now and Australia and Sri Lanka have already emerged as the form sides of the tournament.   On Monday Australia beat Zimbabwe by 125 runs in the tournament opener and Sri Lanka hammered India by nine wickets on Wednesday.   Australia's next match is against India on Thursday.   ARL and AFL   It's time for rugby league and AFL fans to get their slide rules out as teams this weekend vie for places in the play-offs of both codes.   The top Australian Rugby League (ARL) top four of Manly, Brisbane, North Sydney and Sydney City seems assured, although in what order is far from certain.   The next four of Cronulla, Canberra, St George and Newcastle seems sure to change, with Western Suburbs just outside the eight on percentages and even Auckland and the Sydney Tigers technically still capable of creeping in.   Crucial matches this weekend include Auckland and Brisbane on Friday, Wests versus Illawarra and Cronulla against Newcastle on Saturday.   The Tigers play an out-of-form Sydney City on Sunday, with Canberra to take on South Queensland, Norths against the Gold Coast and Manly up against South Sydney.   Fans of Sydney's AFL team breathed a huge sigh of relief this week when star player Tony Lockett escaped suspension on a striking charge, but "Plugger" is suffering a knee injury and is far from a certain starter for the second-placed Swans against third-placed West Coast on Saturday night.   A defeat for leaders Brisbane against Collingwood on Sunday would see the Swans finish first, while fourth-placed North Melbourne are assured of being the only Victorian-based in the all-important top four if they beat eighth-placed Richmond on Sunday.   Carlton and Geelong, placed fifth and sixth respectively, play on Saturday, with seventh-placed Essendon up against lowly Footscray on Friday.   Hawthorn also have a chance to slip into the top eight if Richmond lose and the Hawks have a big win over Melbourne on Saturday.   Sunday marks the final match for AFL wooden spooners Fitzroy, who close down and head north to Brisbane after their game against Fremantle.   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
5181 !GCAT !GSPO  Namibia's Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks has good reason to believe that fate is not on his side this season as he bids for a share of a lucrative athletics jackpot on Friday -- $250,000 in gold bars.   Fredericks, second over 100 and 200 metres at the Atlanta Games, is one of six athletes who can win the prize if he triumphs in the 200 metres at Berlin's grand prix, last meeting of the Golden Four series.    But after staying in the hunt for the gold by winning the event at the three other meetings in Oslo, Zurich and Brussels, Fredericks must now beat the formidable Michael Johnson, the American world record holder and Olympic champion.   Before the Olympics, Fredericks handed Johnson his first defeat in any race for two years in Oslo in early July.   Johnson, who smashed the 200 world record with an astonishing time of 19.32 seconds in Atlanta, missed the Zurich meeting earlier this month because of injury and cruised to an easy victory over 400 metres in Brussels last week.    But the Texan, who made history with a 200-400 double in Atlanta, has decided to step down to the shorter race for the Berlin finale.   Fredericks will need to run out of his skin to beat the American again in the German capital.   Namibia's former world champion may just have to face the fact that 1996 was a year when he has been forced to play second fiddle to his rivals despite some superb form earlier in the season.    Just before the Olympics, Fredericks looked a hot favourite to win the 100 metres, defeating one of the fastest men's sprint fields ever assembled in Lausanne to clock 9.86, just 0.01 of a second outside the then world record.   But Canadian Donovan Bailey, who could only finish second in the Swiss race, defeated the Namibian in Atlanta with a world record 9.84 to steal the glory.   The race for the gold will be one of the highlights of the meeting at the end of which Bailey will figure in a special 4X100 metres relay to mark the 60th anniversary of Jesse Owens's four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.    Fredericks has also agreed to run with Bailey in an invitation "Dream Team" which will take on squads from Africa, Europe and the United States.   Most of the Olympic 100 metres champions since 1948 will be in the stadium to watch.   Four other men and one woman are in the running for the gold bars -- Denmark's Wilson Kipketer (800), American Derrick Adkins (400 hurdles), Britain's Jonathan Edwards (triple jump), German Lars Riedel (discus) and Bulgaria's high jumper Stefka Kostadinova.    Kenyan Daniel Komen, who has gone close to breaking both the 3,000 and 5,000 world records in recent weeks, will also make a bid to break the 5,000 mark of 12:44.39 set by Ethiopia's Haile Gebreselassie in Zurich last year.   Gebreselassie lost his 10,000 world record to Moroccan Salah Hissou in Brussels last Friday and was beaten by Komen in Zurich in one of the greatest 5,000 races in history just over two weeks ago.   After an intense battle over the last two laps, the Kenyan won a sprint finish to clock the second fastest time in history of 12:45.09.   On Friday, Komen should have the track to himself since Gebreselassie is not competing. 
5182 !GCAT !GSPO  "Ivan the Terrible", a fiery Dutchman and new recruits to French soccer's foreign legion make their Italian league debuts next week, ready to prove that serie A can still buy the best.   Not to forget "The Train", the "Zola of the Pyramids" and a Brazilian once sold for 40 pairs of boots.   The league kicks off on September 8 with some matches on September 7 to prepare for UEFA Cup ties.   Inter expect great things from Chilean international Ivan "The Terrible" Zamorano, the former Real Madrid striker who joins a formidable line-up at the Milan club.   "If one thing is in my heart it's scoring goals," he declared recently.   "I have goals in my blood."   The club also have French international Youri Djorkaeff, who joined from Paris St Germain, with new signings Nigerian Nwankwo Kanu from Ajax and Swiss playmaker Ciriaco Sforza.   Djorkaeff has already drawn rapturous comparisons with former Juventus great Michel Platini.   "I'm delighted to be compared to Platini...but I certainly don't claim to be the new Platini," he cautioned after scoring a lovely goal against Anderlecht in a recent friendly.   Midfielder Paul Ince, the only Englishman in serie A, Dutchman Aron Winter, French international defender Jocelyn Angloma and Argentine midfielder Javier Zanetti are the other foreigners at Inter, who last won the title in 1989.   Englishman Roy Hodgson, who arrived last season, is one of seven foreign coaches in serie A out of 18 clubs.   Champions AC Milan have Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids and defender Michael Reiziger from Ajax and French striker Christophe Dugarry from Bordeaux as their main signings after capturing the "Scudetto" (shield) last season.   The hot-blooded Davids made the headlines at Euro 96 when he went home in disgrace after arguing with his coach.   He also had a bust-up in a recent friendly with Juventus.   FIFA's world player of the year George Weah of Liberia remains the main attack force with Montenegrin Dejan Savicevic and French international midfielder Marcel Desailly.   But the big change at the club has been the departure of highly successful coach Fabio Capello for Real Madrid and the arrival of Uruguayan Oscar Tabarez in his place.   European Cup holders Juventus have sold three top players overseas and brought in only one from abroad.   Crowd favourites Gianluca Vialli and Italy striker Fabrizio Ravanelli have left for England while Portuguese international midfielder Paulo Sousa has joined Borussia Dortmund.   Some fans had worried that the Turin club was selling off the family silver but the top-quality arrivals of French midfielder Zinedine Zidane from Bordeaux and Croat striker Alen Boksic from Lazio should dispel that notion.   Lazio, with the two top goalscorers from last season on their books, have lost Italy's Roberto Di Matteo to Chelsea and looked abroad only for the highly-rated South African defender Mark Fish and Australian sweeper Paul Okon.   Parma, with the Milan clubs and Juventus the fourth Italian team with really big money to throw around, have spent the serious cash at home on striker Enrico Chiesa.   Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov -- the big-name arrival last season -- has left while midfielder Daniel Bravo and defender Lilian Thuram have arrived from France.   Argentine attacker Hernan Crespo joins Chiesa, Gianfranco Zola and Alessandro Melli up front.   Udinese, with German international Oliver Bierhoff, also have midfielder Hazem Imam -- dubbed the "Zola of the Pyramids" -- who will be the first Egyptian in serie A.   Napoli, last season beset by financial troubles that threatened to end their stay in serie A, have signed up 21-year-old Brazilian Beto from Botafogo, whose first transfer was from Don Bosque in Mato Grosso for 40 pairs of boots.   The four newly-promoted teams have all signed foreigners, while keeping a tight grip on the cashflow.   Reggiana have the most colourful signing, with their hopes riding on "The Train" -- Colombian Jose Adolfo Valencia of Independiente Santa Fe whose previous incursions into Europe have not been exactly first class.   All will be required to impress immediately.   The recent unprecedented departure of some top Italian players, not just ageing stars cashing in at the end of their serie A careers, has unnerved many in Italy.   "It is significant that champions like Vialli, Ravanelli, Di Matteo, (Ruggiero) Rizzitelli and coaches like Capello and (Giovanni) Trapattoni should have chosen to go abroad," said former Parma coach Nevio Scala recently.   Scala, himself linked to Germany's Stuttgart, said the danger of Italian soccer being overtaken was real but "serie A will remain the championship that sets the standards in the world for a couple more years at least".   Although Italy has an impressive seven clubs in European competition, neighbours France have eight.   Italy has also failed disappointingly in two major soccer tournaments this summer -- Euro 96 and the Olympics -- and morale needs a lift.   At an institutional level, the Federcalcio federation is also in chaos without an elected president.   The unease made La Stampa newspaper wonder whether Italians would be disappointed when serie A starts.   But Djorkaeff, for one, did not seem concerned after recent friendlies in England and Spain.   "In England they dream of reaching the level of Italian soccer," the Frenchman said.   "We realised that at Inter when we played Manchester United twice and won." 
5183 !GCAT !GPOL  LIBERIA GOVERNMENT LIST (960829)    *************************************************************    * 17 Aug 96 - West African leaders agreed on a new timetable*    * for holding elections.   A communique said  *    * elections would be held on or about May 30, *    * 1997 and an elected government sworn in on *    * June 15.   *    * They also announced the appointment of Ruth *    * Perry as the new chairman of the council of *    * state.   *    *************************************************************   COUNCIL OF STATE (Installed 1 Sep 95):    Chairman (Apptd 17 Aug 96)........................Ruth PERRY    Other Members..........................  Charles TAYLOR (NFPL)    Alhaji KROMAH (ULIMO)    George BOLEY (LPC)    Oscar QUIAH    Chief Tamba TAILOR    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture..........................  Roland MASSAQUOI (NPFL)    Commerce & Industry................  .  Lusinee KAMARA (ULIMO-K)    Defence.................................Hezekiah BOWEN (AFL)    Education....................................  Moses VAH (LPC)    Finance.............................Lansana KROMAH (ULIMO-K)    Foreign Affairs........................Momolu SIRLEAF (NPFL)    Health & Social Welfare...............Vamba KANNEH (ULIMO-K)    Information, Culture & Tourism.............Joe MULBAH (NPFL)    Internal Affairs........................Edward SACKOR (NPFL)    Justice.............................Francis GARLAWOLO (NPFL)    Labour....................................  .  Tom WOEWIYU (CRC)    Lands, Mines & Energy..................Jenkins DUNBAR (NPFL)    Posts & Telecommunications.   Alfred KOLLIE (LPC)    Public Works..........................  Varlee KEITA (ULIMO-K)    Rural Development....................................  .  Vacant    Youth & Sports.....................  .  Francois MASSAQUOI (LDF)    - - - - - - -   FACTIONS:   NPFL - Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia   ULIMO-K - Kromah's wing of Ulimo.   LPC - Boley's Liberia Peace Council   CRC - NPFL Breakaway Central Revolutionary Committee   LDF - LOFA Defence Force    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor (Acting)...............Eisenhower YORK    - - - - - - -     NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this    government list, please contact the Reuter    Editorial Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542    7968.    (End Government List) 
5184 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIS  A Canadian Navy frigate accidentally fired a five-foot (1.5-meter)-long projectile on Thursday that hit a business, causing damage but no injuries.   The defensive device, a so-called chaff cannister, was released from the HMCS Regina while it was tied up at the Canadian naval base at Esquimalt, British Columbia on the West Coast, a navy spokeswoman said.   "The problem was for some reason the cannister fired itself," she said.   The device contains metal strips that act to interfere with radar detection of the ship when it is under attack.   The metal strips were not released in the incident.   Across the harbour at Pete's Tent and Awning where the device landed, workers reported hearing a loud bang.   "We thought it was a sewer pipe exploding at first," said employee Michelle Levasseur.   "When we realised what it was, we evacuated the building."   The projectile crashed through a garage at the business, burying itself about four feet (1.5 meters) deep in the ground on the other side.   The Navy said an inquiry would be held into the incident. 
5185 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  Canadian Defence Minister David Collenette is coming under scathing criticism for backing the country's top general after he admitted misleading a reporter looking into the conduct of Canadian troops in Somalia.   The two main opposition parties, the Bloc Quebecois and Reform, demanded Collenette's resignation this week, accusing him of irresponsibility and arrogance.   The furore arose after the chief of the defence staff, General Jean Boyle, told an official inquiry into an incident in Somalia where Canadian soldiers allegedly killed a teen- aged Somali, that he had broken the spirit of the law by telling a reporter seeking defence documents on Somalia that they did not exist.   Collenette, who picked Boyle to lead Canada's armed forces, had generally declined to comment on the Somalia inquiry but said on Tuesday that the general would "go back to doing the good job he has been doing" after his testimony.   Bloc leader Michel Gauthier, normally more concerned with pushing for the separation of Quebec from Canada, issued a statement on Wednesday saying Collenette had done nothing to rectify morale and leadership problems.   "On the contrary, he himself is now part of the problem, since he contributed to fanning the flames by blindly backing General Boyle, and in so doing demonstrating a great lack of responsibility," Gauthier declared.   "As long as he is minister, the Canadian Armed Forces' reputation will suffer."   Reform's deputy defence spokesman, Jack Frazer, said in a communique: "The recent statement by the minister of national defence is irresponsible and smacks of judicial interference.   "The minister's presumption of General Boyle's exoneration before the inquiry even finishes this stage of its hearings is unforgiveable."   Reform has called for Collenette's resignation before, but Frazer told Reuters the party would do so again when Parliament resumes in mid-September.   "I think he should resign and should have resigned a long time ago," Frazer said on Thursday, also citing disagreements with policy decisions such as how troops were deployed in Bosnia.   The Bloc and Reform together have only 104 of the House of Commons' 295 seats and therefore cannot bring the government down even if they uncharacteristically see eye-to-eye on this issue.   But it does give them a chink to work on in the seemingly impenetrable armour of the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who analysts say is likely to call general elections sometime next year.   Collenette set the inquiry up himself to see how it could have been that Canadian soldiers tortured and killed a Somali teenage prisoner and shot two other Somalis in 1993 during a peacekeeping mission in the African hotspot.   In nearly a year of testimony the inquiry has not begun to look at what actually happened in Somalia, spending all of its time looking at pre-deployment activities and allegations that the military tampered with documents. 
5186 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Contract talks between Inco Ltd's Manitoba division and the union representing the nickel giant's Thompson division workers are turning to monetary issues as the union holds a strike vote today, the union said on Thursday.   United Steelworkers of America local 6166 president Bob Desjarlais said he expects the local's 1,327 members to give the union a strong mandate to strike if a collective agreement is not reached by September 15, when the current three-year contract expires.   Results of the strike vote will be known by about 2200 EDT/0200 GMT, he said.    Inco produces about one hundred million pounds (corrects from one million pounds) of nickel a year from the Thompson area in northern Manitoba.   Desjarlais said the sides have made it through "a very heavy agenda" so far and are preparing to turn to monetary issues.   He said major issues include pensions, wages, benefits and health and safety.   "Both sides have made some gains with this round of bargaining as far as collective agreement language changes are concerned," Dejarlais said.   "I feel very confident that we're going to get a good collective agreement."    Inco said the talks, which began in July, are going well but will likely go down to the wire.   "They always do," said Inco spokesman Bob Purcell.   He dismissed the notion that languishing nickel prices would hamper a settlement.   "We don't have any problems with the talks and we don't have any problems with the nickel price," said Purcell.   Desjarlais said the idea that Inco cannot afford to offer a good settlement because of the price of nickel, which has recovered slightly in the past week, or high production costs is laughable.    "The price of nickel was used as a hammer to beat up the union in the last round of bargaining, but our members are not buying that ridiculous argument now," said Desjarlais.   He said Inco is trying to influence this round of bargaining with complaints about cost problems in the division.   "If the Manitoba division costs may be up a little bit, it's a direct result of management decisions that we have no control over.   And they are still making good profits in Manitoba."   Analyst Manford Mallory of Research Capital Corp in Toronto said Inco's Manitoba division is considered a medium-cost producer. 
5187 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Canada's western Prairie region was forecast to see a slight to moderate risk of frost from next Wednesday onward, Environment Canada said.   There was no risk of frost forecast anywhere on the Prairies Friday and Saturday mornings but a slight risk in Alberta's Peace River Valley Sunday morning, Environment Canada's 10-day frost outlook said.   A slight risk was forecast in the Peace region Monday morning, turning to a moderate risk there Tuesday morning.   A slight risk of frost was expected in Alberta's northern grainbelt Tuesday morning as well, Environment Canada said.   A moderate risk of frost was forecast in the Peace region Wednesday to Friday mornings while a slight risk of frost was expected across all but the extreme south of Alberta and into western Saskatchewan Wednesday to Friday mornings.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
5188 !GCAT !GVIO  Six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, held by rebels for nearly two weeks declined an aid flight out of Sudan on Thursday, an agency official said.   The six missionaries were released by Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels on Wednesday night at a mission compound in the remote village of Mapourdit in southern Sudan.   A local SPLA commander and his men surrounded the mission and detained the three Australian nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest on August 17.   The Mapourdit mission was then looted.   Officials at Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) said its plane flew to southern Sudan from northwest Kenya and landed but the six missionaries said they would not leave for Kenya on the aircraft.   They gave no reason.   "The missionaries declined our offer of a lift out," Graham Wood, NPA's acting Sudan director, told Reuters.   "It was a voluntary decision.   There were no problems but none came."   An aviation source said a church plane was expected to pick them up on Friday. 
5189 !GCAT !GDEF !GVIO  Hutu peasants on Thursday accused Burundian troops of killing more than 70 civilians in a village last Sunday during an operation to clear Hutu rebels.   They said troops of the Tutsi-dominated army and Tutsi youths from the Sans Echecs (Without Failure) militia opened fire, burned houses and killed the villagers with machetes at Murengeza village, about 20 km (12 miles) north of the capital Bujumbura.   "The military came to the market and started to burn houses.   There was lots of gunfire and we fled.   We came back the next morning and buried 72 people," Philip Nezigimana, 42, told Reuters.   "I personally counted 72 people who had died after being shot, hacked with machetes or clubbed with iron bars," he added.   Other peasants, who fled to a camp at Muramvya, 10 km (six miles) north of Bujumbura, gave similar accounts.   A spokesman for the Burundian army said it was investigating the incident.   "I read about an incident...and we sent a team to Murengeza to investigate," spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Isaie Nibizi said.   "You cannot always believe what the peasants say.   Sometimes they tell lies.   We are making our own investigations," he added.   The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last week that the army had killed 4,050 unarmed civilians in the central district of Giheta between July 27 and August 10.   The army, dominated by the Tutsi minority, staged a coup against the country's Hutu president on July 25.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in massacres and three years of civil war in Burundi. 
5190 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  An aid agency plane left for southern Sudan on Thursday to bring out six Roman Catholic missionaries freed by rebels after being held for nearly two weeks.   The six including three Australian nuns were released by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) on Wednesday night at a mission compound in the village of Mapourdit in southern Sudan.   A local SPLA commander and his men surrounded the mission and detained the three Australian nuns -- two in their 60s and 70s -- an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest on August 17.   The Mapourdit mission was then looted.   Officials at Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) said its plane left northwest Kenya for southern Sudan but rain might stop it landing in the Mapourdit area and it might have to put down elsewhere.   "As it's so wet the aircraft will fly over and the pilot will make the judgment whether to land.   If it can't, we will take them out from another airstrip," Graham Wood, NPA's acting Sudan director in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, told Reuters.   "I understand from a radio contact this morning that the six are fine and that there are no problems of a serious nature but obviously they are tired," said Wood, adding the SPLA had made it clear the missionaries were welcome to remain in the area.   "There are no charges against them.   They are free to leave," said SPLA spokesman George Garang.   "Their detention was the work of the local commander and the SPLA leadership had nothing to do with it."   Church officials said the missionaries were expected to fly to Kenya's capital for a holiday they had originally planned to start last week, but their mission would not be closed down.   Rebels jailed four of the group, accusing them of being spies and agents of Islam after the reported finding of a quotation from the Koran on a bookmark in a Bible belonging to the nuns.   The Australian nuns, who were teaching at a primary school for 1,500 when they were seized, may also have tried to resist an effort by the SPLA to recruit students from the school.   Australian Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, Mary Batchelor, 68, and Maureen Carey, 52, were released with American Father Michael Barton, 48, Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28.   The incident was an international embarrassment for the SPLA, the largest rebel group in the south, and SPLA leader John Garang had to issue an order for their release which took days to reach the local commander because of communication problems.   Australia's foreign ministry described the charges of spying and spreading Islam as bizarre.   Church officials said they were unbelievable.   The United States also called for their release.   "Whether or not the local commander will be disciplined is a decision of the leadership," said the SPLA spokesman, who denied rebel recruitment from schools, saying there were many "young people" not receiving education who could join the movement.   Mapourdit is 1,000 km (620 miles) southwest of Khartoum.   The SPLA has fought Sudanese government forces in the south since 1983 for greater autonomy or independence of the mainly Christian and animist region from the Moslem, Arabised north. 
5191 !GCAT !GPOL  Fourteen political associations want to be registered as political parties, Nigerian electoral authorities on Thursday after receiving merger applications from seven of the 18 political associations.   "We have received papers from seven out of the 18 associations indicating their intentions to merge into three different political associations," Musa Adamu, Electoral Commission Director of Research, told reporters in the capital Abuja.   "We assure all involved we will be fair in taking a final decision on registration of all associations wanting to be political parties.   All political associations should be ready to accept the outcome of our verification exercise," he added.   The deadline of application for mergers was on Thursday.   The electoral commission said it would announce the mergers that had been approved not later than August 31.   Two weeks ago, the electoral commission extended by a month the timetable for registering political parties, saying this was to allow them to merge.   Until now, 18 political associations were seeking to register as political parties to contest power under military ruler General Sani Abacha's transition to a civil rule programme.   Verification of claims made by the political associations would be conducted between September 2 and 17, the electoral commission said, adding that names of political associations approved for registration as political parties would be revealed by the end of September.   The associations were given stringent qualifying criteria for registration, including evidence of having a million card-carrying members in Africa's most populous nation of 100 million people.   Last month they submitted truckloads of documents to the electoral commission claiming to have met the requirements.   Political parties have been banned in Nigeria since Abacha seized power in November 1993.   His government has promised to allow those that meet the criteria, meant to rule out ethnic-based parties, to compete in a series of elections starting from the end of this year to 1998, when they say democracy will be fully restored.   Nigeria has been in political crisis since 1993, when a previous military government annulled the elections that would have ended 10 years of army rule.   It has been under fire from Western countries for its lack of democracy and human rights abuse since then. 
5192 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  A total of 116 delegates to Zaire's National Election Commission (CNE) were formally installed on Thursday, launching another phase of the Central African nation's much-delayed democratic transition.   The 116, representing political parties in the capital Kinshasa, will help organise a voter census, a constitutional referendum planned for January and efforts to brief potential voters on what balloting involves.   A total of 9,446 delegates will be deployed throughout Zaire's 11 provinces for the elections, which must be held by July 1997 under the transitional constitution.   Presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections are planned for May.   "We can meet the required deadlines for organising the elections.   All that is needed is for everyone to show goodwill," Commission spokesman Yoka Lye Mudaba told reporters.   Delegates to the commission from the other 10 provinces will be installed progressively from next week with the provinces of North and South Kivu, Maniema, Shaba and Bandundu having priority, he said.   The installation of delegates was initially scheduled for July.   Officials said lack of funding had delayed the process.   President Mobutu Sese Seko, who seized power in a 1965 coup, introduced a multi-party system in 1990 but Zaire's transition has lagged well behind that of other states in the region.   In the past, Mobutu has been elected without opposition. 
5193 !GCAT !GCRIM  South Africa's fight against violent crime in its commercial heartland gained new impetus on Thursday with the announcement that an extra 1,000 officers were to be moved to the region.   Police Commissioner George Fivaz told a news conference in Pretoria that the redeployment formed part of emergency steps by police to crack down on car hijackings at knife- or gun-point.   Fivaz, who announced the additional officers would be on the streets by Friday, added the police service would now adopt a "gloves off" approach to try to stem spiralling crime in Gauteng province which encompasses both Pretoria and Johannesburg.   Police statistics show at least 12 murders, 21 hijackings and 26 rapes a day were reported in Gauteng so far this year. 
5194 !GCAT !GVIO  South Africa's truth commission granted its first amnesties on Thursday, freeing two men who were jailed for a political murder six years ago.   The commission's amnesty committee said in a statement that Boy Diale and Christopher Makgale qualified under provisions allowing amnesties for people who confessed fully to political crimes during the apartheid era.   Diale and Makgale were convicted in 1991 of murdering Glad Mokgatle during a dispute with Lucas Mangope, then leader of the now disbanded black homeland of Bophuthatswana.   The two men are members of the Bafokeng tribe which at the time was fighting Mangope's seizure of control of a trust fund into which a mining company was paying royalties for exploiting platinum deposits on tribal land.   Mokgatle was an ally of Mangope's.   "The applicants believed they were acting on behalf of the Bafokeng people in furtherance of their political struggle against an oppressive regime," the amnesty committee said.   In hearing applications for amnesty, the committee has given priority to people who have already been convicted of crimes and are in jail.   But it is due soon to hear applications from former agents of the apartheid secret police, such as self-confessed hit squad leader Dirk Coetzee, who have yet to be prosecuted.   The truth commission, headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and mandated to uncover the truth about apartheid human rights violations, begins issuing subpoenas this week to suspected perpetrators who have failed to volunteer information. 
5195 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Zambian President Frederick Chiluba on Thursday invited his main opponent Kenneth Kaunda to talks over controversial new laws which ban the former president from running in polls scheduled for October.   Kaunda, the leader of the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP), told a news conference in the afternoon he would accept the invitation.   "The president rang me...He said he wanted us to meet.   I will call him this evening so we can arrange a time.   "My only precondition is that we must all act with honesty and integrity.   This is not a cosmetic affair.   It is a matter that is above Kaunda and Chiluba," he said.   Kaunda, who led the country from independence in 1964 up to 1991, wanted to challenge Chiluba for the presidency in the polls later this year but the amended constitution bars him, and possibly other candidates too, from running for office.   The law rules Kaunda out of the presidential race because his parents were not Zambian but Malawian, and because he has ruled for more than two terms already.   Kaunda said the one-on-one talks between him and Chiluba would precede an interparty conference at which the constitution and rules to govern the elections would be discussed.   He did not disclose a date for the conference. 
5196 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South African parliamentarians on Thursday overturned strict apartheid-era censorship laws but retained bans on child pornography and "hate speech".   The opposition National Party (NP), responsible for the original laws gagging political opponents and barring the publication of bare breasts, voted in favour of the new Film and Publications Bill.   But the right-wing Freedom Front (FF) opposed it as a pornographers' charter that would lead to increased rape and the liberal Democratic Party (DP) objected to a prohibition on publications or films which promote hatred against religions.   DP member Dene Smuts said this clause restricted freedom of speech.   "For as long as race and politics intersect in South Africa, for so long will 'hate speech' provisions be vulnerable to exploitation by the strong against the weak, and for so long will they lead to self-censorship or the inhibition of debate about the very pressures we need to confront," she said.   The legislation bans child pornography and depictions of bestiality or sexual violence but allows soft porn to be sold to adults.   FF legislator Willem Botha told his fellow members of parliament that the availability of any form of pornography meant their wives and daughters were not safe.   "The use of pornography is a disease like alcoholism or gambling, but worse," he said.   Magazines like Playboy, Penthouse and Hustler were banned by the previous apartheid regime but became freely available after the constitution was rewritten to guarantee freedom of expression.   The new bill, which must be approved by the senate before it becomes law, aims to prevent children buying or reading this material. 
5197 !GCAT !GVIO  The massacre of 13 blacks on South Africa's east coast nine years ago, for which apartheid-era defence minister Magnus Malan is being tried, came under the scrutiny of the "truth commission" on Thursday.   At a hearing in Durban, Ethel Ntuli gave testimony on events leading to the attack on her home in which her husband, three children and nine others were slaughtered by a hit-squad firing assault rifles.   Ntuli was not at home during the pre-dawn attack.   She also asked the Truth and Reconciliation Commission led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to probe the 1990 death of her son, Victor Ntuli -- a youth activist close to the African National Congress (ANC) and the intended target of the attack on their home in 1987.   He was gunned down but the perpetrators were never arrested.   Ntuli alleged his killers belonged to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a rival faction to Nelson Mandela's ANC.   "My son was shot by the IFP and there was no court case," she told the commission.   Malan, South Africa's hawkish former defence minister and 16 others, including senior security officers and members of the Zulu-traditionalist IFP, have been standing trial since March on murder charges related to the 1987 massacre.   The state has alleged that members of a 200-strong unit of Inkatha men, given military training by the apartheid regime in the mid-1980s to counter the ANC's revolutionary war against the state, were responsible for planning and executing the attack.   The trial was postponed on Wednesday until September 10, when the prosecution will summarise its case.   None of the accused has applied for amnesty from Tutu's truth commission.   However, some could be subpoenaed to appear before the commission to shed light on the massacre.   Attempts by the judicial system to prosecute human rights abuses have been frustrated by perpetrators applying for amnesty to the commission, which has the power to grant immunity to those who confess fully to past crimes.   Former police colonel Eugene de Kock was found guilty this week of six murders for which he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.   But he has applied for amnesty and could be freed.   Three more policemen, including de Kock's predecessor as commander of the notorious Vlakplaas police base, have turned to the commission for amnesty from prosecution for the 1981 murder of black human rights lawyer Griffiths Mxenge. 
5198 !GCAT !GVIO  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday it had supervised the release of three more prisoners held by the government at Lubango in the Huila province.   "Within the framework of the Lusaka Peace Protocol the ICRC supervised on August 28, 1996 in the city of Lubango the release of three people," it said in a statement, and added that the men had been transported to destinations of their choice.   The ICRC has so far helped free 531 prisoners of war, 365 held by the government and 166 held by the former UNITA rebel movement, since 1992.   Both sides signed a peace pact in 1994, known as the Lusaka Peace Protocol, to end the fighting which erupted after Angolan independence from Portugal in 1975.   The release of the prisoners is continuing even though a joint peace commission overseeing the implementation of the peace plan has declared that UNITA and the government have freed all listed POWs. 
5199 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT  South African parliamentarians are unhappy with European Union proposals for a trade pact and want negotiators to push for greater concessions, according to a document made available on Thursday.   The document, made available to Reuters, is the draft of a submission to government negotiators by influential parliamentary portfolio committees on agriculture, trade and industry and foreign affairs, which will discuss it next week.   The EU mandate for negotiations with South Africa has been widely criticised as too tough for a developing economy.   The parliamentary draft said a trade deal should result in "a distribution of costs and benefits between ourselves and the EU which takes account of the different sizes of the economies of the two negotiating partners".   Negotiations should "give effect to the repeated expressions of desire on the part of the EU to reach an agreement that will assist in the promotion of economic growth, development and democracy in South Africa and southern Africa".   The document said the EU had proposed a fully reciprocal free trade agreement (FTA) covering 90 percent of each party's trade to be implemented over a period of 10 or 12 years, with South Africa given slighly longer than the EU to do so.   It said the EU proposal "fails adequately to take account of the very different sizes and levels of development of the economies of the negotiating partners, as well as of the vastly different relative importance of each party as a competitor in the market of the other".   "South Africa supplies only about 1.5 percent of EU imports, whereas the EU supplies over 40 percent of South Africa's imports ... the EU proposal would have the effect of requiring of South Africa rather severe adjustment costs to secure only modest dditional duty free access to the EU," the document said.   "The concrete benefits obtained (from a trade deal) must significantly outweigh the adjustment costs and the relative distribution of costs and benefits should be skewed in favour of the weaker partner.   "We strongly believe an agreement ... should result in the EU market opening up to a significantly higher percentage of duty free exports from South Africa (than vice versa)," the document said.   It said the portfolio committees were concerned at attempts by the EU to link a trade deal to its "demands" in many other areas, calling this "a major challenge to the integrity of domestic policy-making".   The portfolio committees said they would assume "an active and engaged stance" on the negotiations with the EU and would hold hearings on any agreement submitted to parliament for ratification.   Trade Minister Alec Erwin said last month South Africa hoped to reopen trade talks with the EU towards the end of this month. 
5200 !GCAT !GVIO  Sierra Leonean rebels killed 54 civilians and seven soldiers in an attack on the eastern village of Foindu, an officer at military headquarters in Freetown said on Thursday.   Major Amadu Koroma said more bodies of villagers had been found from the attack in the early hours of Tuesday.   "Troops deployed to reinforce the military base in the town are burying the bodies," he told reporters.   Eastern Region Brigade Commander Major Fallah Sewa on Wednesday put the death toll at 38.   The rebels overran Foindu despite the presence of government troops in the village on the highway between Mano Junction and the diamond town of Tongo Field.   Koroma said there had been half a dozen attacks in the past week and the Revolutionary United Front appeared to have abandoned a ceasefire agreed in April.   "Government troops are now standing by for any eventuality," he said.   Peace talks in Ivory Coast began in February.   Diplomats say they are deadlocked over the RUF's insistence that foreign troops helping the government army should leave, and that they should have some say in the allocation of budget spending. 
5201 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GREL  South African President Nelson Mandela on Thursday endorsed a Cape Town-based Moslem vigilante movement fighting organised crime and drugs and urged communities to help in the fight against rampant crime.   "The community must be mobilised to identify (criminals) and have them brought before the law," Mandela said in a meeting with about 75 Cape Town religious leaders.   "If we do that in every province, in addition to what the government is doing, we will be able to bring down the level of crime," he said.   Mandela told Christian, Moslem, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist leaders that the criminal justice system was the only proper channel to fight crime, but said there was a place for the Moslem movement People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad).   Pagad supporters last month publicly shot and burned to death gang leader and alleged drug baron Rashaad Staggie.   Heavily armed Pagad crowds have repeatedly confronted police during marches to the homes of alleged drug dealers, threatening to kill those who don't give up their trade.   Mandela said Southern African leaders had asked him at a recent summit in Lesotho about reports that Pagad was part of an Islamic campaign to take control of South Africa.   "There is a militance, but that militance does not mean that we have Islamic fundamentalism in this country or that we have foreign states now trying to arouse the Moslem community.   "We are interacting with the movement because some of our members are also part of this movement.   It's a genuine movement ...there is nothing to be alarmed about," Mandela said.   Justice Minister Dullah Omar said at the same meeting that he and Safety and Security Minister Sydney Mufamadi would meet Pagad leaders next week.   "I do not believe that we should create divisions in our community.   Hopefully we will be able to establish each other's good faith and ensure that we march forward together," he said.   Mandela met the religious leaders as part of a response by his rulng African National Congress (ANC) to a nationwide crime wave, telling them his government had a grip on the problem.   Mufamadi acknowledged that murder, rape, robbery and car hijacking had soared since 1990, when the former white government legalised Mandela's ANC and began negotiations on a transition to democracy.   "Since 1990, there has been a significant increase in crime from an already high base.   There is great concern amongst our people about the pervasive incidence of crime," he said.   Recent victims have included the father of soccer star Doctor Khumalo, and the father of Olympic Bid Committee chief executive Chris Ball, who were murdered, and Constitutional Court Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, who was robbed at gunpoint. 
5202 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Diamond giant De Beers said on Thursday it was worried by instability in Angola's diamond-rich areas and by the country's political problems.   "The political process should continue and the normal operation of the government should resume.   We are concerned that this may be delayed, but De Beers has always operated in Angola and we will continue to do so," De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd director George Burne told Reuters.   In June Angola's state-owned diamond company Endiama and De Beers Angola Prospecting Ltd signed new prospecting agreements to search for diamonds in three areas -- the first for the diamond giant since Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975.   Before, De Beers was in partnership with Diamang, a joint venture between Portuguese and foreign share-holders.   Burne, on a two-day visit to Angola, said prospecting for new kimberlites had already started at one of the concessions between Saurimo and Lucapa in the Lunda Norte region.   The company also has concessions at Mavinga in Cuando Cubango and at Quela in Malange.   Burne said a political settlement between the Angolan government and opposition UNITA was vital for the diamond sector.   "We are looking forward to a settlement.   It will be good for UNITA to join the government of unity.   We are waiting for the appointment of a minister of mines... It is not satisfactory not having a minister," he said.   Under a 1994 peace pact between the government and UNITA to end a two-decade long civil war, the former rebel movement will head the ministries of mines, health, tourism and trade.   The ministers' positions allocated to UNITA have been left open by President Jose Eduardo dos Santos and are currently being run by deputy ministers from the MPLA-led government.   "Our concern is that the diamond sector appears to have become unstable... with many illegal diamond operators," said Burne.   "This can only damage the long-term future of Angola's diamond sector, which could be considerably beneficial to the country." 
5203 !GCAT !GDIP  Nigeria would not object to a visit by Commonwealth officials but insists its suspension from the organisation be resolved before any other questions are addressed, Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi said on Thursday.   Ikimi reiterated his position that the Commonwealth had no mandate to send a fact-finding mission.   "The request I have received is for their officials to come and talk to my officials.   We cannot object to people wanting to visit Nigeria," Ikimi told Reuters by telephone from the capital Abuja.   "The fundamental problem we have with the Commonwealth is our unfair suspension.   Any discussions we have at ministerial level will be a continuation of what we began in London on that.   Before that is accomplished we cannot address anything else."   Nigeria was suspended from the Commonwealth in November after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists in defiance of international pleas for clemency.   A meeting of Commonwealth ministers in London on Wednesday said it planned to send a team of senior officials to Nigeria as soon as possible to persuade Abuja to accept a fact-finding mission.   The timing of that mission has yet to be determined.   The latest diplomatic row between Nigeria's military government and the club of Britain and its former colonies erupted over the terms of a visit by Commonwealth ministers to discuss Nigeria's suspension.   Nigeria said they would be restricted to a two-day meeting with government officials, but the Commonwealth said it wanted to hold meetings with people outside the government and called off the visit. 
5204 !C42 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Zimbabwean government risks missing key economic targets in its 1996/97 budget, depending on how it finances a 20 percent wage rise it awarded to striking civil servants, economic analysts said on Thursday.   The government of President Robert Mugabe said on Thursday that in order to try to end a nine-day strike which has crippled essential social services it would give civil servants the increase of 20 percent in addition to a recent nine percent award.   It has yet to spell out how it will finance the new increases and also clarify whether it would reverse its decision to fire the strikers, estimated by Public Service Associaiton (PSA) officials at 70 to 80 percent of the country's 180,000 public servants.   The strikers -- including doctors, nurses, mortuary attendants and firefighters -- took to the streets on August 20 demanding wage increases of between 30 and 60 percent, saying their salaries had failed to keep up with high rates of inflation.   The analysts said the new awards would add between Z$1.3 billion (U.S.$129 million) and Z$1.5 billion (U.S.$148.5 million) to the government's wage bill which was pegged at Z$8.6 billion (U.S.$851 million) in the 1996/97 fiscal year ending June 30.   "The effects on the financial situation of the government could be very severe indeed, but it all hinges on how it is going to finance the extra expenditure," economic consultant Eric Bloch told Reuters.   "If it does it by increased deficit it will have a negative effect on economic recovery and will refuel inflation which was on a downward trend," he said.   Zimbabwe's annual inflation has fallen to 22 percent in July from 28 percent in January, largely because of a drop in food prices.   The central Reserve Bank forecast it at 20 percent in December with a further slide to 16 percent by next June, sparking hopes of lower interest rates.   Anthony Hawkins, a professor of business studies at the University of Zimbabwe, forecast the budget deficit at over 10 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), missing the target of 8.5 percent forecast for the year, unless the government introduced new taxes or cut expenditure elsewhere to finance the increases.   "It looks like that target (8.5 percent) is out of the window without increases in taxes or expenditure cuts elsewhere," Hawkins said.   Some government officials estimated the new pay rise would push the budget deficit to between 10 and 12 percent of GDP.   "If there are further increases then the figure will be even higher," one official who declined to be named said.   Government officials would not comment on where the money would come from.   Bloch warned that if the government decided to raise taxes to raise additional revenue it would discourage investment and would slow economic recovery, which has been led by the rebound of the important agricultural sector after drought.   "The practical and realistic approach would be to cut other expenditure or speed up government's disinvestment programme from parastatals," Bloch said.   "I would hope that its commitment to the public that it will contain the deficit, and pressures from international donors...to cut expenditure will make it follow that path because if they don't, we risk losing future funding for reforms."   Last year, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund withheld crucial aid for Zimbabwe's economic reforms after it failed to meet some cost-saving targets.   ----Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 27/8/9--- 
5205 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe ended a visit to Kenya on Thursday with a strong message that Africans remove barriers that hinder regional cooperation, then rushed home to attend to domestic issues.   Zimbabwean officials cited the arrival in the Zimbabwean capital Harare later on Thursday of Malawian President Bakili Muluzi as the main reason for Mugabe's departure, several hours earlier than earlier scheduled.   "We have had to rush through President Mugabe's programme because of the visit back home by Mr Muluzi," a Zimbabwean foreign affairs ministry official told Reuters.   But some African diplomats said Mugabe may have had to return home to attend to outstanding issues in negotiations to end an unprecedented strike by civil servants.   While in the Kenyan coastal resort of Mombasa, Mugabe attended an agricultural trade fair and visited the port of Mombasa as well as the state-owned Kenya Oil Refinery.   Kenya's Presidential Press Service (PPS) reported that Mugabe and host President Daniel arap Moi, known to be his close friend, held talks on mutual bilateral issues.   The agency quoted Mugabe as emphasising the removal of all barriers that hinder intra-African trade.   Mugabe also called for the strengthening of regional economic groups for trade.   Such groups include the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).   PPS said Moi briefed Mugabe on the progress of regional integration in East Africa and the Inter-Governmental Authority (IGAD) economic grouping he heads.   "The two resolved to ensure the elimination of all remaining obstacles to trade (in the region) and expressed hope that the ministerial committees of SADC and COMESA would soon make recommendations of their harmonisation," the PPS quoted a joint communique at the end of the visit as saying.   Harmonising SADC and COMESA has been an issue of serious contention between eastern and southern African countries. 
5206 !GCAT !GDIP  Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands will pay a four-day state visit to South Africa in October, the first by a ruling Dutch monarch, the South African foreign ministry said on Thursday.   She will be accompanied by several officials who will sign a cultural agreement with South Africa, where the Dutch were the first European settlers in 1652.   The queen will be accompanied by her husband Prince Claus on the September 30 to October 3 visit. 
5207 !GCAT !GVIO  Hutu peasants accused Burundian troops on Thursday of killing more than 70 civilians in a village last Sunday in an attack to clear Hutu rebels.   They said about 100 troops and Tutsi youths from the Sans Echecs (Never Fail) militia burned houses and shot and hacked to death villagers at Murengeza, 20 km (12 miles) north of the capital Bujumbura.   "The military came to the market and started to burn houses.   There was lots of gunfire and we fled.   We came back the next morning and buried 72 people," Philip Nezigimana, 42, told Reuters.   "I personally counted 72 people who had died after being shot, hacked with machetes or clubbed with iron bars," he added.   Other peasants, who had fled to a camp at Muramvya some 10 km (six miles) north of Bujumbura, gave similar accounts.   There was no independent confirmation of the killings.   A spokesman for Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army said it was investigating a report of an incident at Murengeza.   "I read about an incident...and we sent a team to Murengeza to investigate," spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Isaie Nibizi said.   "You cannot always believe what the peasants say.   Sometimes they tell lies.   We are making our own investigations."   Two peasants told Reuters that Hutu rebels were in the village but had left before the killings, leaving behind those unable to flee swiftly, mainly women, children and old people.   "The military came with Sans Echecs with guns and bayonets.   They said they were looking for armed bands and started to kill.   Sure, there were assailants (rebels) at Murengeza, about eight of them, but none of them died," said Jeremy Barakamfitie, 28.   The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last week that the army, which carried out a July 25 coup against Burundi's Hutu president, had killed 4,050 unarmed civilians in the central district of Giheta between July 27 and August 10.   It said troops gunned down villagers after coming to the area ostensibly to obtain information about rebel movements.   Burundi's new Tutsi military ruler Pierre Buyoya said the Amnesty report was exaggerated.   Hutu peasants in a small part of Giheta district showed reporters on Tuesday mass graves they said contained the bodies of 77 villagers killed by soldiers after the army takeover.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in massacres and three years of civil war in Burundi between the army and rebels.   Foreign Minister Luc Rukingama on Wednesday said human rights were a "top priority" and requested the United Nations to increase the number of its human rights monitors.   Burundi is increasingly hard hit by a month of sanctions imposed by regional leaders demanding a return to constitutional rule and unconditional peace talks between the army and rebels.   Rebels have cut mains power to the capital and threatened to shoot down aircraft landing in Burundi without their permission.   Buyoya suspended all political parties and the national assembly but has sought behind-the-scenes talks with the Hutu-dominated Frodebu party in a bid to revive parliament.   Sources close to Frodebu however said the last three party officials at liberty in Burundi fled to Zaire at the weekend.   An army spokesman said National Assembly Vice-President Paul Munyembari, a Frodebu member, was detained on Wednesday at Mivo in northwest Burundi for subversion and put under house arrest.   Rebels briefly cut the road from Bujumbura to the city of Gitega on Wednesday after an ambush in which more than one person was wounded, aid workers said.   They had no more details. 
5208 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  French troops had to be flown into Mali on Thursday when protesting ground staff refused to service a plane carrying Africans expelled from France, officials said.   The French army Airbus A310 carrying 11 Senegalese arrived in Dakar after a stop in Bamako, where 35 Malians disembarked.   The officials said French soldiers flew to Mali from Senegal to carry out refuelling and pre-flight checks on the plane, dubbed a "flight of shame" like the one that brought home more than 50 illegal immigrants last weekend.   A second plane landed in Tunis and refuelled in Niger without problems before continuing to Zaire.   It carried 12 Tunisians and 30 Zaireans -- 10 of them expelled from the Netherlands.   The government of Senegal, in its first comment on expulsions of its nationals from France and Angola, said it was in close contact with the governments of both countries.   "In this (Angolan) affair, as in the case of the Africans without valid documents in Paris, the government of Senegal is acting in close liaison with the other parties to the matter.   It is doing so according to the conventions and in line with the rules established for international relations," a government statement said.   Senegal's opposition and press have attacked the government's lack of criticism of its former colonial ruler.   In Bamako, Sambourou Sow, a member of the High Council of Malians Abroad, said three of the Malians on the plane had been detained in a police raid on protesters at the Saint-Bernard church in Paris on Friday.   One of the three, Mahamadou Niakate from Lambidou in the western Djenne region, said his wife was still in Paris and he did not know whether she would be aboard the next flight.   Sow said about 30 French soldiers had accompanied the deportees.   Last Saturday, France deported 23 Malians, four of them from the church, along with 13 Senegalese, 18 Zaireans and two Gabonese.   Another 248 Senegalese have been deported from Angola as part of a crackdown on foreign traders there.   Senegalese traders are found all over Africa and in Europe and North America.   Scores more are expected to be affected by tougher rules for migrant workers announced by Sierra Leone on Monday.   Angola has thrown out hundreds of West Africans, Lebanese and Indians since the start two weeks ago of a campaign against foreign traders.   President Abdou Diouf sent his minister of state at the presidency, Abdoulaye Wade, to intercede with the Angolan authorities.   French handling of the illegal immigration issue has taken centre stage since the controversial police raid on 300 African protesters, 10 of them on a hunger strike, who had occupied the Saint-Bernard church for two months in a symbolic protest.   Thousands of demonstrators marched through Paris on Wednesday to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed. 
5209 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  With tension rising among Senegal's political parties ahead of local elections on November 24, the interior ministry on Thursday banned the carrying of guns and ammunition until the end of the year.   "It is forbidden for holders of permits for weapons of all categories to transport the said arms and their ammunition outside their homes," the statement said.   It said the ban applied to Senegalese nationals and foreign residents. 
5210 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF  Four French soldiers are in detention at France's military base in Ivory Coast awaiting trial for sexual assault, following an incident involving a woman in the port of San Pedro, diplomatic sources said.   The four were detained by the Ivorian authorites on August 18 before being transferred to the 43rd BIMA French military base in the commercial capital Abidjan, they added.   The incident happened in the southwestern port of San Pedro.   The sources said an Ivorian woman had alleged sexual assault but the precise nature of the charges was not clear.   Under agreements between Ivory Coast and former colonial power France, any jail sentence would be served in a French military jail or back in France, the sources added. 
5211 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Supporters have elected Somali faction leader Hussein Aideed as chairman of a clan alliance created by his late father, the scourge of U.S. and U.N. forces in Somalia.   Aideed, a former U.S. marine, was chosen on Wednesday night to head the Somali National Alliance (SNA), founded and led by his father Mohamed Farah Aideed until his death on August 1.   On his election, Hussein, 33, said he would continue the struggle to unite Somalia's people and would defend the country from internal and external enemies bent on exploiting his father's death.   The Horn of Africa country has had no central government since the fall of late president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.   Hussein was elected by supporters in southern Mogadishu to succeed his father, whose fighters humbled U.S. and U.N. military forces in 1993, as president of Somalia on August 4.   But his power base remains in south Mogadishu facing an alliance of north Mogadishu rivals who refuse to accept his government, which has only been recognised by Sudan and Libya.   In another development, a clan militia opposed to Aideed accused his fighters of attacking a village in Bakool region northwest of Mogadishu on Wednesday and killing four people and wounding five.   A spokesman for the Rahanweyn Resistance Army, which was set up when Mohamed Farah Aideed's forces seized the southwestern town of Baidoa last September, said its fighters destroyed a battlewagon of Aideed's forces during the attack on Rabdhurre village.   An Aideed spokesman declined comment on the report. 
5212 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  The Zimbabwean government awarded civil servants a 20 percent wage rise on Thursday to try to end a crippling 10-day strike that has revealed deep divisions in the ruling party of President Robert Mugabe.   The Public Service Association (PSA) said it was meeting to consider the pay rise offer and also the government's proposal for open-ended talks on wages and working conditions for its 180,000 workers.   In a statement published by state media on Thursday, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro said the government was paying the increase because it had belatedly realised it had made a commitment last year to do so.   She did not clarify whether the government was reversing its decision to fire the strikers -- estimated by PSA officials to have involved 70-80 percent of the civil servants.   "The government has now reviewed the submissions of the civil servants...and realised that its commitment to award 20 percent salary increases under recommendations of the job evaluation exercise had not been effected," she said.   "It therefore must be noted that (the) government was not aware of that situation until after the payslips had come out, and if the workers had notified us we should have ratified it without any negotiation at all.   The commitment of the 20 percent (rise) is being implemented now," she added.   Chitauro said the 20 percent pay rise would be a top-up to an up to nine percent award made recently which the workers had rejected as an insult.   She said Mugabe's government had also started talks on salary increases and working conditions with representatives of the civil servants, thousands of whom have been on strike since August 20 demanding pay rises of 30 to 60 percent.   The government's change of heart comes just days after it fired thousands of the strikers for defying orders to return to work.   It has faced growing pressure to settle the dispute.   On average, Zimbabwean civil servants earn Z$1,000 (U.S.$99) a month and they say their salaries have fallen behind annual inflation which has averaged 22 percent over the last two years.   The strike, Zimbabwe's worst civil service strife on record -- involving key professionals such as doctors, nurses, firefighters, magistrates, prosecutors and tax-collectors -- left essential social services barely functioning.   The main private sector labour body threatened a general solidarity strike.   The crisis also deeply divided Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF party, with some senior officials, including from a parliament regarded by many as an official rubber-stamp, pressing the government to consider the workers' demands.   Others warned Mugabe and ZANU-PF -- who have both held power with little opposition since 1980 -- not to back down to what they saw as mob rule.   It also brought the political spotlight on Mugabe personally, who has been dogged over the years by accusations he is increasingly arrogant and has lost touch with public opinion.   The 72-year-old president denies these charges and others that he has mismanaged the country's economy and sought to turn it into a political patronage system aimed at securing his power.   ($1=10.10 Zimbabwe dollars) 
5213 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Chad's President Idriss Deby has signed a decree fixing November 24 as the date for parliamentary elections, state radio said on Thursday.   Nomads will vote at mobile polling stations around the vast Central African country between November 20 and 24.   The electoral commission said the new 125-member national assembly would be installed on February 10.   Deby took power in an armed uprising in 1990.   He won 69 percent of votes in the second round of presidential elections on July 3, 1996.  .   His supporters will contest the parliamentary election in a coalition of 30 mainly small parties, the Republican Front, led by Deby's Patriotic Salvation Movement. 
5214 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Two more candidates have announced plans to run against Gambia's military leader Captain Yahya Jammeh in presidential elections next month, bringing the total number of candidates to five.   Jammeh, who took power in a coup in July 1994, has banned the three main political parties from contesting the elections and excluded anyone who served as a minister under ousted president Sir Dawda Jawara.   The small People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism said Sidia Jatta would be the party's candidate.   Jatta, 51, polled 5.6 percent in presidential elections in 1992 won by Jawara.   Another contender, Amath Bah, who holds a managerial post at a hotel in Serekunda, said he planned to form a political party and run for the presidency.   "I am contesting to salvage the economic situation of the country, the rising unemployment," he told reporters.   "I have no plans to form an alliance with deadwood politicians."   Tourism suffered after Jammeh's coup when several European countries advised their citizens against travelling to Gambia.   Jammeh plans to contest the September 26 presidential election as a civilian and has launched a political party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), linked to his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC).   So far Jammeh's main declared opponent is prominent barrister Ousainou Darboe.   Lamin Bojang, leader of the small People's Democratic Party, also plans to run.   The Commonwealth said last week rules for the presidential elections and for parliamentary polls in December were obviously flawed and would allow the military leaders to strengthen their grip on power.   The pro-Jammeh July 22 Movement described the criticism as insulting and damaging to the democratic process.   Jammeh lifted a two-year ban on all political activity on August 14, then announced two days later that the country's three main parties would be excluded.   The ban covers all who served as ministers under Jawara, head of state from independence in 1965 until 1994, and excludes Jawara's People's Progressive Party, the National Convention Party and the Gambia People's Party.   Jammeh has said there would be no point in uncovering the corruption of the former government if those responsible were allowed to resume political careers. 
5215 !GCAT !GVIO  Sudan has indefinitely shut down a university in Omdurman city after weeks of student clashes, the government-owned daily Al-Sudan al-Hadith said on Thursday.   It said Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Rahim Bob, the minister of higher education and scientific research, had ordered the closure of Ahlia University in Khartoum's twin city.   The paper said groups of students had clashed with each other and with police in the past few weeks and burned down the office of the university's vice-chancellor.   The dispute stemmed from recent student elections which were won by supporters of the Islamist government of President Lieutenant-General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, it said. 
5216 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Nigerian press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY TIMES   - Groups of youths described by police as unpatriotic elements are accused of sabotaging oil pipelines in Rivers State.   - Petroleum Trust Fund to pay value added tax on contracts.   THE GUARDIAN   - Door of dialogue remains open between Nigeria and the Commonwealth over Commonwealth plans for a mission to investigate alleged human rights abuses.   THISDAY   - Nigerian vets caution against import of feed concentrates made with beef products as way of averting "mad cow" disease.   VANGUARD   - Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Benin to speed up work on $260 million natural gas pipeline project.   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2630317 
5217 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Ivorian press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   FRATERNITE MATIN   - Cabinet meeting establishes five new administrative regions and four new departments as part of government decentralisation policy.   LA VOIE   - Members of parliament seek higher pay and more benefits.   The speaker of parliament, Charles Bauza Donwahi, will meet President Henri Konan Bedie on September 3 to discuss their request.   - Deputy director of animal health department Douati Alphonse says his agents have seized 46 tonnes of illicit pork in a two-week operation to ensure compliance with a ban imposed after an outbreak of swine fever.   LE JOUR   - Raphael Lakpe, publisher of the daily Le Populaire, was released on Wednesday evening after three days in custody and will appear in court on Thursday morning.   - Cabinet meeting appoints Colonel Severin Konan Kouame as gendarmerie commander, replacing General Joseph Tanny, who has been appointed secretary-general of the National Security Council.   -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90 
5218 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) jointly agreed to postpone an announcement with regard to this year's wages and working conditions, Anglo said on Thursday.   An Anglo spokeswoman, correcting an earlier statement, said the two parties had agreed together to cancel the announcement which was to be made at 1000 GMT until agreement was reached throughout the industry on wages and working conditions.   Anglo earlier said that the announcement was to do with an agreement reached with the NUM.   Bobby Godsell, head of Anglo's gold and uranium division, and the NUM's general secretary James Motlatsi were to have addressed the news conference.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482-1003 
5219 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A French charter plane carrying illegal immigrants back to Africa made a refuelling stop in Niger on Thursday before flying to Kinshasa with about 20 Zaireans on board, witnesses said.   No Nigerians were on the plane, which made its first stop in Tunis, where 12 Tunisians disembarked.   The Air Charter Boeing 737 refuelled and changed crew before taking off at 7.20 a.m. (0620 GMT) for Kinshasa.   It was expected to return via Niamey on Thursday evening.   Witnesses said another plane, an Airbus A-310, left Paris on Wednesday night for Mali and Senegal with 15 Africans aboard.   A French airforce Airbus flew 57 immigrants back to Mali, Senegal and Zaire last weekend.   French handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since 300 African protesters, 10 of whom had been on hunger strike, were dragged out of a Paris church in a controversial police raid last week.   Thousands of demonstrators marched through Paris on Wednesday to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed.   Several of the deported Tunisians said they had been illegal immigrants in France for many years but others said their residence permits were in order and that they were married to French women and had children born in France.   "I have been living in France for 27 years and I have a regular 10-year resident card.   I am married to a French woman and my three children are French citizens," said a 44-year-old man who asked to be identified only by his initials H.B.   "I was to be freed from the prison of Grasse (in southern France) within 15 days...I was not allowed to contact my wife, who is a French Algerian-born citizen, nor my son, who is a French citizen," Lamine Driss, 34, said.   A group of Tunisian human rights activists welcomed the deportees at the airport.   "It is a shame for France to behave like that with Africans, including Tunisians, who gave it too much," Hassib ben Ammar, who received a United Nations Human Rights Award in 1993, told journalists at the airport. 
5220 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Anglo American Corp of South Africa Ltd said on Thursday that a joint announcement to be made with the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) had been cancelled.   An Anglo spokeswoman said the NUM believed the announcement was "too premature" and wished to wait until agreement was reached throughout the industry on wages and working conditions.   Anglo earlier said that the announcement was to do with an agreement reached with the NUM relating to this year's wages and working conditions.   Bobby Godsell, head of Anglo's gold and uranium division, and the NUM's general secretary James Motlatsi were to have addressed the news conference.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482-1003 
5221 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Nigeria would be happy to allow a visit of Commonwealth officials to discuss a later fact-finding mission, a newspaper on Thursday quoted Foreign Minister Tom Ikimi as saying.   Ikimi, quoted by the independent Guardian newspaper, said the officials would be received in the capital Abuja.   "The process of dialogue with the Commonwealth is something we cherish, provided it is in good faith," he said.   Commonwealth ministers, meeting in London on Wednesday, said they would send top officials to Nigeria as soon as possible in a bid to persuade the military government to change its mind and accept a mission investigating alleged human rights abuses.   Ikimi's comments were made after the London meeting ended.   (Corrects from "Ikimi's comments were made in a speech on Wednesday before the London meeting ended").   The Commonwealth suspended Nigeria from membership last November after it executed author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other minority rights activists.   The Commonwealth said it wanted to see major human rights improvements in NIgeria before rescinding its suspension.   A Commonwealth ministerial group on Nigeria cancelled its planned visit on August 29-30 after officials in Abuja made it clear the team would not be allowed to meet members of opposition groups.   Ikimi on Wednesday insisted discussions with the group should be restricted to the country's suspension from the Commonwealth and the group should not visit as a fact-finding mission. 
5222 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  An aid agency said an aircraft would try to land in southern Sudan on Thursday to bring out six Roman Catholic missionaries freed by rebels after being held for nearly two weeks.   The six including three Australian nuns were released by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) on Wednesday at a mission compound in the village of Mapourdit southern Sudan, aid officials said.   A local SPLA commander and his men surrounded the mission and detained the three Australian nuns -- two in their 60s and 70s -- an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest on August 17.   The Mapourdit mission was then looted.   The officials at Norwegian People's Aid (NPA) said heavy rain in the area might make it impossible for the light plane to land and another airstrip in the area might have to be found.   "As it's so wet the aircraft will fly over and the pilot will make the judgment whether to land.   If it can't, we will take them out from another airstrip," Graham Wood, NPA's acting Sudan director in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, told Reuters.   "I understand from a radio contact this morning that the six are fine and that there are no problems of a serious nature but obviously they are tired," said Wood, adding the SPLA had made it clear the missionaries were welcome to remain in the area.   He said the reason why Catholic church officials in Nairobi could not confirm the release on Wednesday night was because the radio transmitter at the Mapourdit mission had been stolen.   Church officials said the missionaries were now expected to fly to the Kenyan capital Nairobi for a holiday they had originally planned to start last week, but their mission, a primary school and a dispensary would not close down.   The rebels jailed four of the group, accusing them of being spies and agents of Islam after the rebels reportedly found a quotation from the Koran on a bookmark in a Bible belonging to the nuns.   The Australian nuns, who were teaching at a primary school for 1,500 when they were seized, may also have tried to resist an effort by the SPLA to recruit students from the school.   Australian Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, Mary Batchelor, 68, and Maureen Carey, 52, were released with American Father Michael Barton, 48, Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28.   The incident was an international embarrassment for the SPLA, the largest rebel group in the south, and SPLA leader John Garang had to issue an order for their release which took days to reach the local commander because of communication problems.   Australia's foreign ministry described the charges against the missionaries of spying and spreading Islam as bizarre and church officials said it was unbelievable they were working for Islam.   The United States also called for their immediate release.   It was unclear if the local SPLA commander would face disciplinary action for detaining the six and refusing to free them until investigations were completed before Garang ordered their release.   Mapourdit is 1,000 km (600 miles) southwest of the Sudanese capital Khartoum.   The SPLA has fought Khartoum's government forces in the south since 1983 for greater autonomy or independence of the mainly Christian and animist region from the Moslem, Arabised north. 
5223 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Kenyan press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY NATION   - Former cabinet minister Elijah Mwangale bounces back into the chairmanship of the Bugoma branch of the ruling Kenya African National Union party.   - The ministry of education tells parents to stop paying for centralised mock examinations because they are illegal.   - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe opening Mombasa agricultural show urges greater cooperation in agriculture between the governments and peoples of Kenya and Zimbabwe.   EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   - President Daniel arap Moi says economic problems hitting many countries in Africa are due to a crippling debt burden and unfavourable terms of trade.   - Jailed former member of parliament Koigi wa Wamwere, pleads with churches to include the issue of the release of all political prisoners in demands for constitutional reforms.   KENYA TIMES   - Self-styled fugitive Valentinus Uhuru Kodipo holed in Denmark awaiting a two-nation police interrogation over his claims on the murder of British tourist Julie Ward agrees to be quizzed.   ($1=56 Shillings) 
5224 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  The Zimbabwean government said on Thursday it was giving a 20 percent wage rise to civil servants whose strike has crippled essential social services.   Representatives of the workers, who have been on strike since August 20 demanding pay rises of between 30 and 60 percent, were meeting to discuss the government climbdown.   In a statement published by state media on Thursday, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro said the government had belatedly realised it had commited itself last year to a pay rise.   She did not make clear whether the government was reversing its decision to fire the strikers.   "The government has now reviewed the submissions of the civil servants...and realised that its commitment to award 20 percent salary increases under recommendations of the job evaluation exercise had not been effected," she said.   "The commitment of the 20 percent (rise) is being implemented now."   The minister said President Robert Mugabe's government had started open-ended talks on salary increases and working conditions with representatives of the 180,000 civil servants, many of whom joined the strike.   ---- Cris Chinaka, Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 27/8/9 
5225 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Nelson Mandela On Thursday welcomed the National Empowerment Consortium's (NEC) landmark deal to take a major stake in industrial holdings group Johnnies Industrial Corp Ltd (Johnnic).   Chief NEC negiotiator and former African National Congress secretary-general Cyril Ramaphosa said Mandela had hailed the deal as a major advance for black business.   "The President said congratulations.   He thinks this ia great boost to the whole process of black economic empowerment," Ramaphosa told state radio after talking to Mandela.   The NEC, representing over 50 black business and trade union entities, will purchase an initial shareholding of at least 20 percent in Johnnic (30.4 million shares) at 50 rand per share -- against a current price of 56 rand -- and will have an 18-month option to take its stake to 35 percent.   A further six percent will be made available via a retail offering by the NEC to smaller NEC members and others within the black community.   The NEC has until October 28 to conduct a due diligence study into and finalise the funding required for the purchase of the initial tranche of Johnnic shares.   Ramaphosa said he was confident the funds would be raised by the NEC, adding the initial purchase could well exceed 20 percent.   "We don't anticipate any difficulties," he said.   "The trade unions will be using provident and pension fund money, the business organisations will be getting either loan finance or insurance money, and some will even be using their own resources.   So there is a good spread of financial sources."   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
5226 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  NATO-led peace forces released a group of Bosnian Serb policemen late on Thursday as a tense confrontation appeared to be easing, an alliance spokesman said.   "The situation in Mahala seems to be very much on its way toward resolution.   My understanding is the (Serb) police have been released...," NATO spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Max Marriner told Reuters.   NATO troops detained 65 Bosnian Serb policemen early on Thursday after they opened fire and beat unarmed Moslem refugees returning to their homes in Mahala, a Serb-controlled village.   In apparent retaliation for NATO's response, an angry Serb mob including policemen trapped six unarmed U.N. police monitors and three local aides in their office in the town of Zvornik, east of Mahala.   "In Zvornik, we think the situation is winding down as well," Marriner said.   Later, a U.N. spokesman said the U.N. police officials were no longer surrounded in their office and had left safely after the Serb mob dispersed.   "The situation seems to have been resolved in Zvornik.   The crowd has dispersed.   Our U.N. personnel are leaving the building for a safe location," spokesman Alex Ivanko told Reuters in Sarajevo.   The Serb police chief in Zvornik, Dragomir Vasic, addressed the crowd outside the U.N. office and asked them to disperse, a Reuters correspondent reported.   The crowd cheered when buses arrived carrying the Serb policemen released from Mahala.   Peter Fitzgerald, commissioner of the International Police Task Force (IPTF), flew by helicopter to Zvornik to try to resolve the crisis.   NATO said it confiscated more than 20 guns from the detained Serbs in Mahala before setting them free.   A U.S. general in Mahala said some of the guns may have belonged to Moslems, not only the Serbs.   "We confiscated 20 infantry sidearms and four long rifles, although there is some indication the long rifles in fact belonged to the other faction," U.S. General George Casey told reporters.   Casey did not elaborate but his comments appeared to contradict earlier NATO reports saying the Serbs had staged an unprovoked attack on unarmed Moslem civilians.   NATO had agreed to patrol the area, which straddles an administrative boundary between Serb and Moslem-Croat entities, temporarily, he said.   The Moslems had a right to return to their homes in Mahala and the inter-entity boundary line was "not an international border," Casey said.   "What we've agreed to now is a seven-day joint patrolling of the area until we resolve the issue."   As he spoke, 10 U.S. armoured vehicles were parked nearby while two combat helicopters circled overhead.   General Michael Walker, commander of ground forces in Bosnia, flew to Mahala earlier with a Bosnian Serb interior ministry official.   Walker told reporters that he had not come to negotiate but only to lay down conditions for the Serbs to obey.   The British general left for Banja Luka to meet Bosnian Serb acting President Biljana Plavsic to discuss the worst violence to erupt since the Dayton peace accord was agreed last November. 
5227 !GCAT !GVIO  NATO troops detained 65 Bosnian Serb policemen on Thursday after they attacked Moslem refugees returning to homes in a Serb-controlled village on Bosnia's internal boundary line.   No casualties were reported from shots fired towards the Moslems in the northeastern village of Mahala but at least 10 people, including women and elderly, were hurt in beatings by club-wielding Serbs, NATO peace force (IFOR) spokesmen said.   In apparent retaliation for NATO's detention of the Serbs, an angry Serb mob including policemen trapped six unarmed U.N. police monitors and three local aides in their office in the town of Zvornik, east of Mahala, later on Thursday.   "We haven't seen anything this outrageous since the Dayton peace agreement was signed last December," Alex Ivanko, chief spokesman for the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in Bosnia, said in Sarajevo.   Ivanko said two of the U.N. monitors were pulled from their vehicles by Bosnian Serb policemen who held guns to their heads and forced them to enter the U.N. office in Zvornik where their colleagues were trapped.   The Mahala village ambush highlighted rising nationalist tensions among Moslems, Serbs and Croats before Bosnia holds internationally-organised elections on September 14 intended to reunify the country.   The 1995 Dayton peace treaty promises refugees a right to reclaim homes in safety but nationalists on all sides, especially the Serbs, have flouted this rule with impunity.   Moslems who had been resettling the abandoned village to rebuild their homes had no weapons and the attack was unprovoked, according to U.N. monitors.   "The shooting stopped when three IFOR helicopters flew low over Mahala around 11 a.m. (0900 gmt)," said Andrea Angeli, IPTF spokesman in northeastern Bosnia.   IFOR said late on Thursday U.S. troops had "contained" 65 Bosnian Serb police, all in paramilitary uniform and armed with automatic rifles or clubs.   At least 30 were being held in a ruined Mahala house ringed by IFOR soldiers backed by three tanks.   The others were "cornered" nearby, IPTF officials said.   Senior NATO sources said the Serbs were rounded up for having illegally brought weapons into the demilitarised "Zone of Separation" which runs along former wartime front lines.   The sources indicated that IFOR was negotiating with Serb officials whether to free the 65 with or without their arms.   "IFOR officials and appropriate civilian leaders are working together to resolve this incident and defuse the situation in a non-violent manner," said an IFOR statement released at U.S. army theatre headquarters in Tuzla.   General Michael Walker, commander of NATO-led ground forces in Bosnia, later travelled to Mahala with a Bosnian Serb interior ministry official, Angeli said.   Diplomats say Bosnian Serb interior ministry police are little more than paramilitary enforcers for the ultra-nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) which rules 49 percent of Bosnia.   "This was an unprovoked ... attack by RS (Serb Republic) policemen armed to the teeth on a peaceful village where Moslems were only trying to rebuild their homes destroyed during war," Ivanko told Reuters.   "No arms were found on the Moslem side ... We call on RS officials to dissociate themselves from this incident and we are demanding the (dismissal) of all policemen involved."   Several injured were taken to hospital.   Others seemed dazed after the blitz assault.   "I wanted to step back into my house when Serb special police forces suddenly came into town but I was ordered to stay outside," said Ismet Alic, a Moslem villager.   "They beat me and my wife as well, using clubs and their legs.   They threw tear gas (canisters) too.   Initially they did not shoot and then they did," he told Reuters.   After four years of exile, some 300 Moslems, weary of four years in exile, crossed former confrontation lines on Monday and re-entered the largely desolate village without incident.   The villagers said they were determined to stay although the village had been assigned by Dayton negotiators to the 49 percent of Bosnia under separatist Serb control. 
5228 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Six U.N. officials were surrounded in their office by an angry Bosnian Serb mob and a group of Serb policemen on Thursday and one of those trapped said he expected an attack "any minute".   "The situation is very, very dangerous," U.N. police monitor Alexandar Mikulitch told reporters by telephone from Zvornik in eastern Bosnia.   "We are expecting an attack any minute.   If I survive we will talk again tomorrow."   The crowd of some 600 Serbs appeared to be acting in retaliation after NATO troops earlier detained scores of Bosnian Serb policemen, some of them from Zvornik, following a shooting incident with Moslems in the nearby village of Mahala.   In that confrontation Bosnian Serb police beat a group of Moslem refugees who had returned to Mahala to repair homes damaged during the war, the U.N. said.   Gunfire erupted and NATO-led peace forces intervened, corralling 65 Serb policemen inside a cordon of armoured vehicles and combat troops.   NATO officials in Sarajevo said combat troops had been despatched to Zvornik and the Commissioner of the U.N. International Police Task Force (IPTF) in Bosnia, Peter Fitzgerald, was on his way to Zvornik by helicopter.   SRNA reported that Bosnian NATO commander General Sir Michael Walker and Bosnian Serb Minister of Interior Dragan Kijac were also headed for Zvornik, a hard-core Serb nationalist town which expelled its Moslem majority population early in the war.   Those surrounded in Zvornik included five unarmed U.N. police monitors and a U.N. civil affairs officer.   Three local staff members who had also been trapped were later allowed to leave.   Alex Ivanko, a U.N. spokesman in Sarajevo, said two of the U.N. monitors had been forced into the office at gunpoint after returning from the nearby village of Mahala where a standoff was under way between Serb police and NATO troops.   "One of the monitors, a Russian, was verbally abused and kicked and shoved into the building at gunpoint.   They (U.N. staff) have barricaded themselves inside the building for protection," the spokesman said.   "The police are doing nothing to control the situation.   We believe the Bosnian Serb Minister of Interior is in the area but doing nothing to calm things down.   This is beyond belief."   U.N. sources said three U.N. vehicles in the building's car park had been destroyed.   "Some of those leading the crowd are well-known local thugs," Ivanko told Reuters.   "The U.N. is outraged by this attack and we call on officials of the Serb republic to disperse the crowd.   We haven't seen anything this outrageous since the Dayton peace agreement was signed last December."   Mohamed Sacirbey, Bosnia's Ambassador to the United Nations, pointed to the incidents in Mahala and Zvornik as evidence of the deep divisions besetting the country just two weeks before nationwide elections.   "These incidents show that going into elections there are two different philosophies in place," the ambassador said.   "One, the Serb philosophy, is to divide the country.   The other is to reintegrate it.   Something needs to be done to reconcile these two philosophies before we can go forward with elections."   Bosnian elections are scheduled for September 14. 
5229 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Peter Greste   U.S. envoy John Kornblum discussed a growing crisis in the Bosnian elections with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday on the first leg of a tour of former Yugoslavia.   The American diplomat, who held three hours of talks with Milosvic, later defended a decision by international organisers to postpone the vote for municipal councils in Bosnia.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is responsible for the poll, delayed the municipal polls until 1997 to deal with irregularities in registering Serb refugee voters.   Serbian officials have denied any abuses occurred, but Kornblum told Reuters: "The irregularities were simply too blatent.   "When we saw the registration figures and saw what the implications would be, not just on the elections but for the governments that would be formed afterwards...we realised it was the right thing to do."   The OSCE said Serbian and Bosnian Serb authorities coerced refugees to register only in key Serb-held towns whose pre-war Moslem majorities had been forced out.   The aim was to stack the electoral odds in favour of the Serbs and seal political control over districts that might otherwise revert to Moslem administration.   "We're going to have a difficult enough period afterwards putting together joint institutions without being burdened with 10, 20 or more Mostar-type situations," Kornblum said, citing an electoral dispute that almost destroyed the Moslem-Croat federation.   Bosnian Serb authorities have threatened to go ahead and hold local polls on their own, while the ruling Moslem nationalist SDS party has urged refugees to boycott the elections until the registration issue is resolved.   Kornblum said he believed both sides would back down and elections would go ahead as planned to choose a three-member presidency and a parliament for a loose union of Bosnia comprising a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation.   But he said the key problem for the international community remained Serb attempts to twist the elections to ratify the results of war, even if it meant obstructing the voting process.   "For me, the most critical problem is violence," he said.   "I'm more concerned about that happening in Srpska (the Bosnian Serb republic), than in other areas."   Kornblum gave no indication he won any specific commitment from Milosevic to order his ethnic proxies in Bosnia to cooperate with the international community, but he indicated that the Serbian leader was willing to use his authority.   "He has the means for a lot of influence -- 'technical means', as he (Milosevic) calls it," he said.   Kornblum later flew to the Croatian capital Zagreb for talks with President Franjo Tudjman and will go to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka on Friday to meet Bosnian Serb acting President Biljana Plavsic and opposition Serb politicians.   He also planned to visit Sarajevo where he said he would put the finishing touches to a scheme to cut out another thorn in the peace plan -- a rebel Bosnian Croat statelet.   "We intend to state the fact that the programme (to disolve the statelet) has been concluded.   I'm confident that will happen, but I'm not confident that people will live up to their commitments," he said.   "One of the things I've learned very clearly and sometimes to my sorrow in this part of the world is that commitments are to be broken." 
5230 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  NATO troops detained 46 Bosnian Serb policemen on Thursday after gunmen fired at and beat up Moslem refugees returning to homes in a Serb-controlled village on Bosnia's internal boundary line.   No casualties were reported from the gunfire in the remote northeastern hamlet of Mahala but at least 10 Moslems including women and elderly were beaten by club-wielding Serbs, NATO peace force (IFOR) spokesmen and local witnesses said.   In possible retaliation for NATO's detention of the Bosnian Serbs, an angry crowd including policemen trapped five unarmed U.N. police monitors and three local aides in their office in the town of Zvornik, east of Mahala, later on Thursday.   "We haven't seen anything this outrageous since the Dayton peace agreement was signed last December," Alex Ivanko, chief spokesman for the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in Bosnia, said in Sarajevo.   Ivanko said two of the U.N. monitors were pulled from their vehicles by Bosnian Serb policemen who held guns to their heads and forced them to enter the U.N. office in Zvornik where their colleagues were trapped.   The Mahala village ambush highlighted rising nationalist tensions among Moslems, Serbs and Croats as Bosnia lurches towards internationally organised general elections on September 14 intended to reunify the country.   The 1995 Dayton peace treaty assures refugees a right to reclaim homes in safety but nationalists on all sides, but especially the Serbs, have flouted this rule with impunity.   Moslems who had been resettling the abandoned village to rebuild their homes in keeping with Dayton had no weapons and the attack was unprovoked, according to U.N. monitors.   "The shooting stopped when three IFOR helicopters flew low over Mahala around 11 a.m. (0900 gmt)," said Andrea Angeli, IPTF spokesman in northeastern Bosnia.   IFOR troops swiftly detained 30 Bosnian Serb Interior Ministry policemen, armed with automatic rifles and clubs.   They were placed temporarily in a ruined Mahala house ringed by IFOR soldiers backed by three tanks.   A further 16 Serbs were "cornered" nearby, IPTF said.   Senior NATO sources said the Serbs were being held for having illegally brought weapons into the demilitarised "Zone of Separation" which runs along former wartime front lines.   The sources indicated that IFOR was negotiating with Serb officials whether to free the 46 with or without their arms.   Diplomats say Bosnian Serb interior ministry police are little more than paramilitary enforcers for the ultra-nationalist Serb Democratic Party (SDS) which rules 49 percent of Bosnia.   "This was an unprovoked ... attack by RS (Serb Republic) policemen armed to the teeth on a peaceful village where Moslems were only trying to rebuild their homes destroyed during war," Ivanko told Reuters.   "No arms were found on the Moslem side ... We call on RS officials to dissociate themselves from this incident and we are demanding the (dismissal) of all policemen involved."   Several injured were taken to hospital.   Others seemed dazed after the sudden assault.   "I wanted to step back into my house when Serb special police forces suddenly came into town but I was ordered to stay outside," said Ismet Alic, a Moslem villager.   "They beat me and my wife as well, using clubs and their legs.   They threw tear gas (canisters) too.   Initially they did not shoot and then they did," he told Reuters.   After four years of exile, some 300 Moslems, weary of four years in exile, crossed former confrontation lines on Monday and re-entered the largely desolate village without incident.   The villagers said they were determined to stay although the village had been assigned by Dayton negotiators to the 49 percent of Bosnia under separatist Serb control. 
5231 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Top Russian officials on Thursday poured cold water on security chief Alexander Lebed's peace plan for breakaway Chechnya and warned that the rebels appeared to be abusing a truce he agreed with them.   Interfax news agency said Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin had convened the top officials at the request of President Boris Yeltsin, currently on vacation outside Moscow.   "Alexander Lebed's plan of action...in Chechnya needs a lot of work," Interfax said.   It did not make Lebed's position clear.   Lebed and Chernomyrdin were joined by Russia's defence and interior ministers, as well as the head of the FSB security service and the justice minister.   Lebed has been in Moscow since last weekend seeking Yeltsin's backing for a plan, hammered out with the rebels last weekend, which is meant to tackle the tricky issue of Chechnya's future status.   Yeltsin insists that Chechnya must remain within the Russian Federation while the rebels want independence.   The holidaying president has kept his distance from Lebed over the past few days.   Officials have said he needed time to study the proposals.   Interfax did not elaborate on what officials thought should be done to the plan, which is expected to include an agreement to postpone a final decision on Chechnya's status.   Lebed sealed a ceasefire with rebel leaders last week after some of the fiercest fighting of the 20-month-old conflict.   But he has wrangled with other officials over his peace efforts, in particular with Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov, who he blamed for a successful rebel attack on the Chechen capital Grozny, and with Doku Zavgayev, the leader of Chechnya's Moscow-backed government.   Lebed suggested on Thursday that Zavgayev, whom he has accused of corruption, should resign, Interfax said.   Zavgayev has been sidelined by Lebed's peace mission and has grumbled that Lebed has given too much away to the rebels, who have controlled most of Grozny since August 6.   The agency quoted Chernomyrdin press spokesman Viktor Konnov as saying the premier was concerned by signs that the rebels were setting up power structures to rival Zavgayev's government.   "Such actions contradict the principal agreements already reached on this issue between the federal authorities and the leadership of the illegal armed formations," Interfax said.   But Lebed told Interfax the activities came as no suprise, implying that they had held the real power all along.   "It's just the same as before, it's just that whereas before they kept it under the table, now it's out in the open," he said.   Lebed, who had been due to sign a political deal with the rebels last weekend, said he would travel to Chechnya on Friday and hoped to sign a joint statement on the principles of the peace process approved at the meeting with the ministers. 
5232 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Lech Walesa emerged from Poland's political shadows on Thursday to back the Solidarity union's campaign in parliamentary polls next year, but made clear he would not stand for election himself.   "I am putting myself at its disposal, with my contacts in this country and abroad...but not for my own benefit," the former president and trade union leader told an opposition rally in the northern port city Szczecin.   "I will be neither a lower house deputy nor a senator."   Walesa, now 52, led the creation of Solidarity as the Soviet bloc's first free trade union 16 years ago and became Poland's first democratically-elected president.   Since his narrow defeat by ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski in last November's presidential poll, Walesa has kept a low profile -- telling the deeply splintered centre-right opposition parties to form a credible alliance by themselves.   At the rally commemorating Solidarity's August 1980 birth, Walesa returned to the fray against the ruling coalition of the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the smaller Polish Peasant Party (PSL), in power since 1993.   He threw his weight behind the Solidarity Election Action (AWS), an alliance of the union and more than 20 small parties, which opinion polls indicate stands the best chance of winning elections due in September 1997.   "I greet sincerely and with hope the formation of AWS," he told the rally, before laying flowers at a monument to workers shot by communist forces during protests in 1970.   Although Solidarity's patriarch is not a formal leader of the union, with which he has quarrelled in the past, he issued stern advice on how it should proceed, insisting that trade unionists should be in parliament but not in government.   Walesa said policies should be formulated by political parties and urged the union to mend fences with the liberal centrist Union for Freedom (UW), led by many of Solidarity's pre-1989 intellectual advisors.   Solidarity, with populist economic policies and patriotic pro-Roman Catholic Church traditions, is suspicious of the UW's strongly free-market principles and so far has only a non-aggression pact with the party.   Solidarity chief Marian Krzaklewski rejected an overture at a conference after the rally from a UW leader, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, for a closer alliance.   Walesa has open contempt for the radical new rightist Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland (ROP), which is favoured by many Solidarity members.   "The UW is the strongest party with the greatest intellectual potential.   Whether we have complaints about it or not, it should be in Solidarity Election Action," he said.   Walesa offered his own team of advisers, the Lech Walesa Institute, to draft a legislative programme for the new AWS.   This would include more sweeping privatisation than the current government programme, a new social insurance scheme, a reform of the health service and a measure restricting government interference in the economy.   Other reforms he listed concerned local government, the civil service, tax, agriculture, public order and education.   Walesa won almost 50 percent of the votes last November but studies showed a section of voters actively disapproved of him -- prompting rivals to say he should avoid direct campaigning.   An August opinion poll by the private PBS centre suggested the ruling SLD was backed by 28 percent of voters and the Solidarity alliance 23 percent, while ROP, the UW and the Peasants had 12 percent each. 
5233 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA !GPOL !GREL  Poland's left-dominated parliament drew closer on Thursday to liberalising the country's restrictive abortion law, despite opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and its political allies.   A bill, backed by the dominant ex-communists in the ruling coalition and a leftist opposition party, would allow women to end pregnancies before the 12th week if they could not afford to raise a child or had other personal problems.   The present law, passed in 1993 under a centre-right government, allows abortions only if the pregnancy threatens the woman's life or health, results from rape or incest, or when the foetus is irreparably damaged.   After an emotional debate late into the night, the lower house voted to send its proposed amendments to the current anti-abortion law back to a parliamentary committee for a brief last scrutiny of details.   Its final vote is likely either on Friday or in two weeks.   Around 2,000 demonstrators, many in tears, praying or shouting against the change, gathered outside parliament in central Warsaw for hours on Thursday with signs reading "Do not kill!"  .   Doctors, nurses, and mothers spoke in turn to denounce the move, in the largest of several protests around Poland.   But opposition deputy Stanislaw Kowalik told them with anger and regret that there was little hope of stopping the measure as its backers were so determined.   "For today the cause is probably lost," he said.   Supporters of the change say the existing law causes repeated personal tragedies, such as bungled back-street abortions or babies abandoned by unwilling mothers, and that those women with money now simply go abroad for abortions.   "Enough hypocrisy, enough of this most restrictive law in Europe," deputy Izabella Sierakowska of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) declared in the debate.   PAP news agency said she branded current rules as "unfair, crime-inducing, hypocritical, ineffective".   Opponents of the change, including members of the SLD's smaller Peasant party partner in the ruling leftist coalition, put forward Catholic arguments that abortion is murder.   Although about 90 percent of Poles are formally Catholics, opinion surveys suggest most favour liberalisation of the law.   Parliament passed similar amendments last year, but they were vetoed by then-president Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic.   Walesa's close defeat in November elections by ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski cleared the way for reform, as the secular-minded new president supports the initiative.   During a mass pilgrimage to Poland's holiest shrine at Czestochowa this week, the country's Primate, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, said that there was no place at Catholic altars for those who supported the alterations to the law.   "Those who support legal acts propagating murder exclude themselves from the community of the faithful," he said.   The amended law contains safeguards to prevent a return to the situation before the 1989 fall of communism, when abortion was easily available and often used.   Women must first undergo counselling and a three-day period for reflection.   It provides for penalties of up to 10 years in jail for carrying out abortions against a woman's will or after the foetus has become viable outside her body.   The measure also calls for sex education to be enforced in secondary schools -- a measure condemned by some Catholic legislators who say the lessons will lack moral content. 
5234 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  NATO troops detained 46 Serbs, many of them policemen, on Thursday after gunmen fired on Moslem refugees returning to homes in a Serb-controlled village on Bosnia's post-war boundary line.   No casualties were reported from the shooting in the remote northeastern hamlet of Mahala but some Moslems were seriously beaten by club-wielding Serbs, U.N. police monitors said.   The incident reflected rising nationalist tension among Moslems, Serbs and Croats as Bosnia lurches towards internationally organised general elections on September 14 intended to reunify the country.   The 1995 Dayton peace treaty assures refugees the right to reclaim homes in safety but ultra-nationalists on all sides, especially the Serbs, have flouted this rule with impunity.   Moslems who had been resettling the abandoned village of Mahala in keeping with Dayton had no weapons and the U.N. denounced the Serb attack as "unprovoked and extremely uncalled for".   "Serious gunfire broke out this morning in Mahala after 50 Serb police entered the area," said Andrea Angeli, spokesman for the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in northeastern Bosnia.   "The shooting stopped when three IFOR (NATO peace force) helicopters flew low over Mahala around 11 a.m. (0900 gmt)."   IFOR troops moved in and detained 46 Serbs armed with automatic rifles and clubs.   The Serbs were disarmed and held temporarily in a bombed-out Mahala house surrounded by IFOR soldiers backed by three tanks.   Alex Ivanko, chief spokesman for IPTF based in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, said many of the Serbs were police attached to the interior ministry on Serb territory.   "IPTF is meeting senior Serb officials trying to understand the motives for this unprovoked, extremely uncalled for move by Serb police into an area where Moslems were only trying to rebuild their homes destroyed during the war," he said.   "We believe this was an unprovoked attack on a peaceful village by armed RS (Serb Republic) policemen.   No arms were found on the Moslem side," he told Reuters.   "We call on RS officials to dissociate themselves from this incident and we are demanding the (dismissal) of all policemen involved.   Nobody should go unpunished for such an unprovoked attack," he said.   Bosnian government police in Kalesija, on the Moslem-Croat federation side of the ethnic boundary line opposite Mahala, said some injured Moslems had been taken to hospital.   Some of those assaulted were women and children and the less seriously injured ones stood around in a daze after the attack.   "I wanted to step back into my house when Serb special police forces suddenly came into town but I was ordered to stay outside," said Ismet Alic, a Moslem villager.   "They beat me and my wife as well, using clubs and their legs.   They threw tear gas (canisters) as well.   Initially they did not shoot and then they did," he told Reuters.   Some two dozen Moslem men, tired of four years of living in exile, crossed former confrontation lines on Monday and re-entered the largely desolate village without incident.   Some of their families followed shortly afterwards.   The villagers said they were determined to stay, although the village had been assigned by Dayton negotiators to the 49 percent of Bosnia under separatist Serb control.   Last April, Mahala villagers tried to return to their homes but were blocked by 150 Serbs.   In the ensuing clash there were two explosions and one Moslem was reported slightly injured. 
5235 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  NATO peace troops detained 25 Serbs on Thursday after gunmen fired on Moslem refugees returning to homes in a Serb-controlled village on Bosnia's post-war boundary line, U.N. monitors said.   No casualties were reported in the shooting in Mahala but some Moslems were beaten by Serbs apprehended by American troops in NATO's peace Implementation Force (IFOR), U.N. police spokesman Andrea Angeli told Reuters.   "Serious gunfire broke out this morning in Mahala after 50 Serb police entered the area," said Angeli, spokesman for the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in northeastern Bosnia.   "The shooting stopped when three IFOR helicopters flew low over the village around 11 a.m. (0900 gmt).   IFOR is now holding 25 Serbs.   We don't yet know if these Serbs are army, police, paramilitary or civilians," he said.   "The exact circumstances of this incident are not known yet but we do know the Serbs were not happy about Moslems returning to Mahala and that the Moslems had no weapons this morning."   Angeli said U.N. police investigators had also gone to Mahala, wearing helmets and flak jackets as a precaution.   A Bosnian government police official in Kalesija, on the Moslem-Croat federation side of the ethnic boundary line opposite Mahala, said Serb police and civilians were involved in the shooting attack.   He said some Mahala Moslems who were beaten up had been taken to a hospital in Stojici on federation territory.   Some two dozen Moslem men, tired of four years of living in exile, crossed former confrontation lines on Monday and re-entered the largely abandoned village without incident.   The men set about clearing war debris, mowing the overgrown grass and burning garbage.   The villagers said they were determined to stay, although the village had been assigned to the 49 percent of Bosnia under separatist Serb control under the 1995 Dayton peace treaty.   The Dayton peace accord guarantees refugees a right to return to their homes in safety.   Hardline nationalists on all three sides, but especially the Serbs, have flouted this with impunity.   Last April, Mahala villagers tried to go back to their homes in April but were blocked by 150 Serbs.   In the ensuing clash there were two explosions and one Moslem was reported slightly injured. 
5236 !GCAT !GVIO  Another 1,000 Russian troops were due to leave the Chechen capital Grozny on Thursday under a deal between Moscow and separatist leaders as soldiers and rebels got used to cooperating in the city.   Peacemaker Alexander Lebed, stranded in Moscow without a clear endorsement from President Boris Yeltsin for his further plans to sort out political aspects of the 20-month war, indicated he might return to Chechnya for more talks anyway.   Uniformed servicemen and bearded guerrillas manned joint checkpoints in an unusually quiet Grozny and rode patrol cars looking for looters.   Only the thick smoke from a local refinery recalled the battle which erupted here earlier this month, the worst fighting in the region since Russia moved in troops in December 1994 to quell Chechnya's independence.   "It's all right working with Russians," said Kheizar Musayev, 29, a rebel wearing a black hat with a green moslem band tied around it who stood at a checkpoint in central Grozny.   "It was different before.   Now we've had enough of war."   A Russian soldier standing beside Musayev agreed.   "We would like to go home soon," Sergei Gorkhovy, 23, said.   "They (rebels) want to go home as well."   Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russian headquarters in Grozny as saying some 1,000 troops would pull out of two Grozny districts on Thursday, leaving behind only one Interior Ministry forces brigade permanently deployed in the area.   Interfax news agency quoted Russian military headquarters in the region as saying on Wednesday that more than 8,000 Russian servicemen had withdrawn from southern Chechnya and Grozny leaving the city in the care of joint Russian-Chechen patrols.   The withdrawal had been agreed by Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov last Thursday.   The deal also includes a truce and the exchange of all prisoners of war.   Interfax said 2,000 rebels had left Grozny by Wednesday.   The military deal was meant to clear the way for talks on the issue at the core of the conflict in which tens of thousands of people have been killed -- the future status of Chechnya.   The separatists want full independence while Moscow wants to keep the region as part of the vast Russian Federation.   Lebed has said he and Maskhadov have come close to finalising a formula acceptable to both the separatists and Moscow.   But both are keeping tight lipped about the plan and on Sunday Lebed abruptly broke off the talks in Chechnya and flew to Moscow for consultations with Yeltsin.   RIA news agency quoted Lebed as saying on Wednesday he hoped for a reply from Yeltsin to his blueprint for a political settlement and warned that a delay in talks could derail the military agreement.   The Kremlin leader, who has not been seen in public for weeks sparking rumours of ill health, ordered Lebed from his vacation retreat near Moscow to provide a written account of his talks and proposals for a possible political deal.   Yeltsin's spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said on Wednesday that the 65-year-old president had familiarised himself with papers provided by Lebed.   "The president's new orders make the old ones more concrete and are aimed at consolidating the peacemaking process and leading it towards constructive decisions," Yastrzhembsky told a briefing of local and foreign journalists.   Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin needed additional expert advice on Lebed's plans.   He said that Yeltsin, who had ordered Lebed to restore peace in Chechnya, had no immediate plans to meet him.   Interfax quoted Lebed's press service as saying on Thursday that he might fly to Chechnya on Friday to continue talks with Maskhadov.   The press service said that a final decision on the date of his trip would be taken later on Thursday. 
5237 !GCAT  DELO   - Economic cooperation between Slovenia and Poland is expected to increase following this week's visit of representatives of Polish companies to Slovenia.   The business delegation accompanied Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski who was on an official visit to Slovenia.   - At a round-table of an international agricultural fair in Gornja Radgona in Slovenia, representatives of farm unions, the agricultural industry and the Slovenian People's Party said the government should spend more money on subsidies.   - The Slovenian government said that agricultural policy is one of the government's priorities and expressed surprise at the criticism of the People's Party.   - The Slovenian Foreign Ministry said it had demanded an explanation from Zagreb after Croatia prohibited a raft on the river Mura in the area of Hotize to carry Slovenian flag.   Slovenia said the raft should carry both flags as the border betweeen the two countriesin the Hotize area has not been determined yet.   - Parliament is soon expected to take a decision whether political parties will have to abolish national lists, which enable them to send to parliament candidates who have not been elected on the local lists.   - On Monday, experts will start researching an underground waste area in eastern Slovenia, where a Ljubljana hospital deposited about 70 barrels of radioactive waste in 1961.   DNEVNIK   - Slovenian experts believe the country's economic results are better than those of any other association member of the European Union and claim Slovenia should therefore be in the first groups of countries to become a full member of the EU.   - The housing association of the Slovenian Chamber of Economy is preparing a set of rules for trading with real estate property.   - The demand for state-subsidised student rooms in Ljubljana is 25 percent higher than the number of rooms available.   REPUBLIKA   - The Bank of Slovenia denied rumours that some members of its council offered to resign due to disputes about the liquidation of the bank Komercialna banka Triglav (KT).   The central bank initiated procedures to liquidate KBT in July following KBT's liquidity problems. 
5238 !GCAT  Here are highlights from Polish newspapers this morning.   RZECZPOSPOLITA   - Almost all Poland's vehicle assembly plants will suspend production in a few days time due to recent limitations on car part imports by the foreign trade ministry.   Poland's Main Customs Office (GUC) wants to challenge the ministry decision.   - Average wages in 1997 in Poland's public sector will grow by 147 zlotys under an agreement by a committee made up of the government, employers and trade unions.   Education, healthcare and social service workers will get the highest pay rises.   - Former president Lech Walesa declared his support for a Solidarity union-led alliance in coming parliamentary elections but said the trade unions should not enter government.   "Of all political groups, the Union for Freedom (UW) is best prepared for ruling the country", Walesa said.   - Bialystok province and city authorities will set up a provincial capital group which aims to raise funds for Bialystok domestic and international airport construction, the province authorities said.   - Only 64 percent of Poland's industrial plants fully utilise their output capacity, a planning ministry survey showed.   - The Pekao SA banking group consolidation agreement was approved by the finance deputy minister Ryszard Pazura and the presidents of the four participating banks yesterday.   NOWA EUROPA   - The number of registered firms in Poland grew by 3.3 percent in this year's first half, deputy finance minister Jan Kubik said.   - In 1996 Polish-Russian economic ties improved significantly, participants in the Polish-Russian Economic Forum in Warsaw said.   - Poland's Ombudsman Adam Zielinski thinks individual privacy is threatened by current phone-tapping practices.   - NFI mass privatisation units closed at 86 zlotys in Warsaw bourse continuous trade on Wednesday, 1.2 percent lower than the main market fixing of 87 zlotys.   - Dutch Philips Electronics NV and the Polish Optimus computer maker have signed an agreement on computer monitor distribution through the Optimus retail net.   - The listed Tonsil SA loudspeaker systems maker will issue 590,000 new shares, mostly to its creditors in October or November, the company president said.   - State-owned chemicals trading firm Ciech SA has bought 75 percent stakes in large soda producers Janikosoda SA and Soda Matwy SA, worth 213.1 million zlotys.   - US Westinghouse Electric Corporation has acquired a 40 percent stake worth $6 million in the Lubliniec-based Energoserwis SA enrgy sector support equipment producer.   GAZETA WYBORCZA   - Poland's Paged foreign trade company has acquired a 58 percent stake worth 9.4 million zlotys in the Sklejka Morag Mazury SA plywood maker.   - Sobieslaw Zasada Centrum (SZC) vehicle maker plans to start cooperation with Russian truck maker Kamaz.   "We want to renew our old contacts - in the past Polish companies supplied pneumatic systems for Kamaz", SZC board president Wincenty Zeszuta said.   - Wabrzyn-based ERG plastic maker controlled by the National Investment Fund (NFI) 5, will start a joint venture with Swiss firm Schubach, Jerzy Drygalski from NFI-5 said.   -"Considering the recently bad investment climate on the Warsaw bourse the results of the first stage of the Exbud company share issue were positive", Exbud construction firm board member Andrzej Marczewski said.   ZYCIE WARSZAWY   - ABB Zamech is the first Polish firm to get the international "green" environmental management certificate.   Zamech officials will collect the certificate in September.   - The U.S. Frontier Poland oil exploration firm has already invested $1.5 million in exploration in Poland's north-western provinces, company representatives said.   PARKIET   - According to the planning ministry, the 13.1 percent industrial output increase in July confirms previous forecasts of economic growth in 1996 second half.   - The Agricultural Market Agency (ARR), the government agricultural market regulator, will increase purchase prices of fixed reserves of grain from September 29 this year.   - Listed Elektromontaz electrical construction firm has signed five contracts in Germany worth 4.7 million marks, Elektromantaz board representatives said.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
5239 !GCAT  These are some of the main stories in Sofia newspapers today.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   24 CHASA   -- The former head of Bulgaria's government State and Wartime Reserves Department colonel Tsvetko Tsvetkov has been arrested over suspected "economic crimes and corruption," the Interior Ministry said.   @   -- Bulgaria's second largest credit institution, the State Savings Bank (SSB) will raise its annual interest rate on deposits by 10 points to 100 percent from September 2, the SSB chairman Bistra Dimitrova said.   -- The National Electricity Company (NEC) expects the European Union to raise its grant for coal imports under the PHARE programme by 6 million Ecu to 11 million Ecu, a NEC official said.   -- South Korea's giant Daewoo has expressed interest in the privatisation of Bulgarian banks, bankers said.   @   The cabinet is expected to approve today the sale of a 67 percent stake in the five-star Sheraton Sofia Hotel Balkan to Daewoo Corp for $22.3 million.   STANDART   -- A Turkish airliner on a regular flight from Vienna to Istanbul landed at Sofia airport after receiving a bomb threat.   The airliner with 39 passengers and a 10-member crew took off for Istanbul late on Wednesday after no explosives were found on board.   @   -- The Supreme Court acquitted former communist dictator Todor Zhivkov of charges of embezzlement between 1971 and 1989, citing Bulgaria's constitution under which the head of state could be charged only with high treason.   -- Bulgarian citizens will not be allowed to open foreign currency deposits in banks abroad under a draft bill on forex trade expected to be discussed by the parliament in September.   TRUD   -- Bulgaria could raise taxes if the lev continues to fall on the local forex market and high inflation persists, the cabinet said in memorandum to the International Monetary Fund.   @   -- The former head of the debt-ridden private Bank for Agricultural Credit Yanko Yanev was released from custody on one million levs bail over health problems, the newspaper said without quoting sources.   Yanev was arrested earlier this year over suspected extension of large uncollateralised credits.   KONTINENT   -- Bulgaria's ruling Socialist Party appealed before the Supreme Court the central electoral commission's decision to refuse registration of its presidential candidate, the U.S.-born Georgi Pirinski, party officials said.   -- Sofia Newsroom, 359-2-84561 
5240 !GCAT  HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Apart from wages, insurance and expenditures on science, all other government departments will have to tighten their belts according to new budget cuts agreed upon by parliament yesterday.   - France's Dassault Aviation presented its Mirage 2000-5 fighter aircraft yesterday in Pardubice.   This is the third foreign aircraft company to display their products in this way.   - Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus warned against a single European currency because the EU is still too politically and economically diverse.   Klaus made his comments at the 52nd European Forum in Austria's Alpbach.   - A shareholder's meeting at the failed Kreditni Banka will discuss an offer for a public tender for the bank and an offer for the bank's liquidation.   Selected Pragobanka and Kreditni Banka branches will begin repaying deposits from September 23.   - The Czech chemical industry increased its production by 18.9 percent to 77.178 billion crowns in the first six months of 1996 as compared to the same period a year earlier   - EuroTel added another country to its European GSM telephone network.   Denmark joined Greece, Hungary, Finland, The Netherlands, Spain and Estonia in the mobile phone network, while it will be possible to use the phones in Germany from September 5.   PRAVO - The European Property Development Fund purchased the Jiri z Podebrad barracks in the centre of Prague for 50 million marks (roughly 900 million crowns).   - The new Skoda Octavia Automobile will be the least expensive automobile in its class in the Czech Republic.   The car will be unveiled to the public on September 1.   - EuroTel, one of two companies offering GSM phones in the Czech Republic is expected to lower its tarrifs in September, when the second GSM phone network is planned to begin operations.   MLADA FRONTA DNES - According to some diplomatic sources, the United States is concerned about recent claims made by Omnipol management that the firm wants to return the Czech Republic to the forefront of the world arms trade.   -- Prague Newsdesk, 42-2-2423-0003 
5241 !GCAT !GDIP !GHEA  Western aid workers are building an "instant hospital" for the victims of Chechnya's bloody 20-month civil war in the village where a peace treaty still largely holding was negotiated.   The project, masterminded by the Norwegian section of the International Committee of the Red Cross, will create a clinic with three small operating theatres and room for 50 patients.   "Normally we expect to do all this in two days, but because of the complicated situation here it will take a little longer," Red Cross spokeswoman Chantal Leprat told Reuters as work got under way on Thursday.   She noted that the hospital would have its own power and water supplies.   All weapons will be banned.   Novye Atagi, the scene of rounds of recent peace talks between Russian generals and Chechen separatist leaders, is a sprawling village of unpaved roads and single-storey buildings situated where the Chechen plain begins to rise toward the mountainous country in the south of the breakaway region.   The buildings in the town are largely intact, in contrast to many across a region devastated by war.   "We have security, access and infrastructure," said Red Cross official Manuel Bessler, speaking as local workers unloaded boxes of medical equipment.   "It should be a safe hospital for the people injured in this conflict here in Chechnya."   A large Red Cross flag fluttered overhead and the officials said they had received guarantees from both the Russian military commander, Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, and separatist chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov that their work would not be disrupted.   Tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, have been killed since Russian troops arrived in December 1994 to crush the Caucasus region's independence bid.   There are no figures for the numbers of injured. 
5242 !GCAT !GVIO  Alexander Lebed, the Kremlin security chief, flies to Chechnya on Friday for new talks with separatist leaders on a lasting political settlement aimed at ending the war in the mainly Moslem region.   But as he prepares to sit down face to face with men who have been Russia's implacable enemies in more than 20 months of fighting, he may be more concerned about the less than enthusiastic support for his plans from his notional allies back in Moscow.   Lebed, who arranged an ambitious ceasefire last week shortly after President Boris Yeltsin made him his personal envoy to Chechnya, will leave Moscow early in the morning for talks with rebel leaders, an aide to the former paratroop general said.   "The war has been stopped.   Now we have to create the conditions so that it does not resume," Lebed said on Thursday.   But the general has failed in his attempts this week to discuss his political proposals with Yeltsin, who is on holiday.   Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin was quoted as saying on Thursday that Lebed's plan needed a good deal more work.   The truce Lebed brokered has held so far, putting an end to a spate of fierce fighting which began on August 6 when rebel fighters seized much of the capital, Grozny.   Both sides have pulled forces out of some areas and Russian and rebel fighters are jointly patrolling parts of Grozny.   Itar-Tass news agency said Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, president of the self-declared separatist government, might take part in Friday's talks.   Interfax news agency said Yandarbiyev had met Tim Guldimann, the Swiss diplomat who heads the Chechnya mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe on Thursday.   Few details of Lebed's proposed settlement have emerged.   It must find a compromise between the referendum the separatists want, which they think would back outright secession, and Moscow's refusal to countenance full independence.   Both sides indicate they might agree on a vote in some years' time, once the North Caucasus has recovered from the war.   Ernst Muehlemann, the Swiss legislator who chairs the Chechnya committee of the Council of Europe's parliamentary assembly, told Interfax news agency on Thursday that Lebed's plan would involve a new constitution for the region.   After a meeting with Lebed, he said he did not believe there would be any suggestion of full independence but a "friendly coalition" close to the model introduced in the mostly Moslem autonomous republic of Tatarstan in central Russia.   Lebed, 46, broke off talks on a political settlement last weekend with rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov, saying he had to return to Moscow to iron out legal questions and cover his back against unnamed opponents within the Russian establishment.   Since his return, he has been unable to get a meeting with Yeltsin, who took off on holiday on Monday near Moscow.   Kremlin spokesmen say Yeltsin, 65, who asked for written details of Lebed's proposals on Tuesday, is keeping in touch with his envoy without needing to speak to him.   They deny rumours that the president is ill but say he needs to rest.   In a further apparent setback, Interfax, quoting Chernomyrdin's spokesman, said on Thursday: "Alexander Lebed's plan of action...in Chechnya needs a lot of work."   Chernomyrdin convened a meeting on Thursday with Lebed and top officials including the defence, interior and justice ministers and the head of the FSB security service.   Lebed has clashed publicly with the Moscow elite in the past.   He owes his job to an outspoken anti-establishment campaign in June's presidential election and some analysts believe wrangling over Chechnya is part of early manoevring for the succession in the Kremlin should Yeltsin have to step down. 
5243 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  U.N. police officials are no longer surrounded in their office and have left safely after a Serb mob dispersed in the eastern town of Zvornik, a United Nations spokesman said on Thursday.   "The situation seems to have been resolved in Zvornik.   The crowd has dispersed.   Our U.N. personnel are leaving the building for a safe location," spokesman Alex Ivanko told Reuters in Sarajevo. 
5244 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  The NATO-led peace force in Bosnia tangled with Bosnian Serb police on Thursday in some of the most serious violence since the Dayton peace accords were signed in December.   NATO and U.N. officials said the crisis began when Serb policemen opened fire and beat a group of Moslems trying to repair their damaged homes in the village of Mahala in northeast Bosnia.   NATO troops intervened when gunfire erupted and detained 65 Serb policemen inside a cordon of armoured vehicles and combat troops.   A crowd of 600 Bosnian Serbs and some Serb policemen, apparently angered by NATO's action in Mahala, later blockaded six U.N. officials in their office in the nearby town of Zvornik.   "The situation is very, very dangerous," U.N. police monitor Alexandar Mikulitch told reporters by telephone from Zvornik.   "We are expecting an attack any minute.   If I survive we will talk again tomorrow."   The violence underscored steadily rising tensions across Bosnia in the run-up to elections scheduled for September 14 to elect a three-member Bosnian presidency and a parliament for a loose union comprising Serb and Moslem-Croat entities.   Western officials have accused nationalist Serb, Croat and Moslem authorities of creating an atmosphere of political violence and intimidation before the polls.   NATO officials in Sarajevo said combat troops had been sent to Zvornik, now held by hardline Serb nationalists who expelled the Moslem majority population early in the war.   The mayor has vowed repeatedly to fight any attempts by Moslems to return.   General Michael Walker, commander of NATO ground forces in Bosnia, went to Mahala with a Bosnian Serb interior ministry official to try to resolve the crisis, a NATO spokesman said.   A NATO spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Max Marriner, said later that the Bosnian Serb policement in Mahala had been freed after NATO forces confiscated 25 long-barreled AK-47 automatic assault rifles that they were carrying.   "The situation in Mahala seems to be very much on its way toward resolution...In Zvornik, we think the situation is winding down as well," Marriner told Reuters.   In New York, the president of the U.N. Security Council, Tono Eitelof Germany, said it was following events in Bosnia closely and "hoped that efforts under way to defuse the situation would succeed."   The official Bosnian Serb media alleged that Moslems had opened fire in Mahala, but NATO and U.N. officials said the Serbs there were armed with guns and clubs and had mounted an unprovoked attack on unarmed civilians.   Alex Ivanko, a U.N. spokesman in Sarajevo, said two of the U.N. monitors trapped in Zvornik were seized at gunpoint after returning from Mahala.   "One of the monitors, a Russian, was verbally abused and kicked and shoved into the building at gunpoint.   They (U.N. staff) have barricaded themselves inside the building for protection," Ivanko tolds Reuters.   "The police are doing nothing to control the situation.   We believe the Bosnian Serb interior minister is in the area but doing nothing to calm things down.   This is beyond belief."   Ivanko added: "Some of those leading the crowd are well-known local thugs.   The U.N. is outraged by this attack... We haven't seen anything this outrageous since the Dayton peace agreement was signed last December."   The September 14 elections are supposed to reunify Bosnia but the international organisers have already postponed planned municipal polls due to alleged irregularities in registering Serb refugee voters. 
5245 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  NATO forces released a group of Bosnian Serb policemen late on Thursday and a tense confrontation appeared to be easing, an alliance spokesman said.   "The situation in Mahala seems to be very much on its way toward resolution.   My understanding is the (Serb) police have been released... In Zvornik, we think the situation is winding down as well," NATO spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Max Marriner told Reuters.    NATO troops detained 65 Bosnian Serb policemen early on Thursday after they attacked Moslem refugees returning to homes in Mahala, a Serb-controlled village on Bosnia's internal boundary line.   In apparent retaliation for NATO's detention of the Serbs, an angry Serb mob including policemen trapped six unarmed U.N. police monitors and three local aides in their office in the town of Zvornik, east of Mahala.   Marriner said NATO forces confiscated 25 long-barreled AK-47 automatic assault rifles from the detained Serbs before setting them free.   "Local radio and television there (in Zvornik) are advising people to step back and take it easy.   We think that when the word about how things are going in Mahala which is about 35 minutes away by road reaches Zvornik that should help," Marriner said. 
5246 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  The news agencies in Europe's formerly communist-ruled countries must quickly establish their independence or lose credibility, International Press Institute (IPI) Director Johann Fritz told a conference on Thursday.   Opening an IPI conference in Warsaw on News Agencies in Transition, Fritz said the discussion was needed now as parliaments in several Central and Eastern European states were about to decide on the future of such organisations.   "News agencies in Eastern Europe must become more independent," Fritz said.   This could best be guaranteed by privatisation, but whether agencies were private, had mixed ownership or had special status as public companies, "it is crucial that the impact of political influence is drastically diminished."   Otherwise their credibility would fall, they would lose clients and new competitors would take advantage of free-market conditions to take their place, Fritz said.   "Changes must come fast.   Time is running out," he told the meeting of several dozen delegates from news organisations in about 30 countries, including some where agencies have been emerging from under state control and striving to modernise.   The conference, also hosted by Poland's PAP agency, is due to end on Saturday by adopting a Warsaw Declaration on principles of agencies' relations with governments, political parties, society and the other media they supply with news.   The IPI groups journalists and media executives in 85 countries and seeks to defend press freedom. 
5247 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Air travellers in the former Soviet Union get used to the ripped carpets and broken seats and try to tell themselves that vital bits of the ageing Tupolev, Ilyushin and Yakovlev airliners must be in better condition.   The crash of a Tupolev Tu-154M, the workhorse of the old Soviet fleet, on Spitzbergen on Thursday was a reminder that, in some cases at least, it might just be wishful thinking.   It was the second Russian Tu-154 to crash in less than a year.   Norwegian officials on the Arctic island said all 143 people on board, mainly Ukrainian coalminers as well as some of their wives and children, were killed when the three-engined plane came down as it attempted to land in bad weather.   Military aviation officials familiar with the harsh flying conditions in the far north told Itar-Tass news agency a snow flurry could have blinded the pilot -- a major problem when landing at Arctic airfields with minimal navigational aids.   The charter plane was operated by Moscow-based Vnukovo Airlines, one of the bigger private operators among hundreds of so-called "babyflots" spawned when Soviet-era Aeroflot broke up.   Vnukovo Airlines, which had been flying the plane for eight years, said the crew was one of its most experienced.   The splitting up of the state monolith into hundreds of small firms, many of them with little cash, has raised concerns about air safety since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.   The Russian Transport Ministry suspended flights by as many as 90 of the 420 airlines operating in Russia last year when 245 people died in 18 crashes, a slight improvement on 1994 when 327 people were killed in 20 accidents.   After 70 people died in March 1994 when an Aeroflot pilot allowed his teenage son to send an Airbus A310 crashing into the Siberian taiga, the International Airline Passengers Association warned its members not to fly over the former Soviet Union.   The Transport Ministry conceded in April 1995 that air safety had become "very weak" and ordered new controls.   But the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority said in December after the crash of a 20-year-old Khabarovsk Airlines Tu-154 in the far east that Russian airlines were "minimally meeting requirements" of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.   A series of crashes of cargo aircraft, though usually less costly in lives, have also served as reminders of problems.   Just last week, all 12 people on board were killed when a Russian-owned Ilyushin Il-76 freighter crashed at Belgrade airport.   Fourteen died in April when an Il-76 came down on the Kamchatka peninsula.   Neither the crew nor the air traffic controllers seemed aware the plane was off course and the controllers' directions sent the aircraft into a mountain.   Two Russian pilots were jailed in Zaire this month.   Their overloaded Antonov An-32 had belly-flopped on takeoff in January, killing over 300 people in a Kinshasa marketplace.   Russian planemakers, heirs to one of the jewels in the crown of Soviet industry, defend their craft but complain that lack of cash has meant poor maintenance.   Pilots unions' point out that Russian aircrews, mostly former Soviet air force personnel, must fly in worse weather and with many fewer electronic aids than colleagues in the west.   Whatever the verdict, the inhabitants of the world's biggest territory have no choice but to keep on flying if they are to travel around their own country. 
5248 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Croatian officials said on Thursday they expected a high turnout in this weekend's voting by Bosnian war refugees, but some of them seemed to have little understanding of the event.   Damir Zoric, head of the national committee in charge of refugee voting in Croatia, said he did not expect many refugees would heed a call to boycott Bosnia's first post-war elections by the ruling Moslem party.   Most of Bosnia's estimated three million voters will go the polls inside the country on September 14, but 640,000 refugees abroad are casting their ballots in advance this week.   Under the 1995 Dayton peace treaty, Moslems, Serbs and Croats living as refugees abroad or displaced within Bosnia may register to vote in their pre-war addresses.   But they may also direct their vote to municipalities where they were resettled during or after the war or where they "intend" to live in the near future.   As a result, election observers say, Serb authorities have pushed their own refugees to register in towns purged of Moslem majorities during the 1992-95 war.   The apparent goal was to seal political control of those conquered towns.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is staging the elections, has put off the municipal part of the general elections in reaction to the irregularities.   But the Moslem nationalist SDA party of Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic and two Moslem-led opposition parties have urged refugees not to vote at all unless the irregularities in the Serb Republic are resolved.   Leaders of minority Croats in Bosnia rejected any boycott.   "I am sure people will show up," Zoric told Reuters.   "I think the turnout at the polling stations will be high despite the fact that many people have no idea for what and for whom they should vote for."   Croatia hosts 136,550 of the 640,000 Bosnian refugees spread through 55 countries.   The majority of those in Croatia are thought to be ethnic Croats likely to vote for the main Croat national party HDZ, with the rest Moslems.   Zoric said the voting in Croatia would be monitored by 200 international observers and some 30 OSCE supervisors.   But refugees living in wooden shacks and tents in the Gasinci camp in eastern Croatia had only a vague notion of what or whom they were voting for.   "We have no opportunity to follow the work of any parties here in the camp, nor find out easily what they are offering," Rifet Dolic told Reuters Television, adding that they were discouraged from any political activity among fellow refugees.   "I will only vote for a unified Bosnia," said Ahmet Bekrija, a Moslem from Derventa in Serb-controlled northern Bosnia, but he could not explain what he meant.   One group of Moslem refugees had heard of the boycott call by the SDA and said they would heed it.   Other refugees planned to vote, some knowing nothing of the boycott call.   "I don't have a radio...and there is no electricity in my tent," said Ramka Bajric.   "I only know Alija called for the boycott and America is mad at him," said Atif Aljic from Modrica, strolling around the camp with a bottle of beer. 
5249 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Czech police on Thursday arrested one of President Vaclav Havel's personal bodyguards and accused him of stealing money and "various objects" from the president's private villa in Prague.   Spokesman Ladislav Spacek said in a statement that the president was "disappointed", especially because he considers his guards -- known as the Castle police -- to be a "perfectly prepared and managed" unit.   Havel resides in his private villa in a smart neighbourhood in western Prague, using the massive Royal Palace at Prague Castle only for official duties.   The statement added that Havel had "the best experience with the members of his security detail -- except for this case".   "The current investigation does not exclude that this policeman committed similar thefts at the president's (home) in the past as well," Spacek said.   He did not specify how much money and which other things were stolen.   The guard was suspended from duty, and a hearing will determine whether to place him into custody. 
5250 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  The makers of the U.S. advanced fighter aircraft, the F/A-18 "Hornet", said on Thursday they would possibly cooperate with local companies if they won a lucrative contract to upgrade the Czech fleet.   The "Hornet Industry Team" led by McDonnell Douglas Corp is competing with U.S. Lockheed Martin, makers of the F-16, Sweden's SAAB, which makes the "Grippen", and other European groups to update the ageing Soviet-made planes.   The Czechs along with former Warsaw Pact allies Poland and Hungary, all widely seen as frontrunners to join NATO, are looking to upgrade air defences to be compatible with the Western military alliance.   "Associated with the aircraft sale is an industrial participation programme that is intended to return the amount back... as a result of the aircraft expense," Gary Mitchell, vice-president of McDonnell Douglas , the lead member of the eight-company U.S. consortium, told a news conference.   The Czech Republic would need about 24 fighters to replace its old Soviet-made MiG-21s, but the Czech government has delayed the decision until a full review of long-term military planning is complete.   No deadline has yet been set, but observes believe the fighter plane upgrades a part of the delicate negotiations concerning full membership in NATO.   The Hornet consortium representatives said they talked about possible cooperation with various Czech companies, but no precise deal has been made, nor would any of the officials elaborate on what "industrial cooperation" would mean.   Two Czech firms mentioned as possible participants included the struggling Czech aircraft maker Aero Vodochody, and the Plzen-based engineering group Skoda a.s..   "We visited Aero Vodochody ... and had succesful discussion with the leadership of the company and we agreed to work hard together to realise mutually benefitial business objectives," Mitchell said but declined to specify the cooperation.   Mitchell also did not exclude possible cooperation with the Poles and Hungarians to create an internationally built Hornet.   The team has visited the two other countries as well and said talks about technical participation of domestic companies on Hornets have been lead.   "I think there is substantial opportunity for cooperation between the three countries and perhaps we will in the appropriate time make suggestions," Mitchell said.   Poland needs about 100 new or used fighters compatible with NATO and Hungary plans to buy at least 30 Western fighters to replace its Soviet-made MiGs.   Analysts say competitive offers made by Lockheed Martin for its new F-16s would cost over $20 million apiece without supplementary equipment and technology.   A cheaper option would be to buy second-hand F-16s costing $5-$7 million each.   The Hornet consortium declined to give any details about the fighters' sale price or any possible package deal.   "There are opportunities (on financing) available from the U.S. government, and a loan guarantee programme as well as opportunities for commercial financing from U.S. banks," Mitchell said.   The Hornet team is comprised of McDonnell Douglas, Northrop Grumman, General Electric, Hughes, Smith Industries, Moog, Allied Signal and Parker Hannifin.   -- Prague Newsroom 42-2-2423-0003 
5251 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Romania and Bulgaria could be the next new members of the Central European Free Trade Agreement, provided they adjust their agricultural policies, ministers from the five CEFTA countries said on Thursday.   "More countries will certainly join CEFTA," Slovakia's minister of agriculture Peter Baco told reporters.   "Romania and Bulgaria can both be members provided complications in their agriculture can be solved."   CEFTA was formed in 1992 by Hungary, Poland and former Czechoslovakia as a European Union-type grouping to replace the communist-era trading bloc Comecon.   It is currently made up of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Slovenia.   Slovakia is currently president of the organisation.   The ministers were meeting to prepare recommendations for a summit of CEFTA government heads to be held on September 13 and 14 in Slovakia.   Hungarian food minister Laszlo Lakos added that new members had to satisfy both World Trade Organisation rules and the internal CEFTA regulations regarding subsidies, price liberalisation and tariffs before they would be allowed entry.   Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine are also seeking CEFTA membership.   The summit next month will deal with further liberalisation of mutual trade and coordination of efforts to gain entry into the European Union.   Czech food minister Josef Lux reiterated CEFTA's plan to abolish all agricultural tariffs and subsidies by January 1, 1998.   "This is not only important for agriculture but also for consumers," he said.   CEFTA's goal is to promote harmonised economic development among member countries through the expansion of trade.   The original target was to set up a free trade zone by 2001.   The resulting trade patterns are supposed to improve living standards and labour conditions, increase productivity and contribute to financial stability. 
5252 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Uzbek President Islam Karimov, speaking at a parliamentary session marking his country's independence anniversary, promised on Thursday to match international standards on human rights.   Interfax news agency quoted Karimov as saying he wanted to boost cooperation with international human rights organisations.   Uzbekistan's first five years as an independent state have been marred by frequent complaints about human rights violations and the supression of opposition parties, although activists say some political prisoners have been freed recently.   The government says there are no political prisoners in Uzbekistan, a Central Asian state bordering Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is hosting a regional human rights seminar in Tashkent next month.   Karimov, who praised Uzbekistan's political stability since independence, said an opposition could play an important role.   "There must be an alternative in all areas of life," he said.   But, hinting that an opposition would not be free to act exactly as it wanted, he added: "When we speak about an opposition, we mean a constructive opposition, capable of suggesting alternative versions of the reform programme and moving along the road of progress and revival." 
5253 !GCAT !GODD  At least 11 people were killed and 60 others injured on Thursday when lightning struck a group of people attending a religious festival in Macedonia, police and municipal officials said.   Police in Berovo, 150 km (90 miles) west of the capital Skopje, said there were around 15,000 people gathered around the town's cathedral when the lightning struck the group during a thunderstorm. 
5254 !GCAT !GCRIM  Albanian police this week launched their first swoop on a Tirana brothel since the fall of communism and detained three women, court officials said on Thursday.   "They were charged with working as prostitutes and aiding and abetting prostitution," said one prosecutor, adding that a Tirana court had ordered them to remain in custody until investigations were complete.   Police stormed a run-down house in central Tirana on Monday and arrested its owner, a 68-year-old woman, her daughter and two married women for operating a brothel.   They later released the owner's daughter and six men detained while leaving the house during the raid.   The three women, who denied the charges, could be fined or jailed for up to eight years if convicted.   Prostitution is illegal in Albania.   The owner of the house, an illiterate former ticket collector, and the two women argued that they had got together for coffee while the men said they had come to buy old furniture, Albanian newspapers reported.   Local residents told the Koha Jone daily that they had seen queues of men lining up outside the house for sex at $10 a time.   They alleged that the house had operated clandestinely as a brothel under communism and that its owner was an informer of the Sigurimi secret police.   Prostitution has thrived in Albania since popular protests brought an end to nearly 50 years of communism in 1990 and aid workers say hundreds of Albanian prostitutes have moved abroad, many of them to Italy. 
5255 !GCAT !GVIO  Russian troops and Chechen guerrillas, one-time enemies, patrolled Grozny together on Thursday, but more doubts emerged in Moscow about security chief Alexander Lebed's peace plan.   Uniformed Russian servicemen and bearded separatist fighters guarded joint checkpoints and rode in patrol cars looking for looters in the Chechen capital, devastated since fierce fighting in early 1995.   Only thick smoke from an oil refinery reminded a visitor of a battle earlier this month, the worst fighting since Russia moved in troops in December 1994 to quell Chechnya's independence.   "It's all right working with Russians," said Kheizar Musayev, 29, a rebel wearing a black hat with a green Moslem band tied around it who stood at a checkpoint in central Grozny.   "It was different before.   Now we've had enough of war."   A Russian soldier standing beside Musayev agreed.   "We would like to go home soon," Sergei Gorkhovy, 23, said.   "They (the rebels) want to go home as well."   The separatists, who seized Grozny in an August 6 raid which humiliated the Russian military, have reacted with something approaching euphoria to Lebed's peace efforts, which involve a ceasefire, joint patrols and troop withdrawals on both sides.   But Interfax news agency quoted the spokesman of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin as saying a top-level meeting of Russian officials had agreed that the peace deal needed a lot of extra work.   Spokesman Viktor Konnov said Chernomyrdin was worried that the rebels were trying to set up "organs of executive power" in some parts of Chechnya and drawing up lists of people who should be repressed.   "Alexander Lebed's plan of action...in Chechnya needs a lot of work," the agency said.   Lebed's position was not clear.   Few details have been released of the plan by Lebed, President Boris Yeltsin's envoy in the crisis, and the report did not elaborate on what needed to be done to it.   Lebed, who met rebel commanders several times in the last two weeks, challenging rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov to a game of chess, had earlier on Thursday presented his peace plan as a victory.   "I think that I won the game, although I was playing black, but I presented it as a draw," he said triumphantly during a military meeting in Moscow, a grin cracking his trademark scowl.   Lebed said on Thursday he had not been able to meet the president recently.   Yeltsin, said to be on holiday outside Moscow, has been seen rarely in public since he was inaugurated for a second term in office on August 9.   Kremlin spokesmen have denied a string of rumours that he is ill.   Lebed has said he hopes soon to sign the next stage of the deal -- a political document determining the future status of the Caucasus region and Interfax quoted "informed sources" as saying he would leave for Chechnya on Friday.   A statement issued by the powerful Russian Security Council, of which Lebed is the secretary, called on all political forces in Russia to unite behind a peace deal.   "The Caucasus must not become an eternal bone of contention between Russia's state structures and social forces," it said.   A political deal will be the toughest issue facing the two sides.   The separatists want Russia to recognise Chechnya as an independent state, while Yeltsin and his ministers say the region must remain an integral part of the Russian Federation.   "The territorial integrity of Russia must be maintained," Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov said on Thursday. 
5256 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  U.S. envoy John Kornblum met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday in an effort to defuse a growing crisis surrounding Bosnia's post-war elections.   The American diplomat arrived in Belgrade two days after international organisers postponed municipal elections in Bosnia due to irregularities in the registration of Serb refugee voters.   "We discussed the decision to postpone the municipal elections and I made clear it was primarily the manipulation of voter registration by the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb republic) which led to this development," Kornblum said after three hours of talks.   But he said the United States still believed it was important to go ahead with national elections in Bosnia as scheduled on September 14 to bolster the peace process.   Kornblum gave no indication that he had won any specific commitment from Milosevic, the patron of the Bosnian Serbs, to rectify any abuses in the registration process.   Bosnia's Moslem political parties have urged their refugees to boycott the elections until irregularities with voter registration are resolved.   Human rights workers say Serbian and Bosnian Serb authorities coerced refugees to register only in Serb-held territory in Bosnia to solidify the results of wartime expulsions and military conquest.   Serbian officials have denied any abuses occurred during a 10-day registration period and the Bosnian Serbs, angry at the postponement of municipal elections, have threatened to hold local polls on their territory without the international community's blessing.   Kornblum said only elections endorsed by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) would be legitimate.   "As we have said publicly before, if there is any effort to do so (hold local elections) these elections will not be valid," he said.   "The elections which are valid are those conducted by the international community under the management of the OSCE."   After meeting Milosevic, Kornblum flew to the Croatian capital Zagreb.   He was due to head to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka on Friday to meet Bosnian Serb acting president Biljana Plavsic and Bosnian Serb opposition leaders.   He also planned to travel to Sarajevo to oversee the formal dissolution of the separatist Croat mini-state in western Bosnia.   U.N. police, relief workers and NATO officers have reported a rise in political violence across Bosnia in the run-up to the September 14 elections.   Voters will be choosing a three-member presidency and a parliament to rule over a loose union of Bosnia, comprised of a Serb republic and a Moslem-Croat federation. 
5257 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov has fired the country's top justice official and said an "epidemic of corruption" had hit the country's legal structures, an official newspaper said on Thursday.   A decree published in Neitralny Turkmenistan stated the chairman of the Supreme Court, Amanmurad Kakabayev, had been sacked for "failing in his responsibilties".   A decree sacking the first deputy interior minister, Amangeldy Geldykurbanov, for "serious shortcomings" was published in the same edition.   Cited by the newspaper, Niyazov said: "An epidemic of corruption has touched all levels in the justice authorities."   Corruption had been "exposed" right across the Central Asian former Soviet republic.   Niyazov, known as "Turkmenbashi" or Leader of the Turkmens and focus of a powerful personality cult, fired several officials earlier this month in connection with a bloody prison riot and a disastrous grain harvest. 
5258 !GCAT !GDIP  The first shipment of U.S. military equipment pledged to Moslem-Croat forces in Bosnia was scheduled to arrive by air in Sarajevo on Thursday, an American diplomat said.   U.S. special envoy James Pardew told reporters three commercial aircraft would bring 1,000 M-16 rifles, 200 machine- guns, 200 tactical radios and ammunition into the city over three days, beginning on Thursday evening.   The delivery is a small down payment against a far larger shipment, by sea, which is expected in Bosnia by mid-March.   The U.S. is providing a total of 46,100 M16 rifles, 1,000 M60 machine-guns, 45 M60A3 Main Battle tanks, 80 armoured personnel carriers, 15 utility helicopters, 840 anti-tank weapons and ammunition.   A military training component is also included in the programme, whose total value is $100 million.   Other nations are providing equipment to federation forces as well, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates and Malaysia.   Pardew said Egypt had pledged on Thursday to supply 12 130mm field guns, 12 howitzers and 18 anti-aircraft guns.   "As you know one of the greatest weaknesses in Bosnia during the war was the inability to respond effectively to artillery shelling of Sarajevo and other population centres," the U.S. envoy said.   "This Egyptian contribution will begin to give the federation the means to overcome that weakness."   The purpose of the Train and Equip programme is to give Bosnia's Moslem-Croat federation, which controls 51 percent of the country, the means to deter aggression and defend its territory.   Bosnia's Serb republic administers the other 49 percent of the country and the federation is being armed against the potential threat posed by that entity's military forces which were superior in firepower.   Bosnian Moslem, Serb and Croat forces fought one another in a 43-month war which ended in December 1995 with the signing of the Dayton peace agreement.   Moslems and Croats are now bound together in a shaky federation brokered and largely held together through U.S. diplomacy.   It was only after federation officials agreed to merge separate Moslem and Croat-led armies as a single fighting force that the Americans agreed to move forward with Train and Equip.   The U.S. envoy expressed disappointment at continuing delays in implementing the joint forces agreement but said he had received recent assurances from senior officials that the project would proceed as promised.   Pardew said NATO-led peace forces would inspect Thursday's arms shipment when it arrived at the airport and after it was stored in a federation arms depot to ensure it was handled in accordance with the terms of the Dayton accord. 
5259 !GCAT !GPOL  Albania's politicians agreed on Thursday that the nation's election laws needed reviewing and dialogue between the parties was essential but a gulf remained on other key issues.   Senior officials from nine political parties, including the ruling Democrats and key opposition Socialists, met for three days of talks organised by the right-wing U.S. International Republican Institute.   Government officials also attended.   The talks focused on 31 recommendations made by the institute after Albania's disputed general elections in May and June.   Topics covered included the role of the media, vote administration and election day procedures.   "It was agreed there is room for improvement and a need for dialogue...All of the (political parties) agreed both are necessary," Institute spokesman Peter Dickinson told a news conference.   Dickinson said the institute had recommended modifying election laws so that electoral commissions gave a fair representation of the political landscape.   "This was not an area where there was any consensus...That one clearly remains unresolved at this point," he said.   Opposition parties boycotted Albania's third multi-party polls, complaining of ballot rigging and intimidation.   Foreign observers said the vote did not meet international standards.   A row has since blown up over the make-up of electoral commissions that will oversee local elections on October 20.   The Socialists say the commissions are biased in favour of President Sali Berisha's Democrats and have threatened to pull out of the ballot.   The United States and the European Union have urged Tirana to hold fresh general elections at the earliest opportunity and foreign governments will be watching the October polls to ensure Albania is sticking to its commitment to democracy. 
5260 !GCAT !GDIP  Slovenian Foreign Minister Davorin Kracun said on Thursday he would visit his Italian counterpart Lamberto Dini in Rome next Tuesday.   "This will be my first meeting with Mr Dini and I hope it will help towards intensifying economic relations between our two countries," Kracun, who was appointed to his post on July 19, told a news conference.   "I also expect Italy to support Slovenia's membership of both the EU and NATO," he said.   Slovenia hopes to be among the first group of countries among Eastern Europe's ex-communist states to join the EU and NATO.   Relations between Rome and Ljubljana have improved significantly since May when Rome backed Slovenia's association agreement with the EU, which was signed in June.   Italy had blocked the agreement because Slovenia refused to hand back state-owned property confiscated from ethnic Italians who fled the region after Italy's defeat in World War Two.   Although the issue has yet to be solved, Italy approved the association accord after Slovenia agreed to allow foreign nationals to own property in the former Yugoslav republic within four years of the agreement taking effect.   Italy is Slovenia's second most important trading partner, accounting for 14.6 percent of Slovenia's total exports and 17 percent of its imports. 
5261 !C13 !C22 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  NATO and diplomatic leaders have rebuked the Bosnian government for interfering with efforts to form an independent television network ahead of next month's elections.   "Government-sponsored harassment of (the network) puts into question your government's commitment to create the necessary conditions for the upcoming elections," they said a letter to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters.   The letter was signed by the commander of NATO troops in Bosnia, Admiral T. Joseph Lopez, Carl Bildt, the international community's High Representative to Bosnia and Robert Frowick, who is running Bosnia's first post-war election.   The international community has been keen to promote freedom of the press in Bosnia as part of its preparations for the election, which will be held on September 14.   It has committed about $10 million to the Open Broadcast Network (OBN).   A senior Bosnian government official, who asked not to be named, said on Thursday that the government was not against OBN broadcasting news programmes.   "We have no problem if they want to broadcast news and political programming for a couple of hours every night," the official said.   "But they are asking for six hours of time every day and they say they will be showing commercials.   That's what we object to.   We don't want a network broadcasting commercial programming on our airwaves."   OBN will consist of five local, independent stations -- two in Sarajevo, and one each in Tuzla, Mostar and Zenica.   All are operating with upgraded equipment provided by international donors in recent months.   Diplomats say the network would provide an alternative source of information to media controlled by the ruling parties of Bosnia's ethnic communities.   The appearance of a rival network, financed by foreign funds, just weeks before national elections are to be held has not been welcome, according to diplomats.   They say the ruling Moslem nationalist SDA party has gone out of its way to prevent the network going on the air with shared programming.   The OBN hub, which is under construction, has been harassed by the Bosnian government and police, the diplomats report.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is responsible under the Dayton peace accord for the Bosnian election.   It has ordered the government to "grant without delay to the Open Broadcast Network all necessary licences, including the right to broadcast and feed via satellite, frequencies, (and) permissions to use and develop sites".   Should the Bosnian government refuse to comply, OSCE could levy fines, remove SDA candidates from the ballot or ban the SDA from upcoming elections entirely.   Diplomats said on Thursday they expected the government to drop its opposition rather than incur those sorts of penalties.   "Barring an act of God or an extreme act by the Bosnian government, we expect the OBN to be up and running by the end of the first week in September with six hours of programming a day," said a U.S. diplomat who asked not to be named. 
5262 !GCAT !GDIS !GPOL  Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent a message of condolence to the families of those who died on Thursday when a Russian airliner carrying about 140 people crashed on the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitzbergen.   According to the text, released by the Kremlin press service, the president, who is holidaying near Moscow, asked the Russian government to help the bereaved families.   The Tupolev Tu-154 belonging to Russia's Vnukovo Airlines was carrying mostly Ukrainian miners and their families to a Russian open-cast coalmine on the island. 
5263 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  U.S. envoy John Kornblum met Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic on Thursday to discuss a growing crisis surrounding Bosnia's post-war elections.   Kornblum arrived in the Serbian capital Belgrade two days after international organisers postponed municipal elections in Bosnia due to irregularities in the registration of Serb refugee voters in Bosnian Serb territory and rump Yugoslavia.   The U.S. diplomat met Milosevic at the presidential residence in the leafy suburb of Dedinje shortly after 1 p.m. and state media reported the two would discuss preparations for the September 14 poll.   Bosnia's Moslem political parties have called on refugees abroad to boycott the September election until irregularities in the voter registration process are resolved.   Bosnian Serb authorities, angry at the postponement of municipal elections, say they will go ahead and hold the local poll on their territory even without the international community's blessing.   Human rights workers say Belgrade authorities coerced refugees in Yugoslavia -- Serbia and Montenegro -- to register only in Serb-held territory in Bosnia to solidify the results of wartime expulsions and military conquest.   Serbian officials have denied any abuses occurred during a 10-day registration period.   Kornblum was scheduled to fly to the Croatian capital Zagreb as part of a tour of former Yugoslavia.   He was due to head to the Bosnian town of Banja Luka on Friday morning to meet Serb opposition leaders and Bosnian Serb acting president Biljana Plavsic. 
5264 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Five people may have survived the crash of a Russian airliner carrying about 140 people on Thursday on the remote Norwegian Arctic island of Spitzbergen, a spokeswoman for the Russian Emergencies Ministry said.   She told Reuters the ministry had been unable to confirm the information, which she said had come from rescue workers at the site.   Russia's Interfax news agency had quoted the company that owned the plane as saying five passengers were in hospital.   But a spokesman for Vnukovo Airlines could not confirm the report.    Officials of the private airline said in Norway that there were 129 passengers and 12 crew on board.   A spokesman at its base at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport said there were 130 passengers, including three children, and 12 crew.   The Emergencies Ministry put the figures at 129 passengers and nine crew.   Most of those on board were miners flying from Moscow to work in one of the island's two open-cast coal mines with their families.   A spokesman for the Russian state coal board, Rosugol, told Reuters most of the miners were Ukrainian nationals.   Russia's Itar-Tass news agency quoted Rosugol, the parent company of the Arktik Ugol firm which operates the mine, as saying there were 37 women and children on board.   Vnukovo Airlines VKOL.  RTS, which operated the Tupolev Tu-154 airliner, is one of many companies created when the Soviet state airline Aeroflot was broken up five years ago. 
5265 !GCAT !GVIO  Thick black smoke rose over oil storage tanks in the Chechen capital Grozny on Thursday, a visible reminder that the flames of war in this tinderbox region are not so easy to extinguish.   A fragile peace has been holding for the past week and most people, including fighters who are tired after almost two years of war, are counting on Russian peacemaker Alexander Lebed to silence the guns for good.   Lebed, President Boris Yeltsin's security chief and special envoy to Chechnya, might visit the North Caucasus region on Friday, Interfax news agency said.   But the tough-talking general has not yet consulted Yeltsin, who is on holiday outside Moscow.   This extraordinary lack of contact has not only raised speculation about Yeltsin's health, but it has cast a shadow over Lebed's peace initiative.   Many Chechens believe there is a "third force" at work in the Kremlin, pulling levers behind the scenes to keep the war going, for political or financial gain.   "Lebed is trying but I doubt that he will succeed," said the commander of a rebel group in an industrial district of Grozny.   "He wants to stop the war and make peace but the third force doesn't want this," added Said Khamzayev.   Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov are due to resume talks on vital political issues, including plans to postpone a decision on Chechnya's status within Russia until a referendum is organised at some unspecified future date.   But many rebels and civilians here are sceptical about prospects for a lasting peace as generations of conflict with Moscow have fuelled deep distrust among Chechens of their former imperial masters.   "We're hoping Lebed can do something, but we have seen so many peace agreements collapse," said Mizan, a 55-year-old Chechen woman.   "We think this is a typical red herring from the Russian side," said Khamzayev, when asked if he believed the ceasefire would hold.   "We'll see," commented another rebel wearing the historical red uniform of Chechen fighters.   "We have been fighting for independence for 1,000 years," said Batya, a 64-year-old rebel who recalled the legendary struggle of Imam Shamil in the last century against Russian efforts to subdue the Caucasus.   "The fight will continue until we get out from under this yoke," Batya said, adding that this year and next year would be decisive.   On August 6, the rebels launched an offensive in which they recaptured much of Grozny from the Russians.   Now the two sides are manning joint checkpoints in the city as called for in the peace plan agreed by Lebed and Maskhadov.   Russian troops have pulled back from front line positions and many of them are due to leave Chechnya by the weekend under a decree issued by Yeltsin as part of his pre-election campaign.   "It is possible to cooperate with the Russians for a while," Batya said.   "They say two brigades will stay here but they will be under our jurisdiction."   Chechens in Grozny, many of whom appear to sympathise with the rebels, are now preparing to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the region's independence declaration on September 6.   There are strong rumours that former Chechen rebel leader Dzhokhar Dudayev might show up for the occasion.   Dudayev was reported to have been killed by a Russian rocket in April and he was succeeded by Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev.   But radical rebel field commander Salman Raduyev swore last month that Dudayev was alive and many rebels in Grozny believe this is true.   "Dudayev is alive.   I saw him personally and I had my photograph taken with him in June," Batya said.   But he did not have the photograph with him.   "Of course, he will reappear on independence day," he said. 
5266 !GCAT !GVIO  Top Russian officials have concluded that security chief Alexander Lebed's peace plan for breakaway Chechnya needs a lot of additional work, Interfax news agency said on Thursday.   But Interfax, quoting the press spokesman of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, gave no details of what needed to be done.   The agency also said Lebed, who has already agreed a ceasefire in the breakaway region, would travel to Chechnya on Friday.    Interfax said Chernomyrdin had convened the top officials at the request of President Boris Yeltsin, currently on vacation outside Moscow.   Lebed and Chernomyrdin were joined by Russia's defence and interior ministers, as well as the head of the FSB security service and the justice minister.   "Alexander Lebed's plan of action...in Chechnya needs a lot of work," the agency said.   Lebed has been in Moscow since last weekend seeking Yeltsin's backing for the plan.   He has yet to met the president. 
5267 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !E51 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GENV  Bulgaria will not be able to meet European Union demands to repair its reactor number four at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant now because of tests on another reactor, the country's energy minister said on Thursday.   "At the moment we are testing power generator equipment for reactor number three and if the results prove positive we will start to repair reactor number four," Roumen Ovcharov told reporters.   He said the same equipment was installed in reactor number two last year, but some irregularities occured during operation tests.   The irregularities have been fixed and the equipment was installed on reactor number three.   Last month Bulgaria signed a financial memorandum with the European Union (EU) for receiving a grant of 10 million ECUs as compensation for switching off its four 440-megawatt reactors and buying alternative energy resources and saving energy.   Sofia pledged to close reactors one through four when its the power system would allow.   No term had been set.   Bulgaria, currently in the throes of an economic crisis, imports some 80 percent of its energy resources and relies for half its power on the Kozloduy plant which has four 440-megawatt reactors and two more modern 1,000 megawatt reactors.   Bulgaria switched off reactor number one on May 15 for tests of the vessel's metal following pressure from the EU, which is concerned about its safety.   "I can not guarantee that Bulgaria would be able to avoid electricity cuts during the coming winter due to delayed tests on reactor one," Ovcharov said.   If delays of the tests, which are carried out by foreign experts continue, the reactor may not operate during the winter season, said Ovcharov.   -- Sofia Newsroom +359 2 84561 
5268 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  Slovenian Foreign Minister Davorin Kracun said on Thursday the country planned to hold a referendum before joining the European Union.   "We will hold a referendum once the negotiations with the European Union are over," Kracun told a news conference.   Slovenia hopes to start membership talks with the EU next year and expects to be in the first group of countries to be included in the 15-member bloc's enlargement to the east.   Kracun said Slovenia also wanted to further develop its relations with NATO in order to be among in the first group of ex-communist countries to join the miiltary alliance.   "Those who know Slovenia are in favour of us joining NATO in the first wave.   Others sometimes forget about us, so we plan to be even more active and dynamic in international relations," Kracun said.   He said he was glad NATO officials were meeting in Ljubljana on October 11 and 12, and hoped such a gathering would further improve links between Slovenia and the 16-member alliance. 
5269 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's ruling Moslem party sought international assurances on upcoming elections on Thursday, one day after urging refugees not to cast absentee ballots until voter registration irregularities were resolved.   More than 641,000 Bosnian refugees, the majority of them Moslems, had been scheduled to start voting by absentee ballot on Wednesday.   It was unclear what percentage had responded to SDA's call.   Election day inside Bosnia is September 14.   Halid Genjac, a spokesman for the ruling Moslem nationalist SDA party, said on Thursday no refugee should be allowed to vote from anywhere other than his pre-war place of residence.   He also called for international guarantees that no Bosnian faction which becomes a party to the joint governmental institutions being formed through the elections would be able to stall action by refusing to particiapte.   "In this moment we do not have sufficient guarantees to be able to wait for election results with ease," Genjac said.   "We are asking for those guarantees and international community has to give them." 
5270 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Lech Walesa emerged from Poland's political shadows on Thursday to back the Solidarity union's campaign in parliamentary polls next year, but made clear he would not stand for election himself.   "I am putting myself at its disposal, with my contacts in this country and abroad...but not for my own benefit," Walesa told an opposition rally in the northern port city Szczecin.   "I will be neither a lower house deputy nor a senator."   Walesa led the creation of Solidarity as the Soviet bloc's first free trade union 16 years ago, but after steering it to victory over communism in 1989 he quit to become Poland's first democratically-elected president.   Since his narrow defeat by ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski in November presidential polls, Walesa has kept a low profile -- telling the deeply splintered centre-right opposition parties to form a credible alliance by themselves.   At the rally commemorating Solidarity's August 1980 birth, Walesa returned to the fray against the ruling coalition of the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) and the smaller Polish Peasant Party (PSL), in power since 1993.   He threw his weight behind the Solidarity Election Action (AWS), an alliance of the union and dozens of small parties which opinion polls indicate stands the best chance of winning elections due in September 1997.   "I greet sincerely and with hope the formation of AWS," he told the rally, before laying flowers at a monument to workers shot by communist forces during protests in 1970.   Although Solidarity's patriarch is not a formal leader of the union, with which he has quarrelled in the past, he issued strong advice on how it should proceed, insisting that trade unionists should be in parliament but not in government.   Walesa said policies should be formulated by political parties and urged the union to mend fences with the liberal centrist Union for Freedom (UW), led by many of Solidarity's pre-1989 intellectual advisors.   Solidarity, with populist economic policies and patriotic pro-Roman Catholic Church traditions, is suspicious of the UW's strongly free-market principles and has so far concluded only a non-aggression pact with the party, not an alliance.   Walesa has open contempt for the radical new rightist Movement for the Reconstruction of Poland (ROP).   "The UW is the strongest party with the greatest intellectual potential.   Whether we have complaints about it or not, it should be in Solidarity Election Action," he said.   Walesa offered his own team of advisers, the Lech Walesa Institute, to draft a legislative programme for the new AWS.   This would include more sweeping privatisation than the current government programme, providing the wealth for a new social insurance scheme, a reform of the health service and a measure restricting government interference in the economy.   Other reforms he listed concerned local government, the civil service, tax, agriculture, public order and education.   Walesa won almost 50 percent of the votes in November but studies showed a section of voters actively disapproved of him -- prompting rivals to say he should avoid direct campaigning.   An August opinion poll by the private PBS centre suggested the ruling SLD was backed by 28 percent of voters and the Solidarity alliance 23 percent, while ROP, the UW and the Peasants had 12 percent each. 
5271 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A policeman has been shot dead in Serbia's troubled Kosovo province, Serbian police said on Thursday.   It was the fifth attack on police this month in the southern province, a hot spot of ethnic tension where the Albanian majority have boycotted Serbian institutions and set up their own, which are considered illegal by Belgrade.   The slain policeman Ejup Bajgora, 42, was an Albanian who had served in the Serbian police and state security since 1987, police told the Yugoslav news agency Tanjug.   He was shot on Wednesday afternoon as he stepped off a bus near his family home in the village of Donje Ljupce in the municipality of Podujevo.   Just hours before Wednesday's shooting, three hand grenades were thrown at a police station in Celopek.   They caused damage but no casualties, police said.   The Serbian authorities blame Albanian dissidents for the recent spate of attacks.   None of the attackers has been caught.   Kosovo's autonomy was revoked in 1987 and Serb police forces cracked down on Albanian protests.   Albanian moderates want autonomy restored but hardliners want to join up with neighbouring Albania.   The Serbs, who make up 10 percent of the province's 1.8 million people, claim Kosovo as the cradle of their culture. 
5272 !GCAT !GPOL  Polish Prime Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz said on Thursday the ruling left-wing coalition's two parties are near agreement on a cabinet reshuffle linked to a coming reorganisation of ministries.   Till now the reform, scrapping several ministries, creating new ones and merging others to streamline decision-making, has divided the parties which have shared power since 1993 despite repeated conflicts.   The hottest argument concerns appointments to the powerful new treasury and economy ministries as well as the finance portfolio, whose role, though diminished, will remain crucial.   Cimoszewicz said his party, the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), and the smaller Polish Peasant Party (PSL) neared a deal, on a lineup of ministers after the reform, during a late-night meeting on Wednesday.   "It is my deep conviction that both sides have come closer to an agreement, with their positions almost identical," Cimoszewicz told private Radio Zet.   "However, the results of the negotiations have yet to be accepted by the presidiums of the parties," he said.   Senior Peasant party official Franciszek Stefaniuk confirmed the assessment, saying.   "Our positions have indeed converged."   The Peasant party fears that the stronger ex-communists may use the reshuffle to gain more power within the cabinet, now roughly divided in half between the two sides.   Trade-offs inside the coalition could lead to the dismissal of Finance Minister Grzegorz Kolodko.   Kolodko, a non-party technocrat linked to the ex-communists and the author of the government's economic policy, has won praise from international financial institutions for maintaining economic stablity and growth.   The Peasant Party wants implementation of the reform to involve the dismissal of the entire current cabinet and appointment of a new one, although influential Agriculture Minister Roman Jagielinski has argued against this approach.   But Cimoszewicz insisted on a gradual replacement of ministers from October, when the months-long process of creating new ministries is due to begin. 
5273 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  Russia intends to tighten controls on imported food, but top sanitary officials said on Thursday they were aiming to improve health, not protect Russia's inefficient farms and food industry.   "We are in no way linked to Russia's agricultural sector, and our main concern is to protect the health of Russians," Gennady Onishchenko, acting head of Russia's State Sanitary and Epidemiological Controls Committee, told a news conference.   "Food influences everything, even the genetic potential of the country," he said.   The share of imported food in Russians' diet varies from around 50 percent in Moscow to over 80 percent in the remote northern and eastern regions, officials said.   Onishenko said the goverment was backing a bill on foodstuffs and safety which, after adoption by parliament, "will put obstacles in the way of low-quality food to Russia".   Food imported from China will be given the most thorough checks, a committee press release said.   Russia has already suspended some food imports because of health concerns.   Earlier this year top officials from Russia and the United States were involved in a tug-of-war over an import ban on cheap chicken legs from the U.S.   Russian officials said then the legs -- dubbed "Bush legs" after George Bush, under whose presidency Russia started massive imports of the product -- contained salmonella bacteria and had little nutritional value.   The conflict was resolved after U.S. poultry producers agreed to introduce routine checks at their factories.   Salmonella has so far not been found in "Bush legs", said Vladimir Chiburayev, a department chief at the committee.   "There could have been an element of lobbying in this to back domestic poultry producers," he told Reuters.   The committee said its monitoring showed a high level of contamination of imported food with foreign elements.   But official figures released at the news conference showed a different picture.   In the first quarter of the year sanitary officials confiscated 5,241 tonnes of low-quality foodstuffs, including only 139 tonnes of imports.   "The percentage of rejected products among the imported ones is much lower than among those produced in Russia, but we insist it must be even less," said Onishchenko.   "This can't be called lobbying.   We clearly understand that our inefficient agriculture would have provided the Russians only with enough bread, potatoes and water, if it had not been for imports.   But if another country has a food surplus, it must sell Russia only premium quality," Chiburayev added. 
5274 !GCAT !GHEA  Viral meningitis has killed 10 people in Romania's capital Bucharest this month in what doctors said on Thursday was the worst epidemic of its type in the country for a decade.   Some 170 middle-aged and elderly people with the disease were being treated in hospital, doctors said.   Doctor Emanuil Ceausu, head of Bucharest's Victor Babes hospital for infectious diseases, said the epidemic had been caused by a virus yet to be identified.   Illness from viral meningitis lasts around a week.   It affects the gastro-intestinal tract, causing high fever, headache and vomiting.   In 1986 Romania suffered an epidemic of the more dangerous bacterial meningitis which has killed some 15,000 people in central Africa this year. 
5275 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL !GREL  Poland's left-dominated parliament drew closer on Thursday to liberalising a restrictive abortion law, despite opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and its political allies.   A bill, backed by the dominant ex-communists in the ruling coalition and a leftist opposition party, would allow women to end pregnancies before the 12th week if they could not afford to raise a child or had other personal problems.   The present law, passed in 1993 under a centre-right government, allows abortions only if the pregnancy threatens the woman's life or health or results from rape or incest or when the foetus is irreparably damaged.   After an emotional debate late into the night, the lower house voted to send its proposed amendments to the current tough anti-abortion law back to a parliamentary committee for final scrutiny of details.   Its final vote is likely either on Friday or in two weeks.   Supporters of the change say the existing law causes repeated personal tragedies, such as bungled back-street abortions or babies abandoned by unwilling mothers, and that those women with money now simply go abroad for abortions.   "Enough hypocrisy, enough of this most restrictive law in Europe," deputy Izabella Sierakowska of the ruling Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) declared in the debate.   PAP news agency said she branded current rules as "unfair, crime-inducing, hypocritical, ineffective."   Opponents of the change, including members of the SLD's smaller Peasant party partner in the ruling leftist coalition, put forward Catholic arguments that abortion is murder.   Although about 90 percent of Poles are formally Catholics, opinion surveys suggest most favour liberalisation of the law.   Parliament passed similar amendments last year, but they were vetoed by then-president Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic.   Walesa's close defeat in November elections by ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski cleared the way for reform, as the secular-minded new president supports the initiative.   During a mass pilgrimage to Poland's holiest shrine at Czestochowa this week, the country's Primate, Cardinal Jozef Glemp said that there was no place at Catholic altars for those who supported the alterations to the law.   "Those who support legal acts propagating murder exclude themselves from the community of the faithful," he said.   The amended law contains safeguards to prevent a return to the situation before the 1989 fall of communism, when abortion was easily available and often treated as an alternative to contraception.   Women must first undergo counselling and a three-day period for reflection.   It provides for penalties of up to 10 years in jail for carrying out abortions against a woman's will or after the foetus has become viable outside her body.   The measure also calls for enforcing of sex education in secondary schools -- a measure condemned by some Catholic legislators who say the lessons will be devoid of moral instruction. 
5276 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Workers at Serbia's Zastava arms factory entered the ninth day of their protest over unpaid wages on Thursday with management accused them of rejecting talks.   "The workers keep on gathering in the centre of the town," the factory's general manager Vukasin Filipovic told Reuters.   "But they do not want to talk to anyone."   "They want to discuss in public, at their protest meetings," Filipovic said.   "And that is impossible."   The Zastava works in the central town of Kragujevac is the backbone of Serbia's defence industry, supplying the army with a whole range of weapons.   Its workers are staging protests in the town's main square demanding June and July wages and last year's holiday pay.   On Wednesday, the union demanded the resignation of the factory manager.   But Filipovic said he would not quit under pressure.   "We can talk about it and I am prepared to take all the consequences of mismanagement if any." 
5277 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Skopje press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DNEVNIK   - Will the Liberal Party, the former government coalition member and now the only opposition in parliament, boycott the local elections this fall since its new political allies the Opposition Democratic Party and the IMRO - Democratic Party for National Unity, are already preaparing such a move.   - Skopje has asked the U.N. Security Council to prolong the mandate for the U.N. protection force in Macedonia (UNPREDEP) for another six months.   The current mandate expires on Novmeber 30.   NOVA MAKEDONIJA   - The Macedonian denar will attain external convertibility in two to three years at the most, says the Governor of the National Bank of Macedonia Borko Stanoevski.   He considers that the denar is as stable as the German mark at the moment.   VECER   - Foot-and-mouth disease is still present in the village of Cejlane, near Skopje due to the resistance of the local farmers.   The farmers are not allowing the slaughter of their cattle, alleging fraud.   -- Skopje newsroom +389 91 201196 
5278 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Organisers of voting for Bosnian refugees in Yugoslavia blamed a slow postal delivery of ballot papers for a poor start to Thursday's second day of polling.   Several hours after the ballot booths opened across the country at seven a.m. (0500 GMT), not one refugee had cast a vote in the capital Belgrade.   The pattern followed the previous day's low turnout in which barely a handful came to nominate their preferred candidates for the first post-war election in Bosnia.   "I've got some information from my different teams in the field that some polling stations had two, three, four voters (on Wednesday) -- very few," said Jerome Lyraud of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is overseeing Bosnia's first post-war election.   "It is normal because most did not receive their envelopes and they will receive them today," he told Reuters.   Lyraud coordinates a team of 30 monitors supervising the refugee vote at 60 polling stations in the rump Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro.   Throughout Belgrade, OSCE election officials sat alone in empty halls with blank sheets of paper ready to record the names of voters.   The OSCE said most refugees were expected to get their ballot papers through the post, and delays in the service meant some were still waiting.   "Since the begining we knew that the voting process will take one full week... so it's not at all a problem," Lyraud said, adding that the documents should arrive in Thursday's deliveries.   About 640,000 Bosnian refugees are registered to vote in 55 countries around the world from Wednesday, August 28.   The in-country election day for Bosnia is September 14.   Polling stations have been set up for refugees in Yugoslavia, Croatia, Macedonia, Turkey and Hungary, OSCE officials said.   Even before the voting began, reports of widespread manipulation of the voter registration proceess in Yugoslavia and Bosnian Serb territory cast a shadow over the election.   The ballot, which the OSCE has described as the most complicated in history, includes six different votes: cantonal assemblies in the Moslem-Croat Federation, separate Moslem-Croat and Serb parliaments, a national House of Representatives, a Serb presidency and a collective Presidency.   On Tuesday, the OSCE announced it was cancelling municipal elections because of irregularities in the registrations of Serb refugees.   Officials alleged Serb authorities had pushed their refugees to register in strategic towns that had been "cleansed" of their Moslem majorities before the war.   The apparent aim of the engineering was to stack the electoral odds in favour of the Serbs who were fighting to seal political control of towns they won in war. 
5279 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Thursday morning's Albanian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   KOHA JONE   - The United States considers it indispensable that a new general election should take place in Albania after local polls in October whereas the European Union considers it only to be a possibility.   - Lord Finsberg, head of a Council of Europe delegation to discuss Albania's local ballot after a disputed parliamentary poll, says local polls will finally determine the course of the relations between Albania and the European forum.   - Lord Finsberg has asked the main opposition Socialist Party to take up its seats in parliament but they say their congress has decided to stick to the boycott.   - A court ordered the further detention of three women for prostitution.   They were arrested during a raid in a house where sex had been sold for more than 30 years.   - Albania's trade deficit for the second quarter of 1996 is higher at 16.6 billion leks although both exports and imports have increased.   - The consumer price index for the first half of 1996 is 31.69 percent higher than the 1993.   - Albanian agriculture is totally lacking subsidies and credits.   - Prime Minister Aleksander Meksi vows the government will adopt most severe measures to punish those who scratched defaced 300-year-old frescoes in an Orthodox church.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - Gumnen, driving by in a motorcycle, riddled with bullets the car of a police chief.   He was unharmed as he had left the car just minutes before.   - Luigi Vittorio Ferraris, an envoy of Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, will hear on Thursday the proposals and objections of Albanian parties on the new electoral law.   - Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos will inaugurate a new Greek consulate in the bordering southermost town of Gjirokaster and meet Albanian leaders over the weekend.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - The paper alleges that only the tip of the iceberg of corruption at Albanian television has been uncovered. 
5280 !C42 !CCAT !E14 !E141 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The average net wage in Romania rose by 13.5 percent in July from June following wage indexation and compensation to cover a 7.5-percent inflation rise, National Statistics Board (CNS) data showed.    ROMANIAN AVERAGE WAGES JULY 96 JUNE 96  JULY 95    monthly change  +13.5  +0.2  +6.6    yr/yr change +52.7  +43.4  +53.2    wage in ROL  333,797  294,148  218,535   NOTE: The CNS said purchasing power rose by 5.6 percent in July from June and by 8.8 percent year-on-year.   It said July's purchasing power was 73.8 percent of the 1990 level.   Employees in the banking sector had the highest net wage of 621,291 lei on average in July when workers in the health and social security sectors had the lowest pay of 235,710 lei.   Romania employed 5.875 million people at end-July, 10,200 more than the previous month.   -- Mirela Eremia, Bucharest Newsroom 40-1 3120264 
5281 !GCAT !GPOL  Russian President Boris Yeltsin is working on documents at his holiday retreat and plans no meetings with officials on Thursday, his press secretary told RIA news agency.   Sergei Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin was at his Rus residence, a hunting lodge used by former Soviet leaders some 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Moscow.   Over the past two months Yeltsin, re-elected for a second term on July 3, has all but disappeared from the public eye, triggering speculation in the media and markets that he is ill or unable to control Russia's political situation.   The Kremlin denies the rumours, saying he is merely tired after a tense election campaign. 
5282 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Ion Iliescu, in power since the 1989 fall of communism, on Wednesday launched his bid to lead Romania into the next century, promising prosperity and stability if elected in November polls.   Iliescu, 66, told an audience of ruling party figures, celebrities and businessmen in a speech to launch his candidacy that the most painful moments of change were over for the still- poor Balkan country.   "Romania has left behind it the economic and social chaos of the first years of reform and is now in a fresh moment of change," said the former communist functionary who ousted Stalinist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in a bloody revolt.   In a speech short on inspired rhetoric and specific pledges he defended his record for fostering steady economic development, blasted Romania's newly rich for conspicuous consumption and promised an attack on corruption.   "The key point of my platform is to modernise the national economy in line with changes in contemporary society," he said.   While opinion polls cast him as favourite to retain power, the obstacles in his way were symbolised by a heckler who interrupted the opening moments of his speech to complain that Iliescu was seeking a third term in office.   The Romanian constitution limits Presidents to two four-year terms.   Although Iliescu was elected both in 1990 and 1992 he argues the new constitution, introduced in 1991, applies only to his second ballot victory.   The opposition argues that Iliescu is trying to cling to power at all costs, and will contest his candidacy in the courts.   It promises quicker reform and says the President has blocked the changes need to rescue Romania from the economic doldrums.   Opposition leaders say Iliescu is a late and reluctant convert to capitalism, moving awkwardly from communist rhetoric only at the behest of Western governments who have threatened to shun Romania.   Iliescu's speech committed him to fresh efforts to reform and privatise Romania's still largely state-run economy.   "We want to build a healthy market economy...not one of black-marketeers and unscrupulous dealers," said Iliescu.   "Unfortunately many who accumulated capital have preferred to squander it on luxury, ostentatiously displaying their personal wealth rather than reinvesting into production and creating new jobs," he told his audience.   Iliescu made little mention of his ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR), in what analysts said was a conscious move to appeal for cross-party support and avoid association with the PDSR, which has been tarnished by corruption scandals.   For the same reason his campaign will be run by a high-profile team of career diplomats, not party managers, who have already sought to portray Iliescu as a statesman and national father figure ahead of the November 3 vote.   Iliescu's main rivals are Emil Constantinescu, an academic standing for the opposition Democratic Convention bloc, and Romania's first post-communist premier, Petre Roman.   Electioneering for the third post-communist presidential and parliamentary polls officially starts on September 4.   REUTER 
5283 !GCAT  Here are highlights of stories in Romania's press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   Business:   CAPITAL   - Private companies in oil sector plan creation of national oil and gas company.   - Defence Ministry plans creation of bank to give credits to army personnel.   ROMANIA LIBERA   - Banca Agricola SA plans to launch hard-currency credit cards to be used by corporates.   ADEVARUL   - Amount of 10.1 billion lei was included in this year's state budget which is intended to subsidise interest on CEC savings bank credits for housing construction.   - Total foreign investment in Romania was $1.945 billion on August 15.   TINERETUL LIBER   - ARO SA car maker plans to build pick-up trucks in cooperation with South Korean Daewoo.   ZIUA   - Romania's inflation rate this year will be 30 percent from initially forecast 20 percent and GDP growth will be 4.8 percent instead of 4.5 percent, according to rectified 1996 state budget.   LIBERTATEA   - Communications Ministry set procedures to award GSM licence to winner of tender planned later this year.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - Sharp rise in prices is expected for October and December after energy and fuel price hikes in July.   - Representatives of U.S. plane maker McDonnell Douglas are visiting Romanian aircraft maker Avioane SA discussing cooperation prospects.   General:   ROMANIA LIBERA   - Newspaper publishes draft Romanian-Hungarian treaty as agreed after the last round of negotiations on August 21-22.   - One page report on child sex abuse, paedophilia and prostitiution in Romania.   ADEVARUL   - President Ion Iliescu must clearly explain to the people why he considers he deserves a new presidential mandate, says Adrian Uncu in an editorial wondering what Iliescu will accomplish in four years that he has not done in the previous six.   - Newspaper publishes excerpts from President Iliescu's speech at his official launch ceremnoy for a new mandate in the November 3 polls.   EVENIMENTUL ZILEI   Transmission was aborted   Transmission was aborted 
5284 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Sarajevo press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   OSLOBODJENJE   - International officials send a letter to Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic warning him to stop hampering preparations for a foreign-sponsored independent television network in the country.   - Trial in absentia for renegade Moslem leader from northwest Bosnia, Fikret Abdic, due to begin September 4 in Bihac.   Abdic rebelled against government forces and ran his own mini-state until government army overrun it in 1995.   DNEVNI AVAZ   - Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic to meet with Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic in early September to discuss improving diplomatic relations between two countries, economic issues and missing persons.   U.S. to assist in this first bilateral meeting.   VECERNJE NOVINE   - First of 1,200 international election supervisors arrive in Sarajevo and begin dispersing to polling stations throughout Bosnia to prepare for September 14 elections.   --Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864. 
5285 !GCAT !GVIO  Russia's security supremo Alexander Lebed may fly to rebel Chechnya on Friday to continue talks with local separatists, Interfax news agency said on Thursday.   Lebed has sought in vain since last Sunday a clear endorsement from President Boris Yeltsin for his plan for a political settlement in the region.   He gave a warning on Wednesday that any further delays in talks could derail a military accord which is being implemented.    The agency, quoting Lebed's press service, said a final decision on the date of his trip would be taken later on Thursday.   Lebed struck a military accord with the separatists last week only to return suddenly to Moscow on Sunday saying he needed approval from Yeltsin and other top state officials for a broader plan dealing with political issues.   Yeltsin, on holiday outside Moscow, appeared reluctant to meet Lebed or even talk to him by telephone.   The president's press secretary said on Wednesday that Yeltsin was studying written documents and needed more expert advice. 
5286 !GCAT  These are the main stories in Lithuania's newspapers on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LIETUVOS RYTAS   - The prosecutor's office has laid charges against the director general of Lithuanian Airlines Stasys Dailydka and two other high ranking company officials for illegally monitoring the telephone conversations of their personnel.   - Parliamentary chancellor Neris Germinas has been appointed as a foreign policy advisor to Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas.   - Lithuania will issue a $50 million bond through Merryl Lynch to finance the country's budget deficit.   - The launching of the second stage of privatization got off to a bad start on Wednesday when the National Stock Exchange recieved no bids for the state-owned shares put on auction.   RESPUBLIKA   - The rightwing Lithuanian Democratic Party will likely form a coalition with the Nationalists and the Union of Political Prisoners and Deportees.   LIETUVOS AIDAS   - German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel strongly endorsed the Balts' aspirations for EU membership during a meeting Wednesday with his Baltic counterparts.   - The fifth anniversay of Chechen "independence" will be celebrated in Lithuania next week.   --Riga Newsroom +3717-22 66 93 
5287 !GCAT  These are the main stories in Latvian newspapers on Thursday.   Prepared for Reuters by the Co-operation Fund.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy:   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - German Foreign Miniister Klaus Kinkel met in Leipzig with the foreign ministers of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to mark the fifth anniversary of the restablishment of diplomatic relations between his country and the Baltic states.   - Minister of Education and Science Maris Grinblats says Finance Minister Aivars Kreitus deliberately misrepresented the ministry's budget estimate to the press.   - The Privatization Agency has prepared a list of 27 state-owned enterprises, which are scheduled to be privatised partly for vouchers.   The public offer is due in October.   - General Director of the Privatisation Agency said that intensive privatisation is likely to be over by July 1, 1998.   So far the agency has put up for sale 1100 public enterprises and state-owned shares in private companies and started privatisation of 605 others.   DIENA   - Two warrant officers of the Latvian army headquarters battalion have been dismissed from military service for driking on the job.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
5288 !GCAT  Here are highlights of stories reported by Hungary's press, based on information by Nepszabadsag's Hungary Around the Clock service.   For further details on how to subscribe to Hungary Around the Clock, please contact Monica Kovacs at (361) 351 2440 or fax your request to (361) 351 7141.   ALL PAPERS   - Speaker of Parliament Zoltan Gal confirmed Wednesday that a special session of Parliament will be held next Tuesday to debate issues relating to the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty.   @   - The parliamentary group of the Socialist Party proposes that Parliament should ease the burdens imposed on low and mid-level incomes next year.   -Three opposition parties, the Democratic Forum, Christian Democrats and Young Democrats, signed a declaration on Wednesday pledging to strengthen and expand joint opposition action in Parliament.   - Bela Marko, president of the Democratic Federation of Hungarians in Romania said that his party is to arrange another Hungarian summit in Hungary on September 4.   @   - A Ministry of Industry and Trade official said the Ministry anticipates a 10-11 per cent rise in investments in coming years.   - Hungary has largely conformed with the expectations of the European Union in the sphere of legal harmonisation of environmental protection but certain concrete tasks remain to be accomplished, said the minister of environmental protection.   - The yields of both one-month and three-month treasury bills decreased further at this week's auctions.   @   -Inter-Continental Corp. has won the tender to buy 95 per cent of Forum Hotel.   Together with the price of the remaining 14 hotels of what was formerly the HungarHotels chain, the State Privatisation and Holding Co. will take in $101.8 million in all.   VILAGGAZDASAG   - The cabinet is expected today to debate topics related to the financing of the health sector by social insurance, as well as new bills on securities, credit institutions, financial enterprises and state supervision of money and capital markets.   @   - Six investors will be invited to tender for the privatisation of the Hungarian Credit Bank.   - The price of compensation coupons hit a one-year high of HUF 431 yesterday on the Budapest Stock Exchange.   MAGYAR HIRLAP   - The coalition consultative council, grouping senior officials from the two governing coalition parties, will meet today.   @   - Private individuals and enterprises will have the opportunity to purchase surplus equipment offered for sale by IFOR troops stationed in Hungary through tender from next month.   - The European Society of Medical and Health Sociology opens a conference in Budapest today.   MAGYAR NEMZET   - The board of directors of the International Monetary Fund approved Wednesday the first programme report on the state of the Hungarian economy.   @   - The bank and credit consolidation of the past five years cost the country more than HUF 350 billion, the State Audit Office concludes in a report adding the sum is the result of a series of errors and irregularities.   NAPI GAZDASAG   - A considerable increase in Hungarian energy prices is inevitable and delays only result in a halt in investments by foreign owners in the energy sector, commented Rudolf Gruber, CEO of the Austrian firm EVN, which has a stake in Kogaz.   - Budapest newsroom +36 1 266 2410 
5289 !GCAT !GPOL  Few in the Kazakh capital Almaty want to believe a plan to move the first city to Akmola, a small, crumbling Soviet town stranded in an ocean of inhospitable steppe.   But government officials are determined to go ahead.   "Those who don't believe it will believe it," growled Nikolai Makievksy with Bolshevik firmness.   "Akmola will be one of the most attractive cities of the 21st century," he said.   Makievsky, a tough-talking deputy prime minister, heads a commission charged with moving the capital, to be completed by 2000.   Surrounded by charts and architectural plans in a squat administrative building in Akmola, around 1,200 km (745 miles) northwest of Almaty, Makievsky said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and several key ministries would move next year.   He expected Almaty's population of around 1.5 million to drop to about 800,000.   Almaty's budget will fall by 12 billion tenge ($179 million) a year.   Building of a new presidential residence in Akmola is well underway.   A picture of a gleaming 20-storey hotel, the "Astana" or "Capital", stands near a vacant lot in the centre of the town where Turkish construction company Okan Holding has begun work.   But Almaty officials hum and haw evasively about the move.   Calls to ministries have yet to yield the response: "Gone to Akmola."   Almaty's business sophisticates, clutching mobile phones, laugh off the idea.   "Akmola the capital?   Never," said 35-year-old Viktor, the busy owner of a building firm who says he has already too much work in Almaty.   "Who's ever heard of Akmola?"   he said.   Diplomats are privately appalled at having to give up the few comforts they have such as trekking and downhill skiing in the breathtaking Tien Shan mountains which tower over Almaty.   Clouds of mosquitos invade the sea of steppes around Akmola in the baking summers.   Siberian winds lash the town in winter where temperatures drop to -40 degrees centigrade (-40 Fahrenheit).   And besides the inevitable statue of Lenin, there is not much to see in Akmola, which means "white tomb".   "We'll move when the government moves," said one ambassador unenthusiastically, who had just been hauled in by Makievsky's commission to hear an unwanted progress report.   It is not the first time sleepy Akmola has been rudely awakened with a grandiose plan.   In 1954, Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev sent hundreds of thousands of largely Russian and Ukrainian volunteers to plough up 250,000 square km (96,530 square miles) of Kazakh steppe in the "Virgin Lands" campaign.   Akmola was declared the centre of the campaign and renamed Tselinograd, or "Virgin Lands City".   Wind erosion and poor cultivation techniques turned much of the land back into steppe.   But faded campaign slogans -- "Praise the hands that smell of bread!"   -- still dot the town.   Conditions are better than in Khruschev's day, when Virgin Land volunteers and their families slept in tents through the first howling winter.   But not much.   Many still collect water from standpipes.   So why the move?   "Moving the capital will decide many questions...It will open the road to full market economic conditions in the republic," Makievsky said.   Nazarbayev has cited Akmola's central location as better for transport links with neighbouring Russia and the city is less earthquake-prone than Almaty.   There is also the unspoken political aim to tie down the north of this vast Central Asian nation.   The north boasts valuable mining deposits, heavy industry and agricultural land.   But the area, which has a long border with Russia, is predominantly peopled by ethnic Russians who, having fallen on hard times, have fond memories of their Soviet past when Moscow was the centre.   The main effect so far of the planned move has been to send Akmola's property prices soaring.   A three-room flat which recently cost $3,000 now sells for $25,000.   "Our northern regions will revive," said 26-year-old Azamat, a Kazakh police officer on duty in the centre of Akmola who approves of the move.   "Many other states have moved their capitals, for instance Turkey," he said.   The comparison with Turkey is apt, for while Nazarbayev may be able to make Akmola the political heart of the country, Almaty is likely to remain its centre of business.   But for 70-year-old Paulina Savina, a hunched Russian woman dragging a load of firewood through the centre, the capital appeared a long way off.   "What?   They say say the capital will move here?"   she said on learning of the plan.   "When will bread be cheaper?"   she barked and stomped off home. 
5290 !GCAT !GVIO  The Mexican government on Thursday condemned leftist guerrilla "terror" attacks which killed at least 12 people and wounded more than 20 in the biggest rebel assaults in Mexico in more than two years.   Witnesses and officials said scores of masked, heavily-armed guerrillas from the self-styled Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) attacked police and military posts in several states.   The attacks, which appeared to be closely coordinated, were focused on six towns in Guerrero and Oaxaca states.   They marked the most serious fighting since the Zapatista rebellion erupted in the southeastern state of Chiapas in January 1994.   Deputy Interior Minister Arturo Nunez said the rebels also attacked an army post in the central state of Mexico near the capital, in which three people were wounded, and carried out propaganda actions in Chiapas and Tabasco states.   Radio station Radio Red said the rebels tried to sabotage a hydroelectric power plant in Puebla state.   There was no official confirmation of that report.   "Even the most sophisticated information and intelligence apparatus cannot always detect the operation of organisations of a clearly terrorist character," Nunez told a news conference, adding that the EPR had used "violent, cruel and cowardly" tactics.   Nunez said 10 members of the security forces and two rebels were killed in the attacks while 22 people -- policemen, soldiers and civilians -- were injured.   Several rebels were wounded in Oaxaca and were being questioned, he added.   Earlier, officials in Guerrero and Oaxaca had given a death toll of 13 with at least 21 wounded.   Nunez identified the EPR, which emerged just two months ago in Guerrero, as the armed wing of a clandestine radical leftist group known as PROCUP, which first appeared in the early 1970s.   Known members of PROCUP would be taken in for questioning, he said.   The Zapatistas, who are in peace talks with the government, have said they have nothing to do with the EPR.   Ruling party legislator Pablo Salazar said President Ernesto Zedillo, in a meeting on Thursday with lawmakers and security officials, made a clear distinction between the Zapatistas' willingness to talk to the government and the EPR's "terror" tactics.   Mexican financial markets, already hit by a drop in U.S. stock prices, fell after the attacks.   The main stock market index closed almost 76 points, or 2.23 percent, lower.   The peso ended four centavos weaker at 7.54 against the dollar.   The Oaxaca state government said 11 people, including sailors, police, rebels and two civilians, died in two lengthy gunfights, one near the Pacific tourist resort of Huatulco and another in the mountain town of Tlaxiaco.   Oaxaca government spokesman Roberto Santiago told Reuters the rebels had also taken hostage a policeman from Tlaxiaco and a sailor from Huatulco's naval base.   Gov. Diodoro Carrasco appealed for calm but also urged the population to be on the lookout for "possible new attacks."   About 50 rebels took part in the Tlaxiaco attack, killing at least two policemen in the town, a radio control base with a small airport, officials said.   In neighbouring Guerrero, officials said two police were gunned down in one attack and five soldiers were wounded in another on an army barracks.   Officials said the attacks appeared to be coordinated and the guerrillas numbered at least 130.   In Huatulco, around 80 gunmen attacked police posts and a naval base, killing three sailors, two policemen and two civilians, one of whom was hit by machine-gun fire as he drove by, the Oaxaca statement said.   Two rebels in olive-green uniforms were killed when police sought to repel the assault.   In Tixtla, Guerrero, about 10 miles (16 km) east of the state capital Chilpancingo, policeman Felipe Epitazio, sweeping away blood from the steps of the police station, said the rebel attack by about 30 fighters was very well organised.   "I didn't believe in them at all, but seeing them I realised that the guerrillas do exist," he said.   "They are fanatical and dedicated, they have killing in their hearts...it was a commando that knew about strategy and all about guerrilla war." 
5291 !GCAT !GVIO  At least 13 people were killed in the biggest rebel assaults in Mexico in more than two years when scores of masked guerrillas attacked police and military posts in two southern states, officials and witnesses said on Thursday.   The attacks, which appeared to be closely coordinated, were in six towns in Guerrero and Oaxaca states.   They marked the most serious fighting since the Zapatista rebellion erupted in the southeastern state of Chiapas in January 1994.   This time, witnesses said, the attacks were launched by a well-armed new rebel force calling itself the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) that emerged two months ago.   The Zapatistas, who are in peace talks with the government, have said they have nothing to do with the EPR.   Mexican financial markets, already hit by a drop in U.S. stock prices, fell on the news.   The main stock market index shed 68 points, or two percent.   By early afternoon the peso weakened by almost four centavos to 7.534 against the dollar.   The Mexican peso collapsed in December 1994, losing half its value, when mounting lack of confidence in the government's ability to pay its debts combined with Zapatista rebel movements to spark a major exodus of funds from Mexico.   There was little comment on the attacks from the government of President Ernesto Zedillo, who is due to give his second State of the Nation address on Sunday.   Asked if the government was worried about the attacks, Deputy Interior Minister Arturo Nunez told government news agency Notimex: "Of course.   We are working on it."   The Oaxaca state government said 11 people, including sailors, police, rebels and two civilians, died in two lengthy gunfights, one near the Pacific tourist resort of Huatulco and another in the mountain town of Tlaxiaco.   Oaxaca government spokesman Roberto Santiago told Reuters the rebels had also taken hostage a policeman from Tlaxiaco and a sailor from Huatulco's naval base.   Gov. Diodoro Carrasco appealed for calm but also urged the population to be on the lookout for "possible new attacks".   "At around 10 p.m., in the town of Tlaxiaco ... a group of approximately 50 heavily armed people, dressed as civilians but wearing dark clothing, their faces covered with handkerchiefs, suddenly burst into the centre of town and began an attack against the police," Oaxaca's government said.   At least two policemen died in the town, a radio control base with a small airport.   In neighbouring Guerrero, officials said two policeman were gunned down in one attack and five soldiers were wounded in another on an army barracks.   Officials said the attacks appeared to be coordinated and the guerrillas numbered at least 130.   In Huatulco, around 80 gunmen attacked police posts and a naval base, killing three sailors, two policemen and two civilians, one of whom was hit by machine-gun fire as he drove by, the Oaxaca statement said.   Two rebels in olive-green uniforms were killed when police sought to repel the assault.   Radio station Radio Red said three people had been arrested in Guerrero in connection with the attacks.   There was no official confirmation of the report.   The two state governments said there were a total of 21 wounded.   None appeared to be rebels.   An unidentified witness from Tlaxiaco, speaking live on Radio Red, said the rebels arrived in trucks and painted pro-EPR slogans on roads and buildings.   Then the shooting started in the main square, sending locals fleeing for cover.   Municipal buildings were riddled with bullet holes in the town of Tixtla, Guerrero, about 10 miles (16 km) east of the state capital, Chilpancingo.   Officials in the states of Guanajuato, Mexico and Tabasco denied a newspaper report that the EPR had also clashed with security forces in their states. 
5292 !GCAT !GVIO  At least 13 people were killed when scores of masked rebels struck at police and military posts in Oaxaca and Guerrero states in the biggest assaults in more than two years, officials said on Thursday.   The attacks, which appeared to be closely coordinated, were in six towns in the two southern states.   They marked the most serious fighting since the Zapatista rebellion erupted in the southeastern state of Chiapas in January 1994.   This time, witnesses said, the attacks were launched by a well-armed new rebel force calling itself the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) that emerged two months ago.   The Zapatistas, who are in peace talks with the government, have said they have nothing to do with the EPR.   Mexican financial markets dipped on the news.   The main stock market index shed 50 points, or more than one percent, and the Mexican peso weakened by more than two centavos to 7.517 against the dollar by mid-morning.   The Mexican peso collapsed in December 1994, losing half its value, when mounting lack of confidence in the government's ability to pay its debts combined with Zapatista rebel movements to spark a major exodus of funds from Mexico.   "The unsettling thing is that it (the killings) appears to be co-ordinated," analyst Felix Boni of HSBC James Capel said of the attacks.   "But it may be more of an attempt to embarrass Zedillo on the eve of his state-of-the union address."   President Ernesto Zedillo is due to give his second annual address to the nation on Sunday.   The Oaxaca state government said 11 people, including sailors, police, rebels and two civilians, died in two lengthy gunfights, one near the Pacific tourist resort of Huatulco and another in the mountain town of Tlaxiaco.   In neighbouring Guerrero, officials said two policeman were gunned down in one attack and five soldiers were wounded in another attack on an army barracks.   Officials said the incidents appeared to be coordinated and the guerrillas numbered at least 130.   "At around 10 p.m., in the town of Tlaxiaco ... a group of approximately 50 heavily armed people, dressed as civilians but wearing dark clothing, their faces covered with handkerchiefs, suddenly burst into the centre of town and began an attack against the police," Oaxaca's government said.   At least two policemen died in the town, a radio control base with a small airport.   It lies in barren mountainous land 60 miles (100 km) west of Oaxaca City, the state capital.   In Huatulco, around 80 gunmen attacked police posts and a naval base, killing three sailors, two policemen and two civilians, one of whom was hit by machine-gun fire as he drove by, the statement said.   Two rebels dressed in olive-green uniforms were killed when police sought to repel the assault.   The two state governments said there were a total of 21 wounded.   None appeared to be rebels.   An unidentified witness from Tlaxiaco, speaking live on Radio Red, said the rebels arrived in trucks and painted pro-EPR slogans on roads and buildings.   Then the shooting started in the main square, sending locals fleeing for cover.   "There was a massive gun battle," she said, adding that the fighting lasted at least an hour.   "Everyone ran, everything turned into panic.   We hid in the safest part of the house.   The town lived through an hour of sheer terror."   National teleivision network Televisa showed municipal buildings riddled with bullet holes in the town of Tixtla, Guerrero, where the police station was shot up.   Tixtla is about 10 miles (16 km) east of the state capital, Chilpancingo.   Radio reports said police and army units rushed to the parts of Oaxaca where the fighting occurred but the rebels appeared to have vanished. 
5293 !GCAT !GVIO  At least 13 people were killed when scores of masked rebels struck at police and military posts in Oaxaca and Guerrero states in the biggest assaults in more than two years, officials said on Thursday.   The attacks, which appeared to be closely coordinated, were in six towns in the two southern states.   They marked the most serious fighting since the Zapatista rebellion erupted in the southeastern state of Chiapas in January 1994.   This time, witnesses said, the attacks were launched by a well-armed new rebel force calling itself the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR) that emerged two months ago.   The Oaxaca state government said 11 people including sailors, police, rebels and two civilians died in two lengthy gunfights, one near the Pacific tourist resort of Huatulco and another in the mountain town of Tlaxiaco.   In neighbouring Guerrero, officials said, two policeman were gunned down in one attack and five soldiers were wounded when gunman opened fire on an army barracks.   Officials said the attacks appeared to be coordinated and the guerrillas numbered at least 130.   "At around 10 p.m., in the town of Tlaxiaco ... a group of approximately 50 heavily armed people, dressed as civilians but wearing dark clothing, their faces covered with handkerchiefs, suddenly burst into the centre of town and began an attack against the police," Oaxaca's government said.   At least two policemen died in the town, a radio control base with a small airport.   It lies in barren mountainous land 60 miles (100 km) west of Oaxaca City, the state capital.   In Huatulco, around 80 gunmen attacked police posts and a naval base, killing three sailors, two policemen and two civilians, one of whom was hit by machine-gun fire as he drove by, the statement said.   Two rebels dressed in olive-green uniforms were killed when police sought to repel the assault.   The two state governments said there were a total of 21 wounded.   None appeared to be rebels.   An unidentified witness from Tlaxiaco, speaking live on Radio Red, said the rebels arrived in trucks and painted pro-EPR slogans on roads and buildings.   Then the shooting started in the main square, sending locals fleeing for cover.   "There was a massive gun battle," she said, adding that the fighting lasted at least an hour.   "Everyone ran, everything turned into panic.   We hid in the safest part of the house.   The town lived through an hour of sheer terror."   National TV network Televisa showed municipal buildings riddled with bullet holes in the town of Tixtla, Guerrero, where the police station was shot up.   Tixtla is about 10 miles (16 km) east of the state capital, Chilpancingo.   Radio reports said police and army units rushed to the parts of Oaxaca where the fighting occurred but the rebels appeared to have vanished. 
5294 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  Nicaraguan coffee production is threatened by the government's failure to repair roads and bridges damaged by Hurricane Cesar, the president of Nicaragua's coffee growers union (Unicafe) said on Thursday.   "If the Ministry of Construction does not respond rapidly to fix the roads, Nicaragua's coffee production is in danger," David Robleto told Reuters.   Hurricane Cesar struck Nicaragua on July 28, washing out 297 miles (475 kms) of roads and nine bridges in the coffee growing regions of Matagalpa and Jinotega in north-central Nicaragua, he said.   Robleto said the 600,000 quintales, or 100-pound (46-kg) bags, of coffee grown in the region are in danger of being lost because the government still has not repaired the roads and bridges.   Unicafe projected Nicaragua's 1996-97 coffee production will be 1,071,649 quintales, a 10.8 percent drop over the previous coffee cycle.   --David Koop, Managua bureau, (505) 266-3300 
5295 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Three major foes of Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso on Thursday teamed up to hamper any bid he might make to change the constitution and clear the way for his re-election.   Senate President Jose Sarney and former president Itamar Franco, both with their eye on the next presidential election in 1998, and Antonio Paes de Andrade, who leads the largest party in the lower house, also criticised some of Cardoso's policies.   Their joint statement against re-election came just after an opinion poll showed Brazilians would re-elect the incumbent by a wide margin if elections were held now.   Sarney and Paes de Andrade, head of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), said the issue of re-election should only be raised in 1997 while Franco "made clear and definite his doctrinaire opposition, founded in our Republican tradition."   Wary of executive power that might smack of Portuguese colonial emperors, Brazil has not alllowed presidential re-election since the republic was founded in 1889.   Speculation that Cardoso might push for a constitutional amendment to allow incumbent presidents to seek another term after October's municipal polls has been heating up, despite official silence from the Presidential Palace.   Cardoso's foes also voiced concern, "in view of their duties to the nation, destined, according to the wishes of its founders, to be sovereign," about the opening up of the economy to world trade and the resulting damage to domestic industry.   They declared their opposition to the planned privatisation of mining giant Vale do Rio Doce, expected to be Latin America's biggest public sell-off to date.   According to the government-backed poll, Cardoso would win 41 percent of the vote.   Second was opposition Workers Party candidate Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva with 18 percent.   Sarney got 11 percent and Franco got 5 percent.   Shortly after meeting Cardoso for talks on Thursday, Franco, who was due to take up a post as Brazilian ambassador to the Organisation of American States (OAS), dismissed the survey.   "Numbers don't lie.   But liars fabricate numbers," he told reporters. 
5296 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Dominican Republic opposition parties on Thursday proposed a series of constitutional reforms to reduce the power of the presidency and change the presidential elections process.   The plan was presented to Congress by the Dominican Revolutionary Party, whose candidate lost narrowly to Dominican President Leonel Fernandez in June, and the Social Christian Reform Party, which lost the presidency this year for the first time in four elections.   Among other things, the proposed reforms would reduce to 40 percent the portion of the vote a candidate needs to obtain in the first round presidential election to win.   In this year's contest, an outright majority was required to avoid a runoff.   Other reforms include giving Congress independent authority to establish budgets, changing the way judges are appointed, altering the president's ability to rule by decree, giving ex-presidents the position of "senator for life," and giving congressional representation to Dominicans living outside the country.   An estimated 1 million Dominicans are believed to live in the United States.   A spokesman said President Leonel Fernandez, of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD), had no immediate response. 
5297 !C12 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The Supreme Court of Costa Rica temporarily has lifted a ban on imports of all Volkswagen A.G. products that a lower court imposed as part of a civil suit against the German car-maker.   "The prohibition (of Volkswagen imports) is suspended until the Constitutional Court resolves the lawsuit," court spokesman Fabian Barrantes told Reuters.   A lower court on Tuesday barred all Volkswagen cars, parts and machinery from entering Costa Rica until the company paid a $1 million deposit in a civil case in which Volkswagen is being sued by its longtime former sales representative who was replaced by another agent.   A Volkswagen representaive here said the company has 8,000 to 10,000 cars on the road with projected sales of 300 new cars for 1997.   --Jose Loria, San Jose bureau, (506) 224-2949 
5298 !C13 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  A United Nations body on Thursday said Brazil faced a "crucial challenge" in dragging a significant portion of its rural population out of extreme poverty.   The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in a report on living conditions in Brazil's vast countryside said that agrarian reform had to aim for sustainable development and not just be a simple redistribution of land.   "The reforms ... are a completely economic imperative, as they have been in other countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas," the FAO said.   The report coincided with a slamming indictment of the government's land reform policies by seven Christian churches, which on Wednesday called on President Fernando Henrique Cardoso to condemn "day-to-day violence" in the countryside.   Thirty-six people have died so far this year in conflicts over land in the Brazilian countryside, including 19 landless peasants massacred by police in April in the northern state of Para.   The FAO said: "Rising pressure for agrarian reform and the performance of the government in removing judicial, bureaucratic and political obstacles which impede its acceleration place Brazilian society before a crucial challange."   It urged the government to concentrate on encouraging the establishment of family-run smallholdings which it said were actually more productive than the vast spreads owned by the elite.   Furthermore, it said that small farms, accounting for some 75 percent of all agricultural enterprises, employed 59 percent of rural workers.   Cardoso has vowed to settle 280,000 landless families by the end of his term in 1998.   But the militant Landless Movement, which claims to represent 4.8 million families, has said the government was not doing enough.   In their letter on Wednesday to Cardoso and the Brazilian people, the churches warned that the problem of land distribution was one of the most serious facing Brazil.   They also demanded an end to the traditional impunity enjoyed by gunmen and police who routinely resort to violence to help local landowners kick squatters off their property. 
5299 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GSCI  Brazil announced on Thursday it will launch "in the next few months" the first prototype of its long-awaited satellite-launching rocket, taking the country a step closer to its dream of a place in space.   "I believe that we are now entering cycle favourable to research and construction of technology in the area of space development," President Fernando Henrique Cardoso said at the unveiling of a ten-year Brazilian space programme.   The prototype of Brazil's Satellite Launching Vehicle (VLS) will lift off from the country's launching station in Alcantara, in the northeastern state of Maranhao, Cardoso said.   The VLS is a 65-foot (20-metre) tall, four-stage rocket which has been stuck at various stages of development for the last 15 years, thwarted by a lack of funds and a former boycott of Brazil by leading technological nations.   When ready, the VLS will carry satellites, ranging in weight from 220-770 pounds (100-350 kg), to orbits of 125-625 miles (200-1,000 km), the Brazilian Space Agency said.   A total of four prototypes are planned before the first launch of a VLS carrying Brazil's third Data Collection Satellite (SCD).   A first SCD was launched outside Brazil in 1993 and, despite its one-year life expectancy, still provides data on river levels and environmental conditions.   Brazil last week opened international bidding for the launch of a second SCD.   Brazil also hopes that Alcantara's proximity to the equator, which enables rockets to catch a ride on the Earth's centrifugal forces to enter orbit with less fuel, will win it lucrative rocket-launching contracts.   "The technological capacity to plan and construct satellites and put them in orbit with our own means is an important step in the definition of Brazil in the next century," said Strategic Affairs Secretary Ronaldo Sardenberg at Thursday's ceremony.   Until October last year, Brazil was officially sidelined from the purchase of rocket equipment by the Missile Technology Control Regime, an international group seeking to restrict nuclear weapons proliferation, because of lingering suspicions over the nuclear ambitions the 1964-85 military dictatorship.   Now, Brazil is developing and negotiating satellite and other space projects with China, the United States, France, Russia and Argentina. 
5300 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police said they found 35 metric tons of marijuana on Thursday on a ship preparing to set sail for the Netherlands from Colombia's Caribbean port of Cartagena.   They said the drug had been packed into a shipping container and was surrounded by ground coffee.   No arrests had been made, a police spokesman said. 
5301 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Brazilian Planning Ministry officials were still putting the final touches on a draft of the 1997 federal budget and would not send the document to Congress until Friday, a ministry spokeswoman said.   Earlier, the ministry announced that on Thursday it would sent the budget to Congress for approval.   Planning Minister Antonio Kandir postponed a scheduled news conference to explain the budget plan.   -- Michael Christie, Brasilia newsroom, 5561 2230358 
5302 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  About 50 Venezuelan police fired plastic bullets and tear gas on Thursday to disperse a small march by union workers, but no major injuries were reported, witnesses said.   It was the most violent incident in the capital since the government launched a tough economic program four months ago.   Police intervened when about 150 public sector workers, including firemen and health workers, blocked a main highway to protest delayed salary bonuses.   Witnesses said at least five protesters were slightly injured during the clashes which lasted about an hour.   The protest march followed a 24-hour work stoppage by about one million public sector workers on Wednesday.   Union leaders condemned the violence, the most serious since the government began an austerity program which has seen the annual inflation rate rocket to more than 112 percent. 
5303 !GCAT !GCRIM  President Eduardo Frei on Thursday commuted to life in prison the death sentence of a man convicted of raping and murdering a nine-year-old boy.   "I don't believe that to defend life and punish those who kill the state must also kill," Frei said in a brief, emotional speech, explaining why he was commuting the sentence of Cupertino Andaur.   "The consequences of his heinous actions will accompany him for the rest of his life in prison."   The execution would have been Chile's first in 11 years.   Frei's decision followed weeks of controversy on the impending execution and the death penalty, which has not been applied in Chile since 1985 when two rogue policemen were executed for a string of rapes and murders.   Politicians, church leaders, judges and human rights groups offered conflicting advice to Frei on whether to allow the execution.   Polls showed public opinion evenly split.   Frei had given no clear sign which way he would go but said at one point he would consider reprieves on a "case-by-case basis" -- implying he thought there were some cases where execution was justified.   Andaur had been due to be executed by firing squad in the next few weeks for raping and murdering Victor Zamorano Jones in the boy's bedroom after breaking into his family's Santiago home. 
5304 !GCAT !GVIO !M11 !M12 !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Co-ordinated guerrilla attacks in two southern states caused Mexican stocks to tumble and the peso to lose ground on Thursday, showing how fragile Mexico's financial markets still are.   Business leaders called for quick action, and Mexican Finance Minister Guillermo Ortiz said he hoped the attacks would be seen in their "real context."   The attacks, which left 13 dead, drove down the bolsa by more than 2.0 percent in late trade, and helped the spot peso to weaken by 4.0 centavos to 7.535/7.54 per dollar at its close.   Ortiz told reporters that the country's financial markets had been performing "reasonably" and that he hoped leftist rebel attacks that killed 13 people overnight would be seen in their "real context."   "I hope that these actions will be taken in the real context in which they are occurring," he said.   Many analysts say they believe the attacks were timed to embarrass President Ernesto Zedillo before he gives his second State of the Nation address on Sunday.   At least 13 people were killed and 21 injured when scores of masked rebels struck at police and military posts in Oaxaca and Guerrero states late Wednesday in the biggest assaults in more than two years.   A soldier and a sailor were also taken hostage, one governent official said.   Mexican business leaders said the surprise guerrilla violence could scare off foreign investment and called for a stern response from the government.   "With a belligerent group like this that uses high-powered weapons, you can't fight them with holy water," Carlos Abascal, president of the employers association, told radio station Radio Red.   The attacks were in six towns in the two southern states, and appeared to be the work of a well-armed new rebel force calling itself the Popular Revolutionary Army, which emerged two months ago.   Part of the volatilty in Mexican markets was also due to the rise in the yield on the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond.   After hitting record highs this week, profit-taking on the Mexican stock market has also been widespread.   Analysts added that the impact of the guerrilla attacks has been cushioned by improving economic conditions.   "The fragility will continue for some time.   There are still worries and volatility, but with consistent economic improvement each time the volatility will be less," said Bancomer economist Javier Maldonado.   Economists say Mexico's economy is much stronger than it was a few months ago.   Second-quarter gross domestic product came in at 7.2 percent, marking an end to the recession.   On Wednesday Banco de Mexico said the nation had a current account surplus of $641 million in the second quarter, compared with a surplus of $441 million a year before.   Earlier guerrilla attacks in Mexico have combined with economic imbalances to devastating effect.   On Jan. 1 1994 rebels in Chiapas seized six towns, starting a period of prolonged political uncertainty in Mexico.   On Dec. 19 the same year movements by Zapatista rebels and army troops in Chiapas, combined with mounting concerns about the government's ability to pay its debts and a sudden drop in investor confidence, kicked off an exodus of dollars that sparked the Mexican peso crisis and tipped the country into its deepest recession in half a century. 
5305 !GCAT !GVIO  Leftist rebels abducted three judicial officials in a rural area of northern Colombia and laid siege to a town in a mountainous area of the country's northwest overnight, authorities said on Thursday.   A spokesman for the prosecutor-general's office said the kidnappings by National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels occurred on Wednesday in Meta province, in a remote area along the country's border with Venezuela.   Police and army troops backed by helicopters were sent on Thursday to the municipality of Chiriguan where the kidnapping took place but there was no immediate word on the fate of the three men working for the prosecutor-general's elite police force, known as the Technical Investigations Unit.   In other developments, about 200 rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), armed with mortars and rockets, attacked the small town of Peque in a rugged, mountainous area of northwestern Antioquia province, police and military officials said.   They said the rebels, who launched their attack under cover of darkness at about midnight on Tuesday, destroyed the police station and other nearby buildings and knocked out a power plant and radio communications in an all-night firefight with a security force consisting of just 18 policemen.   Three policemen were wounded in the attack.   The rebel attack was the fourth on Peque since 1984.   Army reinforcements arrived in the town early on Thursday but the rebels had already retreated into the surrounding countryside.   The FARC and ELN are Colombia's largest and oldest rebel armies.   They were founded in the mid-1960s and both specialise in kidnappings.   The FARC also specialises in protection of rural drug farms and laboratories while the ELN is better known for its attacks against oil and coal installations. 
5306 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Deputies from Argentina's ruling Peronist Party denied Thursday they had undermined new tax measures by Economy Minister Roque Fernandez, promising the final bill would be identical to the original project.    The Chamber of Deputies' budget committee appeared to defy Fernandez Wednesday by dropping from his bill an article which would give the central government exclusive access to cash from new fuel taxes, rather than sharing it with provinces.   But Jorge Matzkin, leader of the Peronist bloc in the lower house, told reporters: "The final reading of the text will be exactly the same as originally planned.   What we are doing is dividing the sanction between the Senate and Deputies to advance more quickly."    Fernandez wanted all revenue from a new tax on diesel and new taxes on gasoline in his fiscal austerity package to go to shrinking a budget deficit he warns could reach $6.6 billion by year-end.   At the moment 29 percent of gasoline tax is kept by central government, the rest being shared out.   Economists reacted with alarm, saying the deputies' move could deprive the government of $800 million of badly needed tax revenue.   But Matzkin said the committee merely decided to leave out of the text any "specific assignment" of fuel tax, leaving it to be included by the Senate where the Peronists have a clearer majority.    The Peronist congressman also clarified that the deputies' budget committee did not decide to clamp value-added tax on public entertainment, as was erroneously included in the final statement after Wednesday's committee hearing.   "The political decision is to keep that area free of taxes as it is now," Matzkin said.   -- Stephen Brown, Buenos Aires +541 318-0695 
5307 !GCAT !GVIO !M11 !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Mexican Finance Minister Guillermo Ortiz said on Thursday that the country's financial markets were performing "reasonably" and he hoped the leftist rebel attacks that killed 13 people overnight would be seen in their "real context".   Asked about the attacks by radio station Radio Red, Ortiz said: "I understand that the interior ministry is working on the case, but I repeat that in these recent days the markets are behaving reasonably.   "I hope that these actions will be taken in the real context in which they are occurring."   He did not say what that context was, although market analysts said on Thursday they thought the attacks by the self-styled Popular Revolutionary Army were timed to embarrass President Ernesto Zedillo in the days leading up to his second State of the Nation address, scheduled for Sunday.   The main stock market index was down 72.74 points, or 2.13 percent, at 3,338.1 points in afternoon trading and the peso closed four centavos weaker at 7.535/7.540 in key 48-hour contracts.   -- Martin Langfield, Mexico City newsroom 525 7289558 
5308 !GCAT !GDIP  Cuba, commenting on a rare simultaneous U.S. television interview involving a senior Cuban official and a right-wing Cuban exile leader, denied on Thursday this was the start of dialogue between the two sides.   "Cuba has not had a dialogue, and will never have a dialogue, with hysterical mafia types and annexationists," Cuban Foreign Minister Roberto Robaina said in Havana.   He said he was reacting to recent media reports from Miami, the home of a large anti-communist Cuban exile community.   These reports described the interview recorded last Friday by the U.S-based Spanish language CBS Telenoticias network as an unprecedented debate between a Cuban government figure and a prominent exile opponent.   The interview linked up simultaneously Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly and a member of the ruling Communist Party Politburo, who spoke from Havana, and Jorge Mas Canosa, President of the fiercely anti-communist Cuban American National Foundation, speaking from Miami.   CBS was due to screen the interview, which included questions from a panel of journalists, on Sept. 5.   Robaina told the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina that efforts by the exile community to portray the interview as the start of a dialogue between the government and right-wing exile opponents were a deliberate attempt to sow confusion.   Nevertheless, it was not entirely clear why Alarcon, one of the best known figures in the Cuban government and Havana's intermediary of choice in contacts with the U.S. government, should have agreed to go ahead with the programme.   This appeared to break with a Cuban policy of having absolutely no contact with the hardline sector of the U.S.-based Cuban exile community, which is seeking the overthrow of Cuban President Fidel Castro's communist rule.   Cuban political commentators and state media regularly demonise Mas Canosa as the island's No. 1 public enemy.   But Havana has initiated a dialogue with moderate members of the exile community, who generally argue that any transition in Cuba must include the existing Cuban government.   Pressed about the Alarcon-Mas Canosa interview at a weekly news briefing on Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marianela Ferriol said: "It means absolutely nothing.   There is no dialogue, there is no debate, there is no recognition (by the Cuban government of Mas Canosa)".   Asked to explain why the interview had gone ahead, she replied: "Maybe we're talking about a confrontation of ideas, we've never backed away from that".   Alarcon, through his position as Cuba's chief negotiator with U.S. authorities, has carved out a major role in foreign relations that rivals Robaina's.   He has offered no public explanation of the CBS interview or under what terms or authority it was conducted. 
5309 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Brazil's unemployment rate in July was 5.58 percent, down from 5.92 percent in June, the National Statistics Institute (IBGE) said.   This was, however, up from unemployment of 4.83 percent in July last year.    The largest increase in the number of people employed was seen in the construction civil sector, with a rise of 2.1 percent or 25,000 people.   Average real income of employed people increased approximately seven percent from June 1995 to June 1996, IBGE said.   -- Fatima Cristina, Sao Paulo newsroom, 55-21-5074151 
5310 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Peruvian government has proposed a 1997 budget of about 24 billion soles, up from 22.263 billion soles this year, Transport Minister Elsa Carrera de Escalante said Thursday.    "In the cabinet meeting last night, we dealt with the topic of the budget," she told reporters.   "This is going to be slightly higher than last year, around 24 billion soles."   She added that the government was putting the finishing touches on its budget proposal, which would be sent to Congress later Thursday.    The government had until Friday to present its proposal for the 1997 budget.   Although the 1997 budget proposal is nominally higher than 1996, accumulated inflation for the first seven months was 7.84 percent and is expected to exceed 11 percent by year's end.   According to Congress' budget committee, the government has so far spent 41 percent of its 1996 budget and expects to spend only 93 percent by the end of the year.    Congress now has until November 30 to debate and approve the budget.   The 1996 budget was based on an exchange rate of 2.40 soles to the dollar, whereas that rate is now up to 2.61.   -- Andrew Cawthorne, Lima newsroom 
5311 !GCAT !GCRIM  Thirteen senior police officers from the fraud squad of Buenos Aires province have been arrested on charges of running an extortion racket, security officials said on Thursday.   They included all the top officers from the fraud division of the north of Buenos Aires province, including Commissioner Juan Carlos Lago.   Police were seeking a 14th officer.   La Nacion newspaper said the officers were suspected of demanding bribes of $50,000 to $500,000 from companies being investigated for tax evasion in order to "lose" their files.   The credibility of the Buenos Aires provincial police, the largest force in Argentina, has been undermined this year by scandals that included the indictment of three officers for links to the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community centre and the arrest of an entire drugs squad for drug trafficking.   Alberto Piotti, security chief of Buenos Aires province, told local television that 3,600 dishonest officers had been purged from the force's ranks in the past five years.   "It is an ongoing task.   And these investigations into police corruption are only possible because there are people brave enough to denounce them," Piotti said, promising a major overhaul of the provincial police next month. 
5312 !GCAT !GVIO !M11 !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Attacks by leftist guerrillas in two southern states of Mexico unsettled the country's financial markets Thursday, but analysts said their impact has been cushioned by improving economic conditions.   "As dramatic as they are, at least for the moment they appear to be more of a nuisance and an embarrassment," said Felix Boni, chief economist with HSBC James Capel.    "The unsettling thing is that it appears to be coordinated.   But it may be more of an attempt to embarrass (Mexican President Ernesto) Zedillo on the eve of his state-of-the union address," he said.   At least 13 people were killed when scores of masked rebels struck police and military posts in Oaxaca and Guerrero states in the largest assaults in Mexico in more than two years.   The attacks, which appeared to be closely coordinated, were in six towns in the two southern states, and appeared to be the work of a well-armed new rebel force calling itself the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), which emerged two months ago.    Zedillo is scheduled to give his second annual state-of-the-union address on Sunday.   Mexico's stock market had hit new record highs recently amid speculation he would announce measures to spur growth.   "It (the outbreak of violence) is not all that worrisome yet.   It may have been planned to create noise before Zedillo's state-of-the-union address," said Bancomer economist Javier Maldonado.   Mexico's stock market dropped Thursday after news of the attacks, shedding more than 1.5 percent.    Rates on short-term government money market paper also rose in nervous trading, dealers said.   Economists say that Mexico's markets are better placed than they were several months ago, and the economy much stronger.   Second-quarter gross domestic product came in at 7.2 percent, marking an end to the recession.   On Wednesday Banco de Mexico said the nation had a current account surplus of $641 million in the second quarter compared with a surplus of $441 million in the same period a year earlier.    "There has been a pretty robust recovery, although people may be a little over-optimistic," said Lehman Brothers economist John Welsh.   He discounted the effect of the fresh guerrilla attacks on the markets.   The improving economy will help ease volatilty, eocnomists said.   "The fragility will continue for some time.   There are still worries and volatility, but with consistent economic improvement each time, the volatility will be less," he said.   Earlier guerrilla attacks in Mexico have combined with economic imbalances to devastating effect. 
5313 !GCAT !GVIO  Mexican business leaders said on Thursday that surprise guerrilla violence in two Mexican states could scare off foreign investment and called for a stern response from the government.   "With a belligerent group like this that uses high-powered weapons, you can't fight them with holy water," Carlos Abascal, president of the employers association known as Copermex, told radio station Radio Red.   Mexico's stock market index plummeted, the peso lost ground against the dollar and interest rates were higher on the secondary money market following the overnight attacks.   At least 13 people were killed when masked rebels launched seemingly coordinated attacks on several police and army posts in Guerrero and Oaxaca states.   Hector Larios, president of the Business Coordinating Council (CCE), told Radio Red the violence could "inhibit investment in the country."   The attacks are believed to be the work of the Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), an armed group that first appeared two months ago, pledging a class war to bring down the Mexican government.   Mexican markets had shrugged off the group as long as there were no major outbreaks of violence.   --Dan Trotta, Mexico City newsroom, (525) 728-9507 
5314 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Brazilian Planning Minister Antonio Kandir will submit to a draft copy of the 1997 federal budget to Congress on Thursday, a ministry spokeswoman said.   Congress is constitutionally obliged to approve the budget by the end of year but regularly fails to meet that requirement. 
5315 !E21 !E211 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  A bill cutting taxes on Brazilian exports and manufacturing will be put to a vote in the Brazilian Senate in the second week of September, a senator said.   The upper house is scheduled to vote on a motion giving the bill priority treatment Sept. 9, and then on the bill itself two days later, Senator Ney Suassuna, deputy leader of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) told reporters.   The bill was approved in the lower house on Tuesday but will be kept on ice next week because many senators are expected to remain in their constituencies to campaign for October and November's municipal elections.   The bill is expected to boost Brazilian exports by four percent and give the econony a shot in the arm.   It would do away with an ICMS sales and circulation tax on exports and on capital goods, power and other items consumed by manufacturers.   -- William Schomberg, Brasilia newsroom 5561 2230358 
5316 !GCAT  These are the highlights of the main Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro newspapers this morning.   GAZETA MERCANTIL   -- COVAS STILL WANTS TO KEEP BANESPA   Sao Paulo state Gov Mario Covas wants to hold on to ailing state bank Banespa, despite mounting pressure to privatize, a top state official said.   -- TELEBRAS JAN-JULY PROFIT 1.9 BILLION REAIS   State telephone monopoly Telebras released preliminary results FOR the January to July period, showing a net profit of 1.9 billio reais.   -- MONETARY COUNCIL CREATES NEW REDISCOUNT RATE   The National Monetary Council created a new rate, the Central Bank Assistance Rate (TBAN), which will take effect in October.   The TBAN will be a new rate for rediscount loans to banks and should be a little higher than the bank's current Basic Rate, the TBC.   The council will set each of the rates at monthly intervals.   - - -   O GLOBO   -- GOVERNMENT ADOPTS MEASURES TO HEAT UP CONSUMPTION   To heat up the economy, which grew by just 0.02 percent in the first semester, the government adopted additional measures to loosen credit, including freeing up leasing operations for consumers.   -- POLL SHOWS CARDOSO WOULD BE RE-ELECTED   A poll by Ibope and MCI, requested by the presidency, shows that 41 percent of Brazilians would vote to re-elect President Fernando Henrique Cardoso if the election were held today.   The closest runner-up, the Workers' Party Luiz Inacio da Silva, would receive 18 percent of the vote.   FOLHA DE SAO PAULO   -- BUSINESSES TO PAY LESS TAX   A tax on goods and services includes an exemption for producers beginning in 1998.   -- SAO PAULO RESIDENTS WANT TO CONTINUE ANTI-SMOG PLAN   A poll shows that 59 percent of Sao Paulo residents want to prolong an anti-smog plan, scheduled to end tomorrow, that limits the number of cars in circulation during business hours.   -- John Miller, Sao Paulo newsroom, 5511 232-4411 
5317 !GCAT !GVIO  At least seven people died and two dozen others were injured in overnight clashes between armed rebels and military and police in two southern Mexican states, national media reported on Thursday.   National radio and television networks Radio Red and Televisa said guerrillas, wearing ski-masks and believed to be from the self-styled Popular Revolutionary Army (EPR), carried out coordinated attacks on military and police bases just after midnight in the poor states of Oaxaca and Guerrero.   Casualties were reported from both sides.    Radio Red said seven people died in clashes in a handful of isolated villages and towns.   Televisa said six died.   One unnamed witness speaking live on radio from the town of Tlaxiaco in Oaxaca said she was still too afraid to leave her house.   "They were masked members of the EPR ... they went to take the town hall ... there was a massive gunbattle," she said.   Televisa said a statement from the Guerrero state Attorney General's Office confirmed the attacks but said one person died and 11 were injured.   Televisa said two policemen, one marine, one civilian and one armed rebel died in one attack on the police station and naval base offices in the tourist resort of Huatulco, Oaxaca. 
5318 !GCAT !GPOL  Brazilians would re-elect President Fernando Henrique Cardoso by a wide margin if a national election were held today, according to a government sponsored poll published on Thursday.   Some 41 percent of Brazilians surveyed by pollsters MCI/Ibope at the request of Cardoso's office said they would vote for the president.   The closest runner-up, Worker Party leader Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva, trailed with 18 percent.   Lula was the runner-up in Brazil's 1994 presidential election that put Cardoso in office.   The poll, published in Brazilian newspapers, surveyed 3,000 people between August 20-26.   It did not provide a margin of error.   The poll said former president Jose Sarney and Sao Paulo Mayor Paulo Maluf would tie for third place with 11 percent of the vote.   Itamar Franco, Cardoso's predecessor who is reportedly eyeing another run for the presidency, would take five percent of the vote.   Cardoso, who is nearly halfway through a four-year term, is actively seeking congressional support for a constitutional amendment to allow him to serve a second term in office.   Brazil is scheduled to hold presidential elections in October 1998. 
5319 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO !GVOTE  Pre-electoral bickering flared on Wednesday in the troubled western Mexican state of Guerrero as some opposition politicians demanded the army pull out of the area ahead of an upcoming state poll.   The mayor of Acatepec, a small town some 310 miles (500 km) south of Mexico City, sent a letter to Mexico's National Human Rights Commission complaining the army's heavy presence in the town would interfere with the Oct. 6 election.   Mayor Antonio Gonzalez Garcia, of the opposition Revolutionary Workers' Party, said in Wednesday's letter that army troops recently raided several local farms, stole cattle and raped women.   The letter was signed by some 200 area residents and indigenous leaders.   Some electoral watchdog groups also said the presence of the army, which has fanned out across the state in the past month in search of a new guerrilla group, was likely to intimidate voters and had stirred up tension in the state.   A French group of electoral observers, Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l'Homme, concluded the army presence exerted a heavy psychological pressure on local farmers and would prevent a fair vote.   Up for grabs in the election are the state legislature and 75 town halls.   (Corrects to show elections are not for governor).   Despite the criticism, acting state Gov. Angel Aguirre pledged the elections will be free and fair and said he did not expect any trouble from the elusive new guerrilla group, the Popular Revolutionary Army.   "The electoral process has been proceeding in accordance with the new state electoral law," Aguirre said, adding that the poll would be "an exercise in true democracy." 
5320 !GCAT !GCRIM  Brazilian authorities on Wednesday arrested a 47-year-old Italian man wanted in Italy for ties to the leftist Red Brigade guerrilla group of the 1970s, local television said.   TV Globo said the Supreme Federal Tribunal ordered the arrest of Luciano Pessina, a political scientist who owns two Rio de Janeiro restaurants, based on an extradition request from the Italian government.   The report, which could not be independently verified on Wednesday night, said Pessina was sentenced in Italy to eight years and 11 months in prison for robbery and illegal weapons and explosives possession.   Globo quoted Pessina's lawyer as saying he had already been imprisoned in Italy and, when freed, travelled to Brazil. 
5321 !GCAT !GCRIM  Panamanian lawmakers voted on Wednesday to begin an impeachment process against a Supreme Court judge to determine whether he used his influence to set drug traffickers free, officials said.   Judge Jose Manuel Faundes will be temporarily stripped of his duties starting on Thursday until the end of the impeachment process, legislator Miguel Bush of the ruling Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) told reporters.   Bush did not specify how long the process, which was approved by a majority vote of lawmakers in the one-house, 72-member Congress, could take.   Faundes has five days to appear before Congress to respond to charges that he used his influence to grant accused drug traffickers special permits at least four times this year.   If found guilty, Faundes will be removed from his seat and prohibited from leaving the country, which would set a precedent in Panamanian history. 
5322 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Seven churches joined voices on Wednesday to condemn the "day-to-day violence" of Brazil's rural hinterland and the government's failure to punish those responsible for massacres of landless peasants.   "In the name of Jesus, we want to bring your attention to what is going on in the Brazilian countryside," two church umbrella groups said in a Letter to the Brazilian People.   The letter from National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil and the Coordinate of Ecumenical Service was sent to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso after a seminar on endemic violence gripping rural Brazil.   Thirty-six people have died so far this year in conflicts over land in the Brazilian countryside, including 19 landless peasants massacred by police in April in the northern state of Para.   "The problem of land is one of the most serious facing Brazil," said Lucas Moreira Neves, president of the Catholic church's National Conference of Bishops of Brazil.   The letter made reference to massacres of landless peasants in August 1995 and April 1996, which claimed the lives of 27 landless peasants. 
5323 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Argentine President Carlos Menem said at an impromptu press conference on Wednesday that Congress will pass the government's economic measures before October.   The President also said that "all Peronist Party legislators, deputees and senators alike," will support the initiatives.    Menem reaffirmed that the government's economic policies are "non-negotiable and irreversible."   "Some stupid people say I have lost the initiative.   They are living on the planet Mars or in any place other than Argentina," he said.   It was the President's first statement to the press since he returned to Argentina on Tuesday evening after a week long visit to Asia.   In his absence, speculation surrounding the delay of Congressional passage of the government's economic measures and changes to the plans has mounted.   The budget deficit, which the measures aim to narrow, "will not reach two percent of gross domestic product," said Menem.   "That is not worrying and we will improve it, because that is what the measures are for."    President Menem also said that Argentine unemployment will "not rise above 12 percent," and promised that the jobless rate will fall, referring to a recent private sector study that argued unemployment was much lower than official estimates.   The government's measures, pending passage by Congress, include the most recent proposals of tax hikes on gasoline and cuts in family benefits and the abolition of tax on shopping vouchers given to more than a million workers as part of their pay packet.   On Wednesday, the budget and finance committee of the lower house of Congress approved the gasoline tax hikes.   But the committee failed to give the thumbs up to the government's proposal to give the central government a larger share of the income from the taxes than provincial governments.   -- Axel Bugge, Buenos Aires Newsroom, 54 1 3180668 
5324 !GCAT !GDIP  Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto praised efforts to consolidate peace, democracy and development in Central America in a meeting with regional leaders during a three-hour stopover in Costa Rica on Wednesday.   Hashimoto greeted four heads of state during his brief visit here as part of a five-nation tour of Latin America.   "The Central American region has overcome the conflict of civil wars and the problems of external debt of the eighties and is achieving firm results both in the consolidation of peace and democracy and the structural economic reform aimed at creating a market economy," he said in a speech.   Though no new infusion of Japanese aid to Central America was announced, the prime minister said more economic assistance to the region would be forthcoming.   "(Japan and Central America) can in the future increase solidarity and cooperation in relations," he said.   Hashimoto expressed interest in the peace talks advancing toward resolving Guatemala's 36-year civil war and Oct. 20 elections in Nicaragua, but fell short of pledging specific amounts of financial assistance to either effort.   "Prime Minister Hashimoto said he would support the process of consolidating peace in Guatemala once a peace agreement has been reached," Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres said.   The Guatemalan government and rebels are working toward signing a peace agreement by the end of the year.   Figueres said that as a result of his half-hour meeting with Hashimoto, a team of Japanese experts would arrive in Costa Rica to evaluate a hydroelectric project for which Japan pledged a $200 million loan during Figueres's visit to Japan in May.   Hashimoto also met with Guatemalan President Alvaro Arzu, Honduran President Carlos Roberto Reina, Prime Minister of Belize Manuel Esquivel and high-ranking officials from El Salvador, Panama and Nicaragua.   Costa Rica was the last stop in Hashimoto's Latin American trip that included Mexico, Chile, Brazil and Peru. 
5325 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Prime Minister John Howard yesterday revoked the Federal Health Department's authority to approve health insurance premium rises, following a public outcry over recent increases.   Future premium increases must be approved by Health Minister Michael Wooldridge, in conjunction with the Prime Minister and Treasurer Peter Costello.   Page 1.   --   Following his conviction on four company fraud charges relating to the French Impressionist painting La Promenade, businessman Alan Bond has launched an appeal in the West Australian Supreme Court.   Sentenced to three years jail, Bond will apply for release from Perth's Casurina Prison on bail conditions.   Page 3.   --   Backbencher Kevin Andrews has secured the support of Opposition Whip Leo McLeay as his seconder for the private member's bill challenging the Northern Territory's euthanasia legislation.   Prime Minister John Howard and Opposition Leader Kim Beazley have also expressed their support for the bill, but backbenchers Anthony Albanese and Chris Gallus are seeking help to uphold the controversial law.   Page 4.   --   In a letter to the New South Wales Farmers Federation, Federal Communications Minister Richard Alston suggested analog mobile technology could be retained for use in rural areas despite the decision to phase out the analog service by the end of the decade to make way for digital to become the sole mobile phone technology.   Page 5.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   After admitting Health Minister Michael Wooldridge had not been consulted over recent increases in health insurance premiums, Prime Minister John Howard yesterday shifted responsibility for premiums from the Health Department to the Health Minister, but the Prime Minister and the Treasurer will have to be consulted before any decisions are made.   Page 1.   --   Amidst concerns over threats to the safety of Federal Ministers by extremist groups in the gun control debate and more frequent high-level visits to Australia by Asian politicians, this year's Budget allowed for a 32 per cent funding increase for the cental agency charged with handling all VIP protection, the Protective Security Coordination Centre.   Page 1.   --   The Federal Government is set to cut more than 230,000 places from employment and training programmes - a decline of almost 35 per cent - despite receiving pre-Budget advice from the Employment Department that a "potential for unemployment to rise" would make selling the budget cuts difficult.   Page 1.   --   Addressing a national conference of community legal centres in Melbourne, Aboriginal and Social Justice Commissioner Mick Dodson attacked the Howard Government's approach to Aboriginal affairs, claiming the Coalition had created a culture of "disrespect, resentment and vilification" towards indigenous people.   Page 3.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   With at least 11 major health funds receiving Federal Government approval to lift their fees by up to 30 per cent, Prime Minister John Howard yesterday accepted personal responsibility for any future price increases in health insurance premiums.   However, Howard refused to rule out further price increases before his proposed private health fund rebates come into effect next July.   Page 1.   --   New South Wales' peak parent body has attacked a pay deal that gives public school teachers a 16 per cent salary increase between now and mid-1999, with some senior teachers receiving A$50,000 a year.   The New South Wales Parents and Citizens Association claims further school funding cuts will be implemented to pay the rise, which will end up costing taxpayers A$465 million.   Page 1.   --   The NRMA board decided yesterday to publish the notice of a special meeting to be held on October 30 without the "Yes" case of 250 disgruntled members, but including the "No" case of six directors.   The meeting will decide motions calling for the dismissal of the six directors.   Page 3.   --   The son of William Fox, on the run after allegedly shooting his estranged wife Patricia, has urged anyone helping his father to turn him over to the police.   Peter Fox escaped the house where his mother was killed and two other people were left with gunshot wounds.   Page 3.   --   THE AGE   Although he will personally assess future applications for private health insurance premium increases, Prime Minister John Howard yesterday refused to rule out further premium rises, which may be required by law to save some health funds' financial reserves falling below the minimum level.   Page A1.   --   Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer has attracted criticism from human rights groups for his attack on American actor Richard Gere and his support for China's Tibet policies.   Touring China on a trade visit, Fischer said Gere, a close associate of the Dalai Lama, was not entirely right on the complexities and dimensions of the issue and China was not totally wrong.   Page A1.   --   After gathering in Melbourne city yesterday to protest against higher tertiary fees and tougher Austudy rises, about 200 demonstrators stormed the foyer of BHP Petroleum's offices.   One student was arrested after smashing a window and a fight broke out when protesters tried to stop television crews filming the demonstration.   Page A1.   --   According to Royal Dental Hospital director Dr Deborah Cole, A$15 million worth of Federal funding cuts may force the closure of the hospital and jeopardise Victoria's rural dental services.   The Dental Hospital is set to lose all its Federal funding and ther public dental services face a 60 per cent cut.   Page A3.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
5326 !GCAT  (Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors)   THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW   Two of Australia's largest finance groups, National Mutual and National Australia Bank, support the formation of a mega-regulator by the Wallis financial inquiry, however, Westpac, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank claim a merger of financial regulators would cause upheaval and concentrate power.   Page 1.   --   Falling exports and a deterioration in the net income deficit prompted a seasonally adjusted A$59 million rise in Australia's July current account deficit to A$1.28 billion from A$1.23 billion in June, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics balance of payments figures released yesterday.   Page 2.   --   AGL is armed with A$2 billion to advance the company's interstate expansion strategy to move into Victoria through the purchase of the Government-owned gas pipeline network, Gas Transmission Corporation, or the gas utility GasCor.   Page 27.   --   Concern over Coles' operating performance and an expected slump in earnings has prompted several institutions to sell-off stock, with some removing investment in the retailing giant completely.   The biggest buyer in the past several weeks has been Brierley Investments Ltd, which has acquired another two per cent to reach around seven per cent.   Page 27.   --   An agreement has been made between BHP and the banks to defer the option to purchase the A and B redeemable preference shares in Beswick (ARPS and BRPS), until the year 2000.   Beswick Pty Ltd, the holding vehicle for 17.1 per cent of BHP, announced the five-year extension of its A$1.5 billion quasi-debt facility by Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank yesterday.   Page 28.   --   John B. Fairfax's regional media group Rural Press Ltd recorded a 6.1 per cent increase in net profit to A$31.5 million and has flagged an expansion into print and radio assets in Asia.   Managing director Brian McCarthy said the company was always looking for acquisitions and had recently held talks for media joint ventures in Asia.   Page 28.   --   THE AUSTRALIAN   Announcing a 32 per cent rise in annual profit to A$124.3 million, The Australian Gas Light Co AGL.  AX managing director Len Bleasel said yesterday the company could spend up to A$1 billion on acquisitions and would bid for the former Gas & Fuel Corp when it was privatised by the Victorian Government.   Page 23.   --   Although Auspine Ltd shareholders have requisitioned an extraordinary meeting to remove the forestry and wood products company's chairman, Rod Hartley said yesterday he would fight for his position.   The move follows a collapse in Auspine earnings and inquiries from the Australian Securities Commission into complaints about share trading by managing director Adrian de Bruin and fellow director Keith Veall.   Page 23.   --   Former Equiticorp head Allan Hawkins has told a New Zealand newspaper that the mysterious H fee at the heart of the National Crimes Authority case against him represented an underwriting agreement with a 20 per cent profit margin paid by Elders to ensure Equiticorp retained its 4.4 per cent stake in BHP until November 1986.   Page 23.   --   In a submission to the Wallis financial inquiry, Australia's second biggest life office, National Mutual Holdings, has called for the removal of restrictions that prevent the four big banks and the two leading life offices from merging and urged the removal of foreign investment limits.   Page 23.   --   Westfield Holdings Ltd shopping centre group yesterday reported a 22 per cent increase in annual profit to A$74.9 million.   Westfield managing director David Lowy said signs of a pick-up in the US economy should guarantee the group another increase in proit next year.   Page 25.   --   Despite spending A$1.39 million on an unsuccessful takeover defence, Sunbeam Victa Holdings Ltd yesterday reported a net profit, before abnormals of A$6.47 million.   Manufacturer GUD Holdings Ltd did not release its costs for the takeover of Sunbeam, but it also met 1995-96 profit forecasts with a net result of A$10.6 million.   Page 25.   --   THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD   Shares in The Australian Gas Light Co jumped by 42 cents to A$6 yesterday, following the announcement of a better-than-expected net profit of A$124.3 million for the June 30 year, up from A$94 million.   AGL managing director Len Bleasel said the resut showed the New South Wales-based energy group is well on track to face a deregulated market.   Page 21.   --   Although Reef Casino Trust shares hit an all time low of 55 cents yesterday, the Australian Olympic Committee will retain its A$7.3 million investment in Reef, claiming it is still a good long-term hold even though, at yesterday's price, the AOC faced a paper loss of A$2.78 million.   Page 21.   --   CSL chief executive Brian McNamee yesterday attacked the Federal Government's move to reduce tax breaks on research and development, claiming the Government could have better reduced the deficit by tightening the criteria for the R&D tax concession or lifing corporate tax.   Page 21.   --   The Colonial Group is expected to announce in late September a new name for the State Bank of New South Wales.   After buying the State Bank in December 1994 for A$568 million, the name change is intended to give the bank a national focus and clearly identify it as part of the Colonial Group.   Page 21.   --   Australia's largest shopping centre group Westfield Holdings has vowed to continue with a demanding construction program having weathered a difficult retail market to record a 22 per cent rise in net profits to A$74.9 million to June.   Managing director David Lowy attributed a recent 11 per cent fall in sales to A$438 million to the timing of construction payments, although he acknowledged tough retailing conditions.   Page 23.   --   BHP signed agreements in Canberra yesterday with Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, extending its quasi-financing arrangements for another five years.   BHP said the rights of the banks to redeem A$990 million preference A shares had been deferred until the yer 2001 and Westpac's right to put the A$500 million preference B shares to BHP until September 2000.   Page 23.   --   THE AGE   The rural sector is set to end a five year slump with one of the best seasons on record.   The July balance of payments figures released yesterday, showed solid export gains were continuing into 1996-97 and total agricultural commodities produced last finacial year were up from A$23.8 billion to A$27.6 billion.   The boom means an extra A$1 billion for farmers in Victoria as the value of production increased to A$6.3 billion.   Page C1.   --   The head of Australia's foremost drug groups, chief executive of CSL Brian McNamee, blasted the Federal Government yesterday for reducing tax breaks on research and development, claiming it is a direct hit to the development of knowledge-based industries.   McNamee claimed the Budget was a blow to the innovative sector of the economy and that instead the Government should have tightened the criteria for the R&D tax concession or simply lifted corporate tax.   Page C1.   --   A bid to generate sales in a bleak retail environment has seen supermarket operators and traditional packaged good manufacturers turning to lotteries, competitions and cash prizes.   The promotions have been initiated by manufacturers who are less inclined to sacrifice brand integrity and customer loyalty through price cutting - a move they perceive to devalue their products.   Page C1.   --   Discount giant Target announced yesterday it would cease the sale of cigarettes in its US stores by the end of this month.   The decision is the first to be made by a large retail chain and reflects the deepening stigma attached to smoking and mounting presure to comply with laws barring the sale of tobacco to minors.   As cigarettes account for only 1 per cent of Target's sales the move is expected to bring only favourable publicity.   Page C1.   --   Speaking to a group of businessmen in Shanghai on the first leg of his five-city tour of China, Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer labelled Sydney's main Botany container terminal as "disgraceful" and said, although there had been improvement over the pastdecade, the performance of Australia's waterfront industry had slipped back in the past few years.   Page C3.   --   After releasing improved earnings and an increased dividend for the 1995-96 financial year, GUD Holdings managing director Ian Beynon said dividends from Sunbeam Victa are likely to be cut this financial year as GUD tries to finance reinvestment from Sunbeam's cashflows.   Page C3.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
5327 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  This is a compilation of the latest notable comments from Australian policymakers -- Prime Minister John Howard, Treasurer Peter Costello, the Reserve Bank of Australia, its outgoing governor, Bernie Fraser, and new governor designate, Ian Macfarlane.   A decisive quote on the budget from opposition treasury spokesman Gareth Evans is also included.   MONETARY POLICY   Costello:   "If we can get our budget, intact, through the Senate, if we can get that low inflation locked in, then I think we can set up the chances for an easing in monetary policy."   (Before the end of the year?)   "I'd like to get that outcome and I am going to do the best to make sure we are going to get it."   (Aug 20)   "If the budget doesn't go through, you won't get another interest rate cut.   In fact, the interest rate cut of 0.5 percent of a couple of weeks ago could well be under threat."   (Aug 11)   Costello and Macfarlane, jointly:   "The governor designate takes this opportunity to express his commitment to the Reserve Bank's inflation objective, consistent with his duties under the (RBA) Act.   For its part the government indicates again that it endorses the bank's objective and emphasises the role that disciplined fiscal policy must play in achieving such an outcome."   (Aug 14)   ECONOMIC GROWTH   "3.5 percent is not high enough."   (Aug 21)   Reserve Bank:   "Some pick-up in the pace of economic activity from current levels is expected over the year ahead but, in the board's view, there is scope to grow a little faster without rekindling inflationary pressures."   (July 31)   Costello:   "We think that it's growing at around, a bit above three percent."   (Aug 11)   INFLATION   Reserve Bank:   "Over the first half of 1996, inflation was running at an annual rate of around 2.5 percent.   Most other price indicators are showing lower rates.   ... The bank's forecasts suggest that both underlying and headline inflation will be in (the) two to three percent range for some time.   ...   Costello:   "I don't see any great risk in inflation other than in relation to wages."   (Aug 21)   BUDGET   Costello:   "But if we cannot get our A$8 billion deficit-reduction programme through the Senate we won't be able to afford the superannuation co-payment."   (Aug 11)   (Asked whether the co-payment was conditional,) "Of course ... there are going to be consequences if the Senate mucks around with this (the budget)."   (Aug 21)   (On the remainder of the A$8 billion cuts,) "We will assess over the year before our next budget whether we need fine-tuning and the direction in which that should go ..." (Aug 26)   Fahey:   "If we do lose some in the Senate then I guess we are going to have to go back to the drawing beoard because we are very, very determined to ensure that again in this period of economic growth that we get back into balance."   Evans:   "The financial markets and the national (international?)   community can rest reasonably comfortably assured that our oppostion to the budget will take a largely political form rather than being reflected in the actual budget outcomes."   ...   "(The budget won't survive intact but) ... it's nonetheless a reasonable anticipation that the overall shape of the budget and its general flavour will remain intact and there won't be any dramatic or significant change in that.   But certainly a few hundred million (A$) at the margin is absolutely within the realm of contemplation and we make no apology for that."   -- Bradley Perrett, Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
5328 !GCAT  **BIRTHDAYS**   The mother of science-fiction writing, MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT SHELLEY, was born in 1797.   Her most famous character was "Frankenstein" or rather his monster.   The New Zealand physicist who led the way for modern atomic science, ERNEST RUTHERFORD, was born in 1908.   The New Zealand/Australian fighter with the French resistance NANCY WAKE was born in 1912.   Known as "The White Mouse" during World War II, she organised escape routes for those in occupied France, trained in sabotage and led a D-Day attack.   She was the most decorated woman of the war.   Australian businessman and founder of the Australia Party, GORDON BARTON, was born in 1929.   Australian soldier KEITH PAYNE, who received a Victoria Cross for his Vietnam service, was born in 1933.   He also served in Korea and Malaya.   American drummer with Wild Cherry, RONALD BEITLE, was born in 1954.    **EVENTS**    30 BC : The ruler of the Eastern part of the Roman   Empire, MARK ANTONY, committed suicide.   ANTONY was 52.   His loyalties to Rome were questioned after he gave gifts of land to his lover, Queen CLEOPATRA of Egypt, who also committed suicide.    1860 : The first trains began running in Britain.    1862 : The Confederates won the second battle of Bull Run   in the American Civil war.   The Confederates were led by Stonewall JACKSON.    1881 : CLEMENT ADER of Germany patented the first stereo   system.    1901 : The vacuum cleaner was patented by a Scotsman,   HUBERT CECIL BOOTH.    1903 : Four people were killed in Rotorua when the   Waimangu geyser erupted.    1914 : One of history's great military disasters took   place at the Battle of Tannenberg.   The Russian Second Army under Samsonov was enveloped and crushed by the Germans, who lost 30,000 men.   Samsonov committed suicide.    1918 : VLADIMIR LENIN, new leader of Soviet Russia,   survived an assassination attempt by a social revolutionary.    1924 : Diplomats in London signed the Dawes plan, an   agreement calling for payment of reparations by Germany to her former enemies in World War One.    1930 : Phar Lap's straight winning streak came to end   when he ran second at Warwick Farm in Sydney.   The New Zealand-bred gelding had nine firsts before the second placing.   He went on to win the Melbourne Cup that year, but was unplaced in the 1931 cup race.    1939 : Children were evacuated from British cities as war   between Germany and Britain seemed imminent.    1957 : 170 years of British rule came to an end in   Malaya.   The country was the last of Britain's major Asian colonies to gain independence.    1963 : A direct telephone line between the White House   and the Kremlin came into operation.   The US and USSR leaders agreed on the "hot line" four months earlier, at a meeting in Moscow.    1972 : Australia's SHANE GOULD won the 400 metres   freestyle at the Munich Olympic games.   It was her second gold medal.    1976 : The arrival of a nuclear powdered American warship   in Wellington resulted in hundreds of holidaymakers being stranded.   Dock workers walked off the job in protest at the USS Truxtun's six-day visit, and their action stopped the passenger ferries between the North and South Islands.   Prime Minister ROBERT MULDOON called in the air force in an attempt to break the strike.   The Truxtun's visit was the first since MULDOON reversed the ban on nuclear vessels, introduced by the former Labor government.    1980 : Striking Polish workers won some concessions from   the government.   Two weeks after siezing control of the Gdansk shipyards, the Prime Minister agreed to giving the workers the right to strike and the establishment of trade unions.   Strike leader LECH WALESA organised a central committee to co-ordinate the country-wide strikes, and to agree on a list of demands.   The government's initial refusal to negotiate changed as more and more workers joined the strike.    1983 : Seventy-five anti-nuclear protestors were arrested   at Roxby Downs in South Australia.    1988 : A West German tanker carrying toxic waste was   turned away from a British port.   The ship had earlier been denied entry to ports in Spain, West Germany, France, the Netherlands and Belgium.   Environmental groups used the incident of the unwanted Italian hazardous waste to highlight the need for an internationally agreed code of conduct for toxic waste shipments.   (Compiled from ABC ARCHIVES, ABC RADIO NATIONAL, "On This Day" published by REED INTERNATIONAL BOOKS LIMITED, "The Chronicle Of The 20th Century" published by PENGUIN BOOKS and "Rock And Pop (Day By Day)" published by BLANDFORD BOOKS)   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
5329 !GCAT  DOMINION   Front page - Police shoot woman attacker    - Defence force ready to help run jails    - Winter's final fling    - If Mt Egmont blows, it's women and cows first    - Power prices tipped to rise 3.3pc after merger    Page two - Fay Richwhite lawyers cleared over Peters film    Business - Small EnergyDirect shareholders wooed    - Business confidence on way up, survey shows    - Mainzeal to resume paying dividends    Sport  - Rixon wants Aussie' attitude in cricket   OTAGO DAILY TIMES   Front page - Fairfield bypass up to 10 years away    - Triple gold-winner Newstead no hurry to retire    Page two - Woman shot in hostage drama undergoes surgery    - Injunction lodged against rabbit poisoning    - Kea creates havoc in surgery - then dog gets it    - Invercargill woman safe after abduction    - Otago Museum awaits state funding for project    - Snow and cold remind southerners of winter   Editorial - 12-month operation of universities studied    - Greek election - snap poll called   NEW ZEALAND HERALD   Front page - Woman shot in hostage drama   Page three - New strike called by controllers    - University wooing teachers   Editorial - Labour's bid for health    Sport  - Warriors farewell three of their stars    - Harbour's first challenge on foreign ground    - One sailor alone with 10 women on Elle's yacht    Business - Energy Direct holders will get mixed bag    - Mainzeal builds profits    - Rough carpet ride cuts into Cavalier 
5330 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Kiwi International Airlines chief executive Ewan Wilson said on Friday more than a third of the company's 250 staff will be made redundant in restructuring moves.   Wilson told a media conference in Christchurch that 90 staff have been told they will be laid off.   In the worst-affected area, Christchurch, 36 out of 47 jobs will be axed in October.   Wilson said going into Christchurch was always a calculated risk as it was a very competitive market.    Wilson, with tears in his eyes, said the airline had been hurt very badly by events such as the grounding of flights due to the volcanic ash cloud from Mt Ruapehu volcano, an air traffic controllers' curfew, fog and mechanical breakdowns.   "We caught the bleeding quickly enough," he said.   The airline will return to its original formula of concentrating on the provincial gateways of Hamilton and Dunedin.   It will no longer fly out of Auckland and will scale down its Christchurch operation significantly.   "We are going to go back to the recipe we know is successful," Wilson said.    "As part of a drive to greater efficiency, Kiwi International Airlines is returning one of the two aircraft it currently leases," he said.   The Boeing 737-300 at present operating from Christchurch will return to its owners, Aviareps, on October 6.   From October 6 Kiwi will operate a new reduced flight schedule, with Christchurch services most affected.   The overall schedule will go to 14 flights a week from the present 30 flights.    Kiwi will continue to have offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Perth, as well as Hamilton, Christchurch and Dunedin.   It will no longer fly to Perth, but will book passengers on Qantas after flying them to Melbourne.   Wilson said the competition from Air New Zealand Ltd, Freedom Air and Qantas had been more severe than Kiwi anticipated.   "We expected them to fight back...but not with the level of intensity that they have.   "The reality is we have lost this particular battle but we haven't lost the war," he said.   -- Wellington Newsroom (64 4) 4734746 
5331 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GENV  The inaugural meeting of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation energy ministers ended on Thursday vowing to help business invest in power projects to meet the region's huge energy demands, but safeguarding the environment.   The ministers warned that the energy needs of the Asia-Pacific region would put considerable pressure on the region's environment.   "Ministers agreed that the application of economically sound measures to minimise the adverse environmental impacts of energy production and use is essential to protect the well being of both present and future generations," the ministers said in their declaration titled "Energy: Our Region Our Future".   Australian Resources and Energy Minister Warwick Parer said ministers agreed to co-operate in research and development programmes aimed at cleaner, more efficient fuel and alternative energy sources.   "There was agreement that the challenge of protecting the environment involved improving the efficiency with which energy is produced and used, using techniques and practices that reduce emissions and switching to more environmentally benign energy sources, including renewable resources," Parer said.   The ministers said governments were unable to find the US$1.6 trillion needed to meet the region's energy demands.   There was unanimous recognition that if the funds were to be found, government and business needed to forge a partnership.   "Such cooperation will reap mutually rewarding benefits for all," Parer said.   APEC expects energy consumption among its 18 members to grow by around 2.2 percent a year until 2010, compared with only one percent a year for the area represented by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).   During the two days of talks, the ministers expressed concerns that without the help of business the need for new energy would not be met, stunting the economic growth of one of the world's fastest growing regions.   The concerns were contained in a non-binding list of 14 principles, aimed at harmonising regional energy policy, which will be presented at the APEC leaders meeting in the Philippines in November.   "Those points among other things ensure member economies will pursue policies for enhancing the efficient production, distribution and consumption of energy," Parer said.   The 18-member APEC group has set a goal of free trade regimes by the year 2010 for developed member economies and year 2020 for developing economies.   APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.   But energy companies have reacted with caution to APEC's desire to embrace the private sector.   They have argued that while APEC is too big to ignore, subsidies, technological protectionism and tariff and non-tariff trade barriers present formidable obstacles.   Despite the risks, there is huge potential for growth in APEC's energy sector, said analysts.   Robert Moeller, of management firm Booz-Allen & Hamilton, estimates China needs to build the equivalent of a one new large power station a month to keep up with its forecast demand for energy. 
5332 !GCAT  NIHON KEIZAI SHIMBUN   Itochu Corp plans to join in a joint venture set up by a Thai financial conglomerate to launch broadcasting satellites in an orbit designated to Laos under international law.   The venture, ABCN, plans to launch its first satellite at the end of 1997 and the second in the summer of 1998, and start digital broadcasting over Asian countries outside Japan with a maximum capacity of 150 channels from 1998.   Itochu will invest about 1.3 billion yen in the project.   ----    Sekisui House Ltd is expected to have increased its parent current profit by five percent to 40 billion yen in the first half ended July 31 from the same period a year earlier, helped by strong housing sales.   ----   Daiei Media Solutions Co, a personal computer company established this month by Daiei Inc, plans to set up a computer products counter for corporate clients at its first PC store planned for Tokyo by the end of this year.   ---- 
5333 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Philippine peace negotiators reached agreement late on Thursday on an accord to end a 24-year Moslem separatist rebellion in the south of the country that has cost at least 125,000 lives.   "Agreement has been reached on all issues," Ruben Torres, executive secretary to Philippine President Fidel Ramos, told Reuters shortly before midnight.   "We are ready for the initialling tomorrow of the final draft and the signing in Manila on Monday," he said.   Negotiators from the Philippine government and the Moslem Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) wound up a final two days of talks in a central Jakarta hotel.   Under the agreement, a Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development will be set up for an interim three year period, to be followed in 1999 by a plebiscite and the establisment of an autonomous region covering 14 provinces on Mindanao in the southern Philippines.   The agreement is to be initialled on Friday morning in front of Indonesian President Suharto, and formally signed in Manila on Monday.   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) which has facilitated discussions and mediated between the two parties over the past three years.   Torres admitted the final round of discussions on Thursday had at times been heated.   But he added: "Better heated here than on the battlefield."   In an opening ceremony of the fourth and final round of peace negotiations, government delegation chief Manuel Yan said Thursday was "the final day of our long journey towards peace".   "By the end of this day...an historic document shall have emerged from our hearts and minds," Yan said.   MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari said the country was "on the threshold of...a just, comprehensive, honourable and lasting peace".   But Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas issued a note of caution: "A common lesson of contemporary peace processes is that it is one thing to achieve a peace settlement; it is quite another thing to make it work.   "It is after the Final Peace Agreement has been signed in Manila that the real hard work will begin."   Misuari conceded there was still opposition from both Moslem and Christian groups in southern Mindanao province to the peace accord.   He said he would seek to persuade dissident groups, including the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the fundamentalist Abu Siyyaf group, to accept peace.   "The peace deal that we are making now is peace for our whole people...one intended not only for the living, but for those who are still in the womb of time," he said, adding it should embrace all those "ostensibly opposed to our peace-making activities".   "I believe that what we could not achieve through war, we could now achieve through peaceful means," he added. 
5334 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  China will not allow political differences with Taiwan to interfere with trade and investment, Chinese President Jiang Zemin told visiting Taiwanese business leaders on Thursday.   "We maintain that political differences should not be allowed to affect and interfere with economic cooperation between the two sides," state radio quoted Jiang as saying.   The economies of China and Taiwan were complementary, Jiang said, adding that the two sides should strengthen economic cooperation to benefit the entire Chinese race.   "No matter what the circumstances, we will protect all the legitimate rights of Taiwanese investors," Jiang said.   A delegation of nearly 80 Taiwanese business leaders and politicians arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a high-profile, 12-day visit.   Taiwanese economic officials are visiting in a private capacity.   Beijing has recently stepped up pressure on the island to lift a decades-old ban on direct trade and transport.   Last week, China unilaterally announced a set of regulations to pave the way for direct links.   Kao Ching-yuan, the head of the Taiwanese delegation, on Wednesday urged Beijing to resume talks with Taipei, saying the island's investors would lose confidence in China if political friction impeded ties. 
5335 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !M14 !M143 !MCAT  Iraqi-origin gas oil (diesel) has not been offered for sale in the Gulf in the past six months, trading sources in Fujairah, the United Arab Emirates, said on Thursday.   Earlier on Thursday, a U.S. official at the United Nations said Washington had evidence that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were aiding Iraq in the export of gas oil.   A U.S. official said the allegations were based on statistical data, confirmed by personal interviews with those involved and other physical proof.   "It is still going on and in an increased way," Tono Eitel, German Ambassador to the United Nations and head of its sanctions panel, said on Wednesday.   But trading sources in the Gulf said they had not seen any gas oil being offered in the market for up to six months that matched Iraqi specifications.   "About four-to-six months ago traders were selling gas oil that were about $50 per tonne below the prevailing market price," one trader said by telephone.   "These cargoes, when tested, had specifications that were consistent with that exported by Iraq in the past," he added.    Traders said the cargoes, of about 2,000 tonnes each, were sold in barges in the Gulf area and used as marine diesel, they said.   However, the source said that such offers had ceased some time early this year.   Trading sources said the offers ceased at about the same time Iraq began negotiations with the U.N. over the oil-for-food sale that was agreed in principle on May 20.   Traders in Singapore said none of the potentially Iraqi-origin gas oil had been exported to Asia.   The only significant change in the Gulf oil trading pattern seen recently was a bigger than usual export of Iranian gas oil and fuel oil, they said.   Earlier on Thursday, Iran's state news agency IRNA said the country's U.N. envoy, Kamal Kharazi, "dismissed the U.S. claims that Tehran has been involved in Baghdad's violation of the U.N. economic sanctions by allowing Iraqi ships to smuggle oil through Iranian waters."   Trading sources in Singapore said Iran had doubled fuel oil exports in July from the usual eight cargoes of 70,000-80,000 tonnes each to about 16 cargoes.    Iran had also started exporting gas oil of up to 40,000-50,000 tonnes per cargo in the past few months, they added.   Traders said Iran was not a usual exporter of gas oil and some of these cargoes were sold to Pakistan and Singapore.   Iranian gas oil has 1.00 percent sulphur and these cargoes were sold at about 20-40 cents per barrel above the MidEast spot prices on a cost-and-freight basis, which was in line with the prevailing spot price, they added.   -- Singapore Newsroom (+65-870-3093) 
5336 !C11 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  North Korea has allowed a South Korean to live in the Stalinist state for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, a newspaper report said in Seoul.   The Dong-A Ilbo newspaper quoted Kim Young-il, a bureau director at the South Korean Unification Ministry, as telling a seminar in Seoul that Pyongyang had permitted an executive of Daewoo Corp, now in the North, to live there for the operation of an inter-Korean joint venture company.   In its Friday morning edition seen late on Thursday, the daily said it was the first time the North had allowed a South Korean to reside in the communist state since the Korean War ended.   South Korean government officials were not available for comment.   The newspaper also quoted Kim as saying North Korea had allowed 10 Daewoo technicians to stay there for a maximum of three months.   Previous visits to the North by Daewoo technicians were limited to a maximum of two months, Kim was quoted as saying.   Daewoo Corp, a unit of the giant Daewoo Group, was the first South Korean company to obtain government approval to set up an industrial venture in the North.   The final go-ahead was given to Daewoo in May 1995.   Daewoo said it had sent an 11-member team to launch the company in the North Korean port of Nampo earlier this month.   It said the 50:50 venture, in which it has invested $5.12 million, had a capacity to produce 3.1 million shirts and blouses, 600,000 jackets and 300,000 bags a year.   In November 1994, South Korea lifted a ban on business trips to North Korea and allowed local firms to set up offices there.   Since then, the Seoul government has accepted applications from about 20 domestic conglomerates and companies to hold talks with North Koreans on business projects.   The cash-strapped North has tried to attract investment in its industrial development programmes.   Seoul officials have said they hoped economic cooperation between the two Koreas would lead to dialogue and ease hostility on the peninsula divided at the end of World War Two.   North and South Korea remain technically at war since the Korean conflict ended with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty. 
5337 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Chinese President Jiang Zemin tried to reassure Taiwanese businessmen on Thursday, saying Beijing would not allow political differences to stand in the way of trade and investment.   "We maintain that political differences should not be allowed to affect and interfere with economic cooperation between the two sides," state radio quoted Jiang as telling visiting Taiwanese business leaders.   The economies of China and Taiwan were complementary, Jiang said, adding that the two sides should strengthen economic cooperation to benefit the entire Chinese race.   "We will continue to carry out our long-time policy of encouraging Taiwanese businessmen to invest," Jiang was quoted as saying.   "No matter what the circumstances, we will protect all legitimate rights of Taiwanese investors."   A delegation of nearly 80 Taiwanese business leaders and politicians arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a high-profile visit.   Taiwanese economic officials are part of the delegation in a private capacity.   Taiwan has banned direct trade, transport and mail links with China since 1949 when the nation's Nationalist rulers fled to the island after their defeat by the communists.   Indirect trade and investment has been allowed since the late 1980s, usually through Hong Kong.   Jiang said China has always sought to speed up the establishment of direct trade and transport links with Taiwan.   Beijing has stepped up pressure on the island to lift the ban.   Last week it unilaterally announced a set of regulations to pave the way for direct links.   Many Taiwanese businessmen, who have poured more than $20 billion into China, are eager for direct trade and transport, but Taiwan has been reluctant to remove the curbs, which it views as its last bargaining chip in talks with the communists.   Kao Ching-yuan, head of the delegation, urged Beijing on Wednesday to resume talks with Taiwan, saying the island's investors would lose confidence in China if political friction impeded ties.   The talks were suspended last year after Taiwan's President Lee Teng-hui made a landmark trip to the United States.   Beijing views the island as a rebel province and insists it is not entitled to official links with other states.   Kao, vice-chairman of President Enterprises, a major Taiwanese conglomerate, was quoted by state television as saying the Chinese market had great potential and many Taiwanese businessmen were pushing for expanded economic cooperation.   President Enterprises is Taiwan's biggest investor in China.   Kao's visit came less than two weeks after Taiwan's President Lee called for a review of economic policy toward China with the aim of avoiding overdependence on the mainland.   The Taiwanese delegation was the largest to visit China since a trend of easing tensions was reversed by Lee's mid-1995 U.S. visit. 
5338 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  China's construction minister has warned that a chronic shortage of urban housing is an urgent problem threatening to throw its society into chaos.   "The construction of urban dwellings is not just a housing problem, it also is closely related to the maintaining of social order," the Xinhua news agency quoted Minister of Construction Hou Jie as saying.   "Without enough houses...society will face potential disorder," Hou said.   Although many people had enough savings to buy homes and the cost of construction raw materials had fallen drastically in the past few years, there was a huge housing shortage in China's crowded cities, Hou said.   Beijing would devote more funds and pass favourable policies to try to spur construction for medium and low-income residents, he said.   Hou said his ministry would work with the State Planning Commission and the central bank to remove official barriers to buying and selling homes.   Almost all housing in China's cities is assigned and subsidised by the state, and most residents are restricted from selling their homes.   China has pledged to build 1.3 billion sq m (14.0 billion sq ft) of housing in urban areas during the next five years in a bid to raise the average per capita living space to 9.0 sq m (97 sq ft) from 7.9 sq m (85 sq ft) in 1995. 
5339 !E21 !E211 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Authorities in southern China have busted 10 gangs that defrauded the government of export tax rebate payments, the Xinhua news agency said on Thursday.   As part of a crackdown on financial crime, tax and security officials in booming Guangdong province had uncovered fake export tax rebate invoices with a combined face value of 1.9 billion yuan ($229 million), Xinhua said.   Tax fraud is punishable by death in China.   Separately, Guangdong authorities had recouped more than 3.0 million yuan ($361,000) in unpaid taxes since the campaign was launched early last year, the agency said.   Police had arrested more than 100 people and seized $5.38 million in cash and a stash of valuables for a string of financial crimes, the agency said.   It gave no further details.   ($1 = 8.3 yuan) 
5340 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Lawyers representing detained Indonesian labour leader Muchtar Pakpahan complained on Thursday that his rights were being ignored while he was being kept in custody facing subversion charges.   In a letter to Attorney-General Singgih, released to the media, three of Pakpahan's lawyers said he had only been questioned once since he was detained on July 30 but his detention had been extended to allow further questioning.   Subversion carries the death penalty in Indonesia.   "Because of the vacuum between the time Mucthar Pakpahan was questioned, it (is) clear he is being deprived of his rights which are guaranteed under the criminal code procedures," the letter said.   The three prominent human rights lawyers, R.O. Tambunan, Luhut Pangaribuan and Luthfie Hakim, said Singgih had made a number of public statements that the rights of those detained since the riots last month would be respected under the law.   The United States, Australia and the European Union all urged Indonesia in the wake of the riots to follow due process in handling all those detained, including leader of the unrecognised Indonesia Labour Welfare Union (SBSI).   But the lawyers said the attorney-general was ignoring the code, or KUHAP, a section of which gave an accused the right to be questioned, taken to court and, if found guilty, sentenced as soon as possible.   "The detention of Muchtar Pakpahan is premature.   It shows the attorney-general is not sensitive enough to the rights of the accused in detention as guaranteed under the KUHAP," they said.   The letter called on Singgih to complete the questioning as soon as possible and take Pakpahan's case to court.   It also called for restrictions on his access to lawyers and family members to be lifted, and for Pakpahan to be allowed writing materials, sunlight and exercise for the sake of his health.   Pakpahan was jailed in November 1994 for three years on charges of inciting riots in Medan that year.   On appeal his sentence was increased to four years but he was released in May last year. 
5341 !GCAT !GCRIM  More than 700 Filipino children gathered on Thursday to air their views on a whole range of topics facing their country -- from sexual abuse to cruel teachers.   One of five street children attending the First Filipino Children's Forum suggested a lack of educational opportunities could lead to children being sexually abused.   "I would like to ask President (Fidel) Ramos to protect the children especially my friend who is illiterate and is easily duped by foreigners who abuse him sexually," 14-year old Gary Erasmas told Reuters Television.   Erasmas and the other four are among Manila's thousands of street children who are easy prey for paedophiles.   The Philippines has recently been cracking down on foreigners who come here for sex with children, jailing a Briton and an Australian.   Other children from poor families complained they had to work too hard and urged the government to raise wages.   "I hope government will listen to workers, especially teachers, like my mother, who are asking for higher wages," said Carmen Alamis, 14.   Alamis works for 10 hours every weekend in a relative's printing press to augment her mother's salary.   "This is the first time that we are listening from our children because in the past, we have always been lecturing to them," Education Secretary Ricardo Gloria told reporters.   The children, aged from 10 to 16, also complained about educational problems such as crowded classrooms, a lack of books and abusive teachers.   "I hope teachers who physically abuse their students will be removed from schools," said 12-year-old Raymond Rodriguez who said he had been hit on the head with a stick by an angry teacher. 
5342 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Taiwan's state-owned Chinese Petroleum received another blow on Thursday when an oil leak shut a second north crude oil unit, the sixth accident since August 9.   The company shut one of its two unloading units on Wednesday after finding minor oil leaks.   The second unit was shut down due to problems in a pipeline connector, officials said without elaborating.   The first unit was expected to resume operations on Saturday.   The second unit was still under repair.   The leaks followed five other accidents, including oil leaks and fires, that have cost the domestic oil monopoly more than T$1.1 billion ($40 million) in compensation.   The state firm reached an agreement with local residents on Tuesday, promising one of Taiwan's highest compensation payouts to victims of previous accidents.   More than 5,000 residents have registered as victims in the company's No.5 naphtha cracker oil leak and 8,000 more fishermen were seeking compensation over sea pollution.   Dozens of officials at Chinese Petroleum, including its president Chen Kuo-young, have received internal administrative punishments and its chairman Chang Tzu-yuan received an "oral reprimand" from Economics Minister Wang Chih-kang.   The series of accidents prompted the oil giant to seek better luck through Buddhist and Taoist ceremonies during the Chinese Ghost Month, or lunar July, which falls between August 14 and September 12, 1996.   "We had held a ceremony on Wednesday, giving a feast to 'hungry ghosts'," company official Ho Li-chun said.   Chinese believe that ghost ceremonies will erase bad luck.   More than 600 employees, led by company president Chen Kao-yon, took part in the ceremony praying for better luck.   Although the latest leak was controlled within an hour and cleanup crews were dispersing the oil, unloading of the 250,000-tonne Bahamas-registered tanker Sailor was halted and the vessel moored nearby.   Minor oil spills were also reported on Thursday, but were not expected to affect wildlife, a manager at the Taoyuan oil refinery said by telephone.   ($1 =T$27.5)   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
5343 !GCAT !GVIO  President Fidel Ramos on Thursday pledged to pump his government's entire available resources to develop the southern Philippines after a peace deal is signed with Moslem guerrillas.   He said he was optimistic that government and rebel panels meeting in Jakarta would resolve remaining issues to clear the way for the signing in Manila on Monday of a final agreement ending a 24-year rebellion on Mindanao island and adjacent islands.   "With peace installed, the government commits its total efforts and available resources to accelerate economic, social and human development in southern Philippines," he said in a statement.   He said the signing of the accord would usher in "a new era of peace in Mindanao which has known mostly hostilities for the last 400 years".   Mindanao, 800 km (500 miles) south of Manila, has been racked by violence since the 16th century when Spain colonised the Philippines and launched a campaign to Christianise the southern region, which the Moslems regard as their ancestral homeland.   The Spanish colonial rulers failed to subjugate the Moslems.   Fighting raged intermittently in the area after the United States ousted the Spanish colonial rulers towards the end of the 19th century, and continued after the Philippines won independence in 1946.   More than 125,000 people have died in the current conflict which began in 1972.   Negotiators for the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) met for their final round of talks in Jakarta on Thursday to agree on the text of a formal accord expected to be initialled in the Indonesian capital on Friday.   "We face the final day of our long journey towards peace," government delegation chief Manuel Yan told the opening ceremony chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.   Indonesia heads an Islamic panel which is mediating the talks. 
5344 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  A Thai consular official has fled Hong Kong after being questioned by anti-corruption police in connection with soliciting bribes to issue a passport, Hong Kong government radio said on Thursday.   The unnamed suspect left the British colony after being detained and then freed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the radio said.   The man was released after his arrest on Tuesday, pending further inquiries, the ICAC said in a statement.   The anti-graft body was discussing the case with the Thai government, especially the suspect's status, it said.   It is not clear if the fugitive had diplomatic status in Hong Kong, and officials from the Thai Consulate were not available for comment.   The arrest came after the ICAC received a complaint that the man had demanded a bribe of HK$100,000 (US$12,940) to issue a Thai passport, the ICAC said.   At the time of his arrest, ICAC officers seized HK$100,000, it added.   The ICAC has kept a close eye on passport scams after a U.S. official was jailed for trafficking fake Honduran passports as part of an immigration racket aimed at Chinese. 
5345 !GCAT !GDIP  China said on Thursday Japan was encouraging right-wing groups that have inflamed a dispute over South China Sea islands, and it called on Tokyo to get tough.   "We have noticed recently that certain right-wing elements have repeatedly landed on these islands," Foreign Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang said in a reference to the Daioyu islands, known as the Senkakus in Japanese.   "We believe the Japanese government should take effective measures to stop these illegal activities," he told a regular news briefing.   Japanese authorities said earlier this month that the Nihon Seinen-sha (Japan Youth Federation) withdrew a claim for recognition of a lighthouse built on the islands.   In July, members of the group sailed to the islands where they built a make-shift aluminium lighthouse.   The islands are about 300 km (190 miles) west of Okinawa and 200 km (125 miles) east of Taiwan and are claimed by China, Japan and Taiwan.   Shen added that the Japanese government was creating a climate that encouraged activities by right-wing groups.   "I believe the actions and words of these Japanese right- wing groups are not accidental," he said.   "This has directly to do with the stance of the Japanese government on this issue."   Shen repeated Beijing's criticism of Japan for failing to address its history of aggression against China.   Beijing has accused Japanese politicians of trying to whitewash their country's atrocities during the occupation of China in the 1930s and 1940s.   Shen said Beijing and Tokyo should put aside their differences over the possession of the islands.   "We say the issue should be shelved and neither side take action." 
5346 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  China will not allow political differences with Taiwan to interfere with trade and investment, Chinese President Jiang Zemin told a group of visiting Taiwanese business leaders on Thursday.   "We advocate not letting political differences affect and interfere with economic cooperation between the two sides," state radio quoted Jiang as saying.    The economies of China and Taiwan were complementary, Jiang said, adding that the two sides should strengthen economic cooperation to benefit the entire Chinese race.   Nearly 80 prominent Taiwanese business leaders and politicians arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a high-profile, 12-day visit.   Taiwanese economic officials are visiting in a private capacity.   Beijing has recently stepped up pressure on the island to lift a decades-old ban on direct trade and transport.   China unilaterally announced last week a set of regulations to pave the way for direct links. 
5347 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Philippine peace negotiators met for their final round of talks on Thursday to agree on the text of a formal accord to end 24 years of Moslem separatist rebellion in the south of the country.   Negotiators from the Manila government and the Moslem Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) met late into Wednesday night in Jakarta to work out final details covering the integration of Moslem guerrillas into the Philippine armed forces and police.   "We face the final day of our long journey towards peace," government delegation chief Manuel Yan told the opening ceremony chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.   "By the end of this day...an historic document shall have emerged from our hearts and minds," Yan said.   Delegates will sign an interim agreement covering Thursday's fourth round of formal peace talks started in 1993, and put the finishing touches to the peace accord to end a conflict which has cost at least 125,000 lives.   The accord will be initialled in front of Indonesian President Suharto at Jakarta's Freedom Palace on Friday, with a formal signing ceremony in Manila next Monday.   "Surely, we are now on the threshold of...a just, comprehensive, honourable and lasting peace," MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari told the opening ceremony.   Alatas issued a note of caution: "A common lesson of contemporary peace processes is that it is one thing to achieve a peace settlement; it is quite another thing to make it work.   "It is after the Final Peace Agreement has been signed in Manila that the real hard work will begin."   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to facilitate and mediate in the talks.   Delegates said the military integration issue was the last major problem that was resolved in talks that ended around 1 a.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday.   They included the rank and command structure for some 7,500 Moslem guerrillas to be integrated into the armed forces and the security (police) force in southern Mindanao province.   Misuari described the meeting as "hectic", but said he was quite happy with the outcome.   Asked about the speed of integration, he told reporters: "We don't have any specific timetable.   We want to see integration as quickly as possible, probably two years or less."   Asked how many MNLF guerrillas there were, Misuari said well over 30,000.   He conceded there was still opposition from both Moslem and Christian groups in southern Mindanao province to the peace accord, which envisages a three-year transitional Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development, followed by a plebiscite and full regional autonomy in 1999.   Misuari said he would seek to persuade dissident groups, including the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the fundamentalist Abu Siyyaf group, to accept peace.   "The peace deal that we are making now is peace for our whole people...one intended not only for the living, but for those who are still in the womb of time," he said, adding it should embrace all those "ostensibly opposed to our peace-making activities".   "I believe that what we could not achieve through war, we could now achieve through peaceful means," he added. 
5348 !C12 !C17 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Bondholders of beleaguered Amcol Holdings will go to court in a bid to secure an assurance they will be paid, a source close to the case said on Thursday.   The source said they would try on Friday to get the High Court to instruct Amcol's judicial managers to get an assurance from white knight Sinar Mas that bondholders would be paid in full.   The interim judicial managers -- Nicky Tan, Deborah Ong and Yeoh Oon Jin, all partners of Price Waterhouse -- were due to appear in court on Friday to have their appointments confirmed.   "The position of the bondholders is that they are not happy to confirm them (the interim judicial managers) unless certain conditions are met," the source, who declined to be identified, told Reuters.   At a meeting on Tuesday, more than 100 Amcol bondholders met the judicial managers to seek a commitment on bond obligations from Indonesian conglomerate Sinar Mas before Friday's court date.   The source said lawyers for HSBC Trustee, which is acting on behalf of the bondholders, would air bondholders' grievances and state their conditions at the hearing.   The bondholders, with interests in three classes of Amcol bonds totalling S$285 million, represent Amcol's largest creditor.   "The first thing the bondholders want is a written guarantee, perferably backed by a bank," the source said.   They feared that they could be "left dangling in the air" without an assurance, he said.   He added that the judicial managers had not revealed other rescue offers and creditors and shareholders could therefore not judge whether they got the best deal.   Property and trading firm Amcol has been under judicial management since July 21, when a Price Waterhouse audit revealed the company had liabilities of S$1.16 billion.   -- Singapore newsroom (65-8703080) 
5349 !C13 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  A Taiwan shipper said on Thursday its application to sail directly to China from the island had been rejected by its Chinese counterpart, clouding direct shipping links between the rivals.   On August 20, China issued rules governing direct shipping links across the Taiwan Strait, effective immediately, but Taiwan gave a cool response, saying Beijing's rules were "mingled with sensitive political issues".   "We sent documents to the shipping company in (China's) Xiamen telling them we wanted to sail from (Taiwan's) Kaohsiung to Xiamen," said a manager of Kien Hung Shipping Co Ltd.   "But they said the application could not be accepted because they haven't prepared such application forms," the manager, who declined to be named, said by telephone.   He said requests from other Taiwanese shippers for direct shipping links were also denied by Chinese counterparts.   "We hope the problem is only paperwork," the manager said.   "We will apply again when their forms are ready."   China's regulations allow wholly Chinese-owned or Taiwan-owned shipping companies or joint ventures involving Chinese or Taiwanese shipowners to sail between the two sides.   Taiwan has banned direct air and shipping links with China since Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists lost the civil war to the Chinese communists and fled to the island in 1949.   Taiwan investors, who have poured more than $20 billion into China, have pressured their government to establish direct links to save transport costs.   To fulfil its ambition of becoming a regional hub, Taiwan proposed in 1995 to set up an offshore transshipment centre at southern Kaohsiung port from which ships would be allowed to sail directly between Taiwan and China.   The project has been delayed by sovereignty issues.   Taiwan insists on a transshipment centre, from which no goods would be allowed through its customs.   With tensions easing since the late 1980s, civilian aircraft and vessels have skirted the ban by stopping over in Hong Kong, Macau or another third place. 
5350 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  Thailand's powerful military thinks the government is dishonest and Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa's resignation might solve the nation's political and economic woes, an opinion poll showed on Thursday.   Nearly half the 1,617 military personnel surveyed in the Rajapat Institute poll suggested that Banharn resign, while about 28 percent thought he should dissolve parliament and 24 percent thought a cabinet reshuffle could resolve the government's problems.   Banharn, who leads a six-party, 13-month-old coalition government, faces a no-confidence debate in parliament next month.   The prime minister, who has already lost one coalition partner this month, is expected to have a tough battle in the debate because of infighting in his own party and warnings of more pullouts by other coalition partners.   The poll, conducted earlier this month after Banharn's coalition completed one year in office, showed the military would prefer General Chatichai Choonhavan -- a former prime minister who was ousted in a military coup in February 1991 -- as prime minister.   Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, head of coalition member the New Aspiration Party, was the second choice for prime minister, the poll showed.   Banharn came in last on the list of proposed leaders with less than one percent of the votes.   Nearly two-thirds of the people surveyed thought the government was dishonest and insincere, and 65 percent blamed the government's poor performance for the country's economic slowdown.   The opinion of the military in Thailand, which has seen 17 coups or attempted coups since the country switched to parliamentary democracy from absolute monarchy in 1932, always carries weight in the political scene, despite officials' vows to distance the military from politics. 
5351 !GCAT !GCRIM  Four of the 11 seamen who died in an apparent mutiny in the South Pacific on board a fishing boat perished in the ship's deep freeze, a South Korean police officer said on Thursday.   He said surving crewmembers on board the Pescarmar No. 15, now being towed to South Korean, told Seoul investigators three Indonesians and one Chinese mainlander had frozen to death.   It was not clear whether the bodies were still in the refrigerator or had been dumped overboard, he said.   The bodies of the other victims -- all South Koreans, including the skipper -- had definitely been tossed into the sea, the maritime police officer said by telephone from the southern port of Pusan.   Thirteen seamen survived the high seas drama, among them six Chinese mainlanders who are ethnic Koreans and who South Korean authorities allege rose up in mutiny against harsh working conditions.   The police officer said a crude raft fashioned from wooden planks was found on board the Pescarmar.   But he could not confirm local news reports that the raft was part of an escape plan by the alleged mutineers.   He also declined to comment on reports that murder weapons had been found on the fishing boat and there were bloodstains on the walls of the wheelhouse.   On Wednesday a South Korean coastguard ship took over the Honduras-registered 250-gross ton vessel from Japanese maritime authorities in international waters about 550 km (340 miles) south of Tokyo.   The boat is expected to arrive in Pusan early on Saturday, the officer said.   It was originally scheduled to dock on Friday but has been delayed by heavy seas.   Korean police have said a mutiny apparently occurred on August 2 when radio contact was lost with the fishing boat as it headed towards the island of Samoa.   It was found drifting last Sunday with empty fuel tanks.   The alleged mutineers are being held in cabins aboard the South Korean coastguard vessel and will be arrested when they arrive in Pusan.   "This is the first such mutiny in which South Korean sailors were killed, although there were some murder cases during fights among fishermen," an Inchon maritime police spokesman said. 
5352 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Thursday it would conduct some of its pilot training at Zhuhai airport in southern China.   "The reason we will use Zhuhai airport is because (Hong Kong's) Kai Tak (airport) does not have the time slots for landing and take-off training for our pilots," said a spokesman for the Hong Kong-based carrier.   Zhuhai is located just over the border from Portuguese-run Macau, some 60 km across the Pearl River delta from Hong Kong.   Cathay already trains pilots in Bangkok airport and at Shenzhen airport, just over the Hong Kong-China border.   Bangkok will be used less frequently, the spokesman said, but declined to elaborate.   Asked whether training in Zhuhai would save money, the spokesman said cost was not a a key concern in this case.   -- Hong Kong Newsroom (852) 2843 6441 
5353 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinians and Israel's right-wing government revived negotiations on Thursday following a four-hour general strike in the West Bank and Gaza against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   A day after he accused Israel of declaring war on the Palestinians, President Yasser Arafat held talks with Yitzhak Molho, a lawyer close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that led to a meeting between senior negotiators of the two sides.   The negotiators, former Israeli army chief Dan Shomron and Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat, met for an hour in a Jerusalem hotel and said the Steering Committee they chair would begin to convene regularly as of next week.   The committee oversees implementation of Israel-Palestinian self-rule deals.   It has not met since Netanyahu was elected last May.   "Our role as a steering committee is to solve problems and to continue the peace process, to do this in a good spirit," Shomron told reporters.   "I believe after this meeting that we have the ability to advance all the issues that today are found at different levels of implementation," he said.   Later on Thursday, Netanyahu aide Dore Gold met senior PLO negotiator Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen.   Palestinian officials said U.S. ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, was mediating between the two sides and had met Arafat on Thursday.   Foremost among the unsettled issues is Israel's long-delayed troop redeployment in the West Bank city of Hebron, where some 450 Jewish settlers live among more than 100,000 Palestinians.   "The peace process will be judged not in accordance with press conferences given by us but through the implementation of agreements on the ground," Erekat said.   "It is not a secret that the status of peace is slipping like sand outside our fingers."   Shops and businesses shut for four hours across the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israeli-annexed Arab East Jerusalem, in response to a strike call by Arafat.   He condemned at a meeting of the Palestinian legislature on Wednesday the Netanyahu government's pledge to expand Jewish settlement and its insistence that East Jerusalem will remain forever under Israeli control.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   The strike was the first in both the West Bank and Gaza since Israel handed parts of the areas to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   Residents said the stoppage was widely observed but a Reuters photographer in Hebron said most shops in the city, still under Israeli guns, remained open.   In a move likely to fuel further Palestinian anger, Israel disclosed more plans to build additional homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.   "(Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai) approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," his spokesman Avi Benayahu said.   He declined to say how many homes would be built.   The Maariv newspaper put the number at 3,550.   It said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are just inside the West Bank, near Jerusalem.   Palestinian Higher Education Minister Hanan Ashrawi told reporters Palestinians were not interested in Israeli "promises in the air".   "The real proof (of Israel's intentions) is in this decision to build thousands more housing units, to confiscate more land, to expand settlements and settlement activities," she said. 
5354 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Israeli prison officials took jailed Islamic militant Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to hospital briefly on Thursday for medical tests, officials said.   "This evening Sheikh Yassin completed medical checks and returned to Ramle prisons authority medical centre," said a spokesman for Israel's internal security ministry.   A prison official said Yassin had a mild case of pneumonia.   The 60-year-old Moslem cleric, jailed by Israel since 1989, is serving a life sentence for ordering attacks by Hamas guerrillas against Israeli targets.   The ailing Yassin is the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist Hamas group which has killed scores of Israelis in suicide attacks aimed at wrecking Israel-PLO peace deals.   Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has demanded that Israel release Yassin -- who is confined to a wheelchair -- on humanitarian grounds.   Israel said last month after it recovered the body of a soldier abducted by Hamas seven years ago that it would consider freeing Yassin. 
5355 !GCAT !GVIO  An Israeli soldier was killed and one was wounded on Thursday when Moslem guerrillas ambushed an Israeli patrol close to the border in south Lebanon, pro-Israeli militia sources said.   The ambush took place near an Israeli strongpoint at Blat, one km (half a mile) north of the Israeli border, and guerrillas shelled the position after the attack, the sources with the South Lebanon Army (SLA) said.   The dead soldier brought to 19 the number of Israelis killed in south Lebanon this year.   He was the third killed this month.   One soldier was killed and two were wounded on August 6 in a Hizbollah attack on their position.   Another soldier was killed in south Lebanon on August 20 by friendly fire.   The SLA sources said guerrillas continued shelling the Blat strongpoint for more than an hour after the ambush, and Israeli artillery hit back at suspected guerrilla positions.   In Beirut, the pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying its guerrillas ambushed the patrol with machineguns and rockets at a point about 700 metres (yards) from the border.   A Hizbollah spokesman said the attack took place at 5.15 p.m. (1405 GMT) and fighting continued on the ground for more than an hour.   Hizbollah also shelled the Israeli strongpoint, he said. 
5356 !GCAT !GVIO  An Israeli soldier was killed and others were wounded on Thursday when Moslem guerrillas ambushed an Israeli patrol close to the border in south Lebanon, pro-Israeli militia sources said.   The ambush took place near an Israeli strongpoint at Blat, one km (half a mile) north of the Israeli border, and guerrillas shelled the position after the attack, the sources with the South Lebanon Army (SLA) said.   The number of wounded soldiers was not immediately known.   In Beirut, the pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying its guerrillas ambushed the patrol with machineguns and rockets at a point about 700 metres (yards) from the border.   The dead soldier brought to 19 the number of Israelis killed in south Lebanon this year.   He was the third killed this month.   One soldier was killed and two were wounded on August 6 in a guerrilla attack on their position.   Another soldier was killed in south Lebanon on August 20 by friendly fire.   The SLA sources said guerrillas continued shelling the Blat strongpoint for more than an hour after the ambush, and Israeli artillery hit back at suspected guerrilla positions.   A Hizbollah spokesman said the attack took place at 5.15 p.m. (1405 GMT) and fighting continued on the ground for more than an hour.   Hizbollah also shelled the Israeli strongpoint, he said. 
5357 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Israeli prison officials took jailed Islamic militant Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to hospital on Thursday for medical tests, officials said.   "Sheikh Ahmed Yassin...felt ill over the previous few hours and on orders from doctors was taken for tests at Assaf Harofeh hospital," said a spokesman for Israel's domestic security ministry.   The 60-year-old Yassin, jailed by Israel since 1989, is serving a life sentence for ordering attacks by Hamas guerrillas against Israeli targets.   The ailing Moslem cleric is the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist Hamas group which has killed scores of Israelis in suicide attacks aimed at wrecking Israel-PLO peace deals.   Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has demanded that Israel release Yassin -- who is confined to a wheelchair -- on humanitarian grounds.   Israel said last month after it recovered the body of a soldier abducted by Hamas seven years ago that it would consider freeing Yassin. 
5358 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Israel's former premier Shimon Peres said the Middle East peace process faced a serious crisis, and only a meeting between his successor Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestine leader Yasser Arafat could break the deadlock.   Commenting on the refusal of Netanyahu to meet Arafat, Peres described the decision as a political mistake.   "Arafat is our partner, a legal partner, there can be no agreement without him...It is a political mistake not to meet him...The better the Palestinian situation will be, the better the peace plan will go ahead," he said.   Peres, on a private visit to Morocco, met King Hassan at the coastal resort of Skhirat, 20 km (12 miles) south of Rabat, for more than an hour on Thursday, officials said.   "His Majesty King Hassan and I discussed several issues including the Middle East peace process," Peres told Reuters, without elaborating.   Commenting on Thursday's general strike in the West Bank and Gaza against Israeli policy on settlements and on Jerusalem, Peres said Israeli leaders should change their policy to overcome the crisis.   "There is a serious crisis because there was a change of policy...Israel should look for ways and means to overcome the crisis and go back to the peace negotiations," he said.   A day after he accused Israel of declaring war on the Palestinians, Arafat held talks with Yitzhak Molho, a lawyer close to Netanyahu, that led to a meeting between senior negotiators on the two sides.   "I welcomed the meeting because it will enable the two parties to debate the situation...There is a long list of issues that should be clarified," he said.   "When you have a partner like Arafat, you can make your plans," Peres said , adding: "Arafat is a great man, because he took serious decisions to go in the direction of peace and reach agreements with Israel."   Accompanied with his wife and grandson Nadab, 14, Peres arrived in Morocco on August 25.   A palace statement issued earlier said King Hassan, who has known Peres for more than a decade, has welcomed him in Morocco.   It insisted that Peres's visit was purely private and with no links with the internal political situation in Israel.   "I came here with my grandchild... We visited Casablanca and the southern city of Marrakesh.   Nadab came to Morocco to see our past and see his future generation," Peres said.   A group of 10,000 Moroccan Jews live in the country's main cities, including the financial centre of Casablanca 
5359 !GCAT !GVIO  Thousands of Palestinians are expected to pray at a Jerusalem mosque on Friday in a protest against Israel's policy on the city which both Jews and Arabs call their capital.   Police ordered reinforcements into Jerusalem, a city holy to Jews, Moslems and Christians, after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat called on his people to converge on the city for prayers at noon (0900 GMT) on Friday.   Restrictions Israel maintains over the West Bank and Gaza Strip will prevent most Palestinians from reaching the al-Aqsa Mosque, Islam's third holiest shrine perched on the ancient Jewish Temple Mount, but Palestinians in East Jerusalem are expected to flock to the site.   "We intend to prevent any inflammatory elements from reaching the Temple Mount....If we have to use force, we will," said Internal Security Ministry official Avigdor Kahalani on Thursday.   Palestinian legislator Hanan Ashrawi said Arabs would hold massive prayer meetings at Israeli roadblocks if soldiers prevented them from reaching Jerusalem.   "People are going to go to the checkposts and they have the right to go through and to reach the mosque.   Should Israel prevent them, I am sure that there will be public prayers at the checkposts," she said.   The protest was triggered by Israeli announcements this week on the expansion of Jewish West Bank settlements surrounding Jerusalem and the demolition of an Arab community centre in East Jerusalem which city officials said was being erected illegally.   Arafat said the moves by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government were tantamount to war.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," he told legislators this week.   Palestinians observed a four-hour general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Thursday and then had their busiest day of contacts with Israel since Netanyahu, who opposed Israel-PLO peace deals, swept to power in May elections.   Leaders of an Israeli-Palestinian steering committee charged with monitoring implementation of Israel-PLO agreements met for the first time since Palestinian suicide bombings rocked Israel in February and March.   But after the meeting the two men had different views of peace prospects.   "I believe after this meeting that we have the ability to advance all the issues that today are found at different levels of implementation," said Israeli negotiator Dan Shomron.   His Palestinian counterpart, Saeb Erekat said: "It is not a secret that the status of peace is slipping like sand outside our fingers."   Later on Thursday, Netantyahu aide Dore Gold met senior PLO negotiator Mahmoud Abbas, better known as Abu Mazen.   Palestinian officials said the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk, was mediating between the two sides and had met with Arafat.   Palestinians complain that settlement expansion in the West Bank and Gaza and Israel's policy on Jerusalem help tighten the Jewish state's grip over areas where Arafat hopes to create an independent Palestinian state.   Netanyahu rules out Palestinian statehood.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and quickly annexed it.   Israeli governments since then have all vowed to keep Jerusalem united as the Jewish state's eternal capital.   Palestinians want East Jerusalem for the capital of their future state. 
5360 !GCAT !GDIP  King Hassan of Morocco met former Israeli prime minister Shimon Peres on Thursday at the coastal resort of Skhirat, 20 km (12 miles) south of Rabat, an official source said.   "Mr Shimon Peres, who is on a purely private and family visit to Morocco, was received on Thursday by his Majesty King Hassan at the royal palace of Skhirat," the source said.   Accompanied by his wife and grandson, Peres arrived in Morocco on August 25.   Peres is expected to fly home on Friday, officials said. 
5361 !GCAT !GVIO  An Israeli soldier was killed on Thursday when Moslem guerrillas shelled an Israeli position in south Lebanon, pro-Israeli militia sources said.    It was not immediately known if any soldiers were wounded in the attack on the strongpoint at Blat, one km (half a mile) from the Israeli border.   Guerrillas continued shelling the strongpoint for more than an hour, and Israeli artillery hit back at suspected guerrilla positions, the sources said.   In Beirut, the pro-Iranian Hizbollah (Party of God) said its guerrillas ambushed an Israeli patrol near the Blat position, killing or wounding several soldiers.   It said fighting continued for more than an hour. 
5362 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO !GVIO  Israeli prison officials took jailed Islamic militant Hamas founder Sheikh Ahmed Yassin to hospital on Thursday after a deterioration in his health, security sources said.   The 60-year-old Yassin, jailed by Israel since 1989, is serving a life sentence for ordering attacks by Hamas guerrillas against Israeli targets.   The ailing Moslem cleric is the spiritual leader of the fundamentalist Hamas group which has killed scores of Israelis in suicide attacks aimed at wrecking Israel-PLO peace deals.   Prison officials could not be reached for comment.   Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has demanded that Israel release Yassin -- who is confined to a wheelchair -- on humanitarian grounds.   An Israeli minister said last month after the Jewish state recovered the body of an Israeli soldier abducted by Hamas seven years ago that Israel would consider freeing Yassin. 
5363 !GCAT !GHEA  The proportion of women aged 18 to 44 who have been tested for the AIDS virus rose by 69 percent (corrects the figure from 60 percent) between 1991 and 1993, federal health officials said on Thursday.   The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that in a 1993 telephone survey of 6,267 women aged 18 to 44, 31.8 percent said they had been tested at least once for HIV.   In a 1991 survey of 13,411 women of the same age group, 18.8 percent said they had been been tested.   "Information about HIV testing has gotten out there," said Jacqueline Wilson, a statistician with the CDC's National Centre for Health Statistics.   In the 1993 survey, 46.1 percent of blacks, 39.7 percent of Hispanics and 27.9 percent of white women said they had been tested for the HIV virus which causes AIDS.   Women who had not graduated from high school or who lived in poverty were more likely to have been tested, the survey found.   The CDC said this was probably due to the availability of HIV testing at public health clinics.   About 7,000 infants are born to HIV-infected women in the United States every year.   The CDC said treatment of the mother with the drug AZT (zidovudine) may reduce the chances of a baby becoming infected with HIV.   Without treatment, HIV-infected women have a 15 to 30 percent chance of infecting their baby during pregnancy or delivery.   Medical treatment can reduce this to about a 1 in 12 chance, the CDC said.   Women accounted for 19 percent of the 73,380 AIDS cases reported in 1995.   The CDC said AIDS was the leading cause of death among black women aged 25 to 44 and the third leading cause of death among all women in that age bracket.    ATLANTA, Aug 29 (Reuter) - The proportion of women aged 18 to 44 who have been tested for the AIDS virus rose by more than two-thirds between 1991 and 1993, federal health officials said on Thursday.   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that in a 1993 telephone survey of 6,267 women aged 18 to 44, 31.8 percent said they had been tested at least once for HIV.   In a 1991 survey of 13,411 women of the same age group, 18.8 percent said they had been been tested.   "Information about HIV testing has gotten out there," said Jacqueline Wilson, a statistician with the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.   In the 1993 survey, 46.1 percent of blacks, 39.7 percent of Hispanics and 27.9 percent of white women said they had been tested for the HIV virus which causes AIDS.   Women who had not graduated from high school or who lived in poverty were more likely to have been tested, the survey found.   The CDC said this was probably due to the availability of HIV testing at public health clinics.   About 7,000 infants are born to HIV-infected women in the United States every year.   The CDC said treatment of the mother with the drug AZT (zidovudine) may reduce the chances of a baby becoming infected with HIV.   Without treatment, HIV-infected women have a 15 to 30 percent chance of infecting their baby during pregnancy or delivery.   Medical treatment can reduce this to about a 1 in 12 chance, the CDC said.   Women accounted for 19 percent of the 73,380 AIDS cases reported in 1995.   The CDC said AIDS was the leading cause of death among black women aged 25 to 44 and the third leading cause of death among all women in that age bracket. 
5364 !GCAT !GSCI  A group of scientists claimed in a study published on Thursday that it had found the first fossilized evidence some dinosaurs were coldblooded.   But several experts said the research did not close the debate over whether dinosaurs were coldblooded or warmblooded and the question might never be fully answered.   "It's going to stir up the alligators a bit, and maybe it will make some people think, but it's not going to lead to a resolution," Nicholas Hotton, research paleontologist emeritus at the Smithsonsian Institution, said.   Computed axial tomography -- or CAT scans -- of "superbly preserved specimens" of Cretaceous dinosaurs showed they had nasal anatomy similar to that of such coldblooded modern animals as crocodiles and other lizards, the researchers said in the study, published in the magazine Science.   The scanned specimens included a Tyrannosaurus rexlike dinosaur; a velociraptor, or biped type; an ostrich type; and a duckbilled type, all of which lived toward the end of the dinosaurs' era, the researchers said.   The specimens, including both flesh-eaters and plant-eaters, represent a broad spectrum of dinosaurs, and they "look to be clearly reptilian," Nicholas Geist of Oregon State University, one of the researchers, said.   Scientists have long argued about dinosaurs' metabolisms.   "There was a period starting in the '70s when everyone jumped on the bandwagon that they were warmblooded, but a lot of people have been backing off lately, because evidence is increasing that they were coldblooded," Geist said.   The scans showed that the dinosaurs had narrow, tubelike nasal passages with no trace of respiratory turbinates, spiral structures that in such warmblooded animals as birds and mammals increase the surface area of their nasal passages.   Respiratory turbinates reduce the otherwise sharply accelerated rates of evaporative heat and water loss that would come with high breathing rates.   Their absence indicates that the dinosaurs' breathing and metabolic rates were low enough to keep evaporative heat and water loss from being a problem, the study said.   "This by no means means they were sluggish, dull and uninteresting animals.   I think the popular conceptions of them being fairly quick-moving and dangerous kinds of animals is probably pretty accurate," Oregon State University's John Ruben, the chief researcher, said.   "What has been probably wrong is the notion that in order to be that way, they would have had to have been warmblooded," he told Reuters.   Research on dinosaurs' metabolisms -- which would hold clues to their feeding, reproductive and overall living habits -- has been hampered because most information was contained in soft tissue, which did not fossilize.   Some experts familiar with the study said they remained doubtful that the lack of respiratory turbinates was solid evidence of metabolic rates or that the fossils could adequately show an absence of turbinates.   "I'm very sceptical that this particular line of evidence outweighs all others," said Hans-Dieter Sues, curator of fossil vertebrates at the Royal Ontario Museum and zoology professor at the University of Toronto.   Sues said there was evidence that at least some dinosaurs had rapid growth rates and moved quickly over long distances, pointing to warmbloodedness.   Some scientists believe their bone structures indicate the same thing, he added.   Over their 160 million years on earth, dinosaurs may have evolved to be both warmblooded and coldblooded and variations in between, Sues and others said.   "There was no such thing as 'the dinosaur.'   There were many groups of dinosaurs, and they were all different," Michael Brett-Surman, dinosaur specialist at the Smithsonian Institution, said. 
5365 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Clinton's lead over Republican challenger Bob Dole is continuing to edge higher, according to two new polls released Thursday.   The latest CBS News poll showed that Clinton's lead rose three points over the past 10 days.   The poll, taken Aug. 26 to 28, showed 51 percent of registered voters favouring Clinton for president in the 1996 presidential elections, 36 percent for Dole, and eight percent for billionaire Texas businessman Ross Perot.   A CBS poll 10 days ago -- soon after a successful Republican convention gave Dole a boost -- had Clinton leading 49 to 37 percent, with Perot also at eight percent.   Dole's favourable rating among those registered for the November election fell by three points over the same period, from 29 percent to 26 percent, whereas Clinton's remained the same at 42 percent, the poll found.   The latest CBS News poll surveyed 1,803 adults, of whom 1,346 were registered voters.   The margin of error was plus or minus three percentage points.   The latest ABC News tracking poll said Clinton's lead had widened to 17 percentage points Thursday, bringing it nearly back to the level for the president before the Republican National Convention earlier this month.   The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. 
5366 !GCAT !GSCI !GWEA  NASA prepared on Thursday to haul shuttle Atlantis back to its hangar if twin hurricanes churning offshore threaten its seaside launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.   Space agency officials said they were ready to move the shuttle back to the safety of its assembly building as early as Friday if Hurricane Edouard with 130 mph (210 kph) winds fails to make a predicted turn to the north.   Hurricane Fran, which appeared to be taking a more southerly track, could force the shuttle off the pad by Monday morning.   "We are definitely keeping a close watch on the tropics," said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham.   "We think Hurricane Fran is the one that will cause us to throw our hands in the air."   Workers on Thursday planned to close the shuttle's cockpit hatch, switch off power and disconnect umbilicals in readiness for the 12-hour operation to move Atlantis back to the hangar.   Atlantis was pulled off its launch pad earlier this summer when Hurricane Bertha skirted the east coast of Florida.   NASA officials, meeting on Thursday, scheduled Atlantis for launch on Sept. 14, two days later than they had hoped because of a scheduling clash with a military rocket.   Atlantis, already delayed six weeks by booster problems, would have been ready for launch on Sept. 12, but a U.S. Air Force Delta 2 rocket had already booked that date.   Air Force tracking and safety equipment at Cape Canaveral can accommodate only one launch at a time, so the earlier scheduled Delta will take its turn first.   Atlantis is to make a 10-day mission to collect U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid from the Russian Mir space station and drop off her replacement, John Blaha.   Lucid, who has been aboard Mir since March, was due to come home in early August, but NASA postponed the mission to replace a pair of suspect booster rockets strapped to Atlantis. 
5367 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  Sex sells.   Now, it will just be a little harder to sell it in Massachusetts.   In a measure that harkens back to the Commonwealth's Puritan past, Massachusetts Governor William Weld Thursday signed into law the so-called "Foxy Lady Bill" allowing cities and towns to further regulate the zoning of adult entertainment establishments.   "The new law brings state and local zoning regulations in line, allowing towns to require special permits not only for adult bookstores and video stores, but also for strip clubs like the Foxy Lady," said Weld at the signing ceremony.   "This law gives communities...the best possible shield against sex shops setting up next to a school or bus stop or retirement home."   The bill will allow municipalities to confine nude-dancing clubs to specially zoned areas.   The measure was sparked by an attempt by the owner of a Providence, Rhode Island strip club called the Foxy Lady to open a similar club in Weymouth, a small city southeast of Boston. 
5368 !GCAT !GWEA  Powerful Hurricane Edouard continued a march across the open waters of the Atlantic on Thursday, but Leeward Island hurricane alerts were dropped as weaker Hurricane Fran set a course north of the Caribbean.   The National Hurricane Centre was tracking a series of tropical weather systems that stretched across the Atlantic Ocean from off the coast of Africa almost to the Bahamas.   Forecasters urged residents along much of the U.S. eastern seaboard to stay tuned to weather forecasts during the Labour Day holiday weekend as climate conditions steering Edouard shifted slightly, increasing the storm's threat to coastal states from Georgia northward.   Edouard continued to strengthen, with maximum sustained winds rising to 140 mph (225 kmh), and made its predicted turn to the northwest, but forecasters said computer models indicated a high pressure ridge could force the storm toward the mid-Atlantic coast in three days.   "It looks to me like the biggest risk is the Carolinas ... particularly because it's the Labour Day weekend," National Hurricane Centre forecaster Jerry Jarrell said.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), Edouard was 785 miles (1,250 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, at latitude 25.1 north and longitude 69.5 west.   It was moving northwest at 13 mph (21 kmh).   In coastal areas of North Carolina battered by Hurricane Bertha in mid-July, residents and business owners took a wait-and-see attitude.   Motel owners in Hatteras Village said they had had few cancellations as people seemed to be holding to their Labour Day weekend plans, at least for the moment.   "I think people are waiting to see what it's going to do," Katie Oden, owner of the Sea Gull motel, said.   "It might hurt us even if it does turn, but you got to take it as it comes."   Forecasters discontinued hurricane watches for the Leeward Islands as Hurricane Fran remained weak and was expected to pass north of the islands of the northeastern Caribbean.   At 5 p.m.   EDT (2100 GMT), it was located 255 miles (400 km) east-northeast of Antigua at latitude 18.8 north and longitude 58.2 west and moving west-northwest at 13 mph (21 kmh).   The storm was a minimal hurricane, with top winds of 75 mph (120 kmh), and forecasters said little change in strength was expected in the next day.   NASA said on Thursday it was prepared to haul shuttle Atlantis back to its hangar if Edouard or Fran threatened Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.   Tropical Storm Gustav was lined up behind Fran, at latitude 15.1 north and longitude 38.3 west, about 870 miles (1400 km) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.   It had maximum winds of 45 mph (75 kmh) and was on a northwesterly course that was expected to keep it safely out at sea.   "It's the busiest time of the year for hurricanes," National Hurricane Centre forecaster Bill Fredericks said.   "The peak of the season is always around the Labour Day holiday." 
5369 !GCAT !GCRIM  A 62-year-old man was being held Thursday after his arrest on charges of causing two bomb scares at the Maryland state capitol building, police said.   Daniel James, whose last known address was in Washington, was arrested by Maryland state police shortly after he allegedly placed a "hoax device" at a basement entrance to the Maryland State House.   The building was evacuated while a bomb squad examined the package, which resembled one left at the same location Aug. 5.   Police spokesman Michael McKelvin said the package was about the size of a pad of legal paper and was addressed to Maryland Gov. Paris Glendening.   Inside were photocopied sheets of apparently random paragraphs, including "some anti-government stuff," McKelvin said.   The first package had similar contents, he said.   "We're just trying to put together the puzzle," he said.   James was denied bail after he failed to speak at a hearing at the Anne Arundel County district courthouse. 
5370 !GCAT !GPOL  President Bill Clinton's triumphal appearance at the Democratic convention, a vital moment in his bid for a second term, was marred on Thursday by the resignation of a top adviser in a reported sex scandal.   Clinton was at work on the nomination acceptance speech that will launch his 10-week re-election campaign when political strategist Dick Morris abruptly announced his resignation on Thursday.   The tabloid Star magazine reported the married Morris had a lengthy affair with a $200-an-hour prostitute who he allowed to eavesdrop on telephone conversations with Clinton, and with whom he shared White House speeches before they were made.   "Dick Morris is my friend, and he is a superb political strategist," Clinton said in a written statement.   "I am and always will be grateful for the great contributions he has made to my campaigns and for the invaluable work he has done for me over the last two years."   Morris declined to address the allegations directly in his resignation statement but said he was quitting to avoid becoming a campaign issue.   The surprise development captivated the thousands of reporters at the convention and clearly worried some Democrats, who had planned a triumphal celebration of Clinton's lead over Dole in the opinion polls.   Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, called it a "big bump" in the way of the Clinton campaign.   "It comes at the worst possible time on one of the biggest days for the president," Feinstein said.   Clinton was to deliver his acceptance speech at the final session of the Democratic Convention opening at 8 p.m.   EDT (midnight GMT).   The 50-year-old president has been dogged for years by allegations of financial wrongdoing, sexual misconduct and questionable judgment in selecting his advisers.   Republicans hope to seize on the "character" issue to bolster Clinton's challenger Bob Dole in the final weeks of the campaign.   Speaking in Santa Barbara, California, Dole did not directly refer to the sexual scandal but said the departure of Morris, who had advised Clinton to chart a more centrist political course, would make Clinton drift back to the left.   "Morris has been trying to make President Clinton a Republican, now maybe he'll revert to the liberal Democrat that he really is," Dole told reporters.   Clinton will hit the road on Friday for a bus tour across several states in his fight to become the first Democratic incumbent re-elected to a second term since the days of Franklin D. Roosevelt.   Aides said Clinton planned to spend most of Thursday in his hotel room several miles (km) from the convention hall working on his speech.   It was apparently neglected on his long "whistle-stop" train trip to the convention, during which he revelled in contact with friendly crowds across the country's heartland.   He was also hoarse and was giving his voice a rest.   But first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton told ABC television, "He's really fired up."   "He wants to outline to the American people what he thinks has been accomplished in the last four years, and what he would like to see done in the next four years," she said.   "He's very excited about this convention...He's excited about the campaign.   But more than that, he's very resolute about what he wants to do."   "I don't take anything for granted.   I always expect elections to get close.   I expect to have a great deal of up and down days between now and then," she said of the November 5 election date.   Clinton is leading Dole by as much as 15 points according to some polls.   The campaign pits Dole, a man of quick and withering wit and long-time public service, but stilted speaking style, against the glib and confident Clinton, who has perfected a style that makes direct eye contact with his audience. 
5371 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  By Gail Appleson, Law Correspondent   State attorneys general suing the tobacco industry are proposing a 15-year, $150 billion legislative settlement of both state and individual suits to compensate for smoking-related illnesses, a key official said Thursday.   Following news earlier this week about the joint proposal, Mississippi Attorney Michael Moore told Reuters details of the draft law, which would cover the roughly 200 individual suits pending around the country.   It proposes that the industry put up a total of $12 billion the first year, half of which would go to the states and half to cover any liability from individual suits.   The amounts would increase incrementally over 15 years.   "This would be a full and final resolution of litigation in the country," Moore said.   "The thought behind that is that the tobacco companies cannot settle one case.   They would have to settle all cases," he said.   The draft excludes any potential criminal actions.   The Justice Department is currently conducting several investigations into the tobacco industry, including one into allegations that cigarette makers hid the health hazards of smoking from federal agencies.   A total of 14 attorneys general have sued the industry to recoup health care costs of smokers.   The lieutenant governor of Alabama has also filed suit as a private attorney on behalf of public agencies, and Moore said he expected five more states to file by the end of September.   Moore said that a committee of seven attorneys general is working on the proposal and would meet at the end of next week to discuss revisions to the draft.   He said the attorneys general have been negotiating with the industry through intermediaries, including John Sears, a Republican political strategist affiliated with Bob Dole's presidential election campaign.   Moore said the group has not met with tobacco representatives directly.   "We have bounced ideas through the White House, the FDA, and Senate and congressional leaders.   We've taken input from a lot of people as to just what a global solution should be."   Last week the White House approved Food and Drug Administration regulation of cigarettes in an effort to keep cigarettes away from children.   The attorneys general proposal provides that in the first year, cigarette makers pay $6 billion to compensate all 50 states for Medicaid costs of smokers.   From this amount would come about $500 million to pay the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for anti-smoking messages during the first year of the proposed legislation.   The draft also proposes that the industry pay another $6 billion in 1997 into a fund to cover any liability from suits filed by individual smokers.   The fund would be used to pay plaintiffs who win through trials or arbitration.   He said there would be ceilings placed on amounts paid to plaintiffs, probably about $1 million each.   Initial reports of the proposal drew criticism from some attorneys general and personal injury lawyers who did not know about the negotiations.   The tobacco industry also raised objections.   "Our tobacco subsidiary is not interested in -- and has no intention of settling the cases against it and remains confident in the strength of its defences," RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp. said in a statement.   Moore said information about the draft had been leaked earlier this week, well before the attorneys general were ready to present a proposal.   "This is a possible solution.   It's something that started on a whim and it somehow got legs.   The industry has shown a lot of interest in it.   It may or may not work.   "We won't push for legislation unless there is consensus from the White House, the FDA, from attorneys general, from personal injury lawyers and public health advocates all across the country," he said. 
5372 !GCAT !GPOL  President Bill Clinton's campaign strategist, Dick Morris, announced his resignation on Thursday after a tabloid newspaper reported he had a long affair with a prostitute, marring one of the most crucial days of Clinton's career.   "While I served I sought to avoid the limelight because I did not want to become the message," Morris said in a written resignation statement issued to hordes of reporters at Clinton's hotel.   "Now, I resign so I will not become the issue."   The departure of Morris, a critical player in the move by Clinton to the political centre that may have cleared the way for a second term, could not have come at a worse time for the president.   Clinton was later due to give his speech at the Democratic convention accepting the party's re-nomination in what should have been a moment of pure triumph.   Clinton, closeted in his suite at the Sheraton Chicago hotel working on the speech, issued a statement through White House spokesman Mike McCurry thanking Morris for his work.   "Dick Morris is my friend, and he is a superb political strategist.   I am and always will be grateful for the great contributions he has made to my campaigns and for the invaluable work he has done for me over the last two years," Clinton said.   The shock development took some of the air out of Clinton and his campaign, buoyed at a double-digit lead in the polls over Republican nominee Bob Dole, and a succesful four-day whistlestop train tour through the Midwest.   "It's a disappointment, that's for sure.   It makes us all look bad," a White House official told Reuters.   But he added that Morris was "not the campaign, the president is the campaign."   Another official however said there was no question the allegations against Morris were politically damaging to Clinton.   "The problem is it raises the integrity issue," the official said.   Morris' resignation followed a report that the married 48-year-old political strategist had a year-long affair with a 37-year-old callgirl at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, his base while working for Clinton.   The report was published by the supermarket weekly tabloid Star magazine and reprinted in Thursday's edition of the New York Post.   The Post said the tabloid had photos and videotapes to back up its story.   The Star said Morris bragged to the woman, who it identified as Sherry Rowlands, about how powerful he was, letting her secretly listen to phone conversations with the president and revealing his nicknames for the Clintons - "The Monster" for the president and "the Twister" for first lady Hillary Clinton.   The magazine said Morris let Rowlands read the first lady's speech to the convention in Chicago five nights before she delivered it.   Rowlands, who lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, kept a diary, The Star said, in which she included steamy details of their affair and accounts of secrets that Morris allegedly told her, including one that "only seven in the world know about" -- the discovery of possible life on Mars.   A week later the announcement was made that traces of a primitive life form were found on a meteorite that crashed into Earth 13,000 years ago.   McCurry said he had no knowledge about the truth of the report but urged news organisations to be careful about reporting them.   Morris said in his statement he resigned on Wednesday night and would have no comment on the charges.   "I will not dignify such journalism with a reply or an answer.   I never will," he said.   McCurry said Clinton was told when he woke up that "Mr. Morris had submitted his resignation and was on his way back home."   "He was surprised at the allegations, but was very quick to underscore to everyone, we should consider the source," McCurry told a packed news briefing.   He described Morris' resignation as voluntary. 
5373 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton prepared to accept the Democratic nomination on Thursday but his effort to focus attention on his plans for a second term was marred by the resignation of a top aide over a reported sex scandal.   Clinton, described as "fired up" for the 10-week campaign against Republican rival Bob Dole, was working on the acceptance speech he will deliver to the final session of the Democratic Convention opening at 8 p.m.   EDT (0001 GMT).   But just hours before that event Clinton's campaign was rocked by a new scandal involving top political adviser Dick Morris, who campaign aides said resigned after published reports linked him to a year-long affair with a prostitute.   The tabloid Star magazine reported that Morris let the prostitute listen in on telephone conversations with Clinton and read copies of convention speeches before they were delivered.   Clinton will hit the road on Friday for a bus tour across several states in his fight to become the first Democratic incumbent re-elected to a second term since the days of Franklin D. Rosevelt.   The 73-year-old Dole, winding up a California vacation interspersed with campaigning, had an eye on what was happening in Chicago.   He fired a shot at Vice President Al Gore, calling him the party's "hatchet man."   That was in response to Gore's combative speech to the convention on Wednesday night in which he took on Dole by name and in detail.   The attack was in contrast to Clinton who has so far largely emphasised his record but kept attacks on Dole and the Republican party to generic ones.   Aides said Clinton planned to spend the day in his hotel room several miles from the convention hall working on his speech, which may have been neglected on his long train trip to the convention city during which he spoke to friendly crowds across the country's heartland.   He was also reported somewhat hoarse and was giving his voiced a rest.   But first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was speaking, telling ABC television, "He's really fired up."   "He wants to outline to the American people what he thinks has been accomplished in the last four years, and what he would like to see done in the next four years," she said.   "He's very excited about this convention," she added.   "He's excited about the campaign.   But more than that, he's very resolute about what he wants to do."   "I don't take anything for granted.   I always expect elections to get close.   I expect to have a great deal of up and down days between now and then," she said of the Nov. 5 election date.   Clinton is leading Dole by as much as 15 points according to some polls.   The campaign pits Dole, a man of quick and withering wit and long-time public service against the glib and confident Clinton, who at age 50 has perfected the look-them-in-their-face speaking style.   Gore depicted Dole on Wednesday as a remnant of the past who blocked progressive ideas during his years in Congress.   "Apparently he's the hatchet man for the Democrats, It's not unexpected coming from Al Gore," Dole replied.   "It's unfortunate but not unexpected."   When he launched his campaign at the end of the Republican convention in San Diego, Dole questioned Clinton's trustworthiness and indirectly criticised Mrs. Clinton.   Within minutes after Gore had spoken on Wednesday, Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, the party chairman, called for a high ground campaign that may be difficult for either side to reach.   "Let us do our part to restore civility to America's political discourse.   Let us lead by example.   Let us not dishonour our democracy," he said.   "The American people are fed up with relentless assaults on people's reputations.   This has to stop and it must stop now," he said.   "And I say this to our political opponents: Stop attacking the president's family."   "The American people want you to stick to the issues," he said.   "We may at times oppose one another, but we must always respect each other.   And let us begin now."   Speaking of Dole's World War Two military service, which left Dole with wounds that mark him to this day, Dodd said, "Let me say Sen. Robert Dole, on behalf of the thousands here in this United Centre -- thank you.   Thank you from a generation of Americans living in freedom because of your sacrifices."   "It is not Bob Dole's reputation that I question.   It is his agenda for America," he added.   "Sometimes a fine person has flawed ideas.   This is such a time." 
5374 !GCAT !GPOL  Dick Morris, President Bill Clinton's controversial political consultant, has resigned in the wake of reports that he was embroiled in a year-long affair with a $200-an-hour prostitute, campaign sources said onThursday.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry refused to comment on the reports, saying he would be in a better position to talk about them at a midday briefing in Clinton's headquarters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.   "I know there are reports out there.   I have no comment on those reports.   I'll be in a better position to have some comment when I do my regular daily briefing at 1 p.m.," he said.   Morris' resignation, confirmed by campaign sources, followed published reports that the married 48-year-old political consultant engaged in a year-long affair with a 37-year-old prostitute on a weekly basis at the Jefferson Hotel in Washington, his home away from his real Connecticut home while working for Clinton.   The reports were published by the supermarket weekly tabloid Star magazine and reprinted in Thursday's edition of the New York Post.   The Post said the tabloid had photos and videotapes to back up its story which The Star said the woman brought to them and was paid an undisclosed amount.   White House officials said they first learned of the reports on Wednesday night as Clinton wound up an exuberant, four-day whistle-stop train tour across the Midwest and was nominated by the Democratic Party for a second term.   James Carville, Clinton's top political consultant in 1992, said he too had learned of the allegations Wednesday night.   "I find that hard to believe.   I think he's much too bright a guy," he said.   Asked if Morris' departure would hurt the Clinton campaign, he replied: "I think Dick's done a good job.   But the graveyard is full of indispensable men."   Morris has been credited with helping Clinton to reposition himself as a political centrist, a move widely believed to have sparked the president's comeback from the 1994 rout of Democrats in mid-term congressional elections.   Morris, a liberal who became a conservative Republican, drew the ire of Clinton aides for repositioning the president in the political centre and became a very controversial figure.   But at the convention he received much press coverage including flattering profiles in Time magazine and USA Today.   The Star said Morris bragged to the woman, who it identified as Sherry Rowlands, about how politically powerful he was, letting her secretly listen to phone conversations with the president and revealing his nicknames for the Clintons, calling the president "The Monster" and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton "The Twister."   The magazine said Morris even let Rowlands read the first lady's speech to the convention in Chicago five nights before she delivered it.   The magazine headlined its story "White House Call Girl Scandal" and published photographs allegedly showing the woman and Morris embracing.   Rowlands, who lives in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, kept a diary, The Star said, in which she included steamy details of their affair and accounts of secrets that Morris allegedly told her, including one that "only seven in the world know about" -- the discovery of possible life on Mars.   A week later the announcement was made that traces of a primitive life form were found on a meteorite that crashed into Earth 13,000 years ago. 
5375 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Powerful Hurricane Edouard continued its march across the open waters of the Atlantic on Thursday as weaker Hurricane Fran approached the Caribbean, prompting alerts in the Leeward Islands.   The National Hurricane Centre was tracking a series of tropical weather systems that stretched across the Atlantic Ocean from off the coast of Africa almost to the Bahamas.   Edouard, with maximum winds rising to 130 mph (215 kph), was heading west-northwest but forecasters continued to predict a more northerly turn on Thursday.   They advised residents of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast to keep a close watch on the storm's progress.   "We still have to keep our eye on Edouard but we're expecting a turn in its course today," said hurricane centre forecaster Bill Fredericks.   If it turns as many computer models predict, it could leave the U.S. coast untouched.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), Edouard was 865 miles (1,400 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, at latitude 24.3 north and longitude 68.6 west.   It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).   In coastal areas of North Carolina, battered by Hurricane Bertha in mid-July, residents and business owners took a wait-and-see attitude.   Motel owners in Hatteras Village said they had had few cancellations as people seemed to be staying with their Labour Day weekend plans, at least for the moment.   "I think people are waiting to see what it's going to do," said Katie Oden, owner of the Sea Gull motel.   "It might hurt us even if it does turn but you got to take it as it comes."   Hurricane watches -- alerting residents to storm conditions within 36 hours -- were issued for the northeastern Caribbean islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius and Saba as Fran approached the Leeward Islands.   At 11 a.m.   EDT (1500 GMT), it was located 300 miles (490 km) east of Antigua, at latitude 17.9 north and longitude 57.2 west, and moving west-northwest at 15 mph (24 kmh).   The storm strengthened overnight, becoming a minimal hurricane with top winds of 75 mph (120 kmh), but forecasters said they expected it to gain further strength on Thursday.   Tropical Storm Gustav was lined up behind Fran, at latitude 13.9 north and longitude 37.6 west, about 860 miles (1380 km) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands.   It had maximum winds of 45 mph (75 kmh) and was on a northwesterly course that was expected to keep the storm safely out at sea.   "It's the busiest time of the year for hurricanes," Fredericks said.   "The peak of the season is always around the Labour Day holiday." 
5376 !GCAT !GDIS !GPOL  Pentagon officials have said the fatal crash of an Air Force transport plane carrying Secret Service equipment for President Bill Clinton appears to have been the result of pilot error by an inexperienced crew, CBS News reported on Thursday.   "I think we're going to find that there were some pilot errors that night," CBS quoted one Pentagon official as saying of the crash, which killed all nine people aboard.   The flight commander was an experienced pilot, CBS said, but the co-pilot had only 70 hours flight time in a C-130 and the 22-year-old navigator had "minimal" flying hours.   The Air Force is still investigating the crash of the C-130, which was attempting a nighttime departure from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.   A pilot watching the takeoff said the plane "was in the wrong place ... you don't head out anyplace other than south out of here."   Officials said the plane's black boxes gave no indication of mechanical malfunction or that the crew thought anything was wrong.   Defence officials said an investigation will have to look into whether it was appropriate for such an inexperienced crew to fly a presidential mission out of a mountain airport, CBS said. 
5377 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Investigators reported little progress Thursday in the search for clues to the crash of TWA Flight 800 and voiced concern that storms brewing in the Caribbean would churn up wreckage still lying on the Atlantic Ocean floor.   The search is focused on the "debris field" furthest away from Kennedy International Airport, where the Paris-bound plane departed July 17.   The Boeing 747 burst into a fireball a few minutes after take-off, killing all 230 people on board.   Searchers have recovered more than half of the debris that stretched in a mile-and-a-half-long swath at sea.   Investigators have found chemical explosive traces on the debris but say they do not have enough evidence to determine whether a bomb, a missile or mechanical failure caused the crash.   At the site off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., U.S. Navy searchers expected eight to 10-foot seas due to Hurricane Edouard that was brewing off the coast of North Carolina, said Rear Adm. Edward Kristensen.   A weaker Hurricane Fran was moving through the northeastern Caribbean, and Tropical Storm Gustav was not far behind, the National Weather Service said.   "The potential is there ... to move the debris on the bottom," said Kristensen of the storms.   Should that occur, he said, the Navy would use high-powered side-scanning sonar to relocate the wreckage.   Robert Francis, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the storms could slow the investigation.   "If we end up with one or more of those storms coming into this area, obviously we'll have to shut down," he said.   James Kallstrom, the chief FBI investigator in the case, asked beachgoers to contact authorities if they spot debris washing up over the long Labour Day holiday weekend.   Wreckage has been found more than 100 miles (160 km) away on the New Jersey shore, and Kallstrom said police departments had been alerted as far south as Washington, D.C.   Kallstrom said the investigation could continue apace even though the search for debris might be slowed.   "There's nothing that is hamstringing the FBI to solve this case," he said.   Of the 230 passengers and crew killed, the bodies of 211 have been recovered. 
5378 !GCAT !GHEA !GSCI  University of Pennsylvania researchers on Thursday said a new gene-therapy technique for treating muscular dystrophy disease had shown progress in laboratory animals.   Word of the findings, to be published in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal "Human Gene Therapy," came in advance of the annual Jerry Lewis Labour Day weekend telethon to raise money for muscular dystrophy research.   Several hurdles must be overcome before the method is used in human trials.   Nevertheless, "a treatment based on the new strategy .... may have the potential to benefit many patients," the University of Pennsylvania Medical Centre said in a release.   Muscular dystrophy is a fatal illness in which the body's muscle tissue degenerates and is replaced by fat.   Death strikes in early adulthood.   Individuals with the disease have a non-working version of a gene responsible for producing a crucial muscle protein called dystrophin.   In the study at the University's Institute for Human Gene Therapy, researchers altered a common-cold virus to carry a version of the working dystrophin gene.   The virus, which also was altered to minimise its susceptibility to the immune system, was then injected into the muscle cells of mice bred to lack dystrophin genes.   In the experiment, between 30 to 40 percent of the muscle fibers in one group of mice produced dystrophin for two weeks before diminishing.   Similar results had been obtained previously in test-tube cell cultures, but not in live animals, the university said.   The university said methods are still needed to make enough of the altered virus to treat humans, to further decrease the immune-system response to the virus, and to deliver the virus to human muscle tissue. 
5379 !GCAT !GPOL  The alleged sex scandal involving President Bill Clinton's top political adviser, Dick Morris, stunned Democratic Convention delegates on Thursday but they predicted Clinton would weather the storm.   Republicans said the alleged affair that caused Morris to resign blighted Clinton's big acceptance speech night and the president had lost a brilliant adviser.   "I'm horrified," said Democratic convention delegate Madge Overhouse, a widow from Los Gatos, California.   The reaction of Overhouse was typical of delegates interviewed as the story of Morris' resigning after reports of a seamy sexual affair unfolded hours before Clinton was due to address the nation with his renomination acceptance address.   Overhouse and others interviewed blamed Morris for foolhardiness and indiscretion for allegedly cavorting with a $200-a-hour "escort" while working for the president.   But many believed damage to Clinton would be short lived now that Morris has quit.   "It won't last," said Overhouse.   Morris, a 48-year-old married political consultant who worked for Republican candidates in the past as well as advising Clinton over the years, is credited with helping the president came back in the polls in the past two years.   Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, called the report a "bump in the road ... a big bump."   "It comes at the worst possible times on one of the biggest days for the president," she said.   "It just makes one wonder about loyalty in public life, judgment, those kinds of things of people who surround somebody who obviously is vulnerable a few months before an election," she said.   Balwant Singh, 64, a Sikh originally from Punjab, India, but now an American citizen, said, "The news is shocking ... Morris let the president down and what he did was wrong and he owes the public an apology."   "His private life does not bother me," said Paula Robinson of New Mexico.   "He let the president down."   She said the impact will die down since Clinton "is doing a superb job."   Republicans had a different slant since they have accused Morris of being the person advising Clinton to steal Republican issues and make them his own.   "Morris has been trying to make President Clinton a Republican, now maybe he'll revert to the liberal Democrat that he (Clinton) really is," Republican challenger Bob Dole told reporters in Santa Barbara, California.   He declined to say if the development would help him catch up to Clinton in polls.   Tony Blankey, spokesman for Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said the episode has "two fairly substantial consequences: It's going to blemish the president's big night ... the larger, longer-term consequence is it's going to affect the ability of Bill Clinton to run the campaign that he wanted to run" without Morris' advice.   Democratic activist Jesse Jackson said quitting "was the only thing he could do.   It was the right thing to do."   But earlier Jackson ripped into Morris in Thursday's USA Today for getting Clinton to back welfare curbs.   "I don't know whether Dick Morris is apolitical," Jackson said.   "But he is amoral.   He does not care about ideology." 
5380 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Clinton, trying to become the first Democratic incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt to win re-election, urged Americans Thursday to let him lead them into the 21st century with an agenda that disdains the "old politics of Washington."   "For four years now, we have worked to realize our vision for America.   Our strategy is simple but profound: opportunity for all, responsibility for all, a strong American community where everyone has a place and plays a role," Clinton said in a speech prepared for the Democratic convention.    Excerpts of Clinton's speech, which included specific proposals on taxes and other domestic policy issues, were released to reporters several hours before he addressed the convention.   "On issues that once tore us apart, we have changed the old politics of Washington.   For too often, leaders asked 'who's to blame,?'   We ask 'what are we going to do,?'"   he said.   Clinton promised to balance the budget but portrayed himself as a bulwark against excessive Republican efforts to shrink government.   He also blasted Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole's plan for a $548 billion across-the-board tax cut 
5381 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  North Carolina, the nation's leading tobacco-growing state, plans to sue to halt the federal government from regulating tobacco as a drug, the attorney general's office said Thursday.   The move follows President Clinton's approval last week enabling the Food and Drug Administration to regulate nicotine as a drug with the intent of stopping sales of tobacco to minors.   "The people of this state, including tobacco farmers, agree that we need to stop kids from smoking," state Attorney General Mike Easley said in a statement.   "We just disagree with the FDA on the best way to accomplish this goal."   North Carolina's cash receipts for tobacco in 1995 totalled $1.05 billion, according to the state Department of Agriculture, and thousands of small farms in the state grow the crop.   Easley was not specific about what legal steps the state would take.   He said a final decision would be made as soon as possible but that one was not likely before next week.   If the state does not file its own lawsuit, then it could join others to oppose the new regulations by the FDA, officials said.   Last week, Kentucky, another big tobacco state, said it would sue to bar FDA regulation of tobacco.   Some constitutional law professors have likened the lawsuits to grandstanding as state politicians have said they must assure farmers.   "North Carolina is in a sensitive position for politicians because tobacco is a significant portion of our economy," said Democratic State Sen. Frank Ballance, the majority whip, "thus it's appropriate that politicians pay attention to this and that's what the governor's doing."   Gov. Jim Hunt is running for re-election.   His Republican opponent, Robin Hayes, has also vowed to fight what he called President Clinton's war on tobacco. 
5382 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIS !GENV  Weary firefighters battling 46 major fires in seven western states got welcome news on Thursday when the Department of Defence agreed to send a battalion of U.S. Marines to the firelines to help in the effort.   Army Col. Randy Gordon, the Department of Defence co-ordinating officer with the National Interagency Fire Centre, said the Marines, from Camp Pendleton, California, would train at their base on Friday before being moved to the firelines over the weekend.   It is the second military battalion to be called up to fight the current fires, which have charred nearly 655,000 acres (265,000 hectares).   An Army battalion from Ft.   Carson, Colorado, is currently fighting wildfires in Oregon.   A battalion consists of about 530 soldiers.   In California, a 15-year-old boy pleaded not guilty in court to setting a fire on Monday in a scenic area 60 miles (96 kms) northwest of Los Angeles with a cigarette lighter.   By noon on Friday it had spread to 20,000 acres (8,090 hectares) and was still burning out of control.   A judge in Sylmar, California, ordered the teenager, who was not identified because of his age, held in a detention centre for his own safety, noting the strong public sentiment against him.   Firefighters battling the blaze in the Lake Castaic area also had to contend with bees, scorpions, 100 degree Fahrenheit (37 C) temperatures and wildly shifting winds.   Two other large fires burning in northern California brought the total acreage charred by current fires in the state to 89,700 acres (36,000 hectares).   Firefighters in Nevada were attempting to handle 13 blazes on Thursday that had blackened a total of 206,000 acres (83,000 hectares), including 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares) in the Upper Humboldt complex 10 miles (16 kms) east of Battle Mountain.   The fire, which was only 25 percent contained, was threatening the community of Crescent Valley, a Federal Aviation Administration control facility, three mines and three ranches.   A total of 12 fires in Oregon were burning on Wednesday, covering 202,600 acres (82,000 hectares).   The largest was in the Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area, where flames had ravaged 68,525 acres (27,730 hectares) and were threatening historic structures, electronic facilities and the area's big game winter range.   So far this year, 84,640 wildfires have consumed more than 5 million acres (2 million hectares), compared to the five-year average of 59,400 fires and just under 2 million acres (809,000 hectares). 
5383 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  By Gail Appleson, Law Correspondent   A federal jury on Thursday began deliberating whether three radical Moslems planned to bomb 12 U.S. passenger jets to punish the United States for its support of Israel.   The case against Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, the alleged mastermind of the plot, and two other defendants went to the jury after a full day of instructions on the law.   The trial started in May.   The jury broke after about an hour on Thursday evening and will return on Tuesday.   Panellists are not sequestered, but their names and addresses are being kept secret.   Yousef was one of the world's most wanted fugitives until he was arrested in February 1995 in Islamabad, Pakistan, and returned to New York.   If convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.   He is accused of being the architect of a scheme to murder about 4,000 passengers over a 48-hour period last year as they returned on Delta, Northwest and United flights to the United States from the Far East.   Yousef is also charged with placing a bomb on a Philippine Airlines flight from Manila to Tokyo on Dec. 11, 1994, as a trial run.   The bomb exploded under the seat of a Japanese passenger, killing him and injuring 10 other people.   He will also be tried later this year for allegedly masterminding the 1993 World Trade Centre bombing, which killed six and injured more than 1,000 people.   Prosecutors allege the purpose of these attacks was to punish the United States for its support of Israel.   The airline bombing case against Yousef and two other defendants, Abdul Hakim Murad and Wali Khan Amin Shah, was developed after a January 1995 fire broke out in an apartment shared by Yousef and Murad in Manila.   Yousef allegedly fled to Pakistan after the bombing.   The Philippine National Police found in the apartment bomb-making equipment and manuals, explosives and a Toshiba laptop computer containing schedules for Delta, Northwest and United flights along with detonation times.   Yousef and lawyers for the other two defendants said in closing arguments that the police had fabricated and altered evidence found at the scene.   They focused on testimony by two officers who said police reports contained false information about evidence and where it had been found.   Yousef alleged that he was the victim of a conspiracy by the Philippines and Pakistan aimed at winning the favour of the U.S. government.   But prosecutors argued that this was a real plan and that it was "one of the most hideous crimes anyone has ever conceived."   "They had the material, they had the know-how and they had the determination to carry out the plan with deadly precision," said Dietrich Snell, assistant U.S. attorney. 
5384 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  - A top Hispanic in the Clinton administration says the president's re-election could depend on the votes of Latinos in a handful of battleground states.   Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, one of two Hispanics in President Clinton's Cabinet, said in an interview during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week that Hispanic voters, who traditionally support Democrats, could decide the outcome in New Mexico, Arizona, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Florida.   "In key states ... Latino voters are going to make a difference," Pena said.   Even though Clinton leads Republican challenger Bob Dole in the polls, Pena said he expects a "very competitive" race featuring immigration as a top issue.   The states he mentioned hold 108 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency.   Hispanics are making their largest convention showing ever with 485 delegates, 9 percent of the total and equivalent to their share of the U.S. population.   Party leaders have tried to rouse their enthusiasm at daily meetings this week.   Democratic National Co-Chairman Don Fowler even spoke in Spanish when he opened the convention.   First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said Wednesday Hispanic turnout is "particularly important" to re-elect President Clinton and Latino members of Congress.   "I hope when you leave this convention you are energised," she told an already boisterous crowd, "and you will return home committed to doing all that we know needs to be done."   A recent poll by the Southwest Voter Research Institute found that 58 percent of Hispanics nationwide would vote for Clinton.   Thirteen percent supported Dole.   Historically, Democrats have drawn Hispanic support from Mexican Americans in Texas and the West.   But the large anti-Castro Cuban population in Florida tends to vote Republican.   This year, Democrats hope Republicans' emphasis on immigration will mobilise Latinos to defeat them.   The party's platform calls for blocking all services except emergency care for illegal immigrants and denying citizenship to their children born on U.S. soil.   It also restricts legal immigrants' access to welfare.   "Most Latinos understand the Republican party platform is a very negative platform in respect to Latino issues," Pena said.   Jason Poblete, a Republican National Committee spokesman, said Hispanics are more concerned about the economy, health care and job security than immigration.   Republicans are slowly winning Hispanic votes with their conservative fiscal and social agenda, he added.   Republicans could not have won control of Congress in 1994 without Hispanics, 40 percent of whom voted Republican, Poblete said.   "We reach out to Hispanic Americans ... because they care about issues like a balanced budget, less taxes and genuine welfare reform," he said. 
5385 !GCAT !GENT  An unrepentant and abusive Liam Gallagher arrived in Chicago on Thursday to rejoin his touring bandmates in "Oasis", denying speculation that he was thinking of leaving the hugely successful British rock group.   Gallagher, the group's lead singer, swore at reporters who asked why he was late in joining the three-week tour, which began on Tuesday in Chicago with his brother Noel filling in.   Many fans asked for refunds when Liam failed to show up.   He said he was late because he had been suffering from a sore throat and was busy house-hunting.   Gallagher skipped the band's departure from London's Heathrow Airport on Monday, saying he had "problems at home."   The band also performed without him on Aug. 23 on an "Unplugged" show from London's Royal Festival Hall broadcast on Music Television (MTV).   Upon arriving in Chicago, Gallagher swore repeatedly when asked if his absence was an insult to fans, and said his priority was himself, not his fans nor anyone else.   The band was scheduled to perform in Auburn Hills, Michigan, outside Detroit on Friday.   The 15,000-seat venue, The Palace, was not sold out, but a promoter said a walk-up crowd could fill the remaining seats.   The notorious Gallagher brothers from Manchester have stormed music charts worldwide with a string of electrifying hits including "Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back in Anger", and "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"  . 
5386 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  A new poll suggested Thursday that 52 percent of the voters in Dr. Jack Kevorkian's home state believe he was wrong to help a non-terminally ill 42-year-old Massachusetts woman die earlier this month.   But the same poll showed that Kevorkian's string of assisted suicides in August had not dampened the public's overwhelming belief that some form of physician-assisted suicide should be allowed.   Kevorkian, who has helped 38 people die since 1990, has been roundly criticised for his role in the Aug. 15 death of Judith Curren of Pembroke, Mass.   Curren suffered from chronic fatique syndrome and other ailments that left her incapacitated and in constant pain, according to Kevorkian.   The Oakland County medical examiner said Curren, a registered nurse and the mother of two children, was overweight but had no terminal disease.   On Thursday, a spokesman for the coroner said Curren died from an intravenous injection of a poisonous substance, making her death a homicide.   In the poll by EPIC/MRA, a Lansing, Mich.-based company, 30 percent of the 600 active voters contacted in Michigan thought the Curren death showed Kevorkian was getting reckless in his methods and should be controlled.   Twenty-two percent thought Kevorkian was always wrong to help others die, while 39 percent said they supported the 68-year-old retired pathologist.   "What I'm beginning to see here is there is a possibility that if Kevorkian keeps this style up, then I think legislation could be crafted to put a stop to some of his actions," said Ed Sarpolus, vice president of EPIC/MRI.   The poll was conducted Aug. 20-22 and had a margin of error of 4 percent.   Respondents were also asked if Michigan should again ban assisted suicides.   Forty-one percent said the government should stay out of the issue, while 34 percent said rules should be devised to prevent abuses.   Twenty-two percent said legislators should impose another law prohibiting assisted suicide.   Michigan had a temporary ban on the practice except when a physician acted to relieve pain and suffering, but the law expired in November 1994 after legislators refused to renew the ban.   Michael Schwartz, one of Kevorkian's attorneys, said Thursday the poll's first question was not a referendum on his client's methods because it was biased.   Instead of just referring to the coroner's finding about Curren's condition, the question should have mentioned that her own doctors confirmed she had a serious illness and was in great pain, he said.   "It's a loaded question," said Schwartz.   Schwartz said the second finding confirmed that people continued to support what Kevorkian was doing.   Juries acquitted Kevorkian three times in two years on assisted suicide charges. 
5387 !GCAT !GODD  In the world of vampires, only Dracula is bigger than Cayne Presley.   The Texas blood-sucker who recently disclosed her habit of drinking human and animal blood has become an overnight sensation, unable to drive down the streets in this dusty border city without people honking, waving or staring.   Boxes of mail arrive at her door each day while the phone rings constantly from reporters calling from Argentina, Venezuela, Mexico, France, England and Australia, all begging for interviews.   "I really wasn't expecting this," said Presley, a 38-year-old night security guard who first began drinking blood when she was nine.   "I guess I'm a star, or a freak."   Presley's sudden stardom came after she gave an interview to an author writing a non-fiction book about vampires in the United States and titled "Something in the Blood."   A follow-up interview with Reuters sparked a flood of interest in her blood-sucking lifestyle.   "They all want to know if I sleep in a coffin and if I have fangs," Presley said on Thursday.   She said she drinks one or two glasses of blood a day, sometimes offering human donors sex in return for their blood or else turning to a local butcher who gives her cow blood.   Although Presley does not have fangs, some have told her she does look a little like a vampire because she's tall, thin and pale with jet-black hair.   She also always dresses in black and wears deep red lipstick.   For years, Presley said she was ashamed of her hunger for blood and hid the habit from everyone but the closest of her friends.   Then one day a former boyfriend blabbed about Presley's thirst to all her friends and co-workers.   Some were disgusted or scared but others took it in stride.   Presley said she was not bothered by the current blaze of publicity.   "I want to get the word out.   We're not blood-thirsty killers.   We're just blood thirsty."   She said she has received mail from "fans" interested in becoming vampires or offering themselves as donors.   "That's good because I was down to just one donor," Presley said, explaining that she pricks a donor on the inside of the arm and then sucks gently so as not to collapse a vein.   "It's great, better than sex, more intimate.   You're trusting each other with your lives.   And not just for me.   People get addicted to me (drinking their blood)," she said.   But not all of Presley's mail is from fans.   She received at least one letter from an Ohio man pledging to come to her home and drive a stake through her heart.   She brazenly wrote him back to "come and try."   Presley is one of an estimated 8,000 vampires in the United States, according to experts interviewed in "Something in the Blood." 
5388 !GCAT !GCRIM  Prosecutors in the Oklahoma City bombing case claimed Thursday that accused bomber Timothy McVeigh was hoping to influence potential jurors in his trial by holding a string of media interviews.   Although they did not specifically ask U.S. District Judge Richard Matsch to bar McVeigh from holding interviews, the prosecution attorneys said his plan to do so was "an extraordinary attempt to manipulate the news media to produce a favourable impact on the potential jury pool."   Attorney Sean Connelly said any interviews would hinder an impartial trial and that McVeigh's taxpayer-paid lawyers had no authority to make ordinary citizens foot the bill for their public relations efforts to improve McVeigh's image.   McVeigh last week asked for court permission to give eight jailhouse interviews of his choice to counter any public perception that he is a "demon."   His attorneys said the interviews were necessary because "the government and the press has succeeded in convincing the public that not only is Timothy McVeigh guilty, but he deserves to die."   McVeigh and former army buddy Terry Nichols are the only two people accused of planting the bomb which ripped apart the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, that claimed at least 168 lives.   Connelly said in a written response to McVeigh's request for permission to hold interviews that "the best way to ensure fairness is for the case to proceed to trial as quickly as possible, not to attempt to increase the volume of publicity."   He said the prosecution team will ask Matsch "to set the earliest possible trial date" after he decides whether Nichols and McVeigh should be tried separately, as they requested.   McVeigh granted four interviews before authorities at the prison where he is being held told his lawyers to get the judge's permission for future interviews. 
5389 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  The United States said on Thursday it was watching Iraq closely and would take any aggressive moves seriously.   "Obviously, we continue to watch that part of the world very closely," State Department spokesman Glyn Davies said in reply to a question about a reported Iraqi troop buildup near Arbil in Kurdish-populated northern Iraq.   "And we would take seriously any moves that were seen as aggressive."   Davies said he could not describe what the United States had seen in the area without getting into intelligence matters.   "But we're watching the area very closely."   Earlier in the day, Iraq accused Iran of military aggression and said it reserved the right to retaliate for Tehran's alleged deployment of troops into Kurdish-populated regions of northern Iraq.   Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, in a statement carried by official newspapers, accused Tehran of sending troops to northern Iraq and said Baghdad "preserved the full right to retaliate."   "Iran, in its pursuit of such a stupid aggressive policy, would be digging its grave with its own hands, creating a dangerous precedent that will backfire on it," Sahaf said.   The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massoud Barzani has said that Iran sent troops and military equipment into northern Iraq in support of the guerrillas of its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani.   PUK has charged that Baghdad shelled its areas in efforts to back KDP rebels.   It said on Wednesday that Baghdad was massing troops near northern Iraq's Kurdish areas, which have been outside Baghdad's control since shortly after the 1991 Gulf War and are protected by U.S., French and British aircraft against possible attacks by Iraqi armed forces.   Davies said a new ceasefire between the warring Kurdish factions, which took effect on Wednesday, appeared to be holding.   He said U.S. officials would meet representatives of the factions as early as Friday in London to develop "monitoring arrangements to strengthen the ceasefire."   The latest truce, worked out by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Pelletreau, replaced one that took effect last Friday before collapsing with renewed clashes.   Northern Iraq has been split into rival zones since fighting broke out between the two groups in 1994.   About 3,000 people died before a previous ceasefire last March.   A U.S.-led air force contingent has protected the region against possible attack by Baghdad since shortly after the Gulf War. 
5390 !GCAT !GPOL  By Alan Elsner, U.S. Political Correspondent   The resignation of President Bill Clinton's campaign strategist Dick Morris under a personal cloud hurts the president's campaign but should not change the outcome of the Nov. 5 election, analysts said on Thursday.   Morris, who is credited with resurrecting Clinton's political fortunes over the past 18 months by masterminding his turn to the political centre, quit after a supermarket tabloid reported he engaged in a year-long affair with a prostitute, with whom he shared confidential campaign documents.   The woman even got to listen in to a private telephone conversation between Morris and Clinton and read advance copies of speeches to the Democratic convention days before they were delivered, the report said.   The timing could hardly have been worse.   Clinton was poised to make probably his most important speech of the campaign on Thursday in accepting his party's nomination for re-election.   "This is the worst possible day that this story could have broken.   Now, the onus is on Clinton to give such a powerful speech that he succeeds in switching the focus back to the big picture," said Samuel Popkin, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego.   The scandal could turn out to be particularly damaging if it reinforces public doubts about Clinton's character and the morals of the people with whom he has surrounded himself.   Names like Gennifer Flowers and Paula Corbin Jones will resurface.   Flowers alleged an affair with Clinton in 1992 and Jones is suing him for sexual harassment in a case that has been put on hold until after the election.   "It's particularly damaging for Clinton given his own vulnerability on the issue of personal behaviour," said political scientist John Pitney of Claremont McKenna College in California.   That's the bad news for Clinton.   The good news for the president is that none of the experts interviewed by Reuters believed that the scandal would derail his re-election bid, though it could slow his momentum for a few days.   "As long as the president himself is not implicated, this doesn't change the issues and doesn't change the ultimate direction of the campaign," said Steven Wayne, a politics professor at Georgetown University.   Bill Kristol, editor of the pro-Republican magazine "The Weekly Standard" agreed.   "Clinton's going to give a speech tonight, and that's going to lead the news.   It's an embarrassment but not a big deal if your consultant turns out to be a sleaze," he said.   Polls show that over 40 percent of voters do not believe Clinton has the moral character they would wish for in their president.   But Clinton's favourability ratings have been soaring near 60 percent recently, suggesting that most Americans have come to terms with his weaknesses and forgiven them.   Analysts doubted whether Morris's disappearance would alter Clinton's campaign strategy, which was already well set.   Which brings up the interesting question of how Republican candidate Bob Dole should react to the Morris story.   Dole has already made character an issue.   He has attacking unamed people in the Clinton administration as self-satisfied, self-indulgent abusers both of drugs and power who don't know the meaning of personal sacrifice.   Dole's first response was to say he expected a liberal drift in the Clinton campaign now that Morris, the main conservative adviser, had left.   The Republican candidate said that was all the comment he would make.   Kristol said Dole needed to push the Morris issue agressively to make an impact.   "The only way it becomes a big deal is if this becomes emblematic of the Clinton White House.   The only way for that to happen is for Dole to take it on.   To really give this story legs, Dole would have to say that Dick Morris is emblematic of what's wrong with Clinton's presidency," he said.   But Tony Blankley, press secretary to Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said there was no need.   "There are times where I think understatement works better than overstatement," he said. 
5391 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Sex sells.   But now, thanks to the "Foxy Lady Bill", it will be a little harder to sell it in Massachusetts.   In a measure recalling the state's Puritan past, Massachusetts Gov. William Weld Thursday signed into law a bill allowing cities and towns further to regulate the zoning of adult entertainment establishments.   "This law gives communities...the best possible shield against sex shops setting up next to a school or bus stop or retirement home," Weld said at the signing ceremony.   The bill, sparked by an attempt to open a strip club called the Foxy Lady in Weymouth, a small city southeast of Boston, will allow municipalities to confine nude-dancing clubs to specially zoned areas. 
5392 !GCAT !GCRIM  A senior investigator in the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange's (CSCE) compliance department was found dead in his Brooklyn, New York, apartment Tuesday, and the case was being treated as a homicide, the New York medical examiner's office said on Thursday.   The victim, identified by the medical examiner as Romeo Williams, 30, was discovered by police on Tuesday afternoon handcuffed and weighted down in his bathtub.   The official cause of death was suffocation and drowning, it said.   A CSCE spokeswoman said Williams was a CSCE investigator but declined to comment on what cases he was working on.   One trader on the floor of the CSCE said the media was "sensationalizing" the story and called talk that there was a possible connection between his job and death as "ridiculous."   "He investigated minor infractions," said the trader.   "Who's going to murder someone to avoid a $100 fine?"   CSCE investigator duties include making sure floor traders keep trades in sequence and time stamps are correct, another trader said.   More serious infractions are handed over to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the trader added.   The CSCE said that Williams joined the exchange in 1987 as a junior reporter in the cocoa pit and had worked his way up to a senior position in the compliance department.   Patricia Avidan, New York Commodities Desk, 212-859-1640 
5393 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The help-wanted advertising index fell in July, the Conference Board said Thursday, reflecting the uneven nature of the nation's labour markets.   The monthly index fell to 83.0 in July against a reading of 85.0 in June, the private business research group said.   In July, the volume of help-wanted advertising fell in five of the nine U.S. regions.   "The labour market has been expanding throughout 1996, but in a very uneven pattern," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said.   "Recent want-ad figures indicate that conservative hiring plans are keeping job growth below the rate of overall economic activity."   With 2.5 percent gross domestic product growth expected for 1996, new job growth should slowly lower the unemployment rate over the rest of the year.   "With the unemployment rate staying close to about 5.5 percent over the last two years, there is a good chance the rate will slowly drop to about 5.0 percent by the end of the year," Goldstein said.   The July index matched the reading for July, 1995.   The greatest declines in the volume of help-wanted advertising were in the New England, Mountain and West South Central regions.   The greatest increase was in the East North Central region. 
5394 !GCAT !GDIP  The United States has already ejected more illegal immigrants so far this year than it did in all of fiscal 1995, the government said on Thursday.   The United States evicted 54,362 illegal immigrants in the first 10 months of fiscal year 1996, which started last October, compared with nearly 50,200 in all of fiscal 1995, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service said.   The removals include deportations, which are aliens ejected from inside the country, and "exclusions," which are aliens turned away at the port of entry.   In July, the United States removed 4,687 illegal aliens, up 17 percent from the same month last year, according to preliminary figures.   The INS attributed the increased removals to stepped-up efforts by the government.   "The steady increase in these numbers clearly demonstrates that our alien removal strategy is working," David Martin, INS general counsel, told a news briefing.   The figures reflected only cases that involved an immigration judge's order, and did not include immigrants who agreed to leave the country.   The July figures brought the total number of removals to about 90 percent of the 62,000 target set for this fiscal year, INS said.   Illegal aliens ousted for criminal activities numbered 29,207 so far this fiscal year, while non-criminal removals were 25,155, the INS said.   Criminal offences ranged from murder to drugs, Martin said.   By country, Mexican nationals topped the list comprising 74 percent or 40,344 of the total removals for this fiscal year.   Honduras and El Salvador were second, each with four percent of the total, the INS said.   California had the highest number of removals from a single state so far this year, 24,748, followed by Texas with 9,326 and then Arizona with 7,661, the INS said.   Stepped-up efforts along the borders have increased the border component of removals as the fraudulent use of documents at entry points has risen, Martin said.   The July report showed deportations up three percent and exclusions up 70 percent from July 1995, the INS said. 
5395 !GCAT !GCRIM  Atlantic City police said Thursday they were seeking two men and two women in connection with a $690,000 theft of jewelry and cash from a guest of the Showboat Hotel and Casino.   Capt. Richard Andrews said police were seeking a man shown on a hotel videotape carrying a suitcase resembling the victim's.   "We want to talk to him," Andrews said of the man.   A second man and two women also were being sought.   The thefts occurred Sunday when the victim, New York jewelry wholesaler Jerry Schein, left three suitcases in a closet at Somerset Jewellers in the hotel while he checked out.   While he was gone, two women in their mid-twenties and an older man entered the jewelry store and tried to distract store owner Charles McGilley.   When Schein returned two of the suitcases were missing.   They contained $650,000 in jewelry and $40,000 in cash, Andrews said.   He said the man on the videotape did not match the description given by the jewelry store owner. 
5396 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The resignation of Bill Clinton's high-profile strategist Dick Morris on Thursday means the president's true liberal colours will come out again, Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole said.   "Morris has been trying to make President Clinton a Republican, now maybe he'll revert to the liberal Democrat that he (Clinton) really is," Dole told reporters.   Dole said he did not know if the resignation would have a negative impact on the president's campaign.   When asked if there would be an advantage to the Dole campaign, the former Kansas senator would only say: "I've already told you all I'm going to say."   Dole spoke to reporters after being interviewed for a television special with ABC's Barbara Walters.   The former Kansas senator is on vacation here, but has made a few political appearances.   Clinton was scheduled to make his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, but all attention has focused on a published report in the New York Post that Morris had spent time with a prostitute whom he allowed to be in the room when Morris spoke on the telephone with the president. 
5397 !GCAT !GDIS  Emergency workers rushed dozens of children to hospitals Thursday after they were overcome by fumes caused by an apparent natural gas leak at their school, authorities said.   Ron Cranor of the Leavenworth County Sheriff's Department said the Basehor-Linwood Middle School in northeast Kansas was evacuated after the leak.   He said ambulances, helicopters and emergency workers from several counties helped take children to hospitals.   Their condition was not immediately known. 
5398 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The Justice Department said Thursday it has settled a pair of discrimination complaints involving moviegoers with hearing problems and a motel that denied a room to two vacationers in wheelchairs.   In the first case, Toronto-based Cineplex Odeon Corp., one of the largest U.S. movie theater operators, has agreed to provide special listening devices for those who are hard of hearing, it said.   A complaint by a hearing-impaired woman from Boise, Idaho and a New York lawyers group charged that many of the firm's 800 theaters nationwide lacked the devices, which require special receivers on headsets provided by the theater.   Justice Department officials said Cineplex Odeon already has begun to install new or upgraded systems in theaters around the country.   "This agreement established a model for the industry that we hope others will follow," Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick said in a statement.   In the second case, a motel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has agreed to pay more than $90,000 in damages to settle charges it told two wheelchair-bound vacationers with cerebral palsy to leave, the department said.   It said the settlement resolved a lawsuit alleging that the Ocean Plaza Motel had violated the Americans with Disabilities law.   The motel also agreed to change its discriminatory policy.   The case involved Debra Jones and Jackie Chaney, both of whom are 22 and have cerebral palsy.   Their mothers made reservations for the foursome at the motel as a graduation present.   After they checked in on July 21, 1995, motel owner Marie Wynock saw the two in wheelchairs in the parking lot and told the mothers "handicapped" persons could not stay there.   She took back the room key and refunded their money.   Under the settlement, the hotel agreed to pay $92,000 plus interest in damages to the families and a $5,000 civil penalty to the federal government, the Justice Department said. 
5399 !GCAT !GENT  Elvis Costello is unlikely to continue playing with the band The Attractions when their current North American tour is over, the British rock star's press agent said on Thursday.   Costello reunited with The Attractions two years ago after an eight year hiatus.   The band first became famous in the punk-rock days of 1978 before splitting up after 1985's "Blood and Chocolate" album.   "I don't think he'll be working with The Attractions again," said Bill Bentley, Costello's press agent at Warner Bros.   Records.   Costello told a crowded house of fans at the Universal Amphitheatre in Hollywood on Wednesday: "This will probably be the last time we ever play Los Angeles, so let's have a good time."   Elvis Costello and The Attractions have just three more dates left in their North American tour.   The band plays in Berkley, Calif. on Friday followed by Portland, Ore. on Saturday before closing in Seattle on Sunday.   Wednesday's show was a two-hour set anchored by a host of clasics from one of Costello's earliest albums "This Year's Model" including a psychedelic version of "I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea."   With fans on their feet screaming "We love you Elvis" the band ended their final Los Angeles concert with a 15 minute rendition of Elvis' own personal favourite "I Want You" which he peppered with lyrics from the Aretha Franklin classic "I Say A Little Prayer For You."   The band was touring to promote their latest offering "All This Useless Beauty."   After the American leg of the tour the band moves on to Japan where it will play their final date on Sept. 15. 
5400 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  The State Department said on Thursday it was not shrinking from criticising expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank for fear of an election-year backlash by American Jews.   "I reject that," department spokesman Glyn Davies told a questioner who suggested the Clinton administration might be pulling its punches with Israel to avoid offending Jewish voters ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.   Davies repeated the policy of successive U.S. administrations that the expansion of West Bank settlements is "unhelpful" and "undercuts" the Arab-Israeli peace process.   But he declined for at least the third day in a row to discuss in detail the latest expansion authorised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's three-month-old Israeli government.   "You know, it's a delicate issue," he said, referring to the peace process.   "It's always been our view that when there is something useful to say, we say it.   But we're not at a stage right now where it's useful for us to get into reacting to every statement that's made, every development that occurs.   "Our views on settlements, our views on the peace process and our views on our role in all this -- they're all well known," he said.   Palestinians staged a four-hour general strike on Thursday in the West Bank and Gaza to protest settlement expansion and moves aimed at keeping Jerusalem an undivided Jewish capital.   In calling for the strike on Wednesday, Arafat said Netanyahu's policies amounted to a declaration of war on Palestinians.   The strike was the first in both the West Bank and Gaza since self-rule began in the area in May 1994.   Davies said Arafat and a top Israeli adviser had signalled a desire to resolve the crisis in their relations.   He said Dennis Ross, the chief U.S. Middle East peace coordinator, spoke to Arafat several times by telephone on Wednesday during the course of talks he held in Paris with Dore Gold, Netanyahu's top foreign policy adviser.   "What he (Ross) reports as a result is a willingness on both sides -- an evident interest in finding a way to resolve their differences," Davies told reporters.   He said Ross came away from his conversations with the impression that "Arafat, too, is very much interested in finding a way to end the difficulties that exist between Israel and the Palestinians."   Asked if the State Department thought an Arafat-Netanyahu meeting would be productive, Davies said: "As a general matter the United States views face-to-face meetings as the most productive."   But he said he would not discuss the substance of advice that the United States was giving to the parties.   In a move likely to fuel Palestinian anger, Israel on Thursday disclosed more plans to build additional homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank. 
5401 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton will propose increasing the capital gains exemption on profits from the sale of a home and extending the tax break to all Americans, the White House said on Thursday.   Clinton economic adviser Gene Sperling said that under the plan, the current $125,000 one-time exemption would be raised to $500,000 for joint filers, and to $250,000 for single taxpayers.   Every home-seller would be eligible instead of just those 55 and older as current law provides. 
5402 !GCAT !GDIS !GSCI !GWEA  NASA prepared on Thursday to haul shuttle Atlantis back to its hangar if twin hurricanes churning offshore threaten its seaside launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Centre.   Space agency officials said they were ready to move the shuttle back to the safety of its assembly building as early as Friday if Hurricane Edouard with 130 mph (210 kph) winds fails to make a predicted turn to the north.   Hurricane Fran, which appeared to be taking a more southerly track, could force the shuttle off the pad by Monday morning.   "We are definitely keeping a close watch on the tropics," said NASA spokesman Bruce Buckingham.   "We think Hurricane Fran is the one that will cause us to throw our hands in the air."   Workers on Thursday planned to close the shuttle's cockpit hatch, switch off power and disconnect umbilicals in readiness for the 12-hour operation to move Atlantis back to the hangar.   Atlantis was pulled off its launch pad earlier this summer when Hurricane Bertha skirted the east coast of Florida.   NASA officials were meeting on Thursday to set an official launch date for Atlantis.   They were expected to chose Sept. 14, two days later than planned, because of a scheduling conflict with a military rocket.   Atlantis, already delayed six weeks by booster problems, would have been ready for launch on Sept. 12, but a U.S. Air Force Delta 2 rocket had already booked that date.   Air Force tracking and safety equipment at Cape Canaveral can accommodate only one launch at a time, so the earlier scheduled Delta will take its turn first.   Atlantis is to make a 10-day mission to collect U.S. astronaut Shannon Lucid from the Russian Mir space station and drop off her replacement, John Blaha.   Lucid, who has been aboard Mir since March, was due to come home in early August, but NASA postponed the mission to replace a pair of suspect booster rockets strapped to Atlantis. 
5403 !E11 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  News that the U.S. economy was going gangbusters in the second quarter may make it harder for Bob Dole to argue that growth has been tepid under President Bill Clinton, some analysts said on Thursday.   Dole, the Republican presidential hopeful, contends economic growth is being held back by Clinton's 1993 tax increase.   He says the economy needs to be unshackled by a 15 percent tax cut so it can "go for the gold."   But the government reported on Thursday that the gross domestic product grew by a surprisingly brisk 4.8 percent from April through June, its highest rate in two years.   "I would say it's awfully hard to fight figures like that," said Stephen Hess, a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington.   "Dole can argue that this doesn't measure the squeeze on the middle class and that people with two jobs feel insecure ... But people have to have a reason to change (presidents) and if things are going well they don't change," Hess said.   Larry Sabato, a political analyst at the University of Virginia, said Dole's economic views would probably get more critical scrutiny because of the latest news.   But he said Dole could keep making the go-for-growth argument "for one reason.   That is that real wages have not risen.   And that's probably the most important economic statistic to most families."   Dole campaign aides were quick to point out that their candidate was complaining about the average growth rate during Clinton's term, not just one quarter of growth.   "America can do better than what we have.   The 2.5 percent growth rate that Clinton has been averaging is anaemic at best," said campaign spokeswoman Christina Martin, adding that it did not compare well with several previous U.S. expansions.   Indeed, Clinton's record is not as glittering as the 4.5 percent annual growth from 1982 to 1987, when Ronald Reagan was president, or the 6.2 percent rate from 1961 to 1966, when John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson were in the White House.   "If you look at the long-term historical context, Dole can make the argument that economic growth has slowed down quite a bit," said economist Sung Won Sohn with Norwest Corp. of Minneapolis.   "Dole is saying that his programmes will push economic growth right back up to what it used to be ... But I don't think it goes over well with the public that sees a growing economy now and booming sales and more jobs."   William Kristol, a Republican strategist and editor of The Weekly Standard, said Dole could change the subject.   "Clinton is the first president in a quarter-century not to have a recesssion in his first term, but if Dole can change the topic to taxes, I still think people think they are overtaxed."   Dole spokesman Martin said Dole and vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp would keep emphasising their tax-cut proposal to stimulate the economy, partly because growth still was expected to slow down.   "The forecast for the future indicates a slowing of the economy.   Even the Clinton administration expects the growth rate to slow in the future," she said.   The Clinton administration estimated this summer that growth would average 2.6 percent this year and White House economic adviser Laura Tyson was cautious on Thursday when asked by Reuters Financial Television whether she thought faster growth would spill over into the third quarter.   "I think it's too early to call the quarter," Tyson said, adding that the "key thing" was that the economy was on a "sound and strong" trajectory.   But some Wall Street analysts were re-evaluating earlier growth predictions in light of the latest news.   "The idea of really slowing this economy down dramtically is becoming less and less likely," said William Griggs, managing director of the consulting firm Griggs & Santow in New York. 
5404 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  One of organised labour's most bitter opponents launched a drive Thursday to inform union members of their legal right to object to having any part of their union dues used for political purposes.   The National Right to Work Legal Defence Foundation, claiming that unions are failing to inform their members of their legal rights, said it has a toll-free telephone number where union members can learn about their rights.   "We are beginning a campaign called Operation Liberty Bell to inform union members that they are free not to pay the portion of their dues that is used for political purposes," foundation President Reed Larson told a news conference.   "The unions could inform their members of their rights but refuse to do so because they have a vested interest in preserving the compulsory unions dues to pay for political activities," he said.   The foundation's campaign, which comes as the labour movement steps up its political activity, is based on the Supreme Court's 1988 Beck decision, which held that workers who have resigned union membership but are covered by contracts that require them to pay dues do not have to pay the portion of their dues that goes to activities unrelated to collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance.   In January, the National Labour Relations Board ruled that unions must inform their members that they have a right not to be members and that the Beck decision gives them the right to object to paying for more than "representational" expenses.   But Larson, citing a survey by Republican pollster Frank Luntz, said more than three-fourths of union members do not know they have a right not to pay for the part of their dues that is used for political purposes.   Besides the toll-free telephone number (888-789-4255), Larson said the Virginia-based foundation will spend between $100,000 and $200,000 to advertise its information campaign.   He cited the Luntz poll's finding that 62 percent of union members oppose the 76-union AFL-CIO's $35 million campaign of political advertising and education.   But an AFL-CIO poll by Peter D. Hart Research Associates found that 67 percent of union members had a "positive reaction" to the campaign.   The unprecedented AFL-CIO campaign, which is over and above the political activities of its affiliated unions, has targeted certain congressional districts with advertising that highlights what it considers to be unfavourable voting records of lawmakers, mostly Republicans, who are seeking re-election.   The money is being raised mostly through assessments on AFL-CIO-affiliated unions of $1.85 for each of their 13.1 million members.   Dues rates of individual members were not increased as a result.   Direct union contributions to candidates' political campaigns come from separate political funds, which are not funded by union dues. 
5405 !GCAT !GCRIM  O.J. Simpson said on Thursday he was financially broken by his defence against murder charges but he was hopeful new evidence to support him would be available for a civil trial next month.   The former football star was found not guilty by a criminal trial jury last October of the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in June 1994.   He now faces a civil suit brought by families of the victims who hold him responsible for the deaths.   He told reporters a court order not to talk about his case kept him from detailing how he has fulfilled his pledge to find the killers.   But he added without elaborating, "hopefully we will see some things come out in this next trial."   The judge in the civil trial has imposed a sweeping gag order that prohibits lawyers, witnesses and parties to the case from discussing it with the media or elsewhere in public.   "I would love to speak about everything," said Simpson, who vowed after his acquittal to find the killers and offered a substantial reward.   His lawyers have said his defence in the civil trial that starts Sept. 17 will be that he did not kill the victims.   Simpson said at the hotel news conference his plans include eventually writing another book.   He added that he has had job offers but more have come from abroad than at home.   "I'm broke.   I am not crying the blues.   I can get along just fine," he said.   "Whatever you want to send me, I need."   He again accused the news media of erroneous reporting on his case but did not signal any plans for lawsuits as he did on Wednesday in an address at a jam-packed Washington church.   Contrary to news reports, Simpson said, he has received support from both blacks and whites.   He again dismissed charges that he had distanced himself from the black community during his successful football and commercial career, only to seek their support after he faced murder charges.   A crowd of 2,000 paid $10 a head to hear the former star running back for the Buffalo Bills professional football club and a Football Hall of Fame member on Wednesday night.   The crowd in the church was wildly supportive, showering Simpson with gifts and praise.   But outside, dozens of protesters from the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence called for the church to support victims of violence instead. 
5406 !GCAT !GPOL  President Bill Clinton's top political strategist Dick Morris resigned on Thursday, saying he did not want to become an issue in Clinton's re-election campaign.   In a written statement, distributed by the Clinton campaign, Morris avoided comment on published allegations that he had engaged in a year-long affair with a $200-an-hour prostitute.    The statement from Morris said that he had submitted his resignation on Wednesday night.   "While I served I sought to avoid the limelight because I did not want to become the message.   Now, I resign so I will not become the issue," he said.   The announcement followed a report in the weekly supermarket tabloid Star magazine, reprinted in Thursday's editions of the New York Post, that the married adviser had hired a 37-year-old prostitute on a weekly basis while visiting Washington to advise Clinton on his re-election campaign.   "I will not subject my wife, family or friends to the sadistic, vitriol of yellow journalism.   I will not dignify such journalism with a reply or an answer.   I never will," his statement said.   It was distributed to reporters at the press centre of Clinton's Democratic convention headquarters just hours before the president was to address the delegates accepting the party's nomination for a second four-year term in the White House. 
5407 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT  A recovery expedition lifted a giant slab of the RMS Titanic's hull from its watery ocean grave on Thursday, 84 years after the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean, an expedition spokesman said.   The 20-tonne piece of steel hull was being hauled on board recovery ship Jim Kilabuck, anchored off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, said Todd Tarantino, spokesman for New York-based RMS Titanic Inc that is sponsoring the expedition.   Plans call for the piece of debris to be taken to Boston on Saturday and to New York City on Sunday.   The wreckage has been lying in water more than 2 1/2 miles (3 km) deep.   The steel-hulled Titanic, thought to be "unsinkable," struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912 and sank, killing 1,523 of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board.   The wreck was located in 1985.   The expedition tried unsuccessfully twice earlier this week to retrieve the hull but technical hitches and equipment problems delayed them.   As part of the recovery expedition, more than 1,700 people including three survivors of the doomed liner's first trans-Atlantic voyage sailed in two ships from Boston and New York to the site, paying $1,500 and up for a nine-day cruise.   RMS Titanic, which holds the rights to the ship's debris, has recovered some 4,000 artifacts since 1987.   It hopes to use the hull section as the centrepiece of an exhibition next spring and possibly a full-fledged Titanica museum.   The U.S.-based Discovery Channel on cable television, NBC television network and Britain's Channel Four all plan to release documentaries about the recovery mission. 
5408 !GCAT !GHEA !GODD  Health officials said on Thursday they were investigating the discovery of an amputated foot on a beach near Charleston to determine whether a local surgeon had improperly disposed of infectious waste.   The foot, which washed up on Sullivan's Island beach this month, was amputated three years ago from a child whose legs were deformed.   The foot had to be removed so the infant could be fitted with a prosthesis.   An orthopedic surgeon was given permission by the child's parents and the hospital to keep the foot for research and educational purposes.   Health officials said the surgeon told authorities he stored the foot in his freezer at home, but the freezer recently broke down and the contents spoiled.   The surgeon, who apologised for the incident, said he decided to put the foot in a crab trap to remove the flesh.   The foot later washed up on the beach. 
5409 !GCAT  Business travelers who find working on the road is expansive in an unwelcome way may have plenty of company.   A recent survey found that half of more than 500 business travelers polled said they ate more while on out-of-town assignments than at home, and one in four said they hit the bar In addition, 57 percent said they ate later when travelling.   The survey was conducted for Hilton Hotels Corp. as part of its research into finding ways to help guests get a better night's sleep.   Avoiding heavy meals, especially late in the evening, and staying away from alcoholic beverages at least three hours before bedtime are two of the keys to a proper night's sleep, according to the company and the National Sleep Foundation, which helped conduct the research.   The hotel chain has been investigating what makes people sleep better away from home and plans soon to offer experimental sleep-friendly rooms with various amenities in several cities.   Among the items in or around the rooms may be extra insulation for soundproofing, live plants, devices that produce neutral sound or "white noise," a store of pillows in a variety of shapes and textures and a sleep mask and earplugs.   On another hotel room topic, a survey conducted by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc. found that about six out of 10 guests always check the bedsheets first when they get into a new room.   Thirty-seven percent order room service, about one in four can't resist unlocking the in-room bar, whether they buy anything from it or not; and 31 percent take the complimentary toiletries when they check out.   In another area of interest to frequent travelers, the trend toward charging guests a fee for early checkout, which began earlier this year, appears to be spreading in the lodging industry.   Frequent Flyer Magazine reports in its September issue that Inter-Continental is testing a $50 early departure fee for convention guests at its hotel in Chicago, and Renaissance is trying out a fee of the same size at hotels in Dallas and Washington.   Fifty-dollar fees are also being tested by Wyndham at the Anatole in Dallas and by Lowe's at Washington, Annapolis, Md., and Nashville, Tenn., the publication said.   Variations of the fee concept are already in place at many Westin, Hyatt and Hilton properties.   -----   Business travelers: Question, complaint or pet peeve?   Send them to Away on Business, c/o Reuters, Room 1170, 311 S. Wacker Dr., Chicago 60606.   Or via Internet E-mail Mike.  Conlon(at)Reuters.  com using the "at" sign on computer keyboards.   We cannot promise personal replies but will try to address letters as space permits. 
5410 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  It was a bush that bagged the bad guys.   When four would-be robbers, armed and masked, showed up to rob a Checker's restaurant in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Pembroke Pines on Tuesday, they had no idea the shrub near the drive-through window was toting a shotgun.   Detective Earl Feugill, camouflaged as a shaggy green bush, ordered them to freeze.   "They were quite surprised," he told the Miami Herald.   Feugill said he made the hot, heavy suit, which he first used in the Marines, by attaching strips of burlap to a camouflage outfit.   Green and black face paint completed his disguise.   He was staking out the restaurant after a series of robberies at local fast-food places.   Pembroke Pines police said five people were arrested as a result of the 90-minute stakeout, including the four robbers and a restaurant employee who was allegedly prepared to let them in a back door. 
5411 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Salomon Brothers said Thursday it thought French tobacco company Seita would fail in its lawsuit against the firm over losses suffered on a series of swaps transactions.   Earlier, lawyers for Seita confirmed that the company had filed suit in a New York state court, charging Salomon with negligence and breach of contract.   The suit refers to $29 million in losses Seita said it suffered as a result of swaps transactions in 1994.   A federal court has already dismissed a similar suit on jurisdictional grounds.   A Salomon spokesman said the firm expected the state court claim would also prove fruitless.   "We think that their claim will fail again," said Salomon spokesman Robert Baker.   "Seita is an experienced and sophisticated market participant who is trying to use the courts to reverse a losing trade."   Baker said he could not comment further on specifics of the lawsuit.   -- Wall Street desk, 212 859-1730 
5412 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV !GPOL !GVOTE  Lawyers for environmentalists and the sugar industry made their arguments before the Florida Supreme Court Thursday in a battle to put a penny-a-pound sugar tax referendum on the November ballot.   For the second time in two years, the two sides met over a controversial tax proposal that would raise $750 million over its 25-year life for cleanup of Florida's Everglades.   The courtroom was packed with supporters for both sides, and outside the Supreme Court building, proponents of the penny-a-pound tax chanted and waved signs.   Environmentalists claim the sugar industry pollutes the Everglades by allowing fertiliser-tainted water to leech from cane fields into surrounding wetlands.   Industry officials say the tax would be a death knell for the industry, threatening 16,000 jobs related to sugar production in southern Florida.   Attorneys for Save Our Everglades, a Miami-based group backing three constitutional amendments, has garnered nearly 1.5 million signatures to put the propoals on the ballot.   Opponents, including the Sugar Growers Cooperative of Florida and U.S. Sugar Corp., said the proposals merely mimic a 1994 amendment that the court said was unconstitutional, and therefore should be struck down again.   But SOE said it had made changes to the 1994 proposal and the amendments will now stand up to Supreme Court muster.   The court struck down the 1994 referendum on the grounds that it addressed too many issues within a single proposal.   State rules demand that a ballot question be limited to a single issue to prevent special interests from making wholesale revisions to the constitution.   The new package was divided into three separate amendments.   One would establish a 1 cent-a-pound tax on raw sugar grown in southern Florida.   The second would establish a trust fund and a third would make polluters pay for damage.   In an hour-long hearing before the court Thursday, Chesterfield Smith, representing U.S. Sugar, said that Save Our Everglades was trying to circumvent the legislature by appealing directly to voters for constitutional change.   "They should be made to go elsewhere as the constitution intended," Smith said.   "But Save Our Everglades wants nothing less than a constitutional revision of the portions that affect the subject they are interested in."   SOE attorneys countered that their revised proposal would affect a specific group of people and the money would be used for a specific purpose, two of the criteria required under Florida's procedures for revising the constitution.   "The opponents can ask you to ignore what is good policy for the Everglades and they can ask you to ignore what would be good for the taxpayers of Florida," said SOE attorney Jon Mills.   "But what they can't ask you to ignore is your own precedent on the constitution to require that they prove substantial impact in multiple areas."   The court must only agree that each proposed amendment deals with a single subject and that the ballot summary accurately explains the impact of each proposal.   The justices did not indicate when they would rule but the decision must be handed down within the next two months with the election scheduled for Nov. 5. 
5413 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  What happens when two hurricanes get so close to one another that their edges overlap and they begin to interact?   Forecasters were facing a real-life answer to that question on Thursday, as Hurricane Edouard's march across the Atlantic toward the U.S. coast was accompanied by the progress on Thursday of Hurricane Fran, a less powerful storm threatening the eastern Caribbean.   Also on the horizon was Tropical Storm Gustav, but that tempest was hundreds of miles (km) behind the others as it edged away from Africa's coast.   As they monitored the complex computer models used to predict tropical systems' movements, hurricane specialists said there was a chance that Fran might move closer to Edouard as the two storms travelled westward, raising the possibility that the edges of the two systems might near one another and begin to interact sometime this weekend.   For residents of areas that are vulnerable to storms, the prospect brought visions of the birth of some kind of "super-hurricane," somehow combining the power of two mighty weather systems into one.   But forecasters quickly moved to counter such fears.   "They do not form one big storm.   That almost never happens," said Mark DeMaria, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Centre.   In fact, the interaction of two systems is usually good news to anyone worried about the approach of torrential rains and winds, like Edouard's strong enough to flatten a house.   "Normally, it's (the proximity of two storms) a good thing, in the sense that one will weaken," said Jim Gross, a National Hurricane Centre research meteorologist.   If Edouard and Fran do end up competing for the same patch of ocean, any of several things could occur.   In one scenario, in which Fran would follow Edouard's path, the first storm would suck enough power from the warm ocean waters that they would cool down, making it more difficult for Fran to gain or maintain strength.   In another, the outflow from the stronger storm would "shear" off the convection of the other, weakening it.   But not, Gross said, strengthening the stronger.   Another scenario is a phenomenon known as the "Fujiwara Effect," in which the two storms become caught up in one anothers' circulation and begin to circle around one another as they move across the sea.   "Each circulation would drive the other in a spiral around the other.   Usually one takes over the other, the other one weakens," Gross said.   The Fujiwara Effect is fairly common in the western Pacific, which often sees 25 typhoons per year.   But it is very rare in the Atlantic, where more than one system at a time is considered very unusual, let alone a parade of three.   But the most recent incidence came only last year, during what would become a near-record season with 19 tropical storms and hurricanes.   Last August, Tropical Storm Karen edged toward Hurricane Iris as they made their way across the Atlantic far from land.   "Iris was a fairly large hurricane and Karen was a developing tropical storm and Karen basically dissipated when it got to close to Iris," DeMaria said.   "It eventually dissipated completely."   But Iris did not gain strength from Karen's loss.   "By the time the remnants of Karen got close enough, there was basically nothing left," DeMaria said. 
5414 !GCAT !GDEF !GHEA  More than $4 million in U.S. military medical equipment will go to American Indian health care facilities this year, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday.   The equipment was made available after the Defense Department closed bases in Germany, Turkey, South Korea and Britain, the department said in a statement.   This is the fourth year of a program to redistribute medical supplies through the Indian Health Service; last year, the project distributed more than $6 million in health-related equipment, the statement said.   The Indian Health Service, part of the health department, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska natives. 
5415 !GCAT  The International Committee of the Red Cross, which prides itself on being the non-political protector of those in dire need, is accused in previously secret Second World War documents of being used and "probably controlled" at its highest levels by German intelligence.   The U.S. intelligence documents allege that ICRC representatives worked as agents conveying military information to Berlin, even using U.S. diplomatic mail to get material out.   They also allege Red Cross pouches were used to ferry German assets into Switzerland and the group itself was used to smuggle German agents across European borders.   Marked "Washington office items not previously released," the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) documents were recently found in the U.S. National Archives by World Jewish Congress researchers trying to trace assets of Holocaust victims.   Copies of several documents were made available to Reuters.   In Geneva, ICRC spokesman Kim Gordon-Bates said: "We know that documents are being made available ... from various archives but we have not seen them and cannot comment on them."   But he added the Nobel Peace Prize winning group, by its mandate and the confidential and sensitive nature of its task, worked according to difficult ethical and practical guidelines.   It always tried to recruit the best people but mistakes could be made, especially during war, he said.   One OSS document, dated Jan. 11, 1944, says: "A series of observations commenced by the French and continued by this organisation indicate that the I.R.C.C. (sic) is probably controlled by the German I.S. (Intelligence Service).   The German delegate to the I.R.C.C. in Geneva is known to be a German agent and the head of the I.R.C.C. to be German controlled."   The document adds: "Enough is known to warrant the assumption that any delegate of the I.R.C.C. should be considered a potential if not actual German I.S. agent."   Another document, dated Feb. 4, 1944, says: "Information has come from various sources which indicates that the International Red Cross may have a number of people in its organisation and indeed, on its executive staff, who are either German agents or associates of German agents, and who are using the Red Cross ... as a cover for the securing and transmitting of military information."   The OSS was the wartime U.S. intelligence agency and the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.   In 1995, the ICRC, which coordinates Red Cross work around the world, acknowledged for the first time its "moral failure" during the war -- a reference to its failure to denounce atrocities against Jews and other minorities in Hitler's concentration camps.   A WJC spokesman said the more than 200 pages of documents had been turned over to the Senate Banking Committee, headed by New York Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato, for investigation.   They show deep Allied suspicions and distaste for how the Red Cross was conducting itself during the war.   A May 21, 1945 document said Red Cross pouches were being used to smuggle "concentrated forms of wealth" from Germany to Turkey and then to Switzerland.   A Feb. 4, 1944 document said the Red Cross's representative in French North Africa "may be involved in the intelligence activities of the enemy but the evidence is not conclusive as yet.   He is said by some to be very stupid and by others to be an enemy agent, not so stupid.   In any case many of his associates are suspect."   That document also says the Red Cross was being used by the Germans to smuggle agents out of France and in supplying details on the ship SS Canada.   An August 1945 document said a Red Cross representative suspected of being a German agent was using the U.S. diplomatic pouch in Algiers to send materials out of the country and evade censorship.   Another document, from February 1944, said a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel shared a room in Algiers with a Red Cross delegate "who is clearly a German agent."   Another lists the names of 45 suspected German agents.   One Red Cross representative in Cairo is described in an Aug. 16, 1945 document as "one of the most dangerous pro-Fascists among Swiss residents abroad."   Another Swiss national representing the Red Cross in Istanbul is described as "entertaining girls" from local bars and paying them to collect information from U.S. and British servicemen.   ICRC spokesman Gordon-Bates said it had been informed earlier about an alleged pro-Nazi delegate in Turkey and had asked an independent historian to investigate.   The delegate was accused of using the ICRC pouch to transfer funds.   "He did in fact misuse the ICRC diplomatic pouch to transfer funds, but we don't know what these funds were, whether they were Jewish funds," Gordon-Bates said.   He said the historian will try to find out whether the delegate acted alone.   He also said the man was "cashiered" from the ICRC in 1945 as soon as the agency learned of his illegal activities.   "But we would like to know whether the rot went any deeper.   We're very keen to find out about this," Gordon-Bates said, adding: "We're not making excuses.   We're saying that whatever emerged is possible.   It's something we'll have to live with and hope that it will never happen again." 
5416 !C15 !C152 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Teradyne Inc., a leading manufacturer of automatic test equipment, said Thursday it will eliminate about 300 workers due to a downturn in the semiconductor industry.   The action affects regular and temporary employees, as well as contractors.   Teradyne said it expects to take a pretax charge of $10 million to $12 million, or 7 cents to 8 cents per share after taxes, in the second half of the year to pay for the layoffs.   The amount and timing of the charges are subject to several uncertainties, including the nature of extended benefits provided to the affected employees, who were notified beginning Aug. 28.   They will receive extended benefits based on length of service, as well as outplacement assistance, the company said.   About 175 of the job cuts are in Boston, while the rest are in Teradyne's West Coast operations.   Boston-based Teradyne also makes connection systems for the electronics and telecommunications industries.   It had 1995 sales of $1.2 billion and has about 5,200 employees worldwide.   Teradyne's stock rose 25 cents to $15.50 on the New York Stock Exchange at midday. 
5417 !GCAT !GPOL  Dick Morris, the Republican political consultant who reshaped U.S. President Bill Clinton's reelection campaign, has resigned, MS-NBC News reported Thursday.   Morris drew the ire of liberal Clinton aides for repositioning the president in the political centre.   There was no immediate comment on the report from the White House. 
5418 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Republican brainchild "Freedom to Farm" act is too popular for Congress to alter its basic structure, lawmakers and industry analysts said.   The "Freedom to Farm" act guarantees annual payments to farmers and removes most controls over what they grow.   The act, signed reluctantly by President Clinton in April, is seen as biggest change in 60 years of U.S. farm supports, erasing a New Deal-era system which required farmers to obey acreage limits in order to get subsidies.    "Our nation's farmers are tired of government control.   They support the Republican reform," the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Agriculture committees.   Two private analysts, Randy Russell and Martin Abel, said there was little impetus in farm country to rewrite the law.   Most farmers have prospered from two years of high grain prices, which show little sign of weakening soon.   "There just won't be support for changes," said Russell, who contended farmers preferred the fewer and simpler crop rules of the new law.   Earlier this week, Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said "radical" change would not be sought in "Freedom to Farm" for now.   Instead, Democrats were looking at a stronger crop insurance program or innovations like revenue assurance, which would pay farmers when their output or market prices was catastrophically low. 
5419 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  French Tobacco company Seita said Thursday it had started legal action in the United States against Salomon Bros. investment bank, seeking punitive damages as well as recovery of $30 million in losses on two derivative swap transactions in 1994.   Seita accused Salomon of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, misrepresentation, negligence and breach of contract, a Seita statement said.   The statement said the lawsuit is based on Salomon's recommendation and sale to Seita in 1994 of two high-risk derivative swap transactions that resulted in losses to Seita of about $30 million.   The losses were recorded in its 1994 accounts, it added. 
5420 !GCAT !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying coal miners to the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen crashed into a snow-capped mountain as it came in to land on Thursday, killing all 143 passengers and crew on board.   The Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying mostly Ukrainian miners and some of their families to a Russian open-cast mine on the island.   Spitzbergen is governed by Norway but Russia has rights of access under an international treaty from the 1920s.   Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland said the crash, the worst air disaster in Norway's history, was "a great tragedy".   The plane hit the mountain in bad weather as it came in to land at Longyear, the main town on Spitzbergen.   Photographs released by the Norwegian authorities showed a smashed fuselage and pieces of the airliner's tail section which had slid down the mountainside.   In one photograph, a body could be seen in the foreground, partly covered by wreckage.   Norwegian rescue teams said they found no survivors and an official of the Russian mining company which chartered the plane, Trust Arktik Ugol, said all on board had been killed.   Yevgeny Buzny told the Norwegian news agency NTB there were seven children and 4O women on the plane.   The tiny Russian mining community was "in a state of shock", he said.   Norwegian officials said there were 129 passengers and a crew of 14 on board.   Rescue operations were stopped at 1400 GMT, before any bodies could be recovered, because of fog, snow and freezing winds.   Officials said there was also a risk of avalanches and possible danger from polar bears which roam Spitzbergen freely.   There are no roads leading to the snowbound crash site and helicopter-led operations to recover bodies and examine the wreckage were expected to resume early on Friday.   The coalminers were on their way to start work in the Russian mining towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden, relieving colleagues who were already waiting at Longyear airport to fly home on the doomed plane.   Air traffic control lost contact with the flight shortly before its scheduled landing time of 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT).   The plane plunged into a mountainside and broke up some seven km (four miles) east of Longyear.   Officials said there was no indication yet as to the possible cause of the crash.   Norwegian and Russian air safety experts were on their way to Longyear to investigate.   Western aviation experts have raised questions about the safety of Russian airline operations following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.   The first rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) and reported that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest was found on the snow-covered slopes.   More than 100 miners who had been waiting at Longyear to fly home on the plane were being taken care of by the local priest and mining company officials.   Many of them broke down and wept.   "The mood is partly shock and deep grief.   Quite a few of them lost family in the crash, they are crushed," said Rune Baard Hansen, the island's deputy governor.   The priest, Jan Hoeifoedt, said he had done his best to give some comfort.   "One had his wife on the plane and others had friends, people they knew," he told Norwegian television.   The Russian community on Spitzbergen numbers less than 2,000 people in Barentsburg and Pyramiden.   The Norwegian mining town of Longyear, the only other settlement, has about 1,000 people.   Spitzbergen lies some 500 miles (800 km) off the north coast of Norway and endures one of the most extreme climates on the planet.   Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent a message of condolence to the families of those who died.   Brundtland and Norway's King Harald both sent telegrams of condolence to Moscow.   The airspace over Spitzbergen was closed to civilian traffic and the Norwegian government said flags on public buildings would fly at half-mast on Friday.   The last air disaster involving a plane of the same make was in June 1994, when a China Northwest Airlines Tu-154 crashed, killing all 146 passengers and 14 crew on board.   In January of the same year, a Russian Tu-154 crashed in Siberia, killing all 124 people on board. 
5421 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police with dogs and radar equipment will resume their body hunt in Belgium's child sex scandal on Friday, when three suspects including a senior police detective face formal charges in connection with the case.   Belgium has been in shock since chief suspect Marc Dutroux, a convicted multiple child rapist, led police on August 17 to the bodies of eight-year-olds Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in the garden of a house he owns at Sars-La-Buissiere.   Police have been digging for more bodies since Tuesday in Jumet, a suburb of the southern city of Charleroi, at one of Dutroux's other five houses in the area.   "The dogs will be used in the basements to see if there are any bodies there," Gendarmerie spokesman Major Jean-Marie Boudin told reporters as searches ended on Thursday.   Excavations in the garden and a shed were interrupted by torrential rain.   The Jumet investigation is expected to last at least another day.   In all, 11 sites will be explored.   Belgian radio said police would travel to Bratislava and Prague to search for missing Belgian children.   Dutroux has been named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   Interpol's Slovak office has said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one other Slovak woman.   A spokesman for the Belgian gendarmerie's special disappearances squad said they were likely to contact colleagues in Austria investigating what seemed to be a "child-for-hire" network spread across central Europe.   Three men were arrested there on suspicion of sexually abusing children.   Belgian police inspector Georges Zicot is expected to be formally charged for car theft, insurance fraud and forgery on Friday.   Dutroux is also suspected to have been involved in a car theft ring.   The court is also expected to formally charge two others in connection with a car and truck theft ring.   Dutroux has been linked with several people arrested for the organised vehicle theft and police are investigating the child sex and theft ring jointly.   Zicot's lawyer told Belgian television his client, a specialist in tackling car theft, was innocent and had become the victim of rivalry between police forces -- reinforcing the allegations of police bungling and ineptitude made so far.   The Belgian government is due to formally adopt new measures on sex offenders at a cabinet meeting on Friday.   These include tougher rules on early release from jail.   Dutroux was released 10 years early in 1992 after serving only three years of a 13-year sentence for raping five children.   Searches for bodies and clues have focused on teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, who Dutroux, 39, has admitted kidnapping a year ago.   Their fate remains unknown.   Dutroux's accomplice Bernard Weinstein, who he admitted killing, was found next to Julie and Melissa.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a dungeon in another of Dutroux's houses.   Dutroux has said Julie and Melissa, who were abducted in June 1995, starved to death early this year.   In their investigations police have so far seized up to 400 videos -- some featuring Dutroux -- children's clothing, magazines and a gun.   The affair has grabbed world headlines and prompted wider debate on trade in children, prostitution, paedophilia, and the role of the Internet computer network in spreading the sickness.   Belgian media reported on Thursday an unemployed man had been arrested in Flanders for trying to sell 3,000 pornographic photographs via the Internet -- one third were of children.   Ten people have so far been arrested including Dutroux's second wife Michelle Martin, who has been charged as an accomplice.   Dutroux, a father of three, and associate Michel Lelievre are charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment. 
5422 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Sicilian Mafia turncoat was detained on Thursday for allegedly ordering killings, including those of a young widow and a 14-year-old boy, while under a protection programme, state television reported.   RAI television said turncoat Giuseppe Ferone, 41, was one of five people held in connection with the shootings of Santa Puglisi, 22, and Salvatore Botta in a cemetery in the Sicilian city of Catania on Tuesday.   Puglisi, 22, was shot as she knelt praying by the tomb of her husband, who died last year in a Mafia ambush.   Botta, who had accompanied Puglisi to the cemetery, tried to flee from the lone gunman but was caught and killed.   Police sources said that Ferone was detained with others at a safe house in Anzio, on the Mediterranean coast south of Rome, and questioned by magistrates for nearly five hours.   Police in Catania meanwhile said they had seized an arsenal, including 20 rifles, sub-machine guns, plastic explosives, ammunition and electronic detonators.   The haul also included police uniforms, blank driving licences and radios tuned in to police frequencies.   The reports fuelled an already heated debate in Italy over whether former Mafia killers can be trusted and should benefit from a generous protection programme that includes reduced sentences, a salary and a new identity.   The issue has returned to the headlines after jailed Mafia boss Giovanni Brusca, accused of a string of murders, was reported to be collaborating with police.   Magistrates have said they will treat Brusca cautiously, in case his "repentance" proves to be an attempt to mislead investigators and win favourable treatment.   Giuseppe Ayala, an undersecretary at the justice ministry, told RAI's TG1 news that the "pentito" (turncoat) programme could not be discredited by one person.   "You cannot wipe out an overall contribution that is of exceptional importance just because one criminal, after becoming a "pentito", becomes a criminal again," he said.   Enzo Guarnera, a lawyer who has defended turncoats, told Sicilian regional television that if the reports were true then Ferone had clearly deceived a lot of people.   RAI said Ferone, a Catania boss who began cooperating with investigators after his son and father died in 1994 in a bloody power struggle between Mafia families, was believed to have ordered the cemetery killings. 
5423 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying coal miners to the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen crashed into a snow-capped mountain as it came in to land on Thursday, almost certainly killing all 143 passengers and crew on board.   The Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying mostly Ukrainian miners and some of their families from Moscow to a Russian open-cast mine on the island.   Spitzbergen is governed by Norway but Russia has rights of access under an international treaty from the 1920s.   Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland told national television the worst air disaster in her country's history was "a great tragedy".   "We can't say it's impossible to find survivors but...the chances are very slim," Rune Baard Hansen, the island's deputy governor, told Reuters by telephone.   In Moscow, Russian officials said five people may have survived when the plane hit the mountain in poor visibility as it came in to land at Longyear, the main town on Spitzbergen.   But Norwegian officials said they found no survivors in the wreckage and an official of the Russian mining company which chartered the plane, Trust Arktik Ugol, said all on board died.   Yevgeny Buzny told the Norwegian news agency NTB that there were seven children and 40 women on the plane.   The tiny Russian mining community was "in a state of shock", he said.   Norwegian officials said there were 129 passengers and a crew of 14 on the plane.   The coalminers were on their way to start work in the Russian mining towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden -- relieving colleagues who were already waiting at Longyear airport to fly home on the doomed plane.   Air traffic control lost contact with the flight shortly before its scheduled landing time of 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT).   The plane plunged into the mountain and broke up some seven km (four miles) east of Longyear.   There are no roads leading to the snowbound crash site and officials said operations to recover bodies and examine the wreckage were temporarily suspended at around 1400 GMT because of thick fog, snow and freezing winds.   Officials said there was also a risk of avalanches and possible danger from polar bears, which roam Spitzbergen freely.   Last year, two people were killed by bears on the island.   There was no indication as to the possible cause of the crash, although Norwegian and Russian air safety experts were on their way to Longyear to investigate.   Western aviation experts have raised questions about the safety of Russian airline operations following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.   The first rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) and reported that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest was found on the snow-covered slopes.   More than 100 miners who had been waiting at Longyear to fly home on the plane were being taken care of by the local priest and mining company officials.   Many of them broke down and wept.   "The mood is partly shock and deep grief.   Quite a few of them lost family in the crash, they are crushed," Hansen said.   The priest, Jan Hoeifoedt, said he had done his best to give some comfort.   "One had his wife on the plane and others had friends, people they knew," he told Norwegian television.   The Russian community on Spitzbergen numbers fewer than 2,000 people, in the mining towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden.   The Norwegian mining town of Longyear, the only other settlement, has about 1,000 inhabitants.   Spitzbergen lies some 500 miles (800 km) off the north coast of Norway and endures one of the most extreme climates on the planet.   Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent a message of condolence to the families of those who died and asked the government to help the bereaved families.   Norway's King Harald and Brundtland both sent telegrammes of condolence to Moscow.   The airspace over Spitzbergen was closed to civilian traffic and the Norwegian government said flags on public buildings would fly at half-mast on Friday.   The last air disaster involving a plane of the same make was in June 1994, when a China Northwest Airlines Tu-154 crashed, killing all 146 passengers and 14 crew on board.   In January of the same year, a Russian Tu-154 crashed in Siberia, killing all 124 people on board. 
5424 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  French police detained six Corsicans suspected of bomb attacks in a rare crackdown on separatist violence on the French Mediterranean island on Thursday.   The round-up was the first since the start of a rash of 22 bombs in mid-August, when nationalist guerrillas called off a shaky seven-month truce.   One bomb exploded overnight on Wednesday and another was defused.   The Interior Ministry said police had "identified the group of commandos which is very probably responsible for the (latest two) attacks".   It said six people were being held in custody by police in Ajaccio.   "Handguns, ammunition, bullet-proof vests, hoods, scanners and detonator fuses identical to those used in previous attacks were found in searches in the homes of those held," the ministry said in a statement.   Earlier, police sources had said seven people were detained, all of them suspected members or sympathisers of the Cuncolta Naziunalista nationalist group.   Three of them were suspected of direct responsibility for bombings in recent days.   Overnight on Wednesday, a two kg (four lb) bomb seriously damaged two floors of Agriculture Ministry offices located just 50 metres (yards) from a police station in the centre of the island capital Ajaccio.   No one was hurt.   A second device, packed with five kg (10 lbs) of explosive, was defused before it could go off, police said.   Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre, under fire for staging secret talks with one of the largest of several rival underground nationalist groups, told the daily La Corse in a statement he had given "firm orders" to police to round up those responsible for the bombings and bring them to justice.   Judges on the island had accused Paris of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while conducting secret but widely-reported talks with separatists, which have now failed.   The latest bombing, on the heels of the new orders, had brought charges that police were powerless.   "No searches, no arrests, no police reinforcements visible on the island, despite the ministry's promises," the daily France-Soir lamented before news of the arrests.   "It is time to end this nightly farce," said the pro-government daily Le Figaro in an editorial.   Corsica has been racked by low-level separatist-inspired violence, mainly against government targets, for two decades.   The bombs have hit tourism, the island's main industry.   Le Monde reported on Wednesday some separatist movements were considering taking their attacks to the French mainland on the principle that "300 grammes of explosives on the continent have more impact than 300 kilos in Corsica".   The newspaper said separatists may take advantage of social unrest widely expected on the mainland in coming weeks over government austerity plans to stoke a popular backlash against the government. 
5425 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Catalan nationalists who hold the balance of power in Spain turned up the heat on the new government on Thursday, telling it to expect tough negotiations for the 1997 budget on which the country's EMU hopes rest.   "Both the drawing up of the budget and its negotiation look difficult," Catalan regional president Jordi Pujol told a news conference in Barcelona.   Health spending has emerged as the biggest bone of contention in talks on the crucial 1997 budget between the new conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and the Catalan nationalists, whose support he needs to command a majority in parliament.   "It looks as if this (health spending) has turned into the main point of dispute," said a spokeswoman for the Catalan government's health department.   Pujol said his Convergencia i Unio (CiU) coalition had come up with several ideas over the summer for raising more money or cutting expenditure and had found no support, even from Aznar's Popular Party (PP).   "(Therefore) we will not make any more proposals.   We will wait for the government to make them and we shall answer in due course," he added.   Aznar's government started budget talks with the Catalans on Wednesday and ran into trouble right away over its proposals to cut health spending in order to help Spain qualify for European economic and monetary union (EMU).   "There's a certain discrepancy over spending criteria for health in 1997," the Catalans' economic spokesman in parliament, Francesc Homs, told a radio interviewer earlier on Thursday.   "This is probably the only issue in the social domain where we don't agree, but I don't think this difference is hopeless.   We will have to study it a bit more."   Aznar's government needs to trim the overall public-sector deficit by at least a trillion pesetas ($8 billion) to meet next year's target for monetary union.   It wants to cut overall spending by around one percent in real terms and has proposed introducing small charges for prescriptions and basic medical services as a means of curbing burgeoning health costs.   The Catalans oppose any reduction in health spending.   On top of this, they want an extra 200 billion pesetas of central government funding to be transferred to the seven autonomous regions, including theirs, that run their own health services.   Of this, some 30 billion would go to Catalonia.   "The health system in the whole of Spain in 1997 will have higher costs than the government estimates," Homs said.   The economy ministry in Madrid declined to comment.   Catalan spokesmen have said they agree with the government on the general lines of the budget, implying there will be a final agreement.   If the Catalans' objections stop Aznar from trimming health spending, which accounts for more than five percent of gross domestic product, the axe will have to cut deeper into other areas if Spain is to remain on course for monetary union.   ($=125 pesetas) 
5426 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  One man died after being swept off a yacht as torrential rains and galeforce winds battered Belgium on Thursday, causing widespread damage, police said.   The 45-year-old man fell overboard in the Channel off the coastal town of Nieuwpoort.   A police spokesman said it was not immediately clear whether the man had drowned or died from injuries.   The yacht, which had four other people on board, was driven onto the beach.   Some areas had more rainfall in 24 hours than they normally get in a month, the meteorological office said.   Cellars, houses and streets were flooded throughout the country, trees were uprooted and roofs and cars damaged.   Some trains were delayed as fallen trees blocked lines.   Brussels received 5.6 cm (2.24 inches) of water in the past 24 hours -- compared to an average 7.4 cm (2.96 inches) per month -- but in several districts in the south of the country up to eight cm (3.2 inches) fell, the Royal Meteorological Institute said.   An Institute spokesman said that near the eastern town of Turnhout, a group of boy scouts camping in a low-lying meadow had to be evacuated after water flooded their tents.   The rain also severely hindered Belgian investigators' excavations in the southern village of Jumet, where they are looking for bodies in one of the houses of the main character in a paedophile sex-and-murder scandal. 
5427 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA !GVIO  Thousands of farmers blockaded roads across France on Thursday in a protest aimed at barring imports of beef from outside the European Union because of low prices caused by the mad cow crisis.   The show of force unrolled as a group of farmers who have been leading a small herd of cattle in a protest march around the country neared central Paris, where they have been invited to confer on Friday with President Jacques Chirac.   Farmers had threatened an "incendiary" end to the summer holidays and the blockade was the first in a wave of social unrest expected to target the austerity-minded centre-right government in coming weeks.   The FNSEA farmers' union, which mobilised demonstrators by mobile phone and fax in secrecy, said about 15,000 farmers erected blockades on main roads and at motorway toll gates in many areas to carry out spot checks on lorries.   The main quarry was trucks carrying imports from Britain or from outside the EU -- especially cheap imports from eastern Europe, which breeders say have helped force beef prices down by a third in recent months after the mad cow crisis.   A union spokesman said more than 2,000 lorries were searched and a dozen had cargoes that seemed to violate EU beef labelling and import laws.   In a statement, unions demanded "the suspension of imports of live animals and beef from third countries, given the exceptional crisis faced by the EU."   "There will be more union operations in the next few days if the calls for help are not heard," the FNSEA and CNJA unions said, demanding urgent compensation.   Agriculture Minister Philippe Vasseur wrote to EU Farm Commissioner Franz Fischler asking for new measures to ensure that imports of non-EU cows for fattening within the 15-nation bloc and of non-EU beef did not harm the EU market.   "The beef market needs actions on all fronts to revive hopes of a rise in prices and consumption," he said in a statement.   He also said the EU should ensure beef imported from outside the EU beef was subject to health controls as strict as EU rules.   But while Vasseur acknowledged the breeders' "distress and disarray", a ministry official said that France did not favour banning non-EU beef.   On the Franco-Belgian border, one Dutch driver who resisted farmers' orders to have his load searched had the tyres of his lorry punctured.   His cargo was handed over to local customs officials.   In the Lozere region, farmers who stopped a truck found frozen meat among more than 500 kg (1,100 lb) of frozen fish.   The blockades, dismantled during the morning, coincided with surprise protests in a host of towns on the eve of a meeting of an EU committee in charge of managing the beef crisis.   In Laval, farmers unloaded veal in the streets.   Protesters occupied the offices of the prefecture (local government authority) in the Creuse region.   Near Grenoble, 100 farmers occupied a slaughterhouse at Hieres sur Amby and found a truck carrying carcasses of unspecified origin.   In southern Rodez, some 600 breeders entered supermarkets to check the origin of meat.   The Vienne breeders, who have been marching their cows to Paris, will walk into the courtyard of the presidential Elysee palace on Friday.   President Chirac, who started out as an agriculture minister defending farmers' interests in the EU, has agreed to meet them.   European beef sales plunged after Britain announced the discovery of a likely link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, and its fatal human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD). 
5428 !C42 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G151 !G154 !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The French government, facing labour unrest at home and investor worries abroad, pledged on Thursday to push through its economic reforms and meet the requirements for European monetary union from 1999.   "France will be there and will meet the necessary requirements (for monetary union).   It will do this because that is what corresponds to the interests of all of the French people," President Jacques Chirac said.   "A single currency will finally enable Europe to have equal weight with the United States in the great financial debates.   It will help us achieve a more stable and fairer monetary order," he told a meeting of French ambassadors from around the world.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe, standing firm despite attacks on his economic policies, also reaffirmed France's commitment to join a single European currency.   France will "meet the deadline for economic and monetary union within the criteria and the timetable," he said in an earlier speech to the ambassadors.   The two leaders returned to Paris this week after weekend talks at Chirac's holiday residence in the French Riviera to find a mood of gloom gripping the country.   A spate of opinion polls this week showed the public fearful of social unrest and pessimistic about the future.   The franc and French stock and bond markets have been hit by renewed fears of serious labour unrest and doubts over France's ability to meet the Maastricht treaty targets for European economic and monetary union.   The franc was trading at 3.4256 per mark late on Thursday, back at levels seen before interest rate cuts last week temporarily lifted the currency from its lows of mid-August.   Juppe defended France's battle to squeeze inflation out of the economy and expressed surprise at criticism of that policy.   "We have in the past few years eradicated inflation," he said.   "I couldn't have been more stunned to see that in the end, some are sorry.   As though all over the world people are not trying to eradicate inflation because less inflation means more purchasing power and more justice," he told the ambassadors, gathered at the foreign ministry for an annual conference.   Juppe was responding to the latest attack on his economic policies, which came from inside his governing majority.   Former finance minister Alain Madelin, in an article in the daily Le Monde, said France was in a period of falling prices and that government policies would aggravate the deflation problem, leading to social disorder and political instability.   Madelin, a fervent supporter of free-market economics, was sacked a year ago after a clash with Juppe over the pace of economic reform.   Government officials have insisted the government remains committed to planned reforms intended to cut France's public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product, as required for joining economic and monetary union.   "I am not a fan of consensus at any price," Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jacques Barrot said, defending the government's plans.   "It's not now that France is making choices for the future that we should give in to discouragement, doubt, and, for some, a protest that can only be sterile," he said in an interview to be published Saturday in weekly magazine Valeurs Actuel. 
5429 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying coal miners to the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen crashed into a snow-capped mountain as it came in to land on Thursday, almost certainly killing all 143 passengers and crew on board.   The Tupolev Tu-154 was carrying mostly Ukrainian miners and some of their families to a Russian open-cast mine on the island.   Spitzbergen is governed by Norway but Russia has rights of access under an international treaty from the 1920s.   "The accident is a tragedy and a catastrophe for the Russian mining community," the island's governor, Ann Kristin Olsen, told Norway's NTB news agency.   "We can't say it's impossible to find survivors but when there's a crash that pulverises the plane...the chances are very slim," Rune Baard Hansen, the deputy governor, told Reuters.   In Moscow, Russian officials said five people may have survived when the plane hit the mountain in bad weather as it came in to land at Longyear, the main town on Spitzbergen.   But Norwegian officials said they found no survivors so far.   Officials said there were 129 passengers, including some women and children, and a crew of 14 on the plane.   The coalminers were on their way to start work in the Russian mining town of Barentsburg, relieving colleagues who were already waiting at Longyear airport to fly home on the doomed plane when it crashed.   Air traffic control lost contact with the flight shortly before its scheduled landing time of 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT).   The plane plunged into a mountainside and broke up some seven km (four miles) east of Longyear.   There are no roads leading to the snowbound crash site and officials said operations to recover bodies and examine the wreckage were temporarily suspended at around 1400 GMT because of fog and strong freezing winds.   Officials said there was no indication yet as to the possible cause of the crash, although Norwegian air safety experts had launched an investigation.   Some aviation experts have raised questions about the safety of Russian airline operations following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.   If all 143 people are confirmed dead, the crash would be the worst in Norwegian history.   The plane had been chartered by coal mining company Trust Arktik Ugol.   The first rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) and reported that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest was found on the snow-covered slopes.   More than 100 miners who had been waiting at Longyear to fly home on the plane were being taken care of by the local priest and mining company officials.   "The mood is partly shock and deep grief.   Quite a few of them lost family in the crash, they are crushed," Hansen said.   The Russian community on Spitzbergen numbers less than 2,000 people, in the mining towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden.   The Norwegian mining town of Longyear, the only other settlement, has about 1,000 inhabitants.   Spitzbergen lies some 500 miles (800 km) off the north coast of Norway.   Russian President Boris Yeltsin sent a message of condolence to the families of those who died on Thursday and asked the government to help the bereaved families.   Norway's King Harald and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland both sent telegrams of condolence to Moscow.   The last air disaster involving a plane of the same make was in June 1994, when a China Northwest Airlines Tu-154 crashed, killing all 146 passengers and 14 crew on board.   In January of the same year, a Russian Tu-154 crashed in Siberia, killing all 124 people on board. 
5430 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  The French government stuck to a hard line on illegal immigrants on Thursday, announcing that 88 deported Africans were flown home despite left-wing protests.   Two French planes flew home 88 immigrants overnight, 10 of them expelled from the Netherlands, the Interior Ministry said.   This took to 25 the number of French deportation flights since conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe took over 15 months ago.   The planes left from an air force base at Evreux, west of Paris, on Wednesday night.   Unionists and human rights activists had urged civilian pilots not to fly deportees amid a furore over a police raid on a group of Africans in a church last week.   A wide-bodied air force Airbus A-310 flew home 35 Malians and 11 Senegalese.   A Boeing 737 of Air Charter, a subsidiary of state-owned Air France, carried 12 Tunisians and 30 Zaireans, including 10 from the Netherlands.   The Communist CGT and pro-Socialist CFDT unions called on airlines not to lend their planes to the government and urged airlines and airport staff to demonstrate at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on Friday against "flights of shame".   "Airline personnel must not be turned into police assistants," they said.   The daily Le Monde said France's immigration policy was causing mounting concern in Africa, mainly in Mali and Senegal.   The flights took off as police said 11,000 protesters marched through Paris against the expulsion orders in a demonstration twice the size of a similar protest last week.   French handling of illegal immigration has taken centre stage since police last week dragged out 300 African protesters, 10 of them on a hunger strike, who had been occupying a Paris church for two months to demand residence permits.   Two protesters and two policemen were slightly injured in clashes as some of the demonstrators tried to march on the Saint-Bernard church, in the heavily immigrant Goutte d'Or district, which has become a symbol of the protest.   Four of the church protesters were among 57 Africans deported last week on a military aircraft.   CIMADE, a group looking after immigrants, said three more were on the latest deportation flights.   This was not confirmed by the ministry.   Lawyers for the Africans said two Malians flown home on Thursday, Diagui and Mamadou Niakata, had left their wives and children in France, although Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre had pledged not to break up families.   They appealed to the U.N. High Commission for Refugees on behalf of Mauritanian Berke Camara, who is being held pending expulsion and says he fears for his life if he is sent home.   Debre, buoyed by surveys saying that a majority of voters backs 1993 laws to curb immigration, has pledged to enforce them while reviewing individual cases on humanitarian grounds.   The Africans' spokesman Abubakar Diop called on centrist former junior education minister Francoise Hostalier at the National Assembly and said both agreed dialogue between the government and the protesters should be resumed.   The opposition Socialists called the policy on immigration "incoherent and brutal" and said they were drafting proposals to reform the law, including restoring the tradition that anyone born on French soil automatically becomes a French citizen.   The 1993 laws say children born in France to foreigners only become French if they request it after turning 16.   Debre's adviser on immigration Jean-Claude Barreau called the Socialists' proposals "suicidal demagoguery going against their voters' beliefs".   "If someone tries to get in without a ticket and gets caught, it is not abnormal that he be expelled," he wrote in Le Monde. 
5431 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  French voters are gripped by deepening gloom about the stagnating economy and saw no light at the end of the tunnel, an opinion poll showed on Thursday.   The Ipsos survey, to be published on Friday in the weekly Le Point, said 77 percent of voters believed the economy was deteriorating and 62 percent thought it would keep doing so.   Sixty-nine percent saw near-record unemployment worsening in the coming months, and the same percentage expected a wave of social unrest and strikes similar to those which crippled the country at the end of last year.   A chorus of unions have predicted a tough autumn of social unrest.   Voters gave good marks to the conservative government of Prime Minister Alain Juppe for keeping a firm hand in fighting illegal immigration and for plans to abolish military service.   But 59 percent believed its economic policies, based on budget cuts in order to help qualify for the single European currency, would fail and 68 percent said the policies should be changed.   Forty-six percent said President Jacques Chirac should fire Juppe while 44 percent said he should keep him.   Sixty-two percent believed Juppe would stay.   The voters' favourites to give the government fresh momentum, all conservatives, were National Assembly speaker Philippe Seguin, hardline former interior minister Charles Pasqua, former prime minister Edouard Balladur and former finance minister Alain Madelin.   Fifty-eight percent believed the opposition Socialists had no alternative economic policy proposals, to 31 percent who said they did. 
5432 !GCAT !GDIS  The grim and difficult job of recovering bodies from a crashed Russian airliner gets underway on Friday as investigators try to find out what caused the accident that cost more than 140 lives.   The airliner, carrying coalminers from Moscow to the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen, crashed into a snow-capped mountain as it came in to land on Thursday.   All 143 passengers and crew were killed.   The Tupolev Tu-154 was taking miners and some of their families, most of them from Ukraine, to a Russian open-cast mine.   Spitzbergen is governed by Norway but Russia has rights of access under an international treaty from the 1920s.   Rescue teams had to abandon efforts to recover bodies and examine the wreckage less than six hours after the crash, because of thick fog and freezing winds.   Norwegian officials said there was also a risk of avalanches and possible danger from polar bears which roam Spitzbergen freely.   Last year, bears killed two people on the island and few people venture out unarmed beyond the main settlements.   There are no roads leading to the snowbound crash site, which was guarded overnight by police housed in hastily-erected huts to shelter them from the elements.   Helicopter-led recovery operations were expected to resume early on Friday if the weather allows.   Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland said the worst air disaster in Norway's history was "a great tragedy".   The plane hit the mountain in bad weather and poor visibility as it came in to land at Longyear, the main town on Spitzbergen, just after 0800 GMT on Thursday.   Photographs released by the Norwegian authorities showed a smashed fuselage and pieces of the airliner's tail section which had slid down the mountainside after the three-engine plane crashed and broke up seven km (four miles) east of Longyear.   In one photograph, a body could be seen in the foreground, partly covered by wreckage.   The cause of the crash remained a mystery.   The first Norwegian investigators arrived in Longyear late on Thursday and Russian officials were on their way.   Air traffic control lost contact with the flight shortly before it was scheduled to land at Longyear.   The pilot had not reported any problems during his approach.   Western aviation experts have raised questions about the safety of Russian airline operations following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 -- but the pilot was experienced and the plane had been in service for only eight years.   The Russian news agency Itar-Tass said Captain Yevgeny Nikolayev had flown Tu-154s for more than 20 years.   Tass quoted the airline's technical department as saying that Nikolayev and his crew members "knew the plane down to the last screw".   Norwegian rescue teams said they found no survivors and an official of the Russian mining company which chartered the plane, Trust Arktik Ugol, said all on board had been killed.   Yevgeny Buzny told the Norwegian news agency NTB there were seven children and 4O women on the plane.   The tiny Russian mining community was "in a state of shock", he said.   Norwegian officials said there were 129 passengers and a crew of 14 on board.   The coalminers were on their way to start work in the Russian mining towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden -- relieving more than 100 colleagues who were already waiting at Longyear airport to fly home on the same plane.   Many of the Russians waiting to leave broke down and wept at the news of the crash.   The local priest and mining company officials took care of them in Longyear.   The Russian community on Spitzbergen numbers fewer than 2,000 people in Barentsburg and Pyramiden.   The Norwegian mining town of Longyear, the other settlement, has about 1,000 people.   Spitzbergen lies some 500 miles (800 km) off the north coast of Norway and has one of the most extreme climates in the world.   The last air disaster involving a plane of the same make was in June 1994, when a China Northwest Airlines Tu-154 crashed, killing all 160 on board.   In January of the same year, a Russian Tu-154 crashed in Siberia, killing all 124 people on board. 
5433 !C13 !C31 !C33 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Lloyds Register, the shipping resigration and classification agency, was chosen to by the United Nations to field 32 customs inspectors in Iraq as part of the oil-for-food deal, diplomats said on Thursday.   The inspectors will watch port areas as well as Iraq's borders with Jordan and Turkey.   Their presence in Baghdad is necessary before the oil-for-food plan can be implemented.   Earlier the United Nations chose the Dutch-based Saybolt company to send 14 oil experts to Iraq and Turkey to monitor the oil-for-food accord, which allows Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months to buy humanitarian goods for its people suffering under U.N. sanctions.   The plan will be implemented after both the customs and oil inspectors are on the ground in Iraq, expected in the next week or two.   Secretary-General Boutros Boutro-Ghali has to report to the Security Council that all arrangements are in place and the program can begin. 
5434 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  French Tobacco group Seita said on Thursday it had started legal action in the United States against Salomon Bros investment bank, seeking punitive damages as well as recovery of $30 million in losses on two derivative swap transactions in 1994.   "In its complaint against Salomon, Seita asserts claims of breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, misrepresentation, negligence and breach of contract," a Seita statement said.   "The suit is based upon Salomon's recommendation and sale to Seita in 1994 of two high risk derivative swap transactions... that resulted in losses to Seita of approximately $30 million," it said.   The losses were recorded in its 1994 accounts, it added.   "Seita seeks damages against Salomon in the amount of approximately $30 million, plus interest and punitive damages."   "Seita is hopeful that the court action will provide it with the means to redress its grievances against Salomon and to recoup the losses it sustained on the swap transactions."   A number of companies have sought compensation from their advisors in recent years after derivatives contracts have gone wrong.   The company, whose cigarettes include the renowned Gitanes and Gauloises brands, said it had already tried to take court action on the same issue in the federal district court for the Southern District of New York.   "That action was dismissed upon grounds relating solely to the jurisdiction of the court, and did not address the merits of Seita's claims against Salomon," the statement said.   Seita has now brought action against Salomon in the New York Supreme Court, which did not have the jurisdiction restrictions of the federal court, it said.   Seita, which earned the state 5.5 billion francs ($1.09 billion) when it was privatised in 1995, said the Supreme Court action was launched on July 23.   The swap transactions concerned were a German mark-Libor interest rate swap and a yen-dollar currency swap.   The company made a profit of 684 million francs in 1995, up four percent on 1994.   ($1=5.062 French Franc) 
5435 !C13 !CCAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT  Germany's farm minister Jochen Borchert said he supported the marketing of genetically modified products in Europe as long as the EU agreed a labelling system to appease consumers.   "I think it is necessary to agree on clear labelling at European levels to pre-empt consumer fears and to raise acceptance," he told Reuters after a harvest press conference on Thursday.   The EU Commission in April approved imports from the U.S. of genetically modified soybeans as it found no evidence of health or environmental risks.    It said a segregation and special labellings were not needed but it would not stop member states applying national labelling regulations to the products derived from the beans.   Trade and industry sources this week in Hamburg said they were worried about consumer reaction when the U.S. soybean imports arrive here late in 1996 as there had been too little time to carry out information campaigns.   Borchert said he expected more applications for the marketing of genetically modified crops in the EU.   Canada already grows genetically modified canola and EU producers want licences to market herbicide-resistant domestic rapeseed.   "I expect that after the necessary investigations such products will also be approved, but that's why agreements on labelling are so important," Borchert said.   -Vera Eckert, Bonn newsroom, +49-228-26097146 
5436 !GCAT !GDIS  Spitzbergen, the Arctic island where a Russian airliner crashed on Thursday, lies some 500 miles (800 km) off the northern tip of Norway and endures one of the most extreme climates on the planet.   Inhabited by fewer than 3,000 people and hundreds of roaming polar bears, Spitzbergen sees the sun for 24 hours a day during its short summer and is plunged into round-the-clock darkness for much of the winter.   Norway rules the island group under the terms of a 1920s international treaty which gave many other nations the right to establish setttlements and exploit the coal that is still mined there.   Only Russia has chosen to do so.   About 1,000 Norwegians live in the main town of Longyear, where the airport is located.   The Russian communities of Barentsburg and Pyramiden have fewer than 2,000 people.   Spitzbergen includes several islands, covering a total area of almost 24,000 square miles (62,000 square km).   The terrain is mountainous, with few roads and ice cliffs at the sea edge.   The island is mentioned in the annals of 12th century Icelandic explorers.   Its name in Norwegian, Svalbard, derives from the Old Norse meaning "cold coast".   Spitzbergen became a major centre for whaling in the 17th century.   In the early 20th century, the United States, Russia, Britain and others claimed mineral rights on the island, an issue that was resolved only with the 1920 treaty.   During the Cold War, NATO member Norway and the Soviet Union agreed to keep the island demilitarised, despite its strategic importance in the Arctic.   International oil companies have explored in the area for what are believed to be reserves of oil and gas but without much success.   The need to protect the fragile Arctic environment has restricted oil exploration, although Norway has allowed some limited tourism. 
5437 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  The average paedophile does not look like the monster many believe he is, according to experts at an international conference on child sex abuse.   Studies show a typical profile shows the sex offender is often the man next door, usually conservative, often working in a caring profession, they said.   "Abusers look the same as all of us," Ray Wyre, of Britain's Lucy Faithful Foundation, a clinic to rehabilitate sex offenders, told the first World Congress on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children on Thursday.   Sex offenders commonly end up in respectable professions where they can have access to children and often marry to gain respectability, said Ron O'Grady, international coordinator of pressure group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism).   "When they realise that their views and understanding of sexuality is different than that of others, they begin to become very secretive," O'Grady told Reuters in an interview.   "They are people who have had some bad experience, usually in childhood, sometimes sexual abuse but not always.   They are people who, as they grow older, find they are unable to relate in a mature way to women," O'Grady said.   "We still have little knowlegde of what motivates them or drives them.   It seems to be fairly complex," he added.   "The occupational profile that we worked out indicates that a disproportionate number of those who sexually abuse children in Asia come to Asia posing as social workers, opening orphanages and places where children can be kept," O'Grady said.   Most abusing paedophiles use pornography, not the least because it is a lucrative business, O'Grady said.   "The sex abuser always makes use of child pornography...It confirms their behaviour, it assists in persuading reluctant children to become victims, it's used as blackmail, and it's commercial," O'Grady said.   Too often offenders were ignored in the discussion about stopping the commercial sex trade of children, when much could be learned from them about identifying and stopping abuse.   "When you see the sex offender as a monster, it's quite easy to condemn that person," said British University of Leicester-based researcher Jacqueline Sanchez Taylor.   "But when you see it as the man in the pub down the road or as your brother who just divorced, you have to think of a different way to tackle the problem," Taylor told Reuters.   Wyre said: "When they do talk about the offender, he's the monster, or the pervert, which immediately gives the false impression as to who the real abusers are."   Sex crime experts said society needed to take a closer look at helping paedophiles halt their behaviour, rather than simply focusing on the victims when abuse takes place.   "At the end of the day the society that just spends its time rescuing women and children from the river and doing nothing about the man who is pushing them in is a stupid society.   But that's what we do," Wyre added. 
5438 !GCAT !GDIP  German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel expects a visit to China, postponed by Beijing last June in protest at a Bonn parliamentary resolution on Tibet, to go ahead after a meeting with the Chinese foreign minister next month.   Kinkel is due to meet his counterpart Qian Qichen at the United Nations general assembly in New York on September 24.   "I believe that (after I meet Qian) the path can be smoothed for my visit, and for the frequency of visits in general to correspond again to the interests of both countries and the state of our relations," he told the daily Handelsblatt, according to an advance release from Friday's edition.   Beijing was outraged by the lower house resolution, introduced by the major parties rather than the government, which accused China of trying to eradicate Tibet's cultural identity.   It withdrew an invitation to Kinkel to visit in July, and Bonn responded by freezing high-level contacts.   China often sees support for Tibetan interests or Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as implicit support for Tibetan independence.   But Kinkel underlined that Germany did not recognise Tibet's self-styled government-in-exile or question the integrity of China's territory.   "When the federal government speaks out in favour of respecting Tibetans' cultural and religious autonomy, it in no way supports efforts to give Tibet independence from the united Chinese state," he said.   In a nod to critics who say Bonn kowtows too much to China, Kinkel said that "good political relations are vital if we want to achieve concrete progress in human rights".   Kinkel said he hoped China would respect the opinions of the lower house as the views of an independent, elected parliament.   "Between partners, it must be possible to air difficult issues," he said. 
5439 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Croatian Serbs in liberated areas continue to be targets of violence and looting, with police either unable or unwilling to stop abuses, a U.N. report said on Thursday.   Crimes range from looting property -- everything from the kitchen sink to sheep -- to more serious incidents such as beatings and explosives that killed at least two people and injured others, the report by Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said.   The report, based on investigations by special envoy Elizabeth Rehn, may be particularly significant because of Croatia's application for admission to the Council of Europe, whose main focus is human rights.   Croatia's candidacy has been approved provisionally but a final decision was postponed, depending on improvement of conditions for the return of Serb refugees, protecting minorities and cooperating with the U.N. war crimes tribunal.   "A prevailing climate of lawlessness causing great fear among local residents persists" in the former Serb-held areas, the report said.   "Arrests of looters have been rare.   It is evident that the government still has not taken adequate measures to provide an effective police presence in the region and looting and intimidation remain widespread."   Boutros-Ghali also pointed to a "new disturbing development" in a spate of attacks and threats against local and international human rights and relief groups, including an explosive device near the home of the president of the Croatian Helsinki Committee and a fire at the offices of a Croatian group working with Oxfam.   He said Croatia was cooperating with the Hague-based U.N. war crimes tribunal in its investigations but had not arrested any of the Croatians indicted by the tribunal.   On refugees, the report said the government had authorised the return of more than 9,000 Croatian Serbs but few have come back to their homes.   Another 10,000 have applied to return home but their applications were being processed slowly.   Many of the returnees have been unable to get back into their homes, which are occupied by Croat refugees.   "While these persons have a legitimate right to a decent home, the manner in which the Croatian government has been approaching this question is having a profound impact on the region's ethnic balance, transforming the population from being predominantly Serb to one that is largely Croat." 
5440 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union on Thursday ended negative correctives on soft and durum wheat flour and on durum wheat semolina, France's grain office ONIC said.   Officials said they did not know when the decision would become effective.   Until now operators exported wheat flour and semolina using prefixed licenses carrying a zero subsidy.   But to keep the subsidy at zero negative correctives, equivalent to the monthly increment paid to traders, were applied.   By cancelling the correctives, the EU is encouraging flour and semolina exports, grain trade sources said.   --Paris Newsroom 
5441 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Two west German former allies of Chancellor Helmut Kohl, brought to east Germany after unification to become regional leaders of Kohl's Christian Democrats (CDU), went on trial on Thursday accused of fraud.   Werner Muench, former premier of Saxony-Anhalt state, and his former social affairs minister Werner Schreiber are accused of giving false information about their previous salaries as members of parliament to boost their pay illegally.   Salaries of politicians in east Germany were by law lower than those of their western colleagues at the time.   But western politicians who showed they had earned more in their previous post were not expected to take a drop in pay and were entitled to go on receiving this amount.   Saxony-Anhalt's entire state cabinet quit in 1993 after the regional audit office accused Schreiber, Muench and two other ministers brought in from the west of fraud to the tune of 900,000 marks ($600,000) by overstating their previous pay.   Charges against two of the men were subsequently dropped.   Muench and Schreiber told the court in the eastern city of Magdeburg that they had not meant to overstate their salaries as deputies in the European and federal parliaments respectively.   Both men said Gerd Gies, Muench's predecessor as Saxony-Anhalt state premier, had invited them to come from the west to join his CDU cabinet after the party's election victory in 1990, and promised them western salaries.   Muench told the court that these salary levels were also agreed with the chancellor's office in Bonn.   A verdict is expected next week. 
5442 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  French President Jacques Chirac reaffirmed on Thursday his government's commitment to meeting the deadline for European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   "France will be there and will meet the necessary requirements.   It will do this because that is what corresponds to the interests of all of the French people," Chirac said.   "A single currency will finally enable Europe to have equal weight with the United States in the great financial debates.   It will help us achieve a more stable and fairer monetary order," he said in remarks prepared for a meeting of French ambassadors from around the world.   The single currency would allow low interest rates and thus higher growth and more jobs, he said.   It would put an end to "competitive devaluations," on condition that strict rules are observed on the parities between the Euro and other European currencies, as France has demanded.   Basic to France's role in the world was the need for continuing development of European unity and movement toward a single currency, he said.   Chirac was speaking ahead of a Sunday meeting with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl when they are expected to discuss bilateral, European and world issues. 
5443 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  The German farm ministry in a statement on Thursday said the EU area devoted to the production of oilseeds for food uses should be 4.7 million hectares this year, below the 4.9 million Blair House limit.   This confirmed estimates earlier this year by EU oilseeds traders and producers.   The EU-15 limit is 5.48 million ha, from which 10 percent set-aside is deducted, giving an effective ceiling of 4.93 million.   Some 700,000 hectares were planted to industrial crops in the EU-15, bringing the total area to 5.4 million hectares, down 3.6 percent from 1995, the ministry said.   It also said yield expectations were down and oilseeds production should be lower than last year.   Oilseeds lobby ANGO on July 12 put the total 1996 crop at 12.24 million tonnes, down from 12.61 million tonnes last year, which included 8.26 million tonnes of rapeseed.   The German statement was part of a set of national harvest statistics issued today.   -Bonn newsroom, +49-228-26097146 
5444 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  East German construction workers on Thursday vowed to battle employers head on, promising to strike if employers go ahead with plans to cancel an existing wage contract.   Andreas Steppuhn, head of the IG Bau union in the east German state of Saxony-Anhalt told German radio, "If the employers make good on their threats, it means the end of the cooling-off period (during which unions refrain from striking).   Then we will immediately resort to strikes."   In Germany, where unions remain extremely powerful, it is very rare for employers to cancel a wage contract, and the step usually signals they wish to take away some rights or benefits from workers.   In this case, employers have threatened to cancel a wage contract which would give east German workers' a 1.85 percent pay rise, lifting their salaries to 95 percent of west German workers' wages, in October.   A spokesman for the employers' association said that the appropriate parties had agreed to cancel the wage contract.   The group has not yet made an official announcement however.   Currently east German workers earn 92 percent of their west German colleagues' wages.   The wage increase is scheduled to become effective in October and employers have threatened to cancel the contract on September 1.   This new twist may escalate tensions already simmering in the construction industry after the industry last week launched a fresh attempt to set a minimum wage for the sector, urging other industry groups not to block the initiative as they have in the past.   The building workers' union IG Bau and the two leading industry associations revealed a new agreement for a minimum hourly wage of 17 marks ($11.52) for west Germany and 15.64 marks for workers in the east -- considerably below levels they tried, but failed, to establish nationwide earlier this year.   ($ = 1.475 German Marks) 
5445 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Germany's banking watchdog authority said on Thursday that there was a growing level of fraud in the banking industry which it was finding ever harder to keep under control.   Wolfgang Artopoeus, president of the Federal supervisory office for credit institutions, told a news conference in Berlin that investors were suffering damages worth billions of marks as a result and called for greater powers for his office.   In 1995 his authority had taken legal action in more than 1,700 cases, he said.   But only 17 of these had resulted in the activities concerned being banned, as most firms had managed to argue successfully that they did not fall within the jurisdiction of the authorities.   Artopoeus said that the number fraudulent operators had increased rapidly in the last few years and was likely to continue to grow.   It was becoming increasingly difficult for the office to prove illegal trading in these cases.   He said companies had become very sophisticated in drawing a veil over their activities and hiding them from the office.   For example, investors were sometimes offered a holding as a silent shareholder in a company and promised unrealistically high returns.   In the strict legal definition this was not a banking transaction, but rather an investment transaction, meaning that the office had no power to intervene.   The same was the case for so-called investment clubs.   A further possibility was for the German company to act in the grey market by establishing a bank with a convincing name, often in the United States.   Here again the office had no jurisdiction, Artopoeus said.   "We are somewhat frustrated that we cannot intervene on legal grounds when we see shady deals," he said, adding that he hoped the office would be given additional powers in a revision of German credit laws.   In addition to the fraud cases, Artopoeus said the office had noticed an increasing number of cases of minor omissions or transgressions which had led to warnings or stronger disciplinary action in 82 cases in 1995.   This was twice as many as in 1994, he said.   Ten cases were linked to Juergen Schneider, the former property magnate who disappeared in April 1994, leaving his company to file for bankruptcy.   Schneider is now in jail in Germany on charges of fraud.   --Frankfurt Newsroom +49 69 756525 
5446 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  The rapeseed harvest in eastern Germany is expected to be down by 46.6 percent on last year while production in western Germany should be down 27.5 percent as a result of a harsh winter, the Bonn farm ministry said.   Farm minister Jochen Borchert told a press conference on Thursday the overall 1996 rapeseed harvest was estimated at two million tonnes versus 3.1 million tonnes last year.   Pan-German yields were put at 2.27 tonnes per hectare, versus 3.19 tonnes in 1995.   Yield losses in the East were put at one-third and those in the West at 20 percent.   The ministry pegged the rapeseed area at 855,000 ha, 12 percent less than in 1995.   It said winter damage reduced the winter rapeseed area in western Germany by 13.5 percent and in eastern Germany by 19.2 percent.   Extended spring rape sowings could not offset these losses.   The ministry put the total oilseeds (rape and sunflowerseed) area at 898,000 ha, 12.5 percent down from 1995, of which 247,000 ha were for non-food purposes, leaving a food area of 651,000 ha.   Germany thus undercut its food oilseeds area limit of 836,000 ha under an EU/U.  S. agreement by 185,000 ha, or 22.1 percent.   --Vera Eckert, Bonn newsroom, 49 228 26097146 
5447 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union agreed on Thursday to increase by 300,000 tonnes the quota of German intervention barley available for export, France ONIC said.   The EU's grain panel will add two tranches of 150,000 tonnes each to the existing allocation, it said.    Traders had been pressing for an increase of 300,000 tonnes to help cover part of what could be a large sale to Saudi Arabia.   Saudi Arabia provisionally bought 800,000 tonnes of optional barley on August 21, traders have said.   Earlier on Thursday the EU's grain panel sold 234,324 tonnes of German intervention barley.   The grain was mostly destined to help cover the Saudi sale, European grain industry sources said.   The award left at 48,676 tonnes the current unsold allocation of German intervention barley.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
5448 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  The German farm ministry on Thursday said changeable weather during harvesting could impair the quality of this year's grain crop.   Agriculture minister Jochen Borchert said, "Quality this year will probably not reach that of last year's harvest although there are wide regional differences."   "Weather patterns have been harassing farmers this year and in some parts lost them the fruits of their labour."   If harvests kept being disrupted by bad weather, rye and triticale, but also wheat, could suffer.   But malting barley should have both higher yield and quality.   In a preliminary estimate, Borchert put the grain harvest three percent up at 41 million tonnes, adding this was due to a 2.7 percent area increase to 6.7 million hectares.   Pan-German yields of 6.1 tonnes a hectare should be unchanged but those in eastern Germany, where the winter was extremely harsh, should be 10 percent below last year's average in the region of 6.0 tph.   Borchert said a period of warm and dry weather was now needed to ensure grain still in the field -- roughly one third of the total crop -- reached a reasonable quality.   Eastern German farmers should suffer 7.6 percent volume losses at 13 million tonnes, because large parts of the winter barley area needed to be resown, the ministry said.   Farmers in the West may be luckier and raise their crop by 8.7 percent to 28 million tonnes.   The harvest is currently two to three weeks behind schedule as a result of a cold and dry winter and a cool and wet spring.   Sporadic, but heavy, rainfall in July and August caused some hail damage and lodging.   --Vera Eckert, Bonn newsroom, +49-228-26097146 
5449 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  A European Union sale of 234,324 tonnes of German intervention barley is worth some $145 per tonne fob Germany and is mostly destined for Saudi Arabia, European grain sources said on Thursday.   The EU's cereals management committee sold 234,324 tonnes of German intervention barley at a minimum price of 105.07 Ecus per tonne.   Saudi Arabia provisionally bought 800,000 tonnes of optional-origin barley at an August 21 tender at prices between $160 and $162 including cost, insurance and freight, traders said last week.   But European grain traders and officials said the Saudis might reduce the purchase to 600,000 tonnes.    Traders have said a substantial part of the deal was likely to come from the European Union, which enjoys a supply and freight advantage over other producers.   But subtracting freight costs, the equivalent fob price of the deal is around $142, well below the $149 per tonne floor price which the EU put on its barley as news of the deal emerged last week.   Last Thursday the EU sold 34,277 tonnes of German intervention barley at a minimum price of 109.36 Ecus per tonne, which was seen as worth $149 per tonne fob.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
5450 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from Norwegian offshore oil and gas production are expected to climb due to more intensive production techniques, Stig Bergseth, head of exploration and development at Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap ASA (Statoil), said on Thursday.   "We are expecting an increase in the years to come as we have to invest more energy to recover oil and gas from fields as they deplete," he said.   Efforts to clean up the environment resulted in a 22 percent fall in CO2 emissions between 1985 and 1995, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.   But concern about a rebound in harmful emissions levels must be set against "the irreversible loss of hydrocarbon resources by refraining from recovering marginal reserves," Bergseth said.   And new technology can help cap emissions, he added.   Carbon dioxide contained in natural gas at the Sleipner field is being extracted offshore and injected into an aquifer, reducing emissions by 700,000 tonnes a year, or around 10 percent of emissions from the Norwegian shelf.   New fields are being equipped with turbines which are able to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by about 80 percent, said Bergseth.   -- Rosalind Russell, Stavanger 
5451 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union raised its import duty on distant maize to 44.86 Ecu/tonne from 37.54 Ecu/tonne, effective August 30, the European Commission said on Thursday.    EFFECTIVE FROM AUGUST 30 IN ECUS PER TONNE    NEARBY ORIGIN (1) DISTANT ORIGIN (2) DATE OF    CURRENT PREVIOUS CURRENT PVS  CHANGE    DURUM WHEAT  4.69  0.14 0.00  0.00 15AUG96    COM WHT HIGH QUAL 22.01 22.95 12.01 12.95 15AUG96    MEDIUM QUALITY 35.23 38.01 25.23 28.01 15AUG96    LOW QUALITY  48.79 53.91 38.79 43.91 15AUG96    BARLEY 66.99 64.33 56.99 54.33 15AUG96    RYE 66.99 64.33 56.99 54.33 15AUG96    SORGHUM  81.10 78.44 71.10 68.44 15AUG96    MAIZE 54.86 47.54 44.86 37.54 30AUG96    Exchange Kansas Mid  Mid     Minneapolis City Chicago Chicago America America   Products percent protein and 12 percent humidity     HRS2(14%) HRW2(11.5%) SRW2 YC3  HAD2 US barley2   (ECUS per tonne)    Quotes 133.80 136.84 129.70 112.92 172.36 110.06    Gulf -  13.53  7.12 31.91  -  -   Great    Lakes 21.24  -  -  -  -  -   Gulf of Mexico-Rotterdam 9.17 Ecus per tonne Great Lakes-Rotterdam 17.70 Ecus per tonne   (1) Nearby origin covers imports by land, river or sea from Mediterranean, Black Sea and Baltic ports.   (2) Distant origin covers other ports.   The import duty may be adjusted if during the two-week reference period the average import duty differs by five Ecus per tonne from the fixed duty.   Importers may claim a two Ecus per tonne reduction for Atlantic and Suez canal shipments to British, Danish, Swedish, Finnish and to Spanish and Portuguese Atlantic ports.   A three Ecus per tonne reduction can be claimed for imports into Med ports.   Importers who show they have paid a quality premium can claim a 14 or eight Ecus reduction for shipments of high quality common wheat, malting barley and flint maize. 
5452 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Talks were continuing at the European Union's grain panel as officials were discussing a possible increase in the quota of German intervention barley available for export, European grain industry sources said.    Last Thursday the European Union had informally offered to open 150,000 tonnes of extra German intervention barley but took no decision pending confirmation of a large barley purchase by Saudi Arabia and greater clarity over prices.   Traders had been pressing for an increase of 300,000 tonnes to help cover the Saudi purchase.   But EU officials said last week it was too early to take a decision.   Saudi Arabia provisionally bought 800,000 tonnes of optional barley on August 21, traders have said.   Grain traders and officials said this week the Saudis may reduce the purchase to 600,000 tonnes.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
5453 !G15 !G153 !G158 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union's cereals management committee on Thursday granted grain export licences mainly for wheat, which for the first time in 15 months included an export subsidy, traders and European grain sources said.   The subsidy of 3.9 Ecus per tonne was for 20,000 tonnes of EU soft wheat to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries tied to the EU through the Lome preferential trade accords, they said.   But the EU maintained a fractional export tax on its main wheat export programme, with a minimum premium of 0.50 Ecus per tonne (Corrects from 0.05 Ecus per tonne) for a total of 147,500 tonnes, the sources said.    Following are the tender results for exports from the free market (taxes or refunds in Ecus per tonne) -    Tonnage Maximum Refund Minimum Tax    Soft wheat  147,500  ----- 0.50   (Main tender)    Soft wheat  20,000  3.90 -----   (ACP states tender)    Oats 7,500  23.90 -----    Barley Refused  ----- -----    Rye Refused  ----- -----   (Corrects Minimum Tax figure for Main tender from 0.05)   -- Paris newsroom +331 4221 5432 
5454 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  About 3,500 naval shipyard workers marched in the centre of the northern port town of Cherbourg on Thursday to protest against defence restructuring, a union official said.   The local police headquarters did not give a figure but said 1,800 workers at the Cherbourg yeard had stopped work.   A cutback plan could slim their numbers to 1,700 from 4,200.   Several hundred workers also marched in the western town of Indre where 500 or 1,600 jobs are at risk. 
5455 !GCAT !GDIP  The Soviet Union accused its communist satellite East Germany of treason in the 1980s for dismantling some border fortifications at a time of Cold War tension, a former East Berlin defence minister said on Thursday.   East Germany agreed in the early 1980s to remove minefields and trip-wire triggered machineguns from its border with West Germany as part of an attempt to improve inter-German relations.   But Moscow was at the time trying to stop the NATO western alliance siting a new medium-range missiles on German soil.   Ex-defence minister Fritz Streletz testified to a Berlin court trying four former communist leaders that then-Soviet leader Konstantin Chernenko had angrily criticised East German party boss Erich Honecker and accused him of treason.   "Sparks were flying at the highest level," Streletz said.   The court is trying four former Politburo members, including East Germany's last hardline communist leader Egon Krenz, on manslaughter charges.   Prosecutors say the men bore responsibility for the deaths of East Germans who were killed at the border during the Cold War as they tried to flee to the West.   The defendants argue that the border regime was run to Moscow's specifications and that East Germany had no choice but to maintain it.   Streletz has himself been sentenced to 6-1/2 years for manslaughter in connection with the deaths at the border, but is free pending an appeal to the constitutional court. 
5456 !C13 !CCAT !E51 !ECAT !G15 !G152 !GCAT !M11 !MCAT  Milan's clubbish stock exchange opens its doors to international traders next week as it finally takes on board a European Union directive to liberalise cross-border share trading.   Hopes are high that the sweeping away of petty restrictions may inject new life into a stock exchange bedevilled by poor trading volumes and a resulting lack of liquidity, but it may also spell doom for some small Italian brokers, known as Sims.   Italy embraces the European directive on September 1, known in Italy as Eurosim, which will allow big investment banks outside Italy to become members of the Milan exchange and deal directly, thus cutting out Italy's licenced brokers.   Large European and U.S. investment banks are already preparing to increase their commitment as optimists see Milan's equity market slowly developing into a modern stock market from what is seen as a small collection of closely-held companies in the hands of founding families or shareholder syndicates.   This is bad news for the smaller Sims among Italy's 113 licenced brokers.   Around 20 have already gone bankrupt since the start of 1993, and some predict a further 40-50 Sims will go to the wall over the next year due to competition.   "The smaller Sims which exist just to give others access to the market and earn a commission will feel the pressure.   Only the research-based brokers will survive profitably," said one Italian equity analyst with a British-based investment bank.   But rather than sitting back in London, Frankfurt or Paris some international banks are looking to expand their Milan operations.   By dealing only with international clients, they can keep settlement in their head offices back home and put only essential traders and analysts in slimline Milan offices.   However, some international houses are not so optimistic, pointing out that it will take time to get liquidity up for big stock deals in the cautious Milan market.   Commission charges are been pushed lower already by increased competition, they say.   Many of Italy's European partners took on board the directive at the start of the year and have only initially seen a modest boost to cross-border share trading.   Analysts say that Italian Sims backed by large financial groups with deep pockets are in a strong position for the future -- these include Albertini, half-owned by French bank Societe Generale (Corrects from "Albertini, half-owned by insurer Generali"), InterSim, controlled by Italy's largest bank San Paolo, and Caboto, owned by banking group Ambroveneto.   Others have the backing of large international investment banks with Cimo controlled by Dutch ABN Ambro, and Gamba Azzoni owned by France's Paribas.   Also helping to increase trading volumes in the future will be the privatisation of the Milan bourse, likely early next year, analysts say.   An independent stock exchange will encourage more companies to list on the Milan bourse, they believe.   In addition, new privatised companies with a broad base of shareholders and a good flow of financial information are likely to encourage more trading through the Milan stock exchange by international clients.   "New broadly-held groups such as ENI, STET and ENEL are likely to take over from the Fiats and Generalis as the benchmarks for the market in the future," said an analyst.   Oil and chemical giant ENI floated 15 percent of its shares on the market late last year and is set to float another tranche in October.   Telecoms holding group STET is hoping to sell the 64-percent stake held by the state to investors early next year, while electricity generator and distributor ENEL is slated for privatisation in 1997.   Some new stocks such as luxury goods group Bulgari and vehicle brake maker Brembo have recently listed on the Milan bourse with success, but others such as Gucci and spectacle maker Luxottica have found it easier to list in New York and other markets than in Milan. 
5457 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Britain reassured India on Thursday that New Delhi would not face punitive sanctions if it persisted in opposing a global nuclear test ban treaty, but said the pact could unravel without universal support.   Visiting British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said India could not be threatened into signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).   Last week New Delhi singlehandedly blocked the accord from being adopted at talks in Geneva.   "Clearly India has very serious reservations and concerns," Rifkind told a news conference after meeting Indian Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral on the first day of a two-day visit.   Later he was to see Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.   New Delhi cited a provision which would require the three nuclear "threshold" states -- India, Israel and Pakistan -- to sign the treaty before it could become international law.   India says the clause would impinge on its sovereignty.   India also objected to a provision which would allow countries to take unspecified measures to build support for the CTBT if it had not taken effect within three years.   New Delhi fears the measures could end up being economic sanctions.   Despite India's objections in Geneva, the treaty's backers plan to send the pact to the United Nations General Assembly when it convenes next month.   Asked if coercive measures were needed to persuade India to sign the CTBT, Rifkind told Reuters: "There is no way India can be forced to agree to a treaty it does not wish to support, nor is there any way any country can be forced.   So that has not been contemplated."   The foreign secretary said the CTBT could crumble without universal support.   "If any country is unable to sign, then there is always a risk that there will always be others coming to the same conclusion and the whole matter unravelling," he said.   Rifkind did not see any fallout with India due to divisions over the CTBT, which Britain and the four other nuclear powers -- China, France, Russia and the United States -- support.   "I believe that our bilateral relations with India will not be affected by whatever decision India might reach," he said, claiming ties between the two nations had never been better.   But the visiting minister said Britain wanted India to permit official international observers to monitor local polls next month in troubled Kashmir.   On Wednesday, a spokesman for the government of Jammu and Kashmir state said foreign individuals would be allowed to observe assembly elections which start on September 7, but teams of official observers would be barred.   "We would prefer to see official international observers but that is not currently on offer," Rifkind told Reuters.   They will be the first local elections in the state since a separatist revolt erupted in 1990.   The last poll was in 1987.   Rifkind said Britain had no reliable evidence concerning the whereabouts or fate of four Westerners, including two Britons, taken hostage in Kashmir last year by separatist militants.   He urged Pakistan and India to strengthen trade ties as a means of enhancing regional security.   Rifkind said that before leaving for Colombo on Friday, he would sign a 75 million sterling ($120 million) agreement to support power sector reform in the eastern state of Orissa, and a 45 million sterling ($72 million) project for primary education in Andhra Pradesh state.   Rifkind came to India from Pakistan.   After Sri Lanka he is scheduled to visit Japan and Mongolia. 
5458 !GCAT !GVIO  Tamil Tiger rebels overran an isolated police post in Sri Lanka's northeast early on Thursday, killing 24 policemen and five civilians, defence officials said.   A large group of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas first attacked a police patrol and then stormed the Kudapokuna police post just north of Welikanda, 200 km (125 miles) from Colombo, they said.   The rebels killed 24 policemen and five civilians from a nearby village in the raid.   Ten policemen and five civilians were wounded.   A military spokesman said the rebels suffered heavy casualties when troops counter-attacked with artillery fire support, but he did not give figures.   It was the second time in three days that the rebels, who are fighting for an independent homeland for minority Tamils in the Indian Ocean island's north and east, attacked police.   On Tuesday, suspected Tamil Tigers hurled hand grenades at a police vehicle in a crowded market in the army-controlled northern town of Vavuniya, killing at least two policemen.   More than a dozen people, including several policemen who were working undercover, were wounded in the attack.   Vavuniya is just south of the northern mainland area controlled by the LTTE.   The government says more than 50,000 people have died in the separatist war, now in its 14th year. 
5459 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Thursday's Sri Lankan newspapers.   ---   VEERAKESARI   Estate workers unions to demonstrate in front of Labour Ministry to back demands for resumption of payment of cost of living allowance.   President Chandrika Kumaratunga tells ruling People's Alliance organisers to select candidates for local government polls within two weeks.   ---   THINAKARAN   Estate union leaders to meet Labour Minister Mahinda Rajapakse for talks on resuming payment of cost of living allowance.   Thirty thousand fishermen strike for 10th day in Tamil Nadu to protest against seizure of their boats for helping ferry Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to south India.   ---   DAILY NEWS   Indian fishermen say Tamil Tiger rebels forcing them to take Sri Lankan Tamil refugees to Tamil Nadu at gun point.   ---   THE ISLAND   Sri Lanka Moslem Congress leader and Shipping Minister Mohamed Ashraff to reiterate call for separate Moslem council in northeast province under devolution plan to end ethnic war.   ---   LANKADEEPA   Navy investigating reports from fisherman of submarine being sighted about one km from Colombo port.   Colombo harbour security tightened after intelligence that Tamil Tiger rebels could be planning to attack the port.   ---   DIVAINA   LTTE executes about 100 of their badly wounded fighters in the eastern Thoppigala jungles, police say.   Some of the wounded had lost their limbs or eyesight in fighting against government forces.   ---   DINAMINA   Troops kill eight Tamil Tiger rebels in ambush at Weli Oya.   --Colombo newsroom tel 941-434319 
5460 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Thursday's Pakistani newspapers:   DAWN   - The government has decided to transfer the entire distribution network of electricity to foreign managements to curtail losses of billions of rupees.   - The government has suffered a loss of 11 billion rupees due to tax holidays at industrial estates in Hub and Gadoon.   - High Court officials have unearthed police-run human cages at Tando Allahyar near Hyderabad.   Some 27 people were rescued from the private jail set up by the police.   - Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif renewed a pledge to oust the Pakistan People's Party government headed by Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.   BUSINESS RECORDER   - Gas prices may go up by five percent to increase the rate of return of Sui Southern Gas and Sui Northern Gas companies.   - Japan is importing 80 percent of cotton yarn from Pakistan every year.   - The government has blamed sugar technologists for not supporting a long-term programme of research and development to increase production of sugarcane.   FINANCIAL POST   - Armed robbers pillaged 70 barrels of crude oil from a well near Gujar Khan on Wednesday.   - Pakistan will pay an additional bill of $244 million as private power projects with capacity of 3,225 megawatt go on-line by 1998/99.   THE NATION   - The government is facing extreme difficulties in meeting its revenue collections targets for 1996/97.   - Mohib Textile Mills has defaulted to nearly 23 development finance institutions, foreign and local banks, leasing companies and modarabas (Islamic mutual funds).   - Investment Minister Asif Ali Zardari expressed keenness for a close working relationship with Japanese companies so that investment from Japan can multiply.  q   - Karachi Stock Exchange index falls by 7.84 points.   THE NEWS   - The prime minister's special economic assistant Shahid Hasan Khan said privatisation of thermal power plants, power generation from private plants and management contracts of Area Electricity Boards would help achieve 6.5 percent GDP growth.   - Pakistan's Muslim Commercial Bank, Vital Information System, and Duff and Phelps of the U.S. are likely to announce a strategic alliance with Bangladesh's only credit rating company -- Credit Rating and Information Systems Ltd -- next month.   - The Sindh High Court issued an ad-interim order restraining the Privatisation Commission from handing over Javedan Cement to Dadabhoy Investment (Pvt) Ltd until it can consider a legal challenge mounted by unions to the deal.   THE MUSLIM   - Pakistan and Iran have agreed to expand and strengthen political, trade and economic relations.   -- Islamabad newsroom 9251-274757 
5461 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Indian business and political stories in leading newspapers prepared for Reuters by Business News and Information Services Pvt Ltd, New Delhi.   Telephone: 11-3324842, 11-3761233; Fax: 91-11-3351006 Internet : biznis.  news@forums.  sprintrpg.  sprint.  com    -------oo0oo-------    TOP STORIES   Times Of India   PAKISTAN SEES POSSIBLE TALKS AFTER KASHMIR POLL   Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto believes bilateral talks with India could resume only after next month's local assembly polls in Kashmir.   In an interview published in the Dubai-based daily Khaleej Times, Bhutto said any move to hold talks during the polls, ending on September 30, could send wrong signals to the Kashmiris.   Bhutto attributed the cooling off of Pakistan's response to India's call for dialogue to economic preoccupations at home and India's decision to hold polls in Kashmir.   Bhutto, however, advocated regional free trade and cooperation and promised not to allow economic issues to get blurred by political problems.   ----   Business Standard   WORLD BANK SAYS BUDGET A MISSED OPPORTUNITY   The World Bank said India had failed to utilise the 1996/97 national budget to initiate fiscal adjustments and said its current economic policies sent wrong signals to foreign private investors.   The bank said India's large fiscal deficits might lead to an internal debt trap as real interest rates outpaced growth rate.   CENTRAL BANK MOPS UP GDR FUNDS IN OFF-MARKET DEALS   The Reserve Bank of India, the central bank, had entered off-market deals to mop up excess foreign exchange inflows from recent global depository receipt issues of Indian corporates.   The market intervention was to prevent the rupee from appreciating.   The consequent release of rupee funds into the system was among the major factors that led to a fall in call market rates to two percent from seven percent earlier.   WORLD BANK LIKELY TO PICK UP STAKE IN INFRASTRUCTURE FIRM   Multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and international investment banks are slated to pick up stakes in the proposed Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC).   This would help the IDFC to raise funds internationally at competitive rates.   The government has formed a high-powered group to take a final view on methods for the formation of the IDFC.   In a proposal submitted by the Rakesh Mohan committee on infrastructure, the foreign contributions would aggregate about $200 million over five years.   NATIONALISED BANKS BACK IN THE RED   The nationalised banking sector was back in the red in fiscal 1995/96 (April-march).   From a net profit of 2.70 billion rupees in 1994/95, the industry -- comprising 19 nationalised banks -- registered a net loss of 11.22 billion rupees.   The total net loss, however, was lower than in 1992/93 and 1993/94 when it was 35.73 billion rupees and 47.05 billion rupees, respectively.   ----   Economic Times   MAT TAX CONCESSIONS PLANNED FO STEEL INDUSTY, OTHERS   The Finance Ministry is planning to give concessions to certain industries on the proposed minimum alternate tax (MAT).   Finance Minister P. Chidambaram is said to have decided to grant tax relief to the steel industry and exempt sick companies and industries in an expended list of backward areas from MAT.   Sources said these concessions would be announced when the minister eplied in the paliamentary debate on the Finance Bill.    Financial Express   TAKEOVERS TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE   The takeover code of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has come in for a substantial review.   The Bhagwati Committee reviewing the SEBI 1994 takeover regulations, has suggested wide-ranging changes.   These include a broader open offer trigger clause, maintaining an escrow account, allowing conditional bids and defining persons acting in concert.   The changes are expected to ensure greater transparency and accountability in takeovers.   IOC, MTNL NOT IN NEXT ROUND OF DIVESTMENT   The government will not include Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) in the September disinvestment round.   Both the companies have indicated to the department of public enterprises and the finance ministry that they are not prepared for a global depository receipt issue or even a domestic floatation by September.   Finance ministry sources said the IOC had now been earmarked for the November tranche, while MTNL would have to wait till January.   COMMUNICATION MINISTER FREEZES ADB LOAN Communications Minister Beni Prasad Verma is believed to have frozen processing of the $169 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).   The minister has, instead, instructed the Department of Telecommunication to inform ADB that the loan would only be taken if there is global tender for the rural telecom project without any special rider.   The project envisages providing 32,000 village public telephones in the villages of the eastern Uttar Pradesh.   JOINT VENTURE TO REVAMP POWER PLANTS UNLIKELY   Negotiations between Tata Electric Company, Thermax Ltd and US-based Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on a joint venture to refurbish old power plants in India have run into problems.   Under the proposed venture, the three companies were to look at old power stations mainly under the state electricity boards (SEBs) and revamp them to increase efficiency using expertise of the U.S. power firm TVA.   Sources said talks between the Power Finance Corporation, the funding body, and the SEBs had failed to resolve many crucial issues regarding the proposed tie-up.   ----   Observer   VSNL, MTNL SHARES ENDORSED AS GOOD BUY   Hong Kong based CS First Boston, in its analysis of the telecommunication (telecom) sector in India, said Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and Mahanagar Telecommunication Nigam Ltd (MTNL) had benefited from the telecom reform.   CS First Boston projected their shares as a good buy for the international market.   CS First Boston's endorsement of VSNL and MTNL is likely to boost the projected re-issue of VSNL's $700 million to $1 billion Global Depository Receipts (GDR) issue and a similar issue of shares by MTNL.   DEPRESSED MARKET CASTS SHADOW OVER GDR PROSPECTS   A current slump in the domestic capital market may adversely affect the $3-4 billion worth of forthcoming Global Depository Receipts (GDR) to be launched by Indian companies abroad.   Indian Petrochemical Company Ltd's plans for a GDR issue is facing bleak prospects in view of its premium nosediving from 25 percent to 15 percent in the last three months.   The same applies to Tata flagship Telco's GDR premium. 
5462 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Bangladeshi fishermen rescued five crew of a wrecked Indian trawler in the Bay of Bengal on Thursday, police said.   They said the five were seen floating at high sea, some 100 km (60 miles) from Cox's Bazar coast, holding on to their battered vessel.   The Indians told the rescuers their trawler had been damaged and its engine stopped working in a storm last month.   "We survived by eating fish and water from the sea," one survivor told police at Cox's Bazar.   No other details were available. 
5463 !GCAT !GVIO  Two people were killed by gunshots and another by a grenade when Burmese border guards attacked a group of Bangladeshi woodcutters near the frontier, police said on Thursday.   They said Burmese guards, called Nasaka, entered several miles into the Bangladesh territory at Naikhyangchhari in Bandarban district, 45 km (30 miles) from Cox's Bazar resort town on Wednesday night and opened fire.   Two of the victims died immediately and another was killed when the grenade exploded, police said, quoting Bangladeshi border guards.   They said the attackers also abducted nine woodcutters.   "We are not sure what prompted the pre-dawn attack," one officer of the Bangladesh Rifles said.   "The situation in the area is very tense now," he said without explaining. 
5464 !GCAT !GVIO  A tunnel linking Kabul with northern Afghanistan, closed for two years, was reopened to traffic on Thursday under an agreement between the government and an opposition militia, witnesses said.   In Kabul, rockets fired by the rebel Islamic Taleban militia killed two people and wounded three, government-run radio said.   The witnesses said dozens of trucks began moving through the Salang tunnel, about 80 km (50 miles) north of Kabul, from both directions after the highway reopened.   The 1.7-mile (2.7 km) Soviet-built tunnel opened in 1964, which passes through the Hindu Kush mountains at an altitude of 3,363 metres (11,030 ft), was the main supply route for Soviet troops when they occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s.   It had been closed since 1994 when northern militia leader General Abdul Rashid Dostum rebelled against the Kabul government.   Kabul announced on August 20 that the northern highway would be reopened to traffic under an agreement it had reached with the opposition Supreme Coordination Council alliance led by Dostum's Jumbish-i-Milli movement.   Witnesses said wrecked tanks and vehicles littered both sides of the heavily-mined road.   Mines had been removed from the road itself, but experts of the Halo Trust mine clearance agency said it would take a week to clear the roadsides.   Trust experts said 70,000 to 80,000 people were waiting on the northern side of the front line to move south towards Kabul.   Thousands of people fled to the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif to escape factional fighting in the Afghan capital, and were unable to return home.   Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Qotbuddin Hilal officiated at the tunnel reopening ceremony, which was delayed by several hours while the two sides argued about a mutual release of prisoners.   They eventually agreed that the captives would be freed in the next two or three days.   The tunnel had been closed since January 1, 1994 when Dostum linked up with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami party in an abortive attempt to seize Kabul and oust President Burhanuddin Rabbani.   Hekmatyar, who was prime minister at the time, ended his revolt and rejoined the Kabul government as premier in June.   The government has been trying hard to persuade other opposition factions to follow Hekmatyar's example, but the Taleban militia has refused to hold any peace talks until Rabbani and forces loyal to him quit the Afghan capital. 
5465 !GCAT !GVIO  The Salang tunnel linking Kabul with northern Afghanistan was formally reopened to traffic on Thursday under an agreement between the government and an opposition militia, witnesses said.    They said dozens of trucks began moving through the tunnel from both directions after the road reopened.   The Salang tunnel, the main supply route for Soviet troops when they were occupying Afghanistan in the 1980s, had been closed since 1994 when northern militia leader General Abdul Rashid Dostum rebelled against the Kabul government.   Witnesses said wrecked tanks and vehicles littered both sides of the heavily-mined road.   Mines had been removed from the road itself, but experts of the Halo Trust mine clearance agency said it would take a week to clear the roadsides.   Afghan Deputy Prime Minister Qotbuddin Hilal officiated at the reopening ceremony, which was delayed by several hours while the two sides argued about a mutual release of prisoners. 
5466 !GCAT !GCRIM  India's Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced two men to death after finding them guilty of killing 23 bus passengers, including children.   It said the two, after robbing the passengers, burnt them alive by sprinkling the bus with petrol and setting it on fire in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh in 1993.   "We have no doubt that this is one of the rarest of the rare cases, not merely due to the number of innocent human beings roasted alive by the appellants, but the inhuman manner in which they plotted the scheme and executed it," Justice K.T. Thomas said in the verdict by a panel of three judges. 
5467 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  India's election commission on Thursday set the timetable for elections to the legislature of the country's most populous state, a race that could be pivotal for the central government led by H.D. Deve Gowda.   Election Commissioner Gali Krishnamurthy told reporters that polls to the 425-seat Uttar Pradesh assembly would be held in three phases on September 30 and October 3 and 7.   Prime Minister Deve Gowda has campaigned strenuously in the state for his United Front allies against the Congress Party of former prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao.   Deve Gowda, sworn in at the head of a minority alliance in June, needs Rao's support to survive in the federal parliament, where his main foe is the right-wing Hindu Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).   But both the BJP and Rao's Congress are ranged against Deve Gowda in the state polls.   The Congress, once a dominant force in the state, has faced successive defeats there since 1989, variously at the hands of the BJP and an alliance of low caste Hindu leftists.   The state was put under New Delhi's direct rule by Rao's government after a leftist-led coalition collapsed.   The year-long federal rule in the state ends on October 17 this year.   Assembly elections must be held before that.   Seven of 10 Indian prime ministers have come from Uttar Pradesh, which according to the 1991 census had a population of 140 million of India's total population of over 920 million.   Uttar Pradesh is also home to the town of Ayodhya, the site of a disputed mosque which has stirred Hindu-Moslem passions and a wave of religious fervour that fuelled the BJP's popularity.   The BJP cornered nearly 35 percent of the vote in the state in this year's parliamentary elections.   Rao had earlier dismissed a BJP government in Uttar Pradesh following the demolition of the Babri mosque by a Hindu mob in December 1992. 
5468 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Britain wants India to permit official international observers to monitor local polls in Kashmir next month but New Delhi has refused to admit any, British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Thursday.   "We would prefer to see official international observers but that is not currently on offer," Rifkind, on a two-day visit to the Indian capital, told Reuters in an interview.   On Wednesday, a spokesman for the government of Jammu and Kashmir state said foreign individuals would not be barred from observing state assembly elections that start on September 7, but that teams of official observers would not be permitted.   "We would certainly like to see observers present," Rifkind said, adding that Britain would keep an eye on the assembly polls, the state's first since a separatist revolt erupted in 1990, to see if they were free and fair.   "The Indian government has said at the moment they are not contemplating international observers, but that any person who wishes to go to Jammu and Kashmir and see the elections can do so on their own authority," Rifkind said.   "So there will be plenty of people from the international community, I suspect, present on the day."   In remarks prepared for delivery in a speech later on Thursday, Rifkind said the polls could help lead mostly Hindu India's only Moslem majority state away from the violence that has killed 20,000 people since the rebellion began.   But he said for the elections to succeed, they had to be free and fair.   "I hope that next month those who want to vote will be allowed to do so," he added.   "And I hope that those who prefer not to vote will have their wishes respected too.   Terrorism must not be allowed to trample on democracy."   Human rights organisations said that during parliamentary elections in the state in May, security forces coerced people in some areas to vote, a charge Indian authorities deny. 
5469 !E41 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Britain threw its support behind India on Thursday in its fight against efforts by some Western countries to combat child labour with trade threats.   British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said London would push India's interests in arguing for Europe to be an open, liberalising force in the world economy.   "We believe firmly in the right of developing countries to trade their way to prosperity," Rifkind said in a speech in the Indian capital on the first day of a two-day visit.   The foreign minister said that meant Britain would join India in the struggle against efforts by some rich nations to link trade and labour at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).   Germany and the United States have led countries that advocate establishing trade sanctions that could be used against countries such as India where many children work instead of going to school.   India, which has launched a programme it says could attract up to 20 million children out of factory labour, says Western nations, fearing low-cost imports from developing countries, intend to use the sanctions as disguised trade barriers.   Rifkind said Britain "will resist at the WTO and elsewhere the arguments of those who link trade and labour issues as a mask for protectionism".   The foreign minister said Britain would also support India in its efforts to be included in a summit between European and Asian countries.   Earlier this year India was not invited to the summit, held in Bangkok, which included countries from the European Union and Southeast Asia.   "I regret that India was not invited to the first Asia-Europe Summit," Rifkind said.   "I very much hope partners will agree to invite India and Pakistan to attend the next meeting, which we shall host in London in 1998."   Rifkind, who met Indian Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral and was set to see Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda before leaving for Colombo on Friday, said Indo-British trade had risen more than 70 percent since 1993 to more than three billion sterling ($4.8 billion).   He said Britain wanted to see it top five billion sterling ($8 billion) by the year 2000.   Rifkind said closer regional cooperation would bring huge economic and security gains to South Asia.   But he compared the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to a skeleton with no flesh, and said trade between states of the region accounted for only three percent of total trade in South Asia.   He said closer trade ties between India and Pakistan were in the interest of both countries.   "They could enhance wider regional stability too," he said. 
5470 !GCAT !GVIO  The Afghan government has sent hundreds of troops to the strategic town of Sarobi to defend it against possible attack from the Islamic Taleban militia, a Pakistan-based news agency said on Thursday.   The Afghan Islamic Press quoted witnesses as saying that hundreds of fighters loyal to Prime Minister Gulbaddin Hekmatyar had arrived in Sarobi, about 60 km (37 miles) east of Kabul on the main highway to Jalalabad, on Wednesday.   Sarobi has long been a stronghold of Hekmatyar, but Taleban advances against his Hezb-i-Islami in Paktiya province this month prompted fears that it might be the Islamic militia's next target.   The Taleban's success in Paktiya also brought its fighters close to territory controlled by neutral factions grouped in the Nangarhar provincial shura (council) based in Jalalabad.   A local newspaper quoted Nangarhar governor Haji Abdul Qadeer on Thursday as saying the council's forces would defend its borders, without taking sides in the conflict between President Burhanuddin Rabbani's government and the Taleban.   Afghan sources in Jalalabad said the shura had sent 1,000 troops and 40 tanks to defend Nangarhar's western border. 
5471 !C17 !C171 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Pakistan's Corporate Law Authority (CLA) said on Thursday it had seized phoney share applications worth 51 million rupees made at the initial public offering of Commercial Union Life Assurance (CULAP).   "More than 10,000 share applications made through six different (bank) branches have been declared fictitious and subscription money amounting to 51.095 million rupees has been confiscated," the CLA said in a statement.   CULAP, a subsidiary of Britain's Commercial Union Plc, had offered 10 million shares in May.   The offer was oversubscribed six-fold.   The applicants have a right to appeal, a CLA official said.   CULAP launched its operations in July with an initial paid-up capital of 300 million rupees ($8.55 million) and plans to start individual life assurance and other products next year. 
5472 !GCAT !GDIS  At least 24 people drowned after an overcrowded boat carrying 50 passengers on a pleasure cruise capsized in a river in eastern India, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported on Thursday.   The news agency said six more people were feared dead in the accident on the Sone river on Wednesday night in Jehanabad district, some 100 km (62.5 miles) from Patna, capital of the eastern state of Bihar.   It quoted government sources as saying rescuers had recovered 24 bodies.   Twenty passengers swam to safety, it said.   The accident took place during the monsoon, when most Indian rivers are in flood. 
5473 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Britain reassured India on Thursday that New Delhi would not face punitive sanctions if it persisted in opposing a global nuclear test ban treaty.   But British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) needed universal support or the cause of nuclear disarmament could be set back.   "I don't see that as remotely relevant to the question that we are addressing," the visiting foreign minister told reporters when asked if Britain favoured joining in punishing India for its opposition to the pact.   India last week singlehandedly blocked adoption of the CTBT at talks in Geneva.   New Delhi cited a provision it said could permit nations supporting the treaty to take eventual coercive measures against any country opposing the pact.   Despite India's objections, the treaty's backers plan to send the treaty to the United Nations General Assembly when it convenes next month.   Rifkind, who met Indian Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral on Thursday morning and was set to see Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda later in the day, said Britain respected India's right to reach its own conclusion over the CTBT.   "There is no way India can be forced to agree to a treaty it does not wish to support, nor is there any way any country can be forced.   So that has not been contemplated," Rifkind told Reuters after a news conference.   Rifkind said he did not see any fallout in bilateral relations with India due to the disagreement between the two countries over the CTBT, which Britain supports.   "I believe that our bilateral relations with India will not be affected by whatever decision India might reach in these matters," Rifkind said.   The foreign secretary said universal agreement over the CTBT was close.   "If any country is unable to sign, then there is always a risk that there will always be others coming to the same conclusion and the whole matter unravelling," he said.   The visiting minister said Britain wanted India to permit official international observers to monitor local polls next month in Kashmir, but New Delhi had refused to admit any.   "We would prefer to see official international observers but that is not currently on offer," Rifkind told Reuters.   On Wednesday, a spokesman for the government of Jammu and Kashmir state said foreign individuals would be allowed to observe assembly elections which start on September 7, but teams of official observers would be barred.   "We would certainly like to see observers present," Rifkind said, adding that Britain would be watching the assembly polls, the state's first since a separatist revolt erupted in 1990, with interest to see if they were free and fair.   "The Indian government have said at the moment that they are not contemplating international observers but that any person who wishes to go to Jammu and Kashmir and see the elections can do so on their own authority," Rifkind said.   "So there will be plenty of people from the international community, I suspect, present on the day." 
5474 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Bangladesh should shed more than 46,000 government jobs, abolish nearly 50 redundant agencies and merge several ministries to make the administration more efficient and transparent.   The measures were recommended on Thursday by an Administrative Reorganisation Committee, headed by retired bureaucrat Nurunnabi Chowdhury, who told a news conference he had submitted the proposals to the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.   He said they would save the treasury $40 million annually.   Whether the recommendations would be implemented -- in full or part -- had not been decided, government officials said.   The committee recommended a cut in government jobs of 46,276 to 553,154.   Wages and benefits for government employees take up a large share of the country's budget, and are often criticised by aid donors.   The committee suggested that the number of ministries be streamlined to 22 from 35 and that nearly 50 government agencies be abolished.   It specifically recommended the merger of the ministries of jute, textile, commerce and industry.   Chowdhury said abolition of the agencies and reducing the number of ministries would "limit frequent overlapping...and ease procedural tangles."   He said the measures would inject more efficiency and transparency into the government.   Many offices and ministries had become redundant as Bangladesh developed a free market economy, he added. 
5475 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Britain wants India to permit official international observers to monitor local polls next month in Kashmir, but New Delhi has refused to admit any, British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Thursday.   "We would prefer to see official international observers but that is not currently on offer," Rifkind, on a two-day visit to the Indian capital, told Reuters in an interview.    On Wednesday, a spokesman for the government of Jammu and Kashmir state said foreign individuals would not be barred from observing assembly elections which start on September 7, but that teams of official observers would not be permitted.   "We would certainly like to see observers present," Rifkind said, adding that Britain would be watching the assembly polls, the state's first since a separatist revolt erupted in 1990, with interest to see if they were free and fair.   "The Indian government have said at the moment that they are not contemplating international observers but that any person who wishes to go to Jammu and Kashmir and see the elections can do so on their own authority," Rifkind said.   "So there will be plenty of people from the international community, I suspect, present on the day." 
5476 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Britain would not join in any sanctions against India if New Delhi persisted in its opposition to a global nuclear test ban treaty, British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Thursday.   "I don't see that as remotely relevant to the question that we are addressing," the visiting foreign minister told reporters when asked if Britain favoured punishing India for its opposition to the pact.    India last week blocked adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at talks in Geneva, citing a provision New Delhi said could permit nations supporting the accord to take eventual coercive measures against any country opposing it.   "There is no way India can be forced to agree to a treaty it does not wish to support, nor is there any way any country can be forced.   So that has not been contemplated," Rifkind told Reuters after a news conference.   Rifkind, who met Indian Foreign Minister I.K. Gujral on Thursday morning and was set to see Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda later in the day, said Britain respected India's right to reach its own conclusion over the CTBT.   "I believe that our bilateral relations with India will not be affected by whatever decision India might reach in these matters," Rifkind told the news conference. 
5477 !GCAT !GDIS !GODD  A rampaging elephant dragged a sleeping 72-year-old woman from her bed and trampled her to death in the third such killing in two months, Nepal police said on Thursday.   The elephant crashed into Hari Maya Poudels house in Madhumalla village earlier this week while she was asleep, they said.   The beast dragged the woman 30 feet (nine metres) away from her bed and trampled her to death, a police official told Reuters in the Himalayan kingdoms capital Kathmandu.   In the past two months elephants have killed three people in remote areas of east and central Nepal.   Elephants are protected under Nepali law, which provides for jail sentences of up to 15 years for convicted elephant killers. 
5478 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram may address the lower house of parliament on Friday about the government's proposed 1996/97 (April-March) budget, a ministry official said.   His remarks would be part of a two-stage response to reports that standing committees from both houses of parliament have prepared this month on the budget, which Chidambaram presented to lawmakers in July.   The finance minister will first offer a general reply, perhaps early on Friday afternoon, to the parliamentary reports.   It would not be known before late Thursday afternoon whether Chidambaram would make his remarks on Friday or at a later date, the official said.   He plans to make a more detailed reply on the finance bill, including offering any amendments to tax proposals, next month, probably on September 9 or 10, the official said.   The budget is expected to come to a vote in parliament by September 13, when the current session is set to end.   Newspapers have said Chidambaram is considering exempting certain sectors from the proposed minimum alternate tax (MAT) on corporations which was proposed in the budget.   The Economic Times said on Thursday that the finance minister "has virtually made up his mind to grant tax relief to the steel industry".   Finance Ministry officials declined to comment on the report.   - New Delhi newsroom +91-11 301 2024 
5479 !GCAT !GPRO  Mother Teresa, still gaining strength in her fight against malaria and a faltering heart, may be able to leave the hospital intensive care unit this week, officials said on Thursday.   She should be out from ICU (intensive care unit) in a day or two, a hospital official, quoting a doctor at Woodlands Nursing Home, told Reuters.   The legendary Roman Catholic missionary was admitted to the Calcutta hospital on August 20 with high fever and severe vomiting.   Later, she suffered heart failure and was diagnosed with malaria.   But she has staged a recovery, and spoke for the first time since the outset of the illness on Tuesday -- her 86th birthday.   Fed intravenously for almost a week, she has started a diet of barley, soup and milk.   On Thursday, Mother Teresa sat up in bed with the help of a nurse and said early morning prayers, the hospital official said.   Then she drank some milk.   There have been no problems in the past 36 hours.   She is gaining strength, the official said.   Doctors said her heart continued to beat irregularly but was returning to normal.   Several nuns from her order, the Missionaries of Charity, who were not allowed to see her for the past week, met her on Thursday.   They looked visibly relieved, said an official at the hospital lobby. 
5480 !GCAT !GVIO  Tamil Tiger rebels overran an isolated police post in Sri Lanka's northeast early on Thursday killing 24 policemen, defence officials said.   A large group of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels stormed the Kudapokuna police post, just north of Welikanda, 200 km (125 miles) from Colombo, before dawn, they said.   "The entire post was overrun," said a defence official.   It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties among the rebels, who are fighting for independence for minority Tamils in the Indian Ocean island's north and east.    It is the second time in three days that the rebels attacked police.   Suspected Tamil Tigers on Tuesday hurled hand grenades at a police vehicle in a crowded market in the army-controlled northern town of Vavuniya, killing at least two policemen.   More than a dozen people, including several police who were working undercover, were wounded in the attack.   Vavuniya is just south of the northern mainland area controlled by the LTTE.   The government says more than 50,000 people have died in the ethnic war, now in its 14th year. 
5481 !GCAT  A recovery expedition lifted a giant slab of the RMS Titanic's hull from its watery ocean grave on Thursday, 84 years after the ship struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean, an expedition spokesman said.   The 20-tonne piece of steel hull was hovering at the water's surface, still attached to several diesel-filled bags that were used to raise it from the ocean floor, said Todd Tarantino, spokesman for New York-based RMS Titanic Inc., which is sponsoring the expedition.   Recovery crews hoped to move the hull from the water to recovery ship Jim Kilabuck, anchored off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, later on Thursday, he said.   "They're moving very slowly," he said.   Plans call for the piece of debris to be taken to Boston on Saturday and to New York City on Sunday.   The wreckage has been lying in water more than 2 1/2 miles (3 km) deep.   The steel-hulled Titanic, thought to be unsinkable, struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank, killing 1,523 of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board.   The wreck was located in 1985.   The expedition tried unsuccessfully twice earlier this week to retrieve the hull but technical hitches and equipment problems delayed them.   As part of the recovery expedition, more than 1,700 people including three survivors of the doomed liner's first trans-Atlantic voyage sailed in two ships from Boston and New York to the site, paying $1,500 and up for a nine-day cruise.   RMS Titanic, which holds the rights to the ship's debris, has recovered some 4,000 artifacts since 1987.   It hopes to use the hull section as the centerpiece of an exhibition next spring and possibly a full-fledged Titanica museum.   The U.S.-based Discovery Channel on cable television, NBC television network and Britain's Channel Four all plan to release documentaries about the recovery mission. 
5482 !GCAT !GDIS  Approximately 30 children were treated for heat-related problems Thursday at several hospitals in northeast Kansas after their school was evacuated when a construction worker ruptured a natural gas line.   Law enforcement authorities initially said the children had been overcome by natural gas fumes, but school officials and spokeswomen at several hospitals later confirmed most of the children were suffering from heat-related discomfort.   "They were let out (of school) when the gas leak was discovered, and a lot of them stayed outside and started fainting" because of the heat, said a spokeswoman at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in Lawrence, Kansas, where seven children were treated and released.   A spokeswoman at Providence Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas, said its emergency room workers had treated and released 13 children.   She said one girl was still under observation but her condition was not serious.   The mixture of hot temperatures and high humidity across northeast Kansas produced extreme heat stress conditions Thursday, according to Weather Express, a Nebraska-based weather forecasting company. 
5483 !C13 !C21 !C41 !C411 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  ValuJet Airlines flight attendants said on Wednesday they were trying to oust a union official who had asked the government to remove the grounded airline's management before letting it fly again.   Susan Clayton, president of the local chapter of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), last month asked the Department of Transportation to remove ValuJet's management before letting flights resume.   However, union member Allison Beach told a news conference on Wednesday the company's current leadership was supported by "an overwhelming percentage of flight attendants."   Beach said over 300 signatures had been collected on a petition asking for the removal of Clayton.   "This represents well over half of the ValuJet flight attendants that are currently able to be contacted," Beach said.   ValuJet had 660 flight attendants when it voluntarily shut down on June 17, following a crash in the Florida Everglades on May 11 that killed all 110 people on board.   Flight attendant Christie Wright said the AFA had asked for a hearing to remove ValuJet officers, including president Lewis Jordan, without consulting union members who worked for the airline.   "We want our jobs back.   We want our company back," Wright said.   The Department of Transportation has not said if it will conduct a hearing on the AFA petition asking for the removal of ValuJet's management.   Beach said Clayton had not met with ValuJet union members since May 2.   Since then, Clayton has charged that ValuJet officials repeatedly ignored safety-related complaints from flight attendants.   Clayton and officials of the national union could not be reached for comment.   The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Wednesday that Jordan has told ValuJet employees it will be at least two weeks before the airline can obtain needed government approvals to resume operations.   The grounded discount airline is awaiting a safety approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and clearance from the Department of Transportation, which has conducted a financial and management review of the carrier.   Jordan said he was optimistic the FAA would clear ValuJet to resume operations by the end of this week, the newspaper said.   "We continue to be in a position where (a restart date) is beyond our control," Jordan said. 
5484 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Clinton reiterated his determination to balance the budget and criticized Republican rival Bob Dole's tax-cutting plan as risky for the economy.   "We will balance the budget," Clinton said in a speech prepared for delivery later on Thursday. "  (But) we will do it in a way that preserves Medicare, Medicaid, education and the environment."   The White House released early excerpts of Clinton's speech accepting the Democratic Party's nomination for the presidency.    The Medicare program provides health care benefits for the elderly.   Medicaid does the same for the poor.   Clinton criticized Dole's plan to slash taxes by $548 billion over six years, picturing it as a return to the failed supply-side policies of the 1980s.   "Do we really want to make the same mistake again?   To raise interest rates again?   To stop economic growth again?   To court recession again?   To start piling up another mountain of debt?  ," Clinton asked.   "Of course not."   Dole has insisted that he can both balance the budget and cut taxes, although many economists are skeptical.    Clinton also used his speech to unveil a $3.43 billion initiative designed to move welfare recipients into work.   "I propose to give businesses a tax credit for every person they hire off welfare, and keep employed, to offer private job placement firms a bonus for every welfare recipient they place in a job, if the worker stays in it," the president said.   "And most important," he continued, "to help communities put welfare recipients to work repairing schools, fixing streets, making their neighborhoods shine again." 
5485 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GFAS  Calvin Klein Jeanswear Co, a unit of Designer Holdings Ltd, said on Thursday it has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Conway Stores Inc for improperly selling flawed Calvin Klein merchandise.   Conway agreed to stop selling second quality Calvin Klein Jeans pending a review by Designer Holdings of the quality of Conway's merchandise, Calvin Klein Jeanswear said.   In its lawsuit, Calvin Klein Jeanswear claims that Conway is selling irregular goods as top quality Calvin Klein merchandise, the company said.   New York City-based Conway Stores was not immediately available for comment.   Designer Holdings develops, sources and markets sportswear under the Calvin Klein brand. 
5486 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  CNBC, the financial cable television channel, said on Thursday that an internal review found no basis to conclude that commentator Dan Dorfman, whose daily reports often move stock prices, has violated any law or internal policy.   CNBC, a unit of General Electric Co, retained the law firm of Shearman and Sterling to review allegations that Dorfman benefited from stock tips and received favors from companies for mentioning stocks, the channel said.   Dorfman is expected to return to CNBC after completing therapy for a mild stroke he suffered in May, the network said.    The law firm found no patterns of suspicious trading prior to any of Dorfman's reports, CNBC said.   Dorfman supplied copies of records for securities accounts, bank accounts and tax returns, CNBC said.   CNBC said the law firm did not have the investigative powers of the federal government, such as subpoenas and the ability to identify who conducted stock trades, and the company would take any other information into consideration.   Dorfman continued working for CNBC until his stroke.   A Business Week report in October 1995 reported that the U.S. Attorney's office was investigating Dorfman and his relationship with Donald Kessler, a stock promoter and a regularly quoted source in Dorfman's reports.   The report also said the officials were investigating insider trading charges.   Dorfman denied any wrongdoing when the report was issued, but Money Magazine gave him a leave of absence in October, before dismissing him, to address the allegations in the Business Week article.   Money Magazine terminated Dorfman's employment as a columnist in January because Dorfman refused to reveal his market sources to the magazine.   Dorfman called the magazine's demands unacceptable. 
5487 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Forty top U.S. business leaders endorsed President Clinton on Thursday, praising him for the job he has done in managing the economy in his first term and voicing optimism about the economic outlook during a second.   "Over the last four years, President Clinton has proved that he is the right chief executive officer to lead America into the 21st century," Xerox Corp chairman Paul Allaire told reporters.   "Whether it is creating jobs, cutting the deficit, expanding trade or investing in education and technology, the president has shown leadership."   Among those joining Allaire to endorse Clinton at the Democratic Party national convention were Sara Lee Corp chairman John Bryan, Travelers Insurance Holdings Inc president Lyndon Olson and Loral Space and Communications Ltd chairman Bernard Schwartz.   "We have in place the strongest economy in a generation and the elements for continued sustained expansion," said Steven Rattner, managing director for Wall Street investment banker Lazard Freres and Co. 
5488 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A former tobacco company executive accused of accepting $4.5 million in bribes on Thursday was ordered extradited to Hong Kong to face charges there.   A U.S. magistrate ordered Lui Kin-Hong, the former director of exports at the Hong Kong subsidiary of B.A.T Industries Plc, to return to Hong Kong to face nine charges he took bribes from a cigarette distributor, the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston said.    Judge Zachary Karol said he found sufficient evidence to support Hong Kong charges that Lui accepted about $3 million in outright payments and a further $1.5 million in unsecured loans from the principals of Giant Island Ltd.   Lui allegedly took the payments from the distributor of British-American Tobaccco Co (HK) Ltd cigarettes to ensure that Giant Island was supplied with the most popular brands.   Lui, who became a Canadian citizen in 1994, was arrested while on personal business in Boston in December last year and has been held in custody ever since.   Lui argued that the extradition treaty between the United States and Britain would no longer include Hong Kong since the British protectorate will revert to China next year.   Judge Karol concluded the U.S. Secretary of State and not the judiciary should determine whether or not Hong Kong's status would affect Liu's case, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Boston.   -- Michael Ellis, Boston bureau, 617-637-4176 
5489 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Colombia's energy minister on Thursday downplayed the possibility that nationalization of the country's oil and natural gas industry could become a bargaining chip in peace talks with leftist rebels.   Rodrigo Villamizar, minister of energy and mines, said government officials agreed to the talks to keep lines of communications open with the guerrillas, but will not allow investments by foreign oil companies to be nationalized.   "That will not be the ultimate outcome," he said of the threat that foreign investments would be seized.    "As long as there are illicit uses of the land, we will not compromise," with the rebels, he said after a speech to oil and gas company executives in Houston.   Colombia's interior minister on Tuesday said the government was open to talks with leftist rebels on demands to nationalize the oil industry as part of negotiations to end a long-running campaign of kidnappings and attacks on oil and coal projects.   Leaders of the powerful oil workers union, long opposed to foreign investment in the industry, proposed similar talks at a forum on ending violence in Colombia.    Several international oil companies operate in Colombia, including Amoco Corp. and British Petroleum Plc, a partner in the massive Cusiana and Cupiagua oil fields.   Villamizar acknowledged that foreign companies routinely pay the government for military protection of oil fields and pipelines, frequent targets of sabotage by the rebel groups.   "The rule has been that it has been at the request of the companies, that they like to reinforce the security of those specific areas.   Of course there has been, there are, and there will be private arrangements with the government," he said.    Villamizar was in Houston courting U.S. companies interested in investing in Colombia's prolific oil and natural gas fields and its expanding electric and gas systems.   While the central government increases spending on social programs, an estimated $22 billion in private investment will be sought to exploit oil and natural gas reserves and build new refineries and pipelines, he said.    The government by early next year plans to sell off seven state-owned electric generating plants and has sought bids on six natural gas projects.   Colombia also is seeking to accelerate drilling to tap an estimated 15 billion barrels of unproven crude oil reserves.   Villamizar also said he is studying a proposal to reduce state-owned Ecopetrol's traditional 50 percent stake in smaller fields to encourage exploration in those plays.   "I think the 50-50 (arrangement), as you say, is not working, it hasn't worked.   We're going to have to change it," he said.    Diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Colombia have grown increasingly strained since March 1, when Washington removed Colombia from a list of countries cooperating with U.S. efforts to fight drug trafficking. 
5490 !E21 !E211 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GWELF  President Bill Clinton plans to unveil proposals to move people from welfare to work and to expand a capital gains tax exclusion when he accepts the Democratic party's presidential nominaton on Thursday.   Following are some of the details of the proposals, based on a briefing by White House economic aide Gene Sperling, who spoke to reporters travelling with the president in Chicago.   The president will put forward a $3.43 billion initiative designed to move people from welfare to jobs in three ways:    -- giving employers who hire a welfare recipient who has been on Aid to Families with Dependent Children for at least 18 months a tax credit worth up to $5000, or 50 percent of the first $10,000 in wages, child or health care and training provided to the employee;   -- a $3 billion welfare-to-jobs initiative to be given to states or local authorities for them to work with the private sector and non-profit agencies to create job opportunities for long-term welfare recipients; the money will be given directly to the 100 to 150 communities with the highest concentration of long-term welfare recipients; for other communities, the money will be administered by the state governor.   -- a tax credit for people who make equity investments in community development banks, or other community financial institutions.   The president also plans to to propose extending the home sellers capital gains tax exemption in an initiative that will cost a total of $1.4 billion.   Under current law, people over the age of 55 can claim a one-time tax exclusion of $125,000 on the sale of a home.   The new proposal would eliminate the age limit and would increase the tax exclusion to $250,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a couple filing their income taxes jointly.   Both of the initiatives will be paid for by revenue raising measures previously disclosed by the White House. 
5491 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Metropolitan Entertainment Group said on Thursday it formed a record label to complement its activities in production, artist management and concert promotion.   The label, hybrid Recordings, will focus on the development of new artists and the production of live event-driven projects, film soundtracks and Broadway cast albums, a statement said.   It will also release home videos.    Metropolitan Entertainment is a recently created 50/50 joint-venture between global service company Ogden Corp and veteran promoter John Scher.   Hybrid's first release will be Art Garfunkel's "Across America", a live audio and visual documentation of the singer's concert this past April on Ellis Island, the first public performance on the historic landmark.   It is scheduled for a late-October release.   Additionally, hybrid plans to issue a compilation of previously unreleased tracks recorded during the summer's Further Festival tour, which featured such artists as Los Lobos, Bruce Hornsby, Bob Weir's "RatDog" and Mickey Hart's "Mystery Box".   No release date has been set yet.   A distributor for the recordings will be announced shortly, a statement said.   The label will be headed by Scher and Michael Leon, senior vice-president of Metropolitan Entertainment's music division.   Foye Johnson, formerly of Private Music and Imago Records, will oversee marketing as well as artists and repertoire (A & R); Eric Levine, formerly of Island Records and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs, will handle business and legal affairs, the statement said. 
5492 !C13 !C31 !C34 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Last-minute lobbying was underway Thursday in California's state Legislature before crucial votes on a proposal to open the state's electricity marketplace to competition and slash consumer utility rates.   A joint Senate-Assembly conference committee voted 6-to-0 earlier this week in favor of the complex legislation, which would deregulate California's massive electric power industry while cutting consumer rates by at least 20 percent by 2002.   The bill's supporters were busy on Thursday in Sacramento, Calif., trying to secure the votes they will need to pass the legislation by Saturday.    "We expect to be able to pass both the Assembly and the Senate Friday or Saturday and we anticipate a favorable result from the governor," said Republican Assemblyman Jim Brulte, one of the proposal's authors.   The sweeping legislation would restructure the electric industry in California, ending the utility monopoly on generation and opening the market to competition.   The bill has the support of the large investor-owned utilities that would be affected most, Pacific Gas & Electric Co, Enova Corp's San Diego Gas & Electric Co and Edison International's Southern California Edison.    "We believe this is a truly historic piece of legislation," Brulte said.   "We are talking about a $20-billion-plus regulated monopoly, and in a very short transition period, moving it towards market competition."   High electricity rates in California have made it difficult for businesses to compete, Brulte said.   With lower rates, companies can reinvest millions of dollars back into the economy and create new jobs, he added.   Senate President Pro Tem Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, has pronounced the electric industry restructuring legislation "the most significant economic measure of the year."    Under the legislation, electric utility customers in the state would have a choice of providers as early as January 1998.   Under the proposal, municipal utilities would not be required to open their markets.   However, most municipal utilities were expected to voluntarily comply.   Investor-owned utilities would be compensated for their "stranded costs" through a system-wide competition transition charge.   The funds raised from the charge would be used by the utilities to write-off stranded costs, such as nuclear power plants and certain power purchase contracts, incurred through the current regulated system, state officials said.    Under the proposed legislation, from January 1, 1998 to December 31, 2001, the transition charge would come to roughly one to two cents per kilowatt hour.   The charge would help raise over $28 billion to cover stranded costs.   After December 31, 2001, the utilities could extend a smaller charge for 10 years or more.   While the charge is in place, investor-owned utility rates would be capped, state officials said.   Initially, the utilities could issue, through the state infrastructure bank, about $5 billion in revenue bonds backed by the transition charge, said David Takashima, chief of staff for Senator Steve Peace, the conference committee's chairman.    Takashima said the utilities could issue additional "rate reduction bonds" later, for a total of $10 billion.   State officials said it has yet to be determined whether the bonds would be federally tax-exempt.   They are expected to be state tax-exempt.   The state would not back the bonds.   The proposed bond financings would provide substantial savings to the utilities, and those savings, under the legislation, would be passed on to customers.   The legislation provides for no less than a 10 percent rate reduction beginning in 1998.   Residential and small business customers would receive assured rate reductions of at least 20 percent by 2002. 
5493 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  ValuJet Inc. mechanics will decide next month whether to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union said Thursday.   Ballots will be mailed to the airline's 78 in-house mechanics on Sept. 4 by the National Mediation Board, which supervises union elections in the airline and railroad industries, and will be counted on Oct. 2, the Teamsters said.   Following the May 11 crash of one of its planes near Miami, the grounded airline was criticized by federal officials for contracting out its maintenance work.   The Teamsters said the in-house mechanics are seeking union representation "to protect their jobs and to expand the airline's in-house capabilities."   "Giving ValuJet mechanics more of a say in their company will be good for the mechanics and good for the flying public," Teamsters President Ron Carey said in a statement. 
5494 !GCAT !GPOL !MCAT  The resignation of Bill Clinton's top political strategist Dick Morris left Wall Street uneasy on Thursday amid concern that, without him, the president may drift toward the liberal end of the political spectrum.   "I think it's fair to say that this loosens the influence of centrists on Clinton.   Morris was anathema to liberals," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co. "It is possible that he will be replaced by someone with a more left-wing interventionist government policy.    "In that sense it's not good for the market."   Although a bastion of Republicanism, Wall Street has grown used to Clinton and is wary of Republican candidate Bob Dole's pledge to cut taxes across the board by 15 percent if elected.   Many in the financial community see Clinton as being more of a moderate Republican than a liberal Democrat and they credit Morris to a large extent for guiding the president down that path, analysts and strategists said.    "The question is, does Wall Street like Clinton as a moderate Republican?   If he's re-elected and Morris is not around, that would be a negative," said David Shulman, chief equity strategist at Salomon Brothers.   "A Republican Congress with a moderate Republican president in the form of Clinton hasn't been so bad.   Wall Street is uncomfortable with Dole and his walk on the supply side.   The bond market prefers Clinton.   Stocks are more ambiguous."   Morris resigned on Thursday, saying he did not want to become an issue in Clinton's re-election campaign.    In a written statement, he did not comment on published allegations he had a year-long affair with a prostitute.   His resignation further depressed an already skittish stock market, which began selling off after the release of economic data this morning, which indicated strength and sent the long bond yield back above seven percent.   The Dow Industrials were down 64.73 points, or 1.13 percent, at 5647.65 at their unofficial close on Thursday.   The allegation was made in an article in the supermarket tabloid newspaper The Star.   Morris called the allegations published in the tabloid, "sadistic...yellow journalism."   He said he would not dignify the reports with a response. 
5495 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GWELF  President Bill Clinton plans to propose a $3.43 billion initiative designed to move welfare recipients to work, White House aide Gene Sperling told reporters on Thursday.   The initiative has three parts -- a tax incentive worth up to $5,000 to a firm hiring a long-term welfare recipient, money for local authorities to develop job initiatives for welfare recipients and a tax credit for equity investment in community banks, Sperling said.   Administration officials disclosed the plans earlier this week as well as the revenue-raising measures to pay for them. 
5496 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  The watery site of the ValuJet Flight 592 crash in Florida's Everglades will remain closed as personal effects of victims float to the surface, state officials said Thursday.   The remote location where the DC-9 crashed on May 11, killing all 110 people on board, will likely be closed permanently by order of Florida's governor as a memorial to the victims.   Homicide detectives and state wildlife officers were at the crash site Thursday picking up shirts, shoes, purses and other debris from the doomed jetliner, which nosedived into water-covered muck about 30 miles (48 km) west of Miami.   The Metro-Dade County Police Department has an open criminal investigation into the crash and two federal agencies also were conducting criminal probes, according to published reports.   A period of dry summer weather lowered the level of water in the Everglades, bringing more crash debris to the surface.   "We're still finding personal items," said Lt. Col. Woody Darden, regional director of the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.   "We expect that to continue for some time as weather conditions change."   Darden said the closure was designed to protect the integrity of the site and also because it still represented a human health hazard.   In the days after the crash, the site was a mire of toxic chemicals and decaying human remains.   Officers picking up crash debris wear protective clothing.   In June, officials closed a 97,000-acre wildlife refuge surrounding the crash location for 90 days, an order due to expire in early September.   At a meeting on Sept. 12, Florida's governor and cabinet were expected to declare the immediate crash site a permanent burial ground for the victims, some of whose remains were never found.   Darden said a 5-10 acre site would be fenced and a memorial to victims erected there. 
5497 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  President Bill Clinton plans on Thursday to propose extending the home sellers capital gains tax exemption, White House aide Gene Sperling told reporters.   Under current law, people over the age of 55 can claim a one-time tax exclusion of $125,000 on the sale of a home.   Sperling said Clinton's proposal would eliminate the age limit and would increase the tax exclusion to $250,000 for a single person or $500,000 for a couple filing their income taxes jointly. 
5498 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Back Yard Burgers Inc said Thursday the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled in its favor this week, backing a lower court decision to give the company summary judgment as to all claims by former franchisees Jerry and Helen Morrison.   The company said legal counsel for remaining franchisee litigants Pezzecca Enterprises Inc, Chris Powell and Scott Townsend have announced intentions to dismiss their appeals pending before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.   -- New York Newsdesk 212-859-1610 
5499 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  BellSouth Corp said on Thursday it will appeal the Federal Communications Commission interconnection ruling and ask the court for an expedited hearing.   The Aug. 8 interconnection order sets the terms and conditions for how local telephone companies will open their networks to competition as outlined in the Telecommunications Act.    "BellSouth has concluded that the FCC has gone far beyond the intent of Congress with this massive order, which displaces private negotiations and usurps the states' authority to bring competition to the local marketplace," said Walter Alford, BellSouth's general counsel.   He said the FCC rules ignore local needs and conditions and set prices too low.   "The prices at which BellSouth will be required to lease parts of its network are so low that competitors will be discouraged from building new telephone networks and the jobs Congress expected to be created will be lost," he said.   On Wednesday, GTE Corp and Southern New England Telecommunications Corp said they also would appeal the interconnection ruling. 
5500 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !M11 !M12 !M13 !M132 !MCAT  A second Clinton Adminstration without Robert Rubin heading the Treasury Department might vex U.S. financial markets which have grown accustomed to the Secretary's strong dollar policy and coolheaded maneuvering.   "Rubin has done a fine job in that position," said Michael Faust, a portfolio manager at Bailard, Biehl and Kaiser, which manages just under $1.0 billion in global stocks and bonds.   "Anyone who would come in there to replace him would have awfully big shoes to fill," Faust said.    Speculation swirled on Wall Street this week that Rubin might not stay in his post at the Treasury if Democrats returned to the White House this fall.   Uncertainty increased after Rubin repeatedly sidestepped questions about any future cabinet role during interviews at the Democratic convention in Chicago.   Rubin told Reuters Financial Television this week he plans to work with "every bit of energy I have" until the end of the year.   "There's plenty of time then to worry about what I, personally, am going to do in the years to come," he said.    Rubin also dodged similar questions during an interview on CNN television on Monday.   Rubin took over the helm of the Treasury from Lloyd Bentsen, who experts said was viewed with suspicion on Wall Street.   Some thought Bentsen had tried to push down the dollar to gain an edge in trade negotiations with Japan.   "Obviously under the Clinton Administration we've seen two distinctively different dollar policies," said Chris Widness, an international economist at Chase Securities Inc. "Under Rubin, the U.S. has certainly looked for a strong dollar."    That strategy backed up by timely bouts of joint central bank intervention helped the dollar battle back from post-World War II lows of 79.75 yen reached on April 19, 1995 and 1.3438 marks on March 8 of that year.   The dollar traded near 108.45 yen and 1.4800 marks in Thursday afternoon dealings.   Concern that a new Secretary might favor a return to the Bentsen era could spell trouble in the markets, some warned.   As for the U.S. Treasury market, Widness noted that Alan Greenspan's reappointment as Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the outlook for the U.S. budget are more important than whether Rubin continues at the Treasury.    "Although, if we did get someone that was seen as looking for a dollar depreciation, it would probably hurt capital flows to the United States," said Widness, adding that could hurt U.S. stocks and, to a lesser degree, bonds.   Any reaction to a change in Treasury leadership just might depend on how the dollar trades, others said.   "In a weakening dollar environment, I think the market will be much more sensitive to a new Treasury person," according to Bailard's Faust.    Yet markets may have little to fear from a Rubin successor as the White House's firm dollar policy has yielded positive results.   "That policy seems to have served the Administration very well in the last couple of years because the trade imbalance has come down (as) the Japanese economy is growing at a stronger rate," said John Rothfield, an international economist at NationsBanc-CRT.   He predicted a second Clinton Administration would largely stay the course.    If that is true, then any new Treasury chief would need to be as effective as Rubin in convincing markets that the White House does indeed want a firm U.S. currency, experts said.   "If he left, the first question people would ask the next guy is 'what's your view on the dollar?'"   said Michael Perelstein, portfolio manager of MainStay International Funds.   "And all I can say as a piece of advice is that they'd better say exactly the same thing, if not stronger," he added.   "Otherwise, you get selling out of Tokyo and Frankfurt again."    As Treasury Secretary, Rubin helped to confront a Mexican peso crisis and a U.S. budget brawl that shut the federal government twice.   The Adminstration's tactics were criticized in some circles, but with hindsight, judgements may soften.   The Mexican government announced in July an early repayment of $7.0 billion to the U.S. Treasury and another $1.0 billion to the International Monetary Fund for loans obtained after the peso devaluation in late 1994.   "You can argue how risky it was back then, but at least this time around Mexico is paying things off early," Faust said.   "It's working out as well as they can hope for."   Perhaps U.S. financial markets might miss Rubin even if a successor did skillfully promote a firm dollar.   Wall Street can claim him as one of its own since he spent 26 years there, part of the time as co-chairman of powerhouse Goldman, Sachs and Co Inc.   "He certainly has the confidence of Wall Street and he certainly is aware of how markets interact," Perelstein said.   But what of his future at the U.S. Treasury?   "It's hard to see what he could achieve more in another four years as Secretary of the Treasury," Widness said.   "He's at the top of his game."   -- 212-859-1668 
5501 !GCAT !GWEA  Hurricane Edouard will be mainly a threat to shipping as it track east of the Bahamas' and the USA mainland this period, however it still bears watching.   Top winds near the center of this system are still 125 mph and only slight weakening is expected during the next 48 hours.   The expected track is close enough to the Bahamas' and the USA to cause rough seas and some beach errosion.   If the track is any further to the west the North Carolina coast may be threatened.    Hurricane Fran, with 75 mph winds, continues to track towards the islands of the northeast Caribbean.   It is currently about 375 miles east of Antigua.   It is expected to track north of the Virgin islands in 36 hours but this is not certain.   If this track holds the effect on the islands would be limited to rough seas, locally heavy rains and gusty winds.   If the track is a little further south than currently expected the islands would have more serious weather, including possible hurricane force winds.   There is a refinery on St. Croix in the northeast Caribbean.   The system is expected to pass north of there, but this is not certain.    Tropical Storm Gustav, with 45 mph winds, is 740 miles west southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, moving northwest at 10 mph, and is expected to continue a northwest track while slowly strengthening today.   This storm is a threat to shipping only.   Tropical storm Orson is centered about 850 miles southeast of Tokyo, Japan, and is drifting northwestward.   Top winds, now 60 mph, are expected to weaken to 55 mph during the next 72 hours as the storm continues to move slowly to the northwest.   Orson threatens shipping only.   Tropical Depression 22W will be a minor concern for shipping as it maintains top winds near 30 mph while moving from near 27n/174e to 31n/170e this period. 
5502 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A federal judge has refused to dismiss a securities fraud class action suit against Cyrk Inc and present and former officers and directors.   A statement from the plaintiffs said Judge John Martin of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York denied Cyrk's motion for dismissal.   Plaintiffs include those who purchased Cyrk shares between May 10, 1994, and May 1, 1995.   The plaintiffs accused the company of failing to disclose that in October, 1994, Philip Morris Cos Inc, Cyrk's largest customer, had informed it about the advent of a competitive bidding process for advertising and that it would not continue its contracts with Cyrk beyond the end of 1994. 
5503 !C15 !C152 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Teradyne Inc said Thursday it is making a workforce reduction of about 300, including regular employees, temporary employees, and contractors due to the semiconductor industry downturn.   As a result of the workforce reduction, Teradyne said, it expects to take a pretax charge of $10 to $12 million, equal to $0.07 to $0.08 per share after taxes, in the last half of the year.   The amount and timing of these charges are subject to a number of uncertainties, including the nature of the extended benefits provided to the affected employees.   The affected people were notified beginning August 28.   They will receive extended benefits based on length of service, as well as outplacement assistance, the company said.   About 175 of the affected people are located in Boston while the remainder of the jobs will be reduced in Teradyne's West Coast operations.   -- New York Newsdesk 212-859-1610. 
5504 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The U.S. help-wanted advertising index fell to 83.0 in July against a reading of 85.0 in June, the Conference Board said on Thursday.   In July, the volume of help-wanted advertising fell in five of the nine U.S. regions.   "The labor market has been expanding throughout 1996, but in a very uneven pattern," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement.   "Recent want-ad figures indicate that conservative hiring plans are keeping job growth below the rate of overall economic activity."    With 2.5 percent Gross Domestic Product growth expected for 1996, new job growth should slowly lower the unemployment rate over the rest of the year.   "With the unemployment rate staying close to about 5.5 percent over the last two years, there is a good chance the rate will slowly drop to about 5.0 percent by the end of the year," Goldstein said.   The July index matched the reading for the same month one year prior.   The greatest declines in the volume of help-wanted advertising were in the New England, Mountain and West South Central regions.   The greatest increase was in the East North Central region.   -- N.A. Treasury Desk, 212-859-1660 
5505 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GSPO  The National Basketball Association has sued America Online Inc, alleging that the United States' No 1 on-line service is delivering real-time information about league games without its permission, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.   The suit was filed on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan and is another legal skirmish over what constitutes a "broadcast" in the computer age.   The suit contends America Online was misappropriating NBA property by providing a site containing continually updated scores and statistics of NBA games in progress.   America Online chairman and chief executive Steve Case said, "We believe the new online medium should have the same right to report on real-time events and news as television and radio."   America Online said its dispute with the NBA began three weeks ago, when the online company filed suit against the league in Virginia.   The earlier lawsuit seeks to have a court declare that American Online is within its rights in using the real-time NBA scores and statistics and that the NBA may not legally bar the company from doing so.   The cases are related to a suit that the NBA filed earlier this year against Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems Inc.   The company provides data to America Online and is also a defendant in the case.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
5506 !GCAT !GWEA  Hurricane Edouard is centered about 305 miles north of San Juan, Puerto Rico, moving west northwest at 14 mph.   Edouard has top winds of 125 mph and is expected to maintain this strength while turning more to the northwest during the day today.   The current forecast track out through Saturday takes the storm northwest then north to a position between Bermuda and the USA East Coast.   This track will keep the storm over open water, making it a threat to shipping, but with the forecast track still somewhat uncertain, interests from the Bahamas to the USA East Coast to Bermuda need to monitior the progress of Edouard.    Tropical Storm Fran, with 70 mph winds, is centered 485 miles east of Antigua in the northeastern Caribbean, moving west northwest at 15 mph.   Fran is expected to conitnue this motion during today, possibly intensifying into a hurricane.   A hurricane watch is in effect for the northeastern Leeward Islands from Antigua through St. Martin, including Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, St. Martin, St. Maarten, St. Barthelemy, St. Eustatius, and Saba.    Tropical Storm Gustav, with 45 mph winds, is 740 miles west southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, moving northwest at 10 mph, and is expected to continue a northwest track while slowly strengthening today.   This storm is a threat to shipping only.   Typhoon Orson is centered about 925 miles southeast of Tokyo, Japan, and is drifting northwestward.   Top winds, now 75 mph, are expected to weaken to 65 mph during the next 36 hours as the storm continues to move slowly to the northwest.   Orson threatens shipping only.   Tropical Depression 22W will be a minor concern for shipping as it maintains top winds near 30 mph while moving from near 27n/174e to 31n/170e this period. 
5507 !C12 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP  By Rich Miller, Economics Correspondent   The United States is pressing the World Bank to set new criteria for its developing country borrowers, requiring them to certify that they do not condone bribery and corruption practices in the trade arena, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.   "We're pushing very hard," Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor told Reuters in an interview during the Democratic Party national convention.   "It would mean tremendous progress."   He said World Bank President James Wolfensohn was very sympathetic to the idea.   The multilateral organization lends tens of billions of dollars to developing countries each year and thus has tremendous leverage in affecting their policies.   Borrowing nations, some of whom feel that the Bank already meddles too much in their affairs, might not take too kindly to the idea, however.   Kantor described the discussions with the World Bank and other international lending institutions as part of a multi-faceted approach by the United States to try to stamp out bribery and corruption in world markets.   "It is a terrible burden on trade," he said.   "It creates a situation where the least competitive product can win out."   In the one-year period to May 1995, the U.S. government learned of 100 cases of bribery undercutting U.S. companies' ability to win $45 billion in contracts.   It is illegal for U.S. companies to bribe officials when competing for foreign countracts.   By comparison, Kantor said, 14 countries allow their firms to take tax deductions for bribery payments.   Under U.S. pressure the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has backed the criminalization of bribery and urged those countries to change their laws, Kantor said.   He said the United States needed to work on a variety of fronts -- through regional agreements, bilateral relations, in the World Trade Organization and elsewhere -- to convince countries to of the need to stamp out bribery and corruption.   "We have made some progress," Kantor said.   "I'm encouraged.   But it's one of those things we've got to continue to work on." 
5508 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT  Britain on Thursday welcomed a report predicting the mad cow epidemic will be over by 2001 and agreed to discuss farmers' demands for an end to a mass cattle slaughter, at a meeting next week.   But the government did not plan any immediate action following the prediction by Oxford University scientists that mad cow disease would decline naturally without the planned slaughter of 147,000 cattle.   The scientists' report said 700,000 cattle infected with mad cow disease had been eaten, raising fears that an epidemic of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Diease, the human form of the fatal brain-wasting ailment, could follow.   Agriculture Minister Angela Browning said the government was already rethinking its culling policy following information announced earlier this month that the disease can be passed on from cows to their calves.   "This report will have to be taken in account.   We will obviously want to talk not only to the (European) commission, but domestically as well to the farmers' organisation about this new information," she told BBC television.   A spokesman for the British Agriculture Ministry said it would be happy to dissus the report in the scientific journal Nature with members of the National Farmers Union.   "There is a meeting (with the NFU) next week," he told Reuters, adding that it had been planned before the latest news broke.   "We are not having any special meetings.   They will address the issue there."   NFU president Sir David Naish, citing the Nature report, called for an urgent meeting and said the government should reconsider its strategy.   "The new evidence to me means some of that proposal should be re-examined because we could get away with considerably less animals being culled if in fact scientists throughout Europe accepted this evidence," he told BBC radio.   The row over mad cow disease broke out in March after the government acknowledged there could be a link between Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the human form of the disease.   The European Union issued a ban on British beef and by-products which caused a serious rift with London and resulted in British ministers blocking EU business on the orders of Prime Minister John Major.   Britain reluctantly agreed to the mass cull in exchange for EU ministers agreeing to a step-by-step lifting of the ban.   "I have been saying consistently since the selective cull was proposed that we didn't believe it was scientifically based.   It was a political expedient to satisfy some of the other member states in Europe, going as far as it did," said Naish.   Bob Stevenson, a member of the British Veterinary Association, added its support to calls for a re-evaluation.   "I have every confidence in the paper.   These are independent researchers at Oxford University...I think the researchers have got it right and the politicians have actually got it wrong.   The politicians need to recognise that and come back with a better scheme," he told Sky Television.   Despite the latest findings Brussels offered little hope that it would agree to a change in the policy for dealing with BSE.   "We agreed that following detailed scientific analysis using a methodology which would take out the maximum number of BSE cases possible.   I think it would be very difficult to sell to the European Commission a programme which would involve the elimination of fewer BSE cases," European Commision spokesman Gerard Kiely said in Brussels.   According to the Oxford scientists BSE is a self-eliminating disease.   They predicted there would be 340 new infections and 14,000 new cases of BSE before 2001.   They said about 446,000 infected animals were eaten before the use of infected organs was banned in 1989, and 283,000 more before restrictions were tightened last December.   But they could not predict how many people would get CJD from eating infected beef. 
5509 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   EVENING STANDARD   BLAIR: REBELS JUST "FLOTSAM'   As Tony Blair headed for a rally in the North West today to begin selling the new Labour manifesto, he dismissed internal critics.   He called Left-wing Labour dissidents the "flotsam and jetsam' of politics.   He called for a focus on fundamentals, "the issues that actually matter to the British people'.   --   BIG GUNS ON GEC OVER SIMPSON PAY   Big investors in the city are seeking a meeting with GEC directors within the next 48 hours to voice concerns over the pay deal agreed with managing director designate George Simpson, who stands to gain up to 10 million stg over the next five years.   --   AMERICAN DIGS IN FOR CONCESSIONS OVER OPEN SKIES   U.S. aviation officials say it will take something "dramatic' from Britain before they will resume talks over an open skies agreement that would make way for a BA-American Air alliance deal.   -- BMC +44 171 377 1742 
5510 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Bank of England deputy governor Howard Davies said on Thursday the UK had as good a chance as most EU countries of meeting the Maastricht convergence criteria for European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   "From an economic point of view I am confident that the UK will have as good a chance of meeting the Maastricht convergence criteria as most EU countries," he said in a speech prepared for delivery at a conference in Alpbach, Austria.   But he said development of the single European market did not depend on EMU going ahead and warned against protectionist measures being taken against countries which did not sign up.    "The development and implementation of the single market pre-dates any move towards monetary union and we would argue that its beenfits and validity do not depend on a move to a single currency by some or all EU countries."   Davies said if some countries did not sign up to EMU, there were no legal grounds for EMU members to take protectionist measures against them.   All members were covered equally by the Maastricht Treaty.   "Protectionist measures taken to exclude an EU country from the single market would therefore be illegal, as well as against the best interests of the members of the monetary union themselves."    Davies said he would not rule out the possibility that Britain could be among the first entrants to the single currency.   And he staunchly defended an inflation target against charges that it is second best to exchange rate stability in generating anti-inflation credentials.   "We find it difficult to accept that some form of exchange rate peg against an anchor currency is unambiguously superior to an inflation target in generating credibility and in giving a clear message...that monetary policy will not be loosened to accommodate inflationary pressures," he said.    For those countries which stayed outside EMU, he said nominal exchange rate stability was not the only road along which they may wish to travel towards the single currency area.   "Most of the outs -- actual and prospective -- will not have converged sufficiently to be strong candidates for membership of monetary union and ...pegging their currencies against the Euro may not be the best way for them to move towards achieveing greater convergence," he said.   -- Rosemary Bennett, London Newsroom +44 171 542 7715 
5511 !GCAT !GVIO  The hijacking of a Sudanese airliner to London this week has focused attention on whether Britain's liberal attitude towards political refugees has made it a haven for those planning violence abroad.   London is home to numerous exile groups and opposition newspapers from around the world but critics say the government is not doing enough to stop an active minority from fomenting trouble abroad.   "It's our belief that Britain is soft on terrorism," said Mike Whine of the Board of Deputies of British Jews.   "Most of the main Moslem opposition groups are represented in London.   We object to the fact that some are plotting activity, some of it aimed against Western and Jewish interests," he told Reuters.   The Israeli embassy and a building housing Jewish organisations in London were both bombed in 1994.   One of the reasons that London attracts exiled activists is that under British laws, refugees do not have to give up being politically active when claiming asylum.   Government attempts to crack down on those who it feels are abusing British hospitality suffered a setback in March when Home Secretary Michael Howard failed in a bid to deport fundamentalist Islamic dissident Mohammed al-Masari.   Masari's outspoken attacks on the Saudi royal family strained relations with Riyadh and caused British businessmen to complain about losing lucrative contracts.   "The United Kingdom has long-standing traditions of providing asylum to genuine refugees," Howard wrote in Thursday's Daily Telegraph.   "(Terrorists) must not abuse the hospitality of free nations by claiming asylum while they concoct terrorist outrages...   "We (have) proposed a new international instrument to put beyond doubt the proposition that terrorists and those who plan, fund or incite terrorism have no right to be considered for asylum," he wrote.   Evidence of possible London links to violence abroad came in June when a British magistrate ordered Algerian Rachid Ramda to be extradited to France where he faces charges linked to a militant Islamic bombing campaign.   A lawyer for the French government told the court Ramda was an influential member of Algeria's Armed Islamic Group (GIA).   The Sunday Times said earlier this year that fundamentalist Islamic group Hamas was operating out of a house in north west London, publishing a magazine condoning violence against civilians in the Middle East.   But Lord Avebury, chairman of parliament's human rights group, tried to play down fears that the government was taking too relaxed a view of the problem.   "I don't think Britain is being too soft at all.   There are lots and lots of people who are refused entrance because of their links to armed opposition movements, for example the Kurds," he said.   "People who look at these problems should be careful to distinguish between those who are involved with political problems and those who are occupied with terrorism." 
5512 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA  People have eaten more than 700,000 cattle infected with mad cow disease since the epidemic started in Britain in the 1980s, but scientists say they still do not know if this will translate into a fatal human epidemic.   A report published on Thursday gave the first definitive analysis of the extent of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or mad cow disease), but left open how many people might have been exposed.   Infected beef was distributed throughout Britain's 55-million population, so in theory nearly all meat-eaters had a chance to consume some.   But experts say consumers of burgers, sausages and meat pies ran a higher risk because of the offal content than diners on ordinary cuts of beef.   No one knows how much infected beef a person has to eat before catching the human equivalent of BSE, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).   Officially, the British government says it is probable but not certain that people can get the brain-ravaging illness from sausages or burgers made out of diseased cows.   Experts who worked on the report said the BSE figures were troubling, even though they show BSE will die out by 2001.   "There's...the potential worry in looking at the number of infected animals that entered the food chain," said Christl Donnelly, a statistician at Oxford University who co-authored the report in the science journal Nature.   BSE remains a mysterious illness.   Related to scrapie in sheep and CJD, it can arise naturally because of genetic mutations, but can also pass from mother to calf.   It can also be transmitted orally.   Cattle got the disease from being fed the rendered remains of sheep with scrapie.   Because scientists are not sure what the infective agent is, they cannot test for BSE or CJD.   It can only be diagnosed after death with a brain autopsy.   They do know that a brain protein known as a prion becomes mutated and multiplies rapidly, and at the same time holes develop in the brain.   Whatever the infective agent is, cooking does not kill it.   Tests show it withstands very high temperatures over time.   The government introduced a ban on the use of cattle brains, spinal cords and other infective parts in 1989, and gradually tightened these restrictions through last December.   It also banned using animal protein to feed herbivores.   But people will still have eaten about 446,000 diseased cattle before 1989 and 283,000 more before last December, according to the report.   "The big shock in this paper is the proportion of (infected) animals eaten before the 1989 ban," Jeffrey Almond, an expert at Reading University, told the Independent newspaper.   "The peak would have been probably about 1994 when it got up to about 10 or 15 percent (of all cattle eaten)," said Stephen Dealler, a microbiologist at Burnley Hospital in northern England who thinks up to two million people may catch CJD.   Dealler, who has testified to parliament about his fears, says the new numbers can be used to calculate the risks.   This could start with known cases of the new variant of CJD.   "Imagine they caught their disease in 1985.   We know how many cattle they ate in 1985.   We can work out from there roughly how many cases of CJD to expect," he said in a telephone interview.   Depending on how infectious BSE is, that could translate to anywhere from 1,000 cases of the new variant of CJD to two million cases, Dealler says.   Twelve people have died of the new variant of CJD, which normally strikes one in a million mostly elderly people because of its long incubation period of up to 30 years.   Dealler and other scientists say this could be the tip of an iceberg.   Dealler said he was astounded to see that government scientists co-authored the Nature report after denying for years that large numbers of BSE-infected cattle had been eaten.   "They have actually at least admitted to it," he said. 
5513 !GCAT !GDIP  Britain sharply criticised Israel on Thursday for approving plans to extend Jewish settlements in the West Bank and warned that it could jeopardise the Middle East peace process.   The Foreign Office said it was concerned by an escalation of tension in Jerusalem and the Occupied Territories following Israel's demolition of a Palestinian community hall and its decision to build more Jewish homes in the West Bank.   "We believe that settlements are illegal and an obstacle to peace.   We call on both sides to implement the Interim (peace) Agreement and to avoid taking precipitate actions which could throw the peace process into a downward spiral," the ministry said in a statement.   Palestinian shops and businesses shut on Thursday for four hours across the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israeli-annexed Arab East Jerusalem, in response to a strike call by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to protest against Israel's plans.   Arafat also condemned the government of right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for its insistence that East Jerusalem will remain forever under Israeli control.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   The Foreign Office said it regarded it as particularly important that the status quo in Jerusalem be respected pending resolution of its status. 
5514 !GCAT !GPOL  The following are details of the main national political opinion polls published by the British media this year.   Figures given are "crude" results not adjusted for past polling problems.    POLLSTERS SAMPLE POLLING CON LAB LDEM OTHERS LEAD     % %  % %  %    MORI  1,708 AUG 20-25 30 51 13 6  21    NOP  1,592 AUG 15  30 51 15 4  21    GALLUP 1,020 JUL31-AUG 5 25 59 11 5  34    GALL 9000 6,166 JULY 3-31 27.0 54.1 14.0 4.9 27.1    ICM  1,200 AUG 2-3  30 50 18 3  20    MORI  1,928 JULY 23-28 29 53 12 6  24    NOP  1,565 JULY 25  31 48 16 5  17    ICM  1,200 JULY 5-6 25 50 20 5  25    GALLUP 1,010 JUNE 27-1 26 54.5 14.5 5  28.5    GALL 9000 9,924 MAY 29-JUL 2 26.1 54.9 14.5 4.4 28.8    MORI  1,846 JUNE 21-4 31 52 12 5  21    NOP  1,580 JUNE 20  31 50 15 4  19    GALLUP 1,039 MAY 30-JN3 22.5 57 16 4.5 34.5    GALL 9000 7,824 MAY 1-28 24.3 54.8 16 5  30.5    ICM  1,200 MAY 31-JN2 25 51 18 5  26    MORI  1,620 MAY 23-26 27 54 15 4  27    NOP  1,567 MAY 16  27 52 17 4  25    GALLUP 1,095 MAY 1-6  24.5 55.5 15.5 4.5 31    GALLUP 9000 8,002 APR 3-30 23.8 57.2 14.3 4.6 33.4    ICM  1,200 MAY 3-5  26 50 20 5  24    MORI  1,068 APR 27  29 54 13 4  25    NOP  1,592 APR 25  29 51 16 4  22    MORI  1,947 APR 19-22 28 54 14 4  26    ICM  1,200 APR 12-13 25 56 16 4  31    GALLUP 1,119 MAR 27-AP2 26 55.5 15.5 3  29.5    GALLUP 9000 10,284 FEB 29-AP2 23.9 57.3 15.1 3.7 33.4    MORI  1,910 MAR 22-25 28 57 13 2  29    NOP  1,500 MAR 14  29 53 14 -- 24    GALLUP 1,060 FEB 29-MAR 4 23 57.5 16 3.5 34.5    ICM  1,200 MAR 2-4  26 51 20 4  25    MORI  l,877 FEB 23-26 26 57 14 3  31    NOP  1,569 FEB 15-16 28 50 17 4  22    GALLUP 1,020 FEB 1-5  28 54.5 14.5 3  26.5    ICM  1,200 FEB 2-4  27 52 17 4  25    MORI  1,770 JAN 19-22 29 55 13 3  26    NOP  1,549 JAN 18  25 54 18 3  29    GALLUP 1,135 JAN 3-8  21 60.5 14.5 4  39.5    ICM  1,200 JAN 5-6  22 53 20 5  31   Prime Minister John Major must hold a general election by May next year, actually calling the poll by April 9, 1997, the fifth anniversary of the 1992 election.   The following are details of the results of polling by two major poll organisations, Gallup and Mori, in the year ahead of the last election.   The figures for Gallup relate to its broad-based "9000" poll, for which interviews are conducted throughout the month.    MONTH POLLSTERS CON LAB LDEM OTHERS CON LEAD    MAY '91 GALLUP  37.2 38.3 19.4 5.1 -1.1    MORI  37  43  16  2 -6    JUNE  GALLUP  36.5 39.7 18.7 5.0 -3.2    MORI  39  41  15  5 -2    JULY  GALLUP  38.3 39.1 17.6 4.8 -0.8    MORI  38  43  15  4 -5    AUGUST GALLUP  38.5 38.8 17.1 5.5 -0.3    MORI  42  40  14  4 +2    SEPT  GALLUP  40.5 36.9 17.1 5.5 +3.6    MORI  39  39  17  5  Nil    OCTOBER GALLUP  41.0 40.4 13.8 4.8 +0.6    MORI  39  45  12  4 -6    NOV  GALLUP  39.5 38.9 16.6 5.0 +0.6    MORI  40  42  15  3 -2    DEC  GALLUP  40.6 38.9 15.0 5.6 +1.7    MORI  38  44  14  4 -6    JAN '92 GALLUP  39.0 39.2 16.8 5.0 -0.2    MORI  42  39  16  3 +3    FEB  GALLUP  38.9 37.6 18.3 5.2 +1.3    MORI  39  40  18  3 -1    MARCH GALLUP  37.4 37.8 19.7 5.1 -0.4    MORI  38  41  17  4 -3   Note -- During the election campaign, between March 11 and April 9, more than 50 national opinion polls were published.   The results ranged from a Conservative lead of five percentage points to a Labour lead of seven.   Most of the polls showed a narrow Labour lead, but the result on April 9, excluding votes cast in Northern Ireland, was as follows:    PARTY  PCTAGE OF VOTE SEATS    CONSERVATIVES  42.8  336    LABOUR 35.2  271    LIB DEMS  18.3 20    OTHERS 3.7 7    NORTHERN IRELAND SEATS 17   Prime Minister John Major has an overall parliamentary majority of just one.   The following is the latest breakdown of party strengths in the House of Commons, the lower house of Parliament).   There are 651 seats, but four are non-voting (Speaker and three deputies) so the total is..........................   647   Breakdown    Conservatives........................................ 324    Opposition........................................... 323    Of which    -- Labour.................................. 272    -- Liberals................................. 25    -- Plaid Cymru...............................   4    -- SNP....................................... 4    -- Ulster Unionists..........................   9    -- SDLP...................................... 4    -- Democratic Unionist Party................  .   3    -- United Kingdom Unionist.   ................  .   1    -- Independent (Peter Thurnham).............. 1    This means the government has a majority of.............1   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7767 
5515 !GCAT !GPRO  Rich, single and seeking a fresh role, divorced Princess Diana plunged into a new life on Thursday with a defiant warning that she will stay in the limelight that helped strain her marriage to Prince Charles.   Formally stripped of the title "Her Royal Highness", she made clear, with a public-relations stroke, she had never wanted to divorce the royal heir who paid an estimated 17 million pounds ($26.51 million) in a settlement.   Close-up pictures on the front pages of Britain's royalty-obsessed tabloid newspapers showed Diana wearing the gold wedding band and knuckleduster-sized sapphire engagement ring that Charles bought for 28,000 pounds in 1981.   The gesture made at a lunch engagement with the English National Ballet just hours after her divorce became final on Wednesday was not lost on royal photographers and commentators.   Diana, a master of media manipulation, was giving a clear signal that she had been forced into a divorce she did not want and was not prepared to go quietly, they said.   "It was a defiant gesture that signalled her refusal to bow out quietly and suggests this troubled royal saga is not over yet," said the Daily Express.   Photographers said she made a point of walking around her car in order to give them a shot of the rings on the third finger of her left hand.   In a story headlined "Diana: I'll run rings round Charles", the Daily Mirror said: "Princess Diana began her new life yesterday -- with this ringing declaration of defiance to ex-husband Charles."   The Daily Telegraph said: "There was no statement from the palace but the princess's left hand told her side of the story more eloquently than any spokesman."   Diana, 35, who loses the coveted "HRH" title as part of her settlement, resisted the divorce until her lawyers had persuaded Charles to pay her a reported 17 million pounds, plus the 400,000 pounds annual cost of running her private office.   The princess blamed Charles for the break-up of a marriage that once thrilled the nation, pointing the finger at his long-running affair with his mistress Camilla Parker Bowles.   Diana remains a popular figure with Britons, well ahead of Charles, and Parker Bowles is distinctly unpopular, according to regular polls.   In her revealing television interview of November 1995, Diana said of Camilla: "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded."   But friends said Diana, a devotee of psychotherapy and techniques of personal growth, was determined to avoid sending out any message that she was bowing to the inevitable.   "She does not want to be seen as a victim, but someone in control," one friend told the Sun newspaper.   Her position as the mother of Prince William, 14, who will succeed Charles as king, together with the possibility of her finding a new man mean Diana is not likely to slip out of the public eye in the near future.   With the princess pictured in an elegant pale blue suit with matching shoes, Prince Charles, meanwhile, looked dull by comparison.   He was shown standing glumly under an umbrella, talking to a horticultural expert.   Royal pundits agree that Charles cannot expect both to make a second marriage, to Parker Bowles, and to succeed his mother Queen Elizabeth as monarch.   What may now be needed from the prince is a period of hard work to restore his popularity with the people and the press.   Royal author Robert Lacey said: "Image has proved a destructive pursuit for the House of Windsor in the past 15 years.   Substance is what is required." 
5516 !C11 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Sir Colin Hope, chairman of asbestos-haunted components group T&N Plc, said on Thursday the company is continuing to look for possible insurance tools to help it limit its asbestos-linked health liabilities and free shareholder value, but that no breakthrough was imminent.   Recent press speculation has centred on T&N being near to a complex policy to cap its liabilities, but Hope told the firm's interim results news conference that this was premature.   "It is true that we have been looking.   (But) I think that the imminence (of press reports) is misleading," he said, adding, "Don't hold your breath in terms of speed of solution."    "In a way (the speculation) is not new," Hope told reporters.   "We at T&N have constantly over the years said, "Is there anything we can do on the insurance issues?'"  .   Part of this was looking to see if there is any way of using insurance "to limit or reduce the risk of rogue cases developing -- a sort of ring-fencing on uncertain areas", he explained.   "That has up to now been virtually impossible to do at any sort of economically-affordable premium.   However, what has happened is that the industry position has changed, the insurance industry knows substantially more about asbestos now than it did two or three years ago," he added.    Hope said that, with more data available and a better ability to assess future liabilities from asbestos, the outlook for finding insurance options was improving.   Reviews would continue and, he said, "The situation is more amenable to looking at them than it was before."   Above all, he added, the firm recognised that shareholders suffered from the weight of potential asbestos liabilities.   "The board's objective remains to find some way of unlocking that shareholder value which has been knocked out of T&N's shares as a result of (this) sheer uncertainty."    Following T&N's results, which showed pretax profits falling to 58.1 million stg from 73.2 million on the back of well-signalled weaknesses, the company's shares stumbled and fell to stand down 9-1/2p at 134-1/2p by midday.   -- Andrew Huddart, London Newsroom, +44 171 542 8716 
5517 !GCAT !GPOL  British opposition leader Tony Blair took to the campaign trail on Thursday hit by fresh criticism of his leadership style from the left wing of his Labour party.   The latest attack on Blair came from member of parliament Austin Mitchell, who accused him of paying lip service to Labour's rank and file and said the revamped party's policy-making process was no more democratic than North Korea's.   Writing in the New Statesman magazine, Mitchell also praised Blair for being in better tune with the instincts of British voters than were veteran Labour activists-- a reference to New Labour's more centrist swing away from old-style Socialism.   "So we have a Faustian compact with Tony Blair, on a back me or sack me basis.   Tony'll win for us.   In return we've put our souls, our party and our dreams in his hands," Mitchell wrote.   There is little evidence that earlier attacks on Blair over the summer by left-wingers have hurt Labour, which still enjoys a 21-point lead over the ruling Conservatives, according to an opinion poll in The Times newspaper on Thursday.   But Blair's lieutenants, eager to scotch any impression of internal bickering in the run-up to an election no more than nine months away, were quick to portray Mitchell as isolated.   "Mr Mitchell has said colourful eccentric things about every Labour leader since he was elected to parliament," Robin Cook, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, told BBC radio.   "Of course you can find lone voices outside but the significant thing is that Tony Blair has carried the party overwhelmingly in all the major changes that have gone through."   Blair, who was campaigning in Wales and northwest England, on Wednesday shrugged off personal criticism as trivial and the "flotsam and jetsam" of politics.   Mitchell himself tried to blunt the impact of his article, telling the BBC he did not see Blair as a dictator.   "What I was saying was that Tony Blair is a winner and in touch with the mood of the country.   People like Tony Blair and he is going to lead us to victory," Mitchell said.   But Prime Minister John Major's Conservatives, who must call an election by next May, tried to capitalise on the controversy as evidence of growing splits in Labour ranks.   "When did you hear a Tory backbencher describe John Major as running his party like one of the most extreme dictators in the world today?   That's what we have Austin Mitchell saying," Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine told BBC radio. 
5518 !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The fragile French franc bore the brunt of a rampaging German mark in Europe on Thursday as jitters over Economic and Monetary Union in the run-up to 1997 budget presentations kicked in with a vengeance.   Debate over the EMU timetable and fresh question marks over efforts to meet convergence criteria have rekindled fears which had been largely soothed by a European Union show of unity.   Threats of strikes in France, coupled with weak data there, have pointed up the difficulty of reconciling fiscal austerity with public resistance to the spending cuts demanded by EMU.   Analysts said the pressure on the franc, which sank to five-month lows in early Europe, was unlikely to ebb before the 1997 budget was unveiled -- and maybe not even then.   "The French arithmetic will add up -- but the credibility of those sums will be immediately questioned," said Stuart Thomson, chief international economist at Nikko Europe.   "The next level to focus on is 3.4305, and I think there's a very strong risk of that appearing today."   The franc's early low of 3.4296 per mark -- its worst level since March 25 -- took it to within a whisker of 3.4305, its old floor in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).   French teachers' unions have warned of a likely strike over job cuts and education reforms and will meet on September 3 to finalise their position.   Marc Blondel, leader of the independent Force Ouvriere union which was at the fore of last year's 24-day strike, has said "all the ingredients are there for it to explode".   "The risks in attempting to straitjacket economies to meet the Maastricht convergence criteria are highlighted by threats of labour and social unrest in France following similar disturbances last year," said David Coleman, chief economist at CIBC Wood Gundy in London.   Weak output and fears forthcoming July unemployment will stick at record highs have emphasised how French economic growth needs a shot in the arm if EMU criteria are to be met.   Even Germany, the lynchpin of EMU, is in danger of missing the requirements on debts and deficits this year, Bundesbank chief economist Otmar Issing warned earlier in the week.   But Issing signalled clearly the German central bank's continued tough line on monetary union, saying softening the convergence criteria was "out of the question".   German Chancellor Helmut Kohl backed that on Wednesday, saying the single currency "must come, but there should be no feeble compromises".   But market fears of a delay in monetary union -- scheduled to begin on January 1, 1999 -- have found plenty to feed on.   Italy's deputy prime minister, Walter Veltroni, was quoted recently as saying Italy and other European countries should consider the possibility of re-thinking the EMU criteria.   Leading German economist Herbert Hax said Europe should consider postponing the start of monetary union at least five countries and preferably more meet the conditions for joining.   "All the European issues are still quite alive, and that will keep the mark firm," said Standard Chartered treasury economist Tim Fox.   "It doesn't augur well for the outer-rim currencies."   Mark strength was just what Germany's Bundesbank was presumed to deplore when it sliced an unexpectedly meaty 30 basis points off its key repo rate last week.   While that was initially seen as a lifeline for the mark's fragile satellites, the view soon took hold that the German bank had used the cut to wash its hands of EMU and currency problems.   The Bundesbank may thus have done more harm than good, forcing France and Italy in particular to look to their own governments for salvation, said Coleman at CIBC.   "The convergence process -- so evident in the first half of this year -- remains very much at risk," he said. 
5519 !GCAT !GENT  Liam Gallagher, singer of Britain's top rock group Oasis, flew out on Thursday to join the band three days after the start of its U.S. tour.   Gallagher made his usual obscene gestures and swore at journalists as he prepared to fly from London's Heathrow airport to Chicago.   "I hate you f..  .  ing lot, yet you're always asking me too many things.   I'm not a supermodel you know," he said.   On Monday, just 15 minutes before his flight was due to depart, Liam decided not to travel with the rest of the group, which includes his brother Noel.   Liam caught a taxi back to London saying he had "problems at home".   He was believed to be suffering from laryngitis and said he had to go house-hunting with actress girlfriend Patsy Kensit.   When they first heard that Liam had not flown out with the band at the start of the tour, many U.S. fans asked for refunds on their concert tickets.   The group began the U.S. tour, which is scheduled to last until September 18, with a concert in Chicago on Tuesday at which Noel Gallagher filled in for his brother as lead singer. 
5520 !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  Higher spending by foreign visitors and less Canadian tourist spending abroad cut the deficit in Canada's international travel account by 26.5 percent in the second quarter, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.   The deficit fell to a seasonally adjusted C$715 million in the second quarter from C$973 million in the first, as foreigners spent a record C$3.00 billion seasonally adjusted while Canadians reduced their spending abroad by 5.1 percent to C$3.72 billion.   -- Reuters Ottawa Burea (613) 235-6745 
5521 !GCAT  The following are top headlines from selected Canadian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE GLOBE AND MAIL:   - Ottawa caught short by flag fever: Offer of free Maple Leaves may cost C$23-million, but there's no budget to pay for them.   - Parti Quebecois ready to harden laws on language: English signs face ban in Quebec.   - Defence Minister David Collenette's praise for Chief of Defence General Jean Boyle draws fire: Lawyer for colonel at Somalia inquiry accuses minister of interfering.   - Infighting endangers Bosnian elections, U.S. pushing own agenda, officials say.   - Cuts by Ontario Premier Mike Harris will foster crime, federal Justice Minister Allan Rock says: Remarks by Rock offensive, Ontario Solicitor-General Bob Runciman replies.   - Democrats' unity turns talk to next presidential nominee: Al Gore, Richard Gephardt start positioning themselves to run in 2000.   Report on Business Section:   - RBC Dominion Securities poised to take Richardson Greenshields of Canada: Acquisition would create Canada's largest brokerage in deal estimated at C$480-million.   - Canada runs first account surplus since '82: Should make it easier to keep rates low.   - Canadian Auto Workers union targets Chrysler: Union wants deal on outsourcing so it can take on General Motors.   - Potash Corp seeks global markets: If the Saskatchewan company buys 51 percent of Germany's dominant producer, it will control more than half the world potash trade.   THE FINANCIAL POST:   - Legendary mining promoter Murray Pezim's son takes the helm: Legend leaves scene, Michael Pezim vows to clean house as president of Prime Equities International Corp.   - Canadian Auto Workers union to hit Chrysler, but stalks General Motors.   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau 416 941-8100 
5522 !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Canada's Prairies on Thursday were forecast to see sunny and hot weather, Environment Canada said.   Alberta should see sunny skies and highs of 27 to 33 Celsius.   Saskatchewan should see sunny skies and highs of 25 to 33 Celsius.   Manitoba should see sunny skies and highs of 27 to 31 Celsius.   The normal high at this time of year is 24 Celsius.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
5523 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinians and Israel opened a negotiating channel on Thursday following a four-hour general strike in the West Bank and Gaza against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   A day after Yasser Arafat accused Israel of declaring war on the Palestinians, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's confidant Yitzhak Molho, a lawyer, met the Palestinian president and arranged talks between senior negotiators, PLO officials said.   The negotiators, former Israeli army chief Dan Shomron and Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat, met for an hour in a Jerusalem hotel and said the Steering Committee they chair would begin to convene regularly as of next week.   The committee, which oversees implementation of Israel-Palestinian self-rule deals, has not met since Netanyahu was elected last May.   "Our role as a steering committee is to solve problems and to continue the peace process, to do this in a good spirit," Shomron told reporters.   "I believe after this meeting that we have the ability to advance all the issues that today are found at different levels of implementation," he said.   Foremost among the unsettled issues is Israel's long-delayed troop redeployment in the West Bank city of Hebron, where some 450 Jewish settlers live among more than 100,000 Palestinians.   "The peace process will be judged not in accordance with press conferences given by us but through the implementation of agreements on the ground," Erekat said.   "It is not a secret that the status of peace is slipping like sand outside our fingers."   Shops and businesses shut for four hours across the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israeli-annexed Arab East Jerusalem, in response to a strike call by Arafat.   He condemned at a meeting of the Palestinian legislature on Wednesday the Netanyahu government's pledge to expand Jewish settlement and its insistence that East Jerusalem will remain forever under Israeli control.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   The strike was the first in both the West Bank and Gaza since Israel handed parts of the areas to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   Residents said the stoppage was widely observed but a Reuters photographer in Hebron said most shops in the city, still under Israeli guns, remained open.   In a move likely to fuel further Palestinian anger, Israel on Thursday disclosed more plans to build additional homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.   "(Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai) approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," his spokesman Avi Benayahu said.   Benayahu declined to say how many homes would be built.   The Maariv newspaper put the number at 3,550.   It said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are just inside the West Bank, near Jerusalem.   Commenting on the decision to build privately funded homes in settlements, former tourism minister Uzi Baram said: "The (government's) provocation of the Palestinians is clear.   It is playing with a powder keg that puts all of us in danger."   Palestinian Higher Education Minister Hanan Ashrawi told reporters Palestinians were not interested in Israeli "promises in the air".   "The real proof (of Israel's intentions) is in this decision to build thousands more housing units, to confiscate more land, to expand settlements and settlement activities," she said.   In Ramallah in the West Bank, Arafat held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti.   "We informed the president that we do not accept any analysis that calls for continuing settlement expansion and at the same time to say the peace process is all right," Kabariti told reporters. 
5524 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Rival Kurdish factions in northern Iraq agreed on Thursday to attend U.S.-sponsored peace talks in London aimed at cementing a ceasefire between them.   "The party has agreed to attend peace talks in London tomorrow to meet with U.S. officials," the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said in a statement.   The rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said it would also take part in the talks, which follow a ceasefire agreement on Wednesday morning to end recent fighting which has killed scores of people.   "These are preliminary talks aimed at strengthening the ceasefire on the initiative of U.S. negotiators," PUK spokesman Latif Rashid told Reuters by phone from London.   The British foreign office welcomed the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and urged the two factions to respect it.   "We fully support those (U.S.) efforts and have reiterated our willingness to help with a meeting in London if this would contribute towards reaching a substantive peace agreement," it said in a statement in London.   A previous U.S.-brokered ceasefire last Friday was broken by sporadic fighting.   There were no reports of new clashes on Thursday, but KDP spokesman Dilshad Miran said the PUK, supported by Iranian artillery, had violated the ceasefire with an attack on Wednesday.   Friday's preliminary talks are aimed at pushing forward agreements early last year which put an end to more than a year of clashes in which about 3,000 people died.   Previous talks have centred on the distribution of oil trade revenues and the status of the city of Arbil, which is currently under PUK control.   U.S., British and French planes have been patrolling the skies of northern Iraq since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991 to shield Iraq's Kurds from attack by the Baghdad government.   Both Iraqi Kurd factions have expressed concern about the build-up of Iraqi troops near Kurdish regions in recent days. 
5525 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Jordan's prime minister said he criticised Israel's expansion of West Bank settlements in talks he held with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on Thursday.   "We informed the president that we do not accept any analysis that calls for continuing settlement expansion and at the same time to say that the peace process is all right," Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti told reporters after meeting Arafat.   The Palestinian leader said he asked Kabariti to brief King Hussein on Israel's plans, disclosed hours before the meeting, to build new homes in existing settlements in the West Bank.   Arafat said the planned construction of what Israeli media reports said were between 2,000 and 3,550 housing units, was another obstacle towards implementing his peace deals with the Jewish state.   "I look up to my brother, His Majesty King Hussein, to help us and I am sure he will in these very difficult circumstances that we face," Arafat said.   Kabariti, who flew by helicopter from Jordan to the West Bank town of Ramallah to see Arafat, said the kingdom wanted Israel to end a closure imposed on Palestinian areas after suicide bombings by Moslem militants in February and March.   Calling the closure a "siege", Kabariti said its lifting would mean "we could say that the (peace) process can continue with goodwill".   He said he had delivered a message from King Hussein to Arafat "expressing and renewing our stand and support for the Palestinian National Authority...and (Arafat's) efforts to achieve peace".   Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty two years ago.   The prime minister's visit, his first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots this month, came against the backdrop of a Palestinian general strike in the West Bank and Gaza.   Arafat called the four-hour strike, which was followed by a meeting of two senior Israeli and PLO negotiators, to protest against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem. 
5526 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A Kurdish guerrilla group in northern Iraq said on Thursday it had agreed to attend U.S.-sponsored peace talks in London with a rival Kurdish faction following a ceasefire.   "The party has agreed to attend peace talks in London tomorrow to meet with U.S. officials," the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said in a statement.   It said the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) would also attend the talks, set for Friday.   "The talks will test the seriousness of the PUK about the latest ceasefire," KDP spokesman Dilshad Miran told Reuters.   He said the peace talks were aimed at preserving a ceasefire with the PUK that went into effect on Wednesday morning, through stationing monitors on the ground.   PUK representatives were not immediately available for comment.   The British foreign office welcomed the U.S.-brokered ceasefire and urged the two factions to respect it.   "We fully support those (U.S.) efforts and have reiterated our willingness to help with a meeting in London if this would contribute towards reaching a substantive peace agreement," it said in a statement in London.   A previous U.S.-brokered ceasefire last Friday was broken by sporadic fighting.   The KDP said there were no reports of new clashes on Thursday, but Miran said the PUK, supported by Iranian artillery, had violated the ceasefire with an attack on Wednesday.   Friday's preliminary talks are aimed at pushing forward agreements early last year which put an end to more than a year of clashes in which about 3,000 people died.   Miran said it was not clear which officials would attend the talks, which were called mainly on Washington's initiative.   Previous talks have centred on the distribution of oil trade revenues and the status of the city of Arbil, which is currently under PUK control.   U.S., British and French planes have been patrolling the skies of northern Iraq since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991 to shield Iraq's Kurds from attack by the Baghdad government.   Both Iraqi Kurd factions have expressed concern about the build-up of Iraqi troops near Kurdish regions in recent days. 
5527 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinians planned to take their grievances to the negotiating table with Israel on Thursday following a four-hour general strike against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   A day after Yasser Arafat accused Israel of declaring war on the Palestinians, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a surprise announcement that two senior negotiatiors would meet at 1130 GMT in a Jerusalem hotel.   Israeli army chief Dan Shomron and Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat chair the Israeli-Palestinian Steering Committee that oversees implementation of the self-rule deals signed by Israel and the PLO.   "We hope this meeting will result in the immediate reciprocal implementation of...the agreements signed," Erekat told reporters.   "We hope very soon that words will be transferred to deeds."   Shops and businesses shut for four hours across the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israeli-annexed Arab East Jerusalem, in response to a strike call by Palestinian President Arafat.   He condemned at a meeting of the Palestinian legislature on Wednesday the Netanyahu government's pledge to expand Jewish settlement and its insistence that East Jerusalem will remain forever under Israeli control.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   The strike was the first in both the West Bank and Gaza since Israel handed parts of the areas to self-rule in 1994.   Residents said the stoppage was widely observed but a Reuters photographer in Hebron said most shops in the city, still under Israeli guns, remained open.   In a move likely to fuel further Palestinian anger, Israel disclosed more plans to build additional homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.   "(Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai) approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," his spokesman Avi Benayahu said.   Benayahu declined to say how many homes would be built.   The Maariv newspaper put the number at 3,550.   It said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are just inside the West Bank, near Jerusalem.   The Steering Committee talks are likely to focus on Israel's long-delayed troop redeployment in the West Bank city of Hebron, where some 450 armed Jewish settlers live among more than 100,000 Arabs.   Palestinians view the partial pullout as a litmus test of Netanyahu's pledges to pursue peace.   Israel's former Labour government delayed the move after Moslem suicide bombers killed 59 people in the Jewish state in February and March.   Netanyahu's government is studying a revised pullback plan prepared by Mordechai which is expected to outline a wider deployment of Israeli troops in the city to protect the settlers.   Palestinians said they would not accept any changes.   Commenting on the decision to build privately funded homes in settlements, former tourism minister Uzi Baram said: "The (government's) provocation of the Palestinians is clear.   It is playing with a powder keg that puts all of us in danger."   Palestinian Higher Education Minister Hanan Ashrawi said Palestinians were not interested in "promises in the air" from Israel.   "The real proof (of Israel's intentions) is in this decision to build thousands more housing units, to confiscate more land, to expand settlements and settlement activities," she told reporters.   In Ramallah, Arafat held talks with Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti on the peace process. 
5528 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinians on Thursday observed the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza in two years, largely heeding President Yasser Arafat's call for the protest against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   In a move likely to fuel Palestinian anger, Israel said it would build more homes in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.   The four-hour shutdown of shops and businesses was widely observed in the West Bank, Gaza and Arab East Jerusalem, witnesses said.   But a Reuters photographer in Hebron, the only Palestinian city still under Israeli control, said most shops remained open.   "We are sounding an alarm and this alarm has to be taken seriously because while Israel is verbally trying to maintain the semblance of peace, it is actually on the ground stepping up its activity, escalating its violations," Palestinian Higher Education Minister (corrects title) Hanan Ashrawi told reporters.   The stoppage was the first in both the West Bank and Gaza since the start of self-rule in parts of the areas in 1994.   At a session of the Palestinian legislature on Wednesday, Arafat said Israel's policies amounted to a declaration of war and called a half-day general strike "for Jerusalem" in protest.   Israel angered Palestinians by demolishing a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem on Tuesday, saying the structure was built without a permit.   It has also pledged to expand Jewish settlement in the West Bank.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed never to give up control of East Jerusalem, captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state.   While the Palestinians fumed, the right-wing Netanyahu government disclosed further plans to build more housing units in West Bank settlements.   "(Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai) approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," his spokesman Avi Benayahu said.   Benayahu declined to say how many homes would be built.   The Maariv newspaper put the number at 3,550.   It said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are just inside the West Bank, near Jerusalem.   "The (government's) provocation of the Palestinians is clear," former tourism minister Uzi Baram said.   "It is playing with a powder keg that puts all of us in great danger."   Asked about the construction plans, Ashrawi said: "These are the real actions.   We are not interested in statements of appeasement and promises in the air...The real proof is in this decision to build thousands more housing units, to confiscate more land, to expand settlements and settlement activities."   The Palestinian Legislative Council demanded on Wednesday a halt to contacts with Israel until the Jewish state honoured its peace pledges.   Netanyahu, responding to Arafat's strongest attack on his government since its election in May, said Israel would view as "very grave" any attempt to step up tensions or violence.   Hours later gunmen shot and wounded two people on Wednesday when they fired at an Israeli commuter bus in the West Bank.   In an apparent effort to quell tensions, Israel's Foreign Minister David Levy telephoned Arafat on Wednesday.   "I explained that we might be entering a situation in which there is a loss of control and if, God forbid, matters deteriorate, all sides will lose," Levy said on Thursday.   "I appealed to his sense of responsibility at this hour not to get carried away.   He spoke about his distress, pressures and the difficult situation," he told Israel Radio.   "I got a promise from him that he would make every effort...to prevent deterioration."   After speaking to Arafat, Levy telephoned Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti and briefed him on the conversation.   Kabariti travelled to Palestinian-ruled Ramallah on Thursday to meet Arafat. 
5529 !GCAT !GDIP !GREL  Controversial U.S. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has arrived in Libya and thanked Libyans for naming him winner of a human rights prize worth $250,000, the official Libyan news agency JANA said on Thursday.   The U.S. Treasury Department in Washington on Wednesday denied Farrakhan's application to receive the honorarium or $1 billion Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had pledged to the Nation of Islam after meeting Farrakhan in Libya last January.   JANA, monitored in Tunis, said Farrakhan arrived on Wednesday evening in the Libyan capital Tripoli where he was welcomed by Libyan officials.   "I would like to thank the people of Jamahiriya (Libya) and our brother Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and also the jury which decided to award me this year's Gaddafi international human rights prize," JANA quoted Farrakhan as saying on arrival.   The prize would be presented in a ceremony on Friday, according to JANA.   Farrakhan was apparently already on his way to the Libyan capital when the Treasury decision was announced and it was not immediately known how it might affect his plans.   Richard Newcomb, director of the U.S. Treasury branch that oversees travel and trade restrictions against U.S. citizens dealing with Libya, had cited among reasons for the denial the belief that Libya was "a strong supporter of terrorist groups".   Farrakhan organised last October's Million Man March in the United States that brought thousands of black men to Washington for a peaceful rally.   On Tuesday he said he would fight any U.S. government effort to deny him the Libyan funds, which he said would be used to build schools and business in American black communities.   But the Treasury said that after consulting the State Department that it was turning down Farrakhan's applications because of long-standing grievances with the Libyan government and because U.S. law prohibited acceptance of the funds.   The Treasury said Libya had been on Washington's list of states that sponsor international "terrorism" since December 1979, and noted that Libya refused to turn over two Libyan suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.   That refusal led to the imposition of U.N. sanctions against Libya. 
5530 !GCAT !GDIP  Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti began talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank on Thursday on the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said.   Kabariti flew by helicopter to Palestinian-ruled Ramallah and after a brief arrival ceremony went into talks with Arafat.   The prime minister's visit, his first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots earlier this month, came against the backdrop of a Palestinian general strike in the West Bank and Gaza.   Arafat called the four-hour strike, which ended at noon (0900 GMT) to protest against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   Jordan's official state news agency Petra said Kabariti would hold discussions "on the latest developments in the peace process and bilateral cooperation". 
5531 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Turkey's parliament on Thursday agreed changes to laws which will effectively increase the powers of provincial governors in their fight against Kurdish rebels, the state-run Anatolian news agency said.   The legal changes will enable governors to call for cross-border operations in pursuit of Kurdish guerrillas or to demand military support from other provinces if they judge their own forces to be insufficient.   The changes were agreed in an extraordinary parliamentary session called to discuss the reform of emergency rule and other security-related measures.   Emergency rule has been in force in 10 mainly-Kurdish provinces in Turkey's southeast since 1987 as part of Ankara's strategy to combat the rebel Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting for independence or autonomy in the region.   Over 20,000 people have died in the conflict.   Parliamentary discussions continued on the reforms, which were originally called to consider bringing an end to emergency rule in some provinces. 
5532 !GCAT !GDEF  Iranian security forces have broken up five espionage rings in northwestern Iran and arrested 41 people on charges of spying for unnamed countries, a daily newspaper said on Thursday.   Jomhuri Eslami quoted the West Azerbaijan province security chief as saying those held confessed to gathering confidential information, photographing strategic sites, doing propaganda against state officials and "spreading pan-Turkism".   It was not clear if they were the same five spy rings, allegedly led by Turkish diplomats, that Iran said in April it had broken up in the same area, which borders Turkey.   The April arrests were announced shortly after a row in which Tehran asked Ankara to withdraw four Turkish diplomats accused of spying, and Turkey expelled four Iranian diplomats for their alleged links to killings of Iranian exiles.   Ties between the two neighbours, strained also over a military accord between Turkey and Israel which drew strong Iranian objections, have improved since Islamist Necmettin Erbakan took over as Turkish prime minister in June.   The daily Iran on Thursday quoted Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahiyan as saying agents arrested 137 people for allegedly spying for Iraq, the United States and other unnamed countries in the Iranian year which ended on March 19. 
5533 !GCAT !GCRIM  Three holidaying Britons have been wounded in a shooting incident at their hotel in southern Turkey, the British Embassy in Ankara said on Thursday.   An embassy spokesman named the three as Phillip Styles (49), Stuart Beaumont (48), and Maxime Lee Tarleton (28).   They were wounded by shotgun pellets in an apparent dispute on Wednesday between the hotel owner and another individual in the resort of Kumluca in Antalya province.   Styles is still receiving hospital treatment and will require an operation to remove the pellets, while Beaumont and Tarleton have both been allowed out of hospital, the spokesman said.   He said the embassy was awaiting further information on the incident from the police.   There were no further details. 
5534 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Lebanon's billionaire Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri faces a tough political battle in Beirut as he seeks to win a parliamentary seat for the first time on Sunday.   The 51-year-old tycoon has been accused of using his immense wealth and power to barge into parliament and keep opponents out, so that he can have things his own way in parliament.   Hariri is Lebanon's most powerful politician thanks to his reconstruction drive since 1992.   He hopes to enter parliament with a 16-man list of supporters when Beirut votes on Sunday in the third round of the election -- taking all but two of the capital's 19 seats.   Analysts say he wants to build a powerful electoral base that will make him a permanent political fixture in Lebanon and give him the political security he now lacks.   At present, Hariri holds office by parliamentary appointment and has no seat.   "Hariri is so powerful that he wants to extend his influence to electoral politics and have a big bloc of deputies in parliament," said Paul Salem, a professor at the American University of Beirut and head of a Beirut think tank.   Seven Hariri supporters won seats in the first two rounds of voting.   If he emerges from the five-round election which ends on September 15 with 20 supporters in the 128-member parliament he will have scored a major victory, analysts say.   Nobody doubts that the affable, dynamic Hariri, who this year restored 24-hour electricity to Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war and has vastly improved roads and telephones, will easily win a seat in parliament.   He has campaigned hard, addressing big crowds nightly at his palatial Beirut residence, and his posters are the biggest and most professional of the thousands plastered over the capital.   But there are signs that some Beirutis resent the onslaught of power and money that Hariri represents and which they see as having distorted Lebanese democracy since the civil war.   Hariri's list of candidates also appears lacklustre and some are offensive to Beirut's Sunni Moslem establishment championed by former prime minister Selim al-Hoss, Hariri's main challenger.   Hoss, 66, a moderate, traditionalist politician relatively independent from Syrian influence, heads a 13-man list seeking to curb Hariri and prevent him accumulating too much power.   Firebrand leftwing Christian deputy Najah Wakim, 52, who heads another eight-man list, has repeatedly accused Hariri of corruption and wants to oust him from power.   Hoss rejected attempts by Syrian leaders at the start of the campaign to persuade him to form a joint list with Hariri and avert an electoral battle in the capital.   Analysts say that Hoss represents a statesmanlike respect for the rule of law in the face of a group of wealthy and powerful politicians seen by many Lebanese as manipulating the system for political, economic and personal gain.   Hoss has accused Hariri during the campaign of "using his power and money in a way never seen before".   "Money goes into your pocket but not into your heart," says a Hoss poster in a gentle jibe at the heavy spending of Hariri's four years in office and his election campaign.   Hoss has also indirectly accused Hariri of seeking to grab all power in Beirut after Hariri called him indecisive and said he had failed to represent Beirut adequately in parliament.   Beirut needed a united team to represent it, Hariri said.   "If Hariri wants to take it upon himself to make decisions on behalf of Beirut, this implies that he wants to eliminate all others, which Beirutis will never accept," Hoss replied. 
5535 !GCAT !GCRIM  Egyptian police have arrested eight people who were trying to sell an ancient copy of the Old Testament, the official al-Akhbar newspaper said on Thursday.   The daily said the men had wanted to sell the undated manuscript to a Jewish group for five million pounds ($1.5 million).   Instead an undercover police officer pretended to be interested in buying it and arrested them.   The newspaper did not give any details about the manuscript but said it had been relinquished to the Islamic Museum in Cairo. 
5536 !GCAT !GPOL  An Israeli negotiator said after talks with his Palestinian counterpart on Thursday a joint steering committee would begin meeting next week to oversee implementation of self-rule deals.   Israeli negotiator Dan Shomron described the hour-long talks with his Palestinian counterpart Saeb Erekat as "good" and said they had discussed "mutual obligations to the peace process".    Shomron, a former Israeli army chief, and Palestinian Local Government Minister Erekat convened just hours after the end of a four-hour strike in the West Bank and Gaza against Israel's policies towards the Palestinians.   "There will be more meetings...we intend to work continuously and already next week there will be another meeting of the entire committee," Shomron, who chairs the committee with Erekat, told reporters.   "Our role as a steering committee is to solve problems and continue the peace process, to do this in a good spirit," Shomron said.   "I believe after this meeting that we have the ability to advance all the issues that today are found at differerent levels of implementation."   Erekat told reporters: "I think we need much less words and a lot more deeds.   I need to say that Palestinians and Israelis want to be reassured about the status of peace...by both sides being committed to the reciprocal implementations of the agreements that are signed." 
5537 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iran's security chief warned in remarks published on Thursday that terrorism charges raised against Iranian leaders at a trial in Berlin could hurt German interests in the Islamic republic.   "We did not expect Germany to allow the trial to be diverted and this would not be without effects on our relations with Germany and German interests in Iran," Intelligence Minister Ali Fallahiyan told the state-run daily Iran.   The warning came amid tension between Tehran and its main trade partner Bonn over German officials allowing exiled former president Abolhassan Banisadr to testify at a trial over the 1992 killings of three Iranian Kurdish rebel leaders and their translator in a Berlin restaurant.   Banisadr, Iran's first president who fled after being deposed in 1981, angered Tehran last week by accusing Iranian leaders in court of ordering the gangland-style slayings.   Iran denied the charges and dismissed the testimony as baseless.   Tehran has also asked Bonn to extradite Banisadr for alleged hijacking.   "This trial is politically influenced by German pressure groups and by the Zionist regime (Israel) and has no value in our view," said Fallahiyan, whose ministry is also in charge of internal security.   "The Germans are smarter than to believe we cannot see these problems," said Fallahiyan, who is under an arrest warrant issued in March by German authorities on suspicion of ordering the assassinations.   Fallahiyan repeated earlier statements by Tehran that the killings were linked to in-fighting among opposition groups and that the case was being used by Israel and the United States in a campaign to isolate Iran by accusing it of terrorism, the newspaper said.   Banisadr is due to appear again at the trial on September 5 to continue his testimony, which has backed up German prosecutors' allegations that Iran ordered the attack. 
5538 !GCAT !GCRIM  The shooting of a gangland boss in an Istanbul society cafe gave Turkey's racy media a welcome diversion from 11 months of dreary political and economic news.   "The bloody face of the mafia!"   screamed Milliyet daily on Thursday.   "Dirty business" shrieked Hurriyet.   "Bloody street show," said normally sedate Yeni Yuzyil above front-page pictures of bodies and a step-by-step cartoon guide to the shooting of mobster Tevfik Agansoy.   Newly-widowed Hulya Agansoy grabbed her share of headlines, vowing to kill a rival mobster blamed for her husband's murder:   "They will find his carcass among the rubbish," she told Yeni Yuzyil.   "We will not give up chasing that queer until our race dies out."   Turkish newspaper headlines have been dominated since September 1995 by monotonous wrangling and personal slanging-matches of political leaders trying to replace the collapsed coalition of then prime minister Tansu Ciller.   Relieved at the change of agenda, newspapers competed for the most sensational version and blodiest pictures of the killing early on Wednesday of Agansoy and three others, including an off-duty bodyguard of Ciller, now foreign minister.   Page after page of pictures, graphics, and interviews sidelined the saga of the new Islamist-led government's first steps and the latest state of Turkey's high inflation economy.   The only other story that got a look-in involved claims that policemen had last month killed Turkey's "casino king", Lutfu Topal, accompanied by bloody pictures of Topal dead in his car.   Television channels tripped over each other to get exclusive interviews with Hulya Agansoy or to report victorious mobile phone calls by the man suspected of masterminding the killing.   "Let people leave us alone.   Let it end here," he told private ATV channel.   "The business is done as we said.   I slept well last night for the first time," he said in Hurriyet.   In his call to ATV, the gang leader -- a fugitive from the Turkish police and living abroad -- promised future "striking announcements" to brighten up the media.   Trying to introduce a higher tone, some columnists tut-tutted that the incident could happen just metres (yards) from a police station in Istanbul's posh Bebek district. 
5539 !GCAT !GDIP  Washington's new ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Wyche Fowler, arrived in the kingdom to take up his post, the U.S. embassy in Riyadh said on Thursday.   Fowler, a lawyer and former senator, arrived late on Wednesday, the embassy said in a statement.   President Bill Clinton earlier this month invoked special powers to appoint Fowler during the congressional recess because the Senate delayed confirming his nomination.   Fowler's predecessor Raymond Mabus returned to the United States in May. 
5540 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The United States is scrambling to regain the initiative in the fractious Kurdish regions of northern Iraq, where a second U.S.-brokered ceasefire in a week took tentative hold on Thursday.   Reports from the area said the guns of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) fell silent after talks between U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Robert Pelletreau and PUK leader Jalal Talabani.   "There were no reports of clashes and it looks as if it has been quiet," a KDP spokesman told Reuters.   PUK sources confirmed a halt to the fighting.   The latest ceasefire, which took effect at 04:00 GMT on Wednesday, replaced last week's shortlived deal, also arranged by Pelletreau.   Peace talks have also been agreed, to take place in London on Friday.   Such high-level U.S. arm-twisting of its recalcitrant partners is a long way from the grand Kurdish coalition Washington had once hoped to fashion against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.   In effect, say analysts, the years since the 1991 Gulf War and its aftermath -- when a U.S.-led air force cleaved northern Iraq from Baghdad's grasp -- has seen the West's role reduced largely to damping the fires of Kurdish factionalism.   "The United States did not take sufficient initiative to push the peace process, which has helped create a power vacuum," said a Western diplomat involved in policy toward northern Iraq.   "The process is further back than it was a year ago," the diplomat said.   Turkish officials, who see neighbouring Iraq primarily as a breeding ground for militant Kurdish nationalism, privately admit they are likewise at a loss.   "Turkey has not had a real northern Iraq policy since Turgut Ozal," said a senior foreign ministry official, who asked not to be identified, referring to the Turkish president who died in early 1993.   Instead Ankara has vacillated between backing the KDP as a bulwark against its own Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels, and warming up to Saddam in the hopes of restoring once-valuable trade ties.   "Turkey is displaying multiple schizophrenia in its inability to decide whether its interests lie with Baghdad or in the north," said the Western diplomat.   "It is...following a non-policy in northern Iraq for fear of creating an embryonic (Kurdish) state."   Left largely to their own devices, the rival Kurdish militias have continued to do what they do best -- fight for territory and money.   Scores died in the latest clashes and hundreds of families were displaced by the fighting.   At issue is the border trade with Turkey, worth an estimated $250,000 a day in tariffs and informal taxes, and authority over the administrative centre of Arbil.   KDP control over the Habur border crossing with Turkey, giving it first shot at "taxing" Turkish traders and smugglers, has long angered PUK leaders.   The latter struck back in December of 1994, seizing the Kurdish "capital".   Now time appears to be running out.   Turkey is increasingly reluctant to provide the main air base for Operation Provide Comfort, the U.S.-led force protecting the Kurds from Baghdad.   U.S. experts wince at OPC's enormous drain on reduced military budgets.   The new government of Islamist Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, meanwhile, has served notice it would try to pursue new policies dictated by religious and geographical ties.   "The result is a 'four-way' formula to isolate the U.S. from northern Iraq," foreign policy analyst Sami Kohen wrote earlier this week.   "According to this, the future of the region will be designed together with Iraq, Iran and Syria."   Kohen said the plan itself was unrealistic but revealed a potential rift between Washington and Ankara.   "Today the divergence of Turkey's policy from that of the U.S. is openly felt on northern Iraq," Kohen said in the daily Milliyet. 
5541 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's tough talk and the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza in two years were the latest signs on Thursday of rising Palestinian anger since the election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.   Following is a chronology of the main events in Israeli-Palestinian relations since the right-wing Netanyahu took office:   June 18 - Netanyahu takes office, promises to promote peace with Israel's Arab neighbours.   June 30 - Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy demands Palestinian Authority stop all governmental activity in Jerusalem.   July 10 - Netanyahu tells U.S. Congress he would not allow Jerusalem to be redivided, angering Palestinians.   July 23 - Arafat and Levy meet in Gaza, the first high-level Israeli-PLO talks under Netanyahu.   July 26 - Israel demands Palestinian Authority close three offices in Jerusalem as condition for resuming peace talks.   Aug 1 - Israel demands Palestinian legislator close newly opened office in Arab East Jerusalem.   Aug 2 - Israeli government lifts four-year settlement freeze imposed by the previous administration.   Aug 14 - Israel-PLO talks on civilian affairs convene for the first time in six months.   Aug 25 - Israel starts installing caravans in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.   Aug 25 - Palestinian Authority, bowing to Israeli pressures, closes three offices in East Jerusalem.   Aug 27 - Israel lifts a bulldozer over Jerusalem Old City walls and levels Palestinian community centre it said was built without a licence.   Aug 28 - Arafat calls general strike, saying Israel declares war on Palestinians with settlements; two Israelis wounded in shooting attack on bus near Jewish settlement in West Bank.   Aug 29 - Palestinian shops and businesses shut in four-hour protest strike.   Aug 29 - Israel discloses plans to build more homes in West Bank settlements.   Aug 29 - Israeli-PLO steering committee on implementation of peace accords holds first meeting since Netanyahu's election. 
5542 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  A northern Iraqi Kurdish group said on Thursday it had agreed to attend U.S.-sponsored peace talks in London with a rival Kurdish faction.   "The party has agreed to attend peace talks in London tomorrow to meet with U.S. officials," the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said in a statement.   It said the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan would also attend the talks, set for Friday.    The KDP said the peace talks were intended to solidify the latest ceasefire with the PUK, which went into effect on Wednesday morning, through stationing monitors on the ground.   A previous U.S.-brokered ceasefire last Friday was broken by sporadic fighting.   Friday's talks are designed to push forward agreements reached early last year which ended more than a year of clashes that cost around 3,000 lives.   U.S., British and French planes have been patrolling the skies of northern Iraq since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991 to shield Iraq's Kurds from any attack by Iraqi troops. 
5543 !GCAT !GPOL  Senior Israeli and PLO negotiators began talks on Thursday just hours after the end of a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza against Israel's policy towards the Palestinians.   Former Israeli army chief Dan Shomron and Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat, chairmen of a steering committee that oversees implementation of self-rule deals, convened in a Jerusalem hotel, witnesses said.    Earlier, Erekat told reporters the Palestinians had asked for the meeting.   "We hope (it) will result in the immediate reciprocal implementation of the agreements signed," he said.   Palestinians have been demanding Israel carry out its long-delayed troop redeployment in the West Bank city of Hebron, a partial pullout pledged by the former Labour government.   Israel's new right-wing government is still studying a revised redeployment plan formulated by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai that is likely to leave more soldiers in Hebron, where 450 Jewish settlers live among more than 100,000 Palestinians.   Erekat and Shomron began their talks a day after Palestinian President Yasser Arafat accused Israel of having declared war on Palestinians by expanding Jewish settlements and taking an uncompromising stand on the future of Jerusalem. 
5544 !GCAT !GDIP  A year ago Middle East peace was the bright star on President Clinton's foreign policy horizon.   Now, with the advent of a right-wing government in Israel, U.S. officials are scrambling to salvage the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement and end the verbal salvoes between Syria and the Jewish state.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has frozen Israeli troop withdrawals and the transfer of more power to Palestinians while pouring concrete over the West Bank in the form of Jewish settlements and roads.   Palestinian President Yasser Arafat has complained to his U.S. and Arab allies that he feels cheated because Netanyahu has changed the rules of the game.   In a sign of his growing frustration, Arafat reverted to the old intifada tactic of mass protest by calling a general strike in the West Bank and Gaza strip on Thursday and a march on Jerusalem for Friday.   Syria's President Hafez al-Assad reacted frostily to Netanyahu's suggestion of a "Lebanon First" Israeli withdrawal and the two countries slid into a war of words this month which the United States and Egypt are working to end.   In public, U.S. diplomats and officials put a positive gloss on events, saying that Netanyahu is committed to honour the previous Labour government's agreement.   They put any mishandling of foreign policy down to the administration's inexperience.   "You should have seen the chaos in the Clinton White House during its first year," said one U.S. source.   In private, however, pessimism is seeping into their assessment of achieving the kind of regional peace which even the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin and Islamic suicide bombings in Israel did not destroy.   At U.S. prompting, talks between Israel and the Palestinians on implementing the 1993 Oslo self-rule deal are due to resume on September 2.   But many Palestinians believe this is just for form's sake, doubting that there can be real progress, at least before the U.S. presidential elections in November, because Clinton does not want to appear to be leaning on Netanyahu.   "We don't have official negotiations now.   What we have is crisis management," said Saeb Erekat, a PLO negotiator who closely reflects Arafat's thinking.   "We had a peace process that was moving like a turtle before Netanyahu came to office.   All that Mr Netanyahu did so far was to turn this turtle on its back," Erekat said.   Netanyahu's reluctance to meet Arafat, unlike his predecessors Rabin and Shimon Peres, together with postponement of an Israeli troop redeployment in the West Bank town of Hebron has undermined Palestinians' faith in the whole Oslo process.   Arafat conceded to Israeli demands to close three Palestinian offices in Arab East Jerusalem this week only to see an Israeli bulldozer flatten a community centre in the Old City which the Israeli authorities said was built illegally.   This prompted Arafat to call the strike and accuse Netanyahu of declaring war on Palestinians.   "The peace process is dead," says political analyst and Oslo critic, Ali Jirbawi.   "The accord is bad but the Palestinian Authority is trying to hang in there.   Really they have no alternative," he said.   Arafat staked all his political capital on Oslo, hoping that he could use the loosely structured process to bring about a Palestinian state.   Netanyahu is opposed to full Palestinian statehood and now appears to be turning the accord's vagueness to his advantage, Palestinians say.   Oslo put off talks about the thorniest issues -- settlements, refugees, Jerusalem -- while partial self-rule in most of the West Bank and Gaza was implemented.   But that first phase is not complete, prompting Palestinian fears that Netanyahu will wrest more concessions from them before allowing second-phase talks where his negotiators will argue over every comma and full stop.   Analysts like Jirbawi believe the best Arafat can hope for is some kind of statehood in Gaza -- no Israeli leader seems to want to reoccupy the impoverished strip of Mediterranean coast -- coupled with limited Palestinian authority in the West Bank with Israel retaining control of security and resources, such as land and water.   While U.S. officials hope that some kind of compromise can be worked out on the Palestinian track, they acknowledge that Syria will accept nothing less than the return of the entire Golan Heights before it makes peace with Israel, something Netanyahu has ruled out.   Unlike Arafat, Assad is not in a hurry.   Talks were slow even under the Labour government.   Those negotiations took place against the backdrop of a U.S. non-paper (a document signed by neither side) which showed Israeli willingness to withdraw to the pre-1967 Middle East war frontier, Israeli sources said.   "Even if talks were to resume in Washington for appearances, they would get nowhere," an Israeli familiar with previous negotiations said.   "Both sides are starting from completely different assumptions."   In an attempt to ease recent tension, Netanyahu asked U.S. Republican Senator Arlen Specter to take a private message to Assad.   Specter said on Thursday in Jerusalem after his visit that he hope talks would resume, but added: "President Assad said he was not prepared to sit down with Prime Minister Netanyahu at this state of the record, that he did not see hope for peace or realism for peace based on what Mr Netanyahu had been saying." 
5545 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Radical Palestinian leaders urged Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to end his peace negotiations with Israel in response to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's settlement policies.   Maher al-Taher, spokesman of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) led by George Habash, said Arafat's call for a general strike which was observed in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday was not an adequate response to the right-wing Israeli government.   "Arafat should stop all negotiations with Israel if he is serious about confronting Netanyahu's settlement policies in the occupied Palestinian lands," Taher said.   "We fear that Arafat might be trying to calm down the Palestinian people who were dismayed by the actions of Netanyahu.   Arafat should stop giving concessions to the Jews if he wants to meet the real demands of the Palestinians."   Arafat issued the strike call on Wednesday, saying the Israeli government had declared war on the Palestinians through its decision to expand settlements and its uncompromising stand on the future of Jerusalem.   Hours after Arafat's statement gunmen fired at an Israeli commuter bus in the West Bank, wounding two people.   Palestinian sources in Damascus said the attackers belonged to the PFLP.   There was no official statement from the PFLP in the Syrian capital.   The Palestinian Legislative Council on Wednesday demanded a halt to contacts with Israel until the Jewish state honoured its peace pledges.   A spokesman for Netanyahu said former Israeli army chief Dan Shomron and Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat would meet at a Jerusalem hotel on Thursday afternoon.   Nayef Hawatmeh, head of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), said in a statement: "His (Netanyahu's) settlement policies shows that he wants war and not peace."   Khaled al-Fahoum, head of the Palestinian National Salvation Front, weclomed the Palestinian legislators' call for ending talks with Israel.   "I hope that arafat responds positively and stops begging Netanyahu and the Israeli leaders," he said.   "We hope the Palestinian people will launch a new uprising in the West Bank and Gaza in particular because the Israeli leaders do not understand the language of appeals and begging." 
5546 !GCAT !GDIP  Yemen said on Thursday it had received no written confirmation of Eritrea's pullout from a disputed Red Sea island.   "So far we have not received any written official confirmation from any side on Eritrea's withdrawal from Lesser Hanish," Deputy Foreign Minister Abdou Abdel-Rahman told Reuters.   Yemen this month accused its African neighbour across the Red Sea of committing a "glaring violation" on August 10 in Lesser Hanish, one of several disputed islands near the waterway's southern entrance.   Eritrea told the United Nations on Wednesday it had withdrawn its troops in an effort to resolve the row, U.N. spokeswoman Sylvana Foa said in New York.   French diplomats confirmed that the withdrawal had apparently taken place, she said.   "We heard and have been verbally notified that Eritrea had verbally informed the U.N. that it had withdrawn from the island," Rahman said.   But "we are waiting for an official written confirmation of the withdrawal so that the assurances become binding."   Yemen had earlier hinted that it might take military action against Eritrea if mediation failed to bring about a withdrawal.   On Monday Sanaa said it was pulling out of French-led mediation and vowed to force a withdrawal.   The two countries fought briefly last December over the potentially oil and gas-rich islands.   They later agreed in Paris in May to settle the row through arbitration. 
5547 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Iraq accused Iran of military aggression on Thursday and said it reserved the right to retaliate for Tehran's sending troops into Kurdish-populated regions of northern Iraq.   Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, in a statement carried by official newspapers, accused Tehran of sending troops to northern Iraq and said Baghdad "preserved the full right to retaliate".   "Iran, in its pursuance of such stupid aggressive policy, would be digging its grave with its own hands, creating a dangerous precedent that will backfire on it," Sahaf said.   The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) of Massoud Barzani has said that Iran sent troops and military equipment into northern Iraq in support of the guerrillas of its rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) led by Jalal Talabani.   PUK has charged that Baghdad shelled its areas in efforts to back KDP rebels.   On Wednesday it said Baghdad was massing troops near the northern Iraq's Kurdish areas which have been outside Baghdad's control since shortly after the 1991 Gulf War and are protected by U.S., French and British aircraft against possible attacks by Iraqi armed forces.   Sahaf said Iran's interference constituted "a new military aggression on Iraq's sovereignty and a flagrant violation of good-neighbourliness".   He chided his Iranian counterpart Ali Akbar Velayati for saying that Tehran could bring peace to northern Iraq.   "Velayati's claims and allegations are naive indeed," he said.   Iraq and Iran fought an eight-year war which ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire in 1988.   Iranian soldiers briefly entered northern Iraq last month to strike at Iranian Kurdish guerrillas based there.   An Iranian Kurdish rebel group said last week Tehran had sent more troops into northern Iraq in preparation for a fresh assault.   Fighting between PUK and KDP broke out in mid-August.   A KDP spokesman told Reuters in Turkey that a new U.S.-brokered ceasefire with PUK which came into effect early on Thursday appeared to be holding.   A smiliar U.S.-sponsored truce last week failed to stop the fighting. 
5548 !E11 !E14 !E143 !E31 !E311 !E41 !E411 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Israel's economic performance or "S" index rose 0.2 percent in July, the Bank of Israel said.    July 96 June 96 July 95   Month-on-month   change + 0.2  - 0.1  + 0.4   index 116.4  116.1  109.9   (base 100=1994)   The "S" index is made up of four components: retail sales, which rose 2.0 percent in July; imports, which rose 2.0 percent in July; the number of workers, which rose 0.3 percent in January; and industrial production, which rose 0.3 percent in May.   Note: figures for the number of workers and industrial production lag. 
5549 !GCAT !GPOL  Israel and the PLO will hold talks on Thursday, hours after the end of a Palestinian strike called as a protest against Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spokesman said.   Former Israeli army chief Dan Shomron and Palestinian Local Government Minister Saeb Erekat will meet at a Jerusalem hotel at 1130 GMT.   They are chairmen of the Israel-Palestinian steering committee that oversees implementation of the self-rule accord, the spokesman said in a statement.    Erekat confirmed he would meet Shomron.   "We have been requesting a meeting of the Steering Committee...we hope (it) will result in the immediate reciprocal implementation of the agreements signed," Erekat told reporters.   Palestinians have been demanding that Israel carry out its long-delayed troop redeployment in the West Bank city of Hebron, a partial pullout pledged by the former Labour government.   Israel's new right-wing government is still studying a revised redeployment plan formulated by Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai that is likely to leave more soldiers in Hebron to protect some 450 Jewish settlers living among more than 100,000 Palestinians. 
5550 !GCAT !GVIO  A U.S.-brokered ceasefire between rival Iraqi Kurdish groups in northern Iraq appeared to be holding on Thursday, a spokesman for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said.   "There were no reports of clashes and it looks as if it has been quiet," the spokesman told Reuters.   The KDP's ceasefire with the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) went into effect at 8 a.m. (0400 GMT) on Wednesday.   The ceasefire, brokered by U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Robert Pelletreau, replaced a previous ceasefire arrangement on Friday which was broken by sporadic fighting.   Northern Iraq has been split into rival zones since fighting broke out between the two groups in 1994.   About 3,000 people died before a previous ceasefire last March.   The region has been protected by a U.S.-led air force against possible attack from Baghdad since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991. 
5551 !GCAT !GDIP  Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul-Karim al-Kabariti left Amman on Thursday for the West Bank town of Ramallah to hold talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat on the stalled Middle East peace process, officials said.   The official state news agency Petra said Kabariti would hold discussions "on the latest developments in the peace process and bilateral cooperation".   The visit was Kabariti's first trip outside the country since Jordan was shaken by food riots earlier this month. 
5552 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  Palestinians reopened their shops on Thursday at the end of a four-hour strike called by President Yasser Arafat to protest against Israel's policy on Jewish settlements and Jerusalem, witnesses said.   Shopkeepers in Arab East Jerusalem rolled up their shutters some 10 minutes before the scheduled noon (0900 GMT) end of the stoppage.    Palestinian leaders called the strike, the first in the West Bank and Gaza since 1994, a warning signal that the peace process with Israel was in danger.   Witnesses said most shops were closed in towns and villages in the areas, with the exception of Hebron, a West Bank city still under Israeli occupation. 
5553 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Saudi Arabian press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-RIYADH   - Yemeni President Saleh received visiting Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan who flew to Sanaa on Wednesday.   AL-YAUM   - Total sales of Savola Company of Saudi Arabia, the main supplier of cooking oil in the kingdom, rose 18 percent in the first six months to 120 million riyals.   ARAB NEWS   - Saudi Arabia's toy market poised to grow by three percent a year.   The kingdom imports toys worth 250 million riyals a year.   - A 10-member Saudi mining team which includes senior executives from private sector firms to attend an exhibition in the United States.   - Commerce Minister Faqeeh meets Syrian prime minister for talks on developing commercial relations. 
5554 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  United and brimming with boisterous confidence, U.S. Democrats nominated President Bill Clinton for a second term on Wednesday, portraying him as America's "bridge to the future" and his Republican rival Bob Dole as a man mired in the past.   Democrats at their party convention roared approval for a two-fisted assault on Dole by Vice President Al Gore, who dismissed the 73-year-old former Kansas senator as a "good and decent" fellow but "a bridge to the past" and a barrier to progress.   Then, with Clinton watching on television from his Chicago hotel suite, they went through the traditional ritual in which U.S. parties nominate their White House candidates by a roll-call vote of the 50 state delegations.   The proceedings were engineered so the delegation from Ohio -- a key swing state Clinton needs in the November 5 general election -- had the honour of casting the votes that gave him the 2,145 majority necessary for nomination.   Ohio has gone Republican in most post-war presidential elections, but it narrowly backed Clinton in 1992 and helped him defeat incumbent president George Bush.   The cavernous convention hall rocked to the celebrations of revelling delegates when the nomination was formally achieved.   They sang, danced and chanted "Four more years!"   High above them, a gigantic tv showed Clinton, smiling and clapping as he watched the proceedings from his hotel room.   In the convention hall Hillary and Chelsea Clinton embraced as they stared back at Clinton's image.   They and every Democrat in the hall, whipped into fighting fettle by three-days of red-meat oratory like Gore's, were clearly confident Clinton can break a 60-year jinx.   No Democrat has been voted to a second four-year White House term since Franklin Roosevelt in 1936.   All that remained was for Clinton to launch his two-month re-election drive with a televised acceptance speech closing out the convention on Thursday night.   Just as Republicans felt pleased they had given Dole and running-mate Jack Kemp a strong boost at their convention in San Diego, Democrats say Clinton has bounced back and armed himself with the perfect theme -- the future versus the past -- to polish off his rival.   Polls suggest there are grounds for their optimism.   Three surveys released on Wednesday said Dole's post-convention surge was ebbing.   Clinton -- profiting from four days of TV coverage of his whistle-stop train trip to Chicago, where he arrived on Wednesday -- has rebuilt leads of from 13 to 15 points over Dole.   The 50-year-old president, invigorated by his track-side rallies, took the lead in setting a futuristic campaign theme that has the added advantage of underscoring his youth and Dole's age.   "When I accept the nomination of our party tomorrow and start this campaign, it will be the first American campaign for the 21st century and the last campaign for Bill Clinton," he told a crowd that greeted him upon arrival in Chicago.   "The best is yet to come, the best days for America, the best days of the Clinton-Gore administration, the best days of our efforts together to lift up our country and move forward."   In his speech warming up Democrats for their nomination vote, Gore cast all subtlety aside and ripped into Dole with broadsides that belied Democratic predictions he would stress lofty themes.   "Senator Bob Dole is a good and decent man.   We honour his service to America and his personal courage in fighting back from injuries sustained in (World War II) battle," Gore said.   "But make no mistake: there is a profound difference in outlook between the president and the man who seeks his office.   In his speech from San Diego, Senator Dole offered himself as a bridge to the past.   Tonight Bill Clinton and I offer ourselves as a bridge to the future."   Gore described Dole as a leader of "the party of memory" while he and Clinton led "the party of hope," then blasted Dole for voting against a series of popular bills Democrats had backed: Medicare and Medicaid health insurance, the Clean Air Act, the Peace Corps, "even ... the funds to send a man to the moon."   He added a personal dig by saying Clinton "never attacked his opponents wife."   Dole has ridiculed Mrs Clinton's book on child-rearing, "It Takes a Village," as a misguided socialist notion. 
5555 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole Wednesday accused the Clinton administration of ignoring drug use among teenagers and said if elected he would use the National Guard to stop drugs from entering the United States.   "He'll probably mention his war on drugs, which he's going to start like everything else -- next year.   It's too late, Mr. President," Dole told an outdoor crowd of several hundred at a private religious school.   He also commented briefly on published reports that the administration was planning to announce a plan to lower capital gains taxes for home sales.   "Welcome to the club.   We've had it out there for weeks and weeks and weeks," Dole said.   Dole said former first lady Nancy Reagan was laughed at with her "just say no" anti-drug message.   "But it worked," he said.   Meanwhile in Los Angeles Dole's running mate, Jack Kemp, campaigned aggressively for the black vote in an area that was the flashpoint of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.   Kemp told a crowd of about 300 blacks in south central Los Angeles, "Keep your eyes open, keep your ears open, keep your heart open.   I want to tell you with all my heart that we want to win your vote."   In Dole's address to a group that was largely white, the presidential nominee likened the stream of illegal drugs into the United States to missiles aimed at U.S. children and promised to appoint federal judges who would be tough on illegal drug use.   "They're aiming millions and millions of missiles right at these young people, whether it's a needle, whether it's a cigarette, whatever the delivery system is -- it's poison and it's got to stop in America," he said.   Dole said 70 percent of the cocaine that entered the United States and 40 percent of the marijuana came from Mexico.   "We've got an international problem and I'm prepared to use our military might.   We want to stop drugs at the border," he said.   Dole's remarks prompted questions about whether he was seeking a ban on cigarettes.   "I didn't say anything about cigarettes.   I was talking about drugs.   I said you shouldn't smoke either.   That's all I said," he replied as he was shaking hands with well-wishers.   When asked specifically if he was suggesting a ban on cigarettes, Dole replied: "Oh no.   Come on, you know better than that."   Dole campaign aides said the candidate was telling young people not to smoke.   Dole also said he opposed California Proposition 215 which, if approved by voters, would allow the cultivation of marijuana plants for medicinal uses.   Dole said the initiative would allow marijuana to be used for anything from a headache to an ingrown toenail.   In an effort to paint the drug issue in non-political terms, Dole said three times during his 20-minute address that illegal drug use was neither a Democratic nor a Republican issue, but one that involves all people.   The anti-drug message is a theme Dole feels has strong voter appeal.   On Sunday near Chicago he accused President Clinton of "raising the white flag" in the war on drugs.   A recent survey showed that illegal drug use among 12-17 year-olds had doubled in the past four years.   Dole was flanked by several California Republican politicians including Gov. Pete Wilson, who said local and state governments cannot fight illegal drugs alone.   "We need all the help we can get.   We need to get the kind of help we used to get when Ronald Reagan and George Bush were in the White House," Wilson said.   Later Wednesday, after a briefing from aides on Al Gore's speech at the Democratic convention in Chicago that attacked Dole's Senate record, Dole said he felt sorry for the vice president.   "I feel sorry for him.   Apparently he's the hatchet man for the Democrats.   He always has been.   It's not unexpected coming from Al Gore.   It's unfortunate but not unexpected," said Dole. 
5556 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   President Bill Clinton made a triumphal entry to Chicago on Wednesday as his running mate Al Gore cast the 1996 election as a battle between the future and a past represented by Republican Bob Dole.   Addressing the Democratic convention, Gore began by calling Dole a "good and decent man" and praised his service in World War II, but he swiftly launched a double-fisted attack on the man from Kansas.   "Make no mistake: there is a profound difference in outlook between the president and the man who seeks his office," Gore declared.   "In his speech from (the Republican convention in) San Diego, Senator Dole offered himself as a bridge to the past.   Tonight Bill Clinton and I offer ourselves as a bridge to the future," he said to cheers.   "Let there be no doubt:the future lies with the party of hope -- and the man from Hope who leads it," said Gore, referring to Clinton's birthplace of Hope, Arkansas.   Clinton, Gore said, "never stooped to their level.   And of course, he never attacked his opponent's wife."   First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton has been a frequent Republican target.   The president himself completed a barnstorming 559-mile (895 km) train trip on Wednesday that has helped him build a formidable lead in the opinion polls over Dole.   "Seventy days to four more years!"   an exuberant Clinton shouted to a knot of waving spectators near Kalamazoo as his flag-bedecked, 13-car campaign train swept through Michigan.   Huge crowds welcomed Clinton at every stop as the president cut a swathe through five Midwestern states, issuing new policy initiatives along the way.   After leaving the train in Michigan City, Indiana, Clinton flew to Chicago by helicopter, landing on a baseball field crowded with hundreds of well-wishers including wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea as a full moon crept over the horizon.   "When I accept the nomination of our party tomorrow and start this campaign, it will be the first American campaign for the 21st century and the last campaign for Bill Clinton," the president told the crowd.   "Let me just say the best is yet to come, the best days for America, the best days of the Clinton-Gore administration, the best days of our efforts together to lift up our country and move forward," he said.   Three new polls on Wednesday put the president's advantage over Dole at a comfortable 13 to 15 percentage points and Clinton is hoping for a further boost from the final two days of the Democratic convention.   As day three of the convention began, delegates at the convention centre were pumped up with excitement after two days of political speeches punctuated, by shimmying to the Latin beat of the Macarena dance craze, and regular video updates of Clinton's progress across the heartland.   Delegates were to formally nominate Clinton for a second White House term late on Wednesday in the traditional roll call of states.   Contrary to expectations, Clinton would not visit the convention Wednesday.   Spokesman Mike McCurry said he planned to stay in his hotel, rest his voice, which was hoarse after four days on the stump, and work on his acceptance speech.   Clinton will formally accept the nomination on Thursday and delegates were readying the kind of welcome usually reserved for pop idols and sports heroes.   Clinton, 50, is the first Democratic incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt to win his party's nomination without facing an internal party challenge.   In Dole, he faces a 73-year-old opponent who would be the oldest man ever to take office for a first term if he won the November 5 election.   That makes the election a fascinating contest between Clinton, the first baby boomer to reach the White House, and Dole, almost certainly the last stalwart of the World War II generation to seek the presidency.   For all the doubts about his character and the scandals that have dogged his presidency, Clinton enjoys approval ratings as high as any president seeking re-election in recent memory.   His dominance over the Democratic Party is undisputed.   Even leaders of the party's once all-powerful liberal wing have fallen meekly into line as Clinton dragged them towards the political centre. 
5557 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  By Alan Elsner, Political Correspondent   President Bill Clinton made a triumphal entry into Chicago on Wednesday, exuding energy and optimism from a barnstorming 559-mile (895 km) train trip that has helped build a formidable lead over Republican Bob Dole.   "Seventy days to four more years!"   an exuberant Clinton shouted to a knot of waving spectators near Kalamazoo as his flag-bedecked, 13-car campaign train swept through Michigan.  The election is on November 5.   Huge crowds welcomed Clinton at every stop as the president cut a swathe through five Midwestern states, issuing new policy initiatives along the way.   After leaving the train in Michigan City, Indiana, Clinton flew to Chicago by helicopter, landing on a baseball field crowded with hundreds of well-wishers including wife Hillary and daughter Chelsea as a full moon crept over the horizon.   "When I accept the nomination of our party tomorrow and start this campaign, it will be the first American campaign for the 21st century and the last campaign for Bill Clinton," the president told the crowd.   "Let me just say the best is yet to come, the best days for America, the best days of the Clinton-Gore administration, the best days of our efforts together to lift up our country and move forward," he said.   Three new polls on Wednesday put the president's advantage over Dole at a comfortable 13 to 15 percentage points and Clinton is hoping for a further boost from the final two days of the Democratic convention.   The polls also showed support collapsing for Texan billionaire Ross Perot, running as the candidate of a new party which he created.   As day three of the convention began, delegates were pumped up with excitement after two days of political speeches, punctuated by shimmying to the Latin beat of the Macarena dance craze, and regular video updates of Clinton's progress across the heartland.   Topping the speakers' list on Wednesday was Vice President Al Gore.   Then, after nominating speeches, delegates will formally choose Clinton for a second White House term in the traditional roll call of states.   Contrary to expectations, Clinton would not visit the convention on Wednesday.   Spokesman Mike McCurry said he planned to stay in his hotel, rest his voice which was hoarse after four days on the stump, and work on his acceptance speech which is still not finished.   Clinton will formally accept the nomination on Thursday and delegates were readying the kind of welcome usually reserved for pop idols and sports heroes.   Clinton, 50, is the first Democratic incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt to win his party's nomination without facing an internal party challenge.   In Dole, he faces a 73-year-old opponent who would be the oldest man ever to take office for a first term if he won the November 5 election.   That makes it a fascinating contest between Clinton, the first baby boomer to reach the White House, and Dole, almost certainly the last stalwart of the World War II generation to seek the presidency.   For all the doubts about his character and the scandals that have dogged his presidency, Clinton enjoys approval ratings as high as any president seeking re-election in recent memory.   His dominance over the Democratic Party is undisputed.   Even leaders of the party's once all-powerful liberal wing have fallen meekly into line as Clinton dragged them towards the political centre.   The past four days have been a formidable demonstration of the powers of incumbency as Clinton announced initiatives on law and order, education and the environment.   But they have also showcased the president's unrivalled "people skills."   He has charmed old ladies, sweet talked children, and provided residents of many small towns with the thrill of their lives.   In Michigan City, Clinton told a cheering crowd he had "Loved every mile of the track (and) all the people I have seen."   Aides said he might take to the tracks again during the campaign. 
5558 !GCAT !GCRIM  The Justice Department is proceeding with a civil rights investigation into the Los Angeles police department prompted by the O. J. Simpson murder trial, Attorney General Janet Reno said Thursday.   She told her weekly news briefing the investigation was continuing and added, "We are working with officials in Los Angeles."   She declined to predict how long the high-profile probe would last.   The Justice Department has been investigating whether there has been a pattern of civil rights abuses by the Los Angeles police department.   Allegations of police misconduct first were raised during the Simpson trial last year.   At issue are alleged incidents described in tape recordings of former Los Angeles detective Mark Fuhrman played at the trial.   He alleged blacks had been singled out for arrest without cause, boasted of police tampering with evidence and cited possible lying in court about the abuses.   The investigation formally began last October, right after former football star Simpson was acquitted on charges of killing his former wife and a friend of hers.   Reno said she understood the Justice Department had been receiving the cooperation it needed from the Los Angeles police department.   She said she had been given regular updates on the probe by Associate Attorney General John Schmidt and Assistant Attorney General Deval Patrick, the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. 
5559 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Aluminum Co of America and the United Autoworkers union have extended a contract covering workers at a Cleveland forging plant, after negotiations this week failed to produce a new agreement, a company spokeswoman said.   The current pact, originally set to expire last Tuesday at midnight (EST), was extended until midnight on September 4.   Negotiations are ongoing, spokeswoman Joyce Saltzman said.   The contract covers 1,100 autoworkers at the plant, which makes forged aluminum parts for several industries including the auto industry.   Pittsburgh newsroom -- 412-471-7088 
5560 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Warm, dry weather was forecast for much of the U.S. Midwest through next week with chances for isolated showers, meteorologists said.   "Obviously, there is no threat of any frost damage (to crops) during the next two weeks," said Basilio Lopez, Smith Barney meteorologist, in his published forecast.   High temperatures in the 70s and 80s (degrees Fahrenheit) were forecast for the Midwest Thursday and Friday and then gradually rising next week with highs near 90 degrees.   Lows should range from the upper 50s to mid 60s, forecasters said.    Lopez said 75 to 80 percent of the Midwest should remain dry the next seven days.   Meteorologists said the warm, dry weather should benefit much of the corn and soybean crops, which need warm conditions to speed development.   Because of late spring planting and a cool summer, much of the corn and soybeans are about two weeks behind normal in development.   Craig Solberg, Freese-Notis Weather meteorologist, also forecasts a warm, dry pattern the next 10 days.   But, he said there were some dry areas in the eastern Midwest that could use moisture.    The spring wheat areas in the northern Plains may receive light scattered showers, "but nothing to seriously delay the (spring wheat) harvest," said Solberg.   Hurricane Edouard continued to move northwest, but meteorologists said it may turn north running near parallel to the U.S. eastern seaboard.   "It probably will not have a big impact on any land area," said Solberg.   Close behind Edouard is Hurricane Fran, with 75 mph winds and was about 350 miles east of Antiqua early Thursday.   Solberg said it was too early to forecast Fran's impact on the United States.   --Chicago newsdesk 312-408-8720-- 
5561 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $310,000 from the local chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, the state's attorney general said in a statement late Wednesday.   Harriet Roberts, 60, was treasurer of the Bay State Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, while her husband, Jason Roberts 63, was a founding member.   From 1990 to 1994, Mrs. Roberts made check and cash withdrawals from the charity's bank accounts, then deposited them into her and her husband's personal accounts, using the funds for insurance payments, taxes and other expenses.   She forged the signature of a former charity officer on several of the checks in order to circumvent the charity's policy requiring that each check drawn on a charity bear the signatures of two chapter officials, prosecutors said.   She pleaded guilty to seven counts of larceny, one count of forgery and four counts of filing false tax returns from 1990 to 1993, Attorney General Scott Harshbarger said in the statement.   Charges are pending against her husband.   Mrs. Roberts is scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 3 in Norfolk Superior Court. 
5562 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The number of Americans filing first-time claims for state unemployment benefits rose by 4,000 last week, climbing for the fourth consecutive week, the Labour Department said Thursday.   New filings rose to 331,000 in the week ended Aug. 24 from 327,000 in the prior week.   Wall Street economists had forecast 330,000 initial claims.   The four-week moving average, which levels out the more-volatile weekly figures, totalled 323,250, up 9,250 from the previous week's 314,000.   The average is considered a more accurate measurement of employment trends.   The total of those receiving ongoing benefits rose 19,000 to 2.525 million in the week ended Aug. 17, the latest period for which those figures were available.   That compared with 2.506 million in the prior week.   One state reported an increase in initial claims exceeding 1,000 on an unadjusted basis in the week ended Aug. 17, the latest period for which the data were available, the department said.   Delaware reported 1,643 new claims, citing layoffs in the automobile industry.   Three states reported decreases in initial claims exceeding 1,000, on an unadjusted basis, in the Aug. 17 week.   They were California, with 6,886 fewer claims, Illinois with 1,369 and Virginia with 1,095.   California cited fewer layoffs in the service industry and agriculture, while Illinois had fewer layoffs in the trade and service industries, and manufacturing.   Virginia gave no reason. 
5563 !GCAT !GENV !GWEA  Hurricanes Edouard and Fran marched across the Atlantic on Thursday, prompting U.S. forecasters to issue a hurricane watch for the northern Leeward Islands.   The most powerful of the storms, Hurricane Edouard, was expected to turn north and avoid the southern U.S. coastline, forecasters from the National Hurricane Center said.   Edouard, packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph (200 kmh), might still pose a threat to the mid-Atlantic coast, they said.   "We still have to keep our eye on Edouard but we're expecting a turn in its course today," said forecaster Bill Fredericks.   At 5 a.m.   EDT (0900 GMT), Edouard was located 940 miles (1,500 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, or at latitude 23.6 north and longitude 67.6 west.   It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kmh).   Forecasters were also concerned about Hurricane Fran, which reached minimal hurricane-strength winds overnight.   Hurricane watches were posted for several Leeward Islands, including Antigua, Barbuda and St. Martin.   At 5 a.m.   EDT (0900 GMT), Fran was located 385 miles east (620 km) of Antigua, at latitude 17.2 north and longitude 55.8 west, and moving west-northwest at 15 mph (25 kmh).   "We're expecting Fran to strengthen, and we'll be sending a reconnaissance plane into the storm later today," Fredericks said.   Fran had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kmh), and could threaten the Caribbean islands late on Friday or on Saturday, he said.   Tropical Storm Gustav was lined up behind Fran, at latitude 13.4 north and longitude 36.7 west.   The storm had maximum winds of 40 mph (65 kmh) and was on a northwesterly course which was expected to keep the storm safely out at sea.   "It's the busiest time of the year for hurricanes," Fredericks said.   "The peak of the season is always around the Labor Day holiday." 
5564 !E11 !E12 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  By Rich Miller, Economics Correspondent   U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin questioned Europe's headlong drive to meet tough fiscal targets for establishment of a single currency in 1999 and said it was unclear whether Germany and France would resume solid economic growth any time soon.   "There is real question about growth in Germany and France," he told Reuters in an interview.   Speaking during the Democratic Party national convention, Rubin also reiterated his support for a strong dollar and his opposition to using the U.S. currency as a trade tool to gain competitive advantage on world markets.   "We have to become competitive through productivity, not through a weak currency, because if you use a weak currency it damages you in many other ways," Rubin said.   He argued that the surge in U.S. exports during recent years had more to do with underlying U.S. competitiveness than with the weakness of the dollar during President Clinton's first few years in office.   "The dollar has improved a fair bit over the last year," he added.   But the performance of U.S. exports also depends in part on the strength of the overseas markets that American producers are trying to sell into.   Japan's economy has started to improve after a long period of slow growth, Rubin said.   The Japanese government has taken the appropriate steps to spur its economy but needs to be watchful to ensure that the expansion stays on track, he added.   In Europe, the picture is not nearly so good.   While Rubin does not expect Germany and France to fall into recession, he does have real questions about the outlook for their economies.   "The question is, 'Will they resume solid growth or won't they?'  ," Rubin said.   "It seems to me that it's very unclear at this time."   Germany and France are striving to meet tough fiscal criteria set out for participation in the launch of a single currency in 1999 at a time when their economies are lagging.   Asked if Europe's headlong drive for European Monetary Union with its tough economic targets was aggravating the situation, Rubin replied, "That's the right question.   "Our strategy has been to get the deficit down and by getting the deficit down get interest rates down," Rubin said.   "The problem is that you've got to phase this in in the right way.   "If you go too quickly on the deficit reduction you have so much of a drag you can overwhelm the interest effect," he continued.   "I don't how it's going to balance out, but obviously that's something they have got to be very focused on."   Under the Maastricht treaty for establishment of the EMU, participating nations are required to reduce their budget deficits to the equivalent of three percent of gross domestic product or below. 
5565 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  With a promise that America's best days are yet to come, President Bill Clinton accepts his party's White House nomination on Thursday with a speech designed to both rally Democrats for a tough election battle and convince Americans he should lead the country into the 21st century.   His speech brings to a close a four-day Democratic convention in which a party that loves to fight itself united behind the 50-year-old Clinton, who seemed headed for political oblivion only two years ago.   Now leading his Republican opponent, Bob Dole, by up to 15 points in the polls, Clinton watched his re-nomination from a Chicago hotel suite while aides fretted that his four-day campaigning train trip to the convention had taken too much time away from preparing his acceptance speech.   Clinton arrived in Chicago, hoarse and full of good cheer.   He gave a hint of the theme of his speech when he told a cheering crowd: "When I accept the nomination of our party tomorrow and start this campaign, it will be the first American campaign for the 21st century ...   "Let me just say the best is yet to come, the best days for America, the best days of the Clinton-Gore administration, the best days of our efforts together to lift up our country and move forward."   White House spokesman Mike McCurry said Clinton plans to stay in his hotel most of Thursday and work on his speech.   "He has still got a lot of work to do.   He had a great time on the trip but I think everyone agreed that it was not exactly an easy four days," McCurry said.   Instead of working on his speech during the trip, aides said the gregarious Clinton kept hopping up to look at people along the way, making phone calls and watching bits of the convention on television.   White House political affairs director Doug Sosnik said Clinton's speech is "an opportunity for us to build on what we've been doing for the last 3 1/2 years but more importantly now as we move closer to the election, it is to focus on where the president wants to lead the country into the next century."   Clinton late on Wednesday night became the first Democratic incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt to win re-nomination without a bruising internal party challenge that could have weakened him in the general election.   The traditional nomination roll call of states was a good-humoured, optimistic, flag-waving affair that followed an evening of adoring praise for Clinton from speaker after speaker, coupled with razor sharp attacks on Dole and the Republicans.   Vice President Al Gore led the attack, calling Dole "a bridge to the past" who blocked progress while Clinton was the bridge to the future.   It was a speech laying down the the Democratic themes for the last 69 days of what party leaders on both sides expect to be a gruelling, bitter election battle.   Republicans have already signalled they will paint Clinton as a man of dubious character and shifting positions -- a man whose word cannot be believed.   But Gore portrayed the 73-year-old Dole as yesterday's naysayer.   "We remember.   We remember that he voted against the creation of Medicare.   Against the creation of Medicaid.   Against the Clean Air Act.   Against Head Start.   Against the Peace Corps in the Sixties, and AmeriCorps in the Nineties.   He even voted against the funds to send a man to the moon," Gore declared.   Then he mocked Dole's Republican convention boast that he was the country's most optimistic man.   "If he's the most optimistic man in America, I'd hate to see the pessimists," Gore said.   He presented a list of what he said were the achievements on which he and Clinton would run for re-election: "Ten million new jobs.   A deficit cut in half.   A smaller, leaner reinvented government working better and costing less.   Unemployment and inflation both down.   Record exports.   Wages on the rise.   An economy moving forward." 
5566 !GCAT  The National Basketball Association has sued America Online Inc, alleging that the United States' No 1 on-line service is delivering real-time information about league games without its permission, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.   The suit was filed on Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan and is another legal skirmish over what constitutes a "broadcast" in the computer age.   The suit contends America Online was misappropriating NBA property by providing a site containing continually updated scores and statistics of NBA games in progress.   The newspaper also reported:   * Baxter International Inc has reached an agreement to acquire Austria's Immuno International AG in a complex deal valued at $715 miilion.   * Boeing Co secures $5.5 billion in orders for new, larger 747s.   * President Bill Clinton is expected to propose a tax break on home sales.   * Philip Morris Cos Inc raises dividend 20 percent.   * Salomon Brothers Inc analyst is bullish on International Business Machines Corp.   * Sierra Semiconductor Corp puts modem chipset line up for sale and sets layoffs.   * Red Lion Hotels Inc says it's holding merger talks with Doubletree Corp.   * GTE Corp, Baby Bells and their allies ready to launch challenge to telecommunications reform law.   * Economists see second-quarter gross domestic product revised down 0.1 percentage point.   * President Clinton proposes five-point plan to clean up toxic waste sites.   * Securities and Exchange Commission acts to improve stock-trade prices for investors.   * H&R Block Inc delays spinoff of its stake in CompuServe Corp.   * Stock funds see cash pour in again in July.   * The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department issue new guidelines for formation of doctors' networks.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
5567 !GCAT  After walking away last week from talks to buy Castle Rock Entertainment from Time Warner Inc -Turner Broadcasting System Inc, Sony Corp's Sony Pictures Entertainment is once more back in the hunt, Daily Variety reported on Thursday.   Last week the studio abandoned plans to pursue the Turner film company after a partnership headed by Seagram Co's MCA Universal offered a substantial bid.   Insiders said Sony was unwilling to match the offer.   But early this week, Sony returned to the table with a new plan.   The newspaper also reported:   * MTV is searching for a new co-host of hipster gameshow "Singled Out" to replace Jenny McCarthy.   The former Playboy Playmate is leaving the show to focus on her own weekly MTV series described as her version of "Pee-wee's Playhouse."   * Rapper Chuck D. said show business is so lamebrained in its depiction of blacks that every time he leaves Hollywood, "I have to go to IQ rehab", while Representative Edward J. Markey sang the virtues of the V-chip, and children's programing advocate Peggy Charren declared that she wants to see more sex on TV.   The three were part of a panel on Wednesday sponsored by the nonpartisan Creative Coalition, which tackled the subject "What is the Entertainment Industry's Responsibility to Not Offend Its Audience?"   * Facing a colossal video piracy problem in Mexico, Walt Disney Co's Buena Vista Home Entertainment has skedded the Mexican sell-through release of "Toy Story" more than four weeks ahead of its U.S. launch.   * Not even the Summer Olympics can stop KMEX-TV's continued ratings upsurge.   The Spanish-language station improved in virtually every daypart from year to year in the just-released Nielsen demographic numbers for the July sweeps survey covering the Los Angeles market for the four-week period from July 11-Aug 7.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
5568 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following items on the front page of its business section on Aug 29:   ---   WASHINGTON - The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a far-reaching package of trading rules for the Nasdaq Stock Market.   ---   WASHINGTON - Continental Airlines and other airlines raised fares 10 percent two weeks ago in anticipation of the reinstatement Tuesday of the 10 percent federal excise tax, which had been dropped Dec. 31.   ---   WASHINGTON - Target Stores Inc confirmed it would stop selling cigarettes at its 714 stores nationwide, winning high praise from anti-smoking activists.   ---   WASHINGTON - The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department eased antitrust regulations to allow physicians to band together so they can provide stronger competition to managed care plans. 
5569 !GCAT  The Washington Post carried the following stories on its front page on August 29:   ---   CHICAGO - Democrats prepared to renominate Bill Clinton for a second run at the White House.   ---   CHICAGO - Organised labour is ready to challenge Republicans in their suburban districts and the Christian Coalition in the churches.   ---   WASHINGTON - Bill Clinton's tenure in the White House reflects his mercurial career with its unforgettable highs and lows.   ---   WASHINGTON - Metro officials knew last November that there were problems rail cars' brakes, but did not correct them until after the January crash that killed a train operator.   ---   WASHINGTON - The U.S. government has a plan to use bomb-sniffing dogs to improve security at up to 50 of the nation's biggest airports.   ---   JERUSALEM - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat lashed out at the Israeli government and accused its leaders of "declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people." 
5570 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following business stories on Thursday:   * Stock funds see cash pour in again in July.   * Real estate feeding frenzy may be in store for Europe.   * Canada's United Auto Workers union chooses to bargain first with Chrysler Corp.   * Securities and Exchange Commission acts to improve stock-trade prices for investors.   * Target stores, a unit of Dayton Hudson Corp, plans to stop sales of tobacco, citing costs.   * H&R Block Inc delays spinoff of its stake in CompuServe Corp.   * The Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department issue new guidelines for the formation of doctors' networks.   * Ciba-Geigy AG and Sandoz AG, head towards a merger, report earnings that disappoint analysts.   * Bank of Japan survey shows Japan's economy remains weak.   * Lloyd's of London says more of its investors have agreed to its rescue plan.   * The Netherlands' Wolters Kluwer plans to buy a unit of Time Warner Inc's Little, Brown.   * Questions arise over working conditions at Maine's DeCoster Egg Farms.   * Controversy arises over New England Journal of Medicine editorial favourable to a weight-loss drug that was written by authors paid by the drug's maker, Interneuron Pharmaceutical Inc.   * Not since the mid-1980s have so many companies tinkered with their icons.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
5571 !GCAT !GDIP  Former Secretary of State James Baker made a secret trip to Syria in March 1995 in an unsuccessful bid to break an impasse in negotiations between Syria and Israel, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.   The paper said Baker declined to discuss the trip, but authorised an associate to confirm it took place and give an account of it.   News of the secret trip came after Baker trashed the Clinton administration at the Republican National Convention two weeks ago for its efforts to nudge Syria into peace with Israel.   Baker made the March 1995 trip on the explicit understanding that it remain a secret, but after his speech at the GOP convention, Israel's outgoing ambassador Itamar Rabinovich told a reporter about it, the Post said.   Baker was secretary of state in the Republican administration of President George Bush. 
5572 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Latin Americans of Japanese descent who say they were forcibly shipped to internment camps in the United States during the Second World War sued the U.S. government on Wednesday seeking an apology and compensation.   Three plaintiffs filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against the United States, Attorney General Janet Reno and other U.S. officials, civil rights lawyers representing them said.   The lawsuit said more than 2,000 people of Japanese descent were deported from various Latin American countries during the Second World War and forcibly brought to the United States where they were imprisoned in internment camps.   The lawsuit said the unstated purpose of the programme, which it said was financed and directed by the U.S. government, was to use the internees for prisoner exchanges with Japan.   U.S. officials have acknowledged that the abductions occurred, according to press reports.   The civil rights lawyers want the suit declared a class-action that would seek redress for all of the Latin American internees still alive.   The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 provides for an apology and compensation to Japanese Americans interned during the war.   In 1990 the Justice Department began giving letters of apology and $20,000 to 60,000 surviving Japanese American internees.   But the law excluded from eligibility people who, at the time of their relocation or internment, were not citizens or permanent residents of the United States.   The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights lawyers, maintained that this exclusion violated the Latin American internees' constitutional right to equal protection as well as international law.   "There's no way to make this out as a fair law," said Paul Mills, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.   "First the U.S. comes up with a scheme to basically kidnap people for use as human bargaining chips.   We decide we'll use people who aren't U.S. citizens, because they have no voice here.   Then Congress renews that injustice by denying them an apology or restitution, again because they weren't U.S. citizens.   That has to be changed," Mills said.   One of the named plaintiffs was Carmen Mochizuki, 64, a U.S. citizen and resident of Los Angeles County.   Mochizuki was a citizen of Peru and was living there with her family in 1943 when she was transported without her consent or any legal justification to the United States, the lawsuit said.   There she was imprisoned until December 1945 in an Immigration and Naturalisation Service detention camp in Crystal City, Texas, it said.   Mochizuki applied for redress under the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 but received a letter of denial, the suit said.   The suit asked the court to order the U.S. government to make the Latin Americans eligible for an apology and compensation under the Civil Liberties Act.   A Justice Department spokesman was not immediately available to comment. 
5573 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton was formally nominated on Wednesday as the Democratic party candidate for a second four-year term in the White House.   Clinton won the nomination in a traditional state-by-state roll call of votes at the party convention and will accept in a speech on Thursday.   He faces Republican challenger Bob Dole in the November 5 presidential election. 
5574 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPRO  Former football star O.J. Simpson on Wednesday used the pulpit of a jam-packed Washington church to attack the media for erroneous reporting on his case and indicated that he planned to sue some media outlets.   Simpson, found not guilty by a criminal trial jury last October of the murders of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in June 1994, said little about the civil lawsuit brought by families of the victims, who allege he was responsible for their deaths.   The judge in that trial has ordered a wide-ranging gag order that prohibits lawyers, witnesses and parties to the case from discussing it with the media or elsewhere in public.   But Simpson repeatedly attacked the media for fabricating "untruths" about his life and said he and his attorneys had constructed "a little hit list" of media groups that would be targeted for legal action after the civil trial was over.   In one case, "we are almost in a can't-lose situation," Simpson said, without giving any further details.   He did mention one report by Barbara Walters of ABC-TV about Simpson's financial difficulties, in which she cited problems with his employers Hertz and NBC, as well as his $50,000 a year alimony.   But he said he later told Walters she was wrong on all three counts, only to hear her excuse that she was merely reading a text on her teleprompter.   He also cited reports that he and model Paula Barbieri were en route to the Dominican Republican to marry, noting he was in bed in his home in Los Angeles at the time and found it curious he had not been invited to his own wedding.   "I'm wondering, they can say just about anything," Simpson told the supportive crowd of 2,000 who paid $10 a head to hear the former star running back for the Buffalo Bills professional football club and a member of the Football Hall of Fame.   "The question I have is, Who's watching the media?   They have to be held responsible," Simpson said.   Simpson was invited to the event by a group called Black Attorneys for Justice and the Scripture Cathedral Church and the crowd in the church was wildly supportive, showering Simpson with gifts and choruses of praise.   Outside, dozens of protesters from the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence called for the church to support victims of domestic violence instead.   One reporter from CBS-TV asked Simpson a question, only to have one of the organisers, Malik Shabazz, respond by saying the microphone was intended for black members of the audience and not members of the media. 
5575 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  By Rich Miller, Economics Correspondent   The Clinton administration delivered a blunt warning to Japan on Wednesday -- don't expect any let-up in U.S. pressure for more open Japanese markets if the president is re-elected in November.   "Let me be adamant about one thing," Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor said.   "I don't envisage the day when we can back down from putting bilateral pressure on Japan to open their market."   With their country's trade surplus with the United States and the rest of the world steadily shrinking, Japanese bureaucrats have been hoping to avoid further direct trade conflict with Washington and shift any disputes between the two nations to multilateral groups like the World Trade Organisation.   But administration officials in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention made clear in interviews with Reuters that they see things differently.   While the United States has made progress in opening up Japan's markets to more imports, now is not the time for Washington to rest on its laurels, Kantor said.   "We just can't let up," he said.   "It is the most visible situation to the American public which appears to be unbalanced."   Clinton, who will formally accept his party's nomination for the presidency on Thursday, was leading Republican rival Bob Dole in the opinion polls with about little more than two months to go until the Nov. 5 election.   Since Clinton first took office 3 1/2 years ago, the United States and Japan have struck 21 separate trade agreements.   "We've made good progress there," Kantor said.   "But that's not the end of the story.   There are still sectors where we don't have fair access.   There will be a need for some more agreements."   He declined to say what sectors that might be.   Laura Tyson, who heads Clinton's National Economic Council, said that breaking down trade barriers and promoting U.S. exports would remain a top priority in Clinton's second term as part of a broader programme to spur economic growth.   "Japan and China in particular will continue to be priorities," she said.   Those are the two countries with the biggest trade surpluses with the United States.   The U.S. trade deficit with China was $3.33 billion in June, topping the shortfall for Japan for the first time.   The U.S.-Japan gap was $3.24 billion. 
5576 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Vice President Al Gore on Wednesday hailed President Bill Clinton as a bridge to the future, consigning his rival Bob Dole to history as a block to progress who even opposed sending a man to the moon.   Despite describing the Republican leader as a "good and decent" man to be honoured for his Second World War heroism and courage in fighting back from injury, Gore issued a powerful broadside to contrast Dole with the "optimist" Clinton.   Dole was offering himself "as a bridge to the past," Gore declared to cheers at the Democratic National Committee that will formally nominate Clinton for president.   "Tonight Bill Clinton and I offer ourselves as a bridge to the future," he said.   The vice president moved many in the cavernous hall to tears when he recounted the death of his sister from lung cancer after a lifetime of smoking.   He used her case to illustrate the need for tough curbs on smoking by children proposed by Clinton.   "Three thousand young people will start smoking tomorrow.   One thousand of them will die a death not unlike my sister's," he said, his words ringing out as the delegates fell silent.   He said he would "pour my heart and soul into protecting children from the dangers of smoking."   In one of the most pointed political attacks on Dole by the Clinton camp so far at the convention, Gore declared: "Make no mistake: there is a profound difference in outlook between the president and the man who seeks his office."   "Time and again, Americans have seen the need for change and have taken the initiative to bring that change to life," Gore said.   "But always with a struggle.   Always there were opponents.   Senator Dole was there."   Gore went on: "We remember.   We remember that he voted against the creation of Medicare.   Against the creation of Medicaid.   Against the Clean Air Act.   Against Head Start.   Against the Peace Corps in the Sixties, and AmeriCorps in the Nineties.   He even voted against the funds to send a man to the moon."   Referring to a claim by Dole during his nomination speech that he was the most optimistic man in America, Gore added: "If he's the most optimistic man in America, I'd hate to see the pessimists."   Gore, who will be renominated for vice president on Thursday night, presented a litany of what he said were achievements of the Clinton presidency:   "Ten million new jobs.   A deficit cut in half.   A smaller, leaner reinvented government working better and costing less.   Unemployment and inflation both down.   Record exports.   Wages on the rise.   An economy moving forward."   "Democrats are proud.   Our hopes are alive.   And America is strong.   Bill Clinton's leadership is paying off," he said.   Gore condemned Dole for the budget plan that Dole, then Senate leader, and House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich "tried to slip past the American people" last year.   "They passed their reckless plan, and demanded that President Clinton sign it.   They shut the government down.   Twice," Gore said.   "They thought Bill Clinton would buckle under the pressure, cave in to their demands."   "But they did not know the true measure of this man.   He never flinched or wavered.   He never stooped to their level," Gore said.   And in a reference to attacks by Dole and other Republicans on first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, he added: "And of course, he never stooped to attack his opponent's wife." 
5577 !GCAT  The New York Times reported the following stories on its front page on Thursday:   * President Bill Clinton arrives in Chicago to claim Democratic Party nomination.   * Clinton is still a political enigma.   * Democrats seek women's votes with a focus on their families.   * Clinton finishes his acceptance speech.   * Angry at Israel, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat calls a general strike.   * Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department issue rules to ease the formation of networks of doctors.   * Surge of enrollment in New York strains schools.   -- New York newsroom, (212) 859-1610 
5578 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GVIO  A foot-long piece of debris bearing markings from a commercial aircraft was found on the New Jersey shore and forwarded to TWA crash investigators in Long Island, officials said on Wednesday.   A person walking on the shore at Island Beach State Park found the debris and alerted police who forwarded it to Long Island, New York, where the National Transportation Safety Board and the FBI are conducting an investigation.   The TWA jet exploded in a deadly fireball last month, killing 230 people, crashing in the Atlantic Ocean at least 80 miles from where the debris was found Wednesday.   Several other items have been reported found along the New Jersey shore, most of it such personal items as wallets, shoes and jewelry.   Investigators said they still do not have enough evidence to determine whether a bomb, a missile or mechanical failure caused the crash. 
5579 !GCAT !GENT  Before it burst into the media spotlight in the early 1990s as the home of "grunge" music, Seattle was ruled by a handful of bands who paved the way for the commercial success of such acts as Nirvana and Pearl Jam.   Without cult bands such as the Melvins and Green River, the explosion might never have happened and the charts might still be ruled by flashy groups like Poison and Warrant.   During the 1980s, the Pacific Northwest was considered a cultural backwater by the music industry and was better known for logging and bad weather.   Local musicians lived in a parallel universe influenced by the out-of-style hard rock of Black Sabbath, the Stooges and Black Flag.   "Deep Six," a local compilation released in 1985, showcased six bands who were making waves in this hermetic environment: Green River, the Melvins, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, Soundgarden and U-Men.   Soundgarden went on to worldwide success while Green River produced members of Pearl Jam and Mudhoney.   Of the other bands, only the Melvins have remained intact since then, and they have just released their 10th album, "Stag" (Mammoth/ Atlantic).   The Melvins were formed in 1984 in the bleak, windswept town of Aberdeen, Washington, by Buzz Osbourne and drummer Dale Crover.   Aberdeen was also the home of Nirvana, whose late leader Kurt Cobain was a Melvins fan and one-time roadie.   After Nirvana found fame, he returned the favour by producing a few songs on the Melvins' 1993 major-label debut "Houdini."   Like the Beatles' Liverpool, there is nothing romantic about Aberdeen, Osbourne says.   "It's horrible there.   It's just bad, bad news.   Unemployment, boarded-up buildings, y'know?"   The Melvins quickly headed to Seattle, where they laid the foundations for later bands with their "sludge rock" -- dense, heavy guitar-led metal whose plodding slowness contrasted with the prevailing trend of fast punk songs.   The vocals are buried in the mix and barely decipherable.   Comparisons with Black Sabbath crop up frequently but Osbourne considers those to be "one-dimensional" and not indicative of the bigger picture.   "We were very much a punk rock band when we started out, trying to do something different, be an alternative band that was different rather than just plugging into something else.   And I think that we succeeded at that basically."   Indeed, they have been so successful at being different that they occupy a niche by themselves.   The band's last few albums have sold about 70,000 copies each in the United States, surefire hits in underground terms but light years away from the mainstream definition of success.   As an habitue of the avant-garde, Osbourne is frustrated that few people at his Atlantic label are on his wavelength.   "I've never been into the mainstream.   I'm more aware of the mainstream now than I've ever been since I was 13.   When they hear our stuff, they don't get it, they don't understand it and I don't really expect them to."   The Melvins did have some high-profile encounters with the mainstream this summer.   They opened a few dates on the Kiss reunion tour and played the last half of the Lollapalooza roadshow.   The Melvins are no longer based in Seattle.   Osbourne, 32, lives in Hollywood, Crover, 28, in San Francisco, and bass player Mark Deutrom, 38, in his native England, despite having been raised in Texas.   Since the band does not rehearse and tours frequently, the distance is no problem.   Osbourne considers "Stag," which took 33 days to record at a modest cost of about $50,000, the band's most cohesive effort to date.   After a succession of bass players including former child film star Shirley Temple Black's daughter, the Melvins have had Deutrom on board for two records.   All three play guitar in the studio, but Osbourne handles the duties on stage in addition to writing and singing most of the songs.   The lyrics are always the last part of the songwriting process, often nonsensical and hard for Osbourne to remember.   In that regard, the Melvins do not profess to offer valuable insights on the human condition or teen angst.   The first single from "Stag" is "Bar-X-The Rocking M," which Osbourne says are two types of cattle brand.   The video was shot by porn director Greg Dark.   The song features Walt Kibby of hip-hop band Fishbone on valve trombone, but in line with their low-tech approach the live version consists of drummer Crover approximating the sound with his lips. 
5580 !GCAT !GENT  A freed black man writes to his still-enslaved wife, a mother pleads with Abraham Lincoln on behalf of her son and a maimed soldier poses for an official photograph in newly reopened records that bring the U.S. Civil War back to life.   Working in the basement of the National Archives, members of the Civil War Conservation Corps are organising the military records of volunteers who fought for the North so that they can be preserved on microfilm.   The faded documents have been stowed away in the Archives since it opened in 1935 and have rarely seen the light of day.   Each soldier's file is a gold mine of information: enlistment papers, muster rolls, medical records, discharge certificates, letters and photographs.   Since the project began almost two years ago, corps volunteers have focused on African American troops, preparing records in time for the unveiling in Washington this year of a special memorial to black soldiers who fought in the war.   More than 185,000 black soldiers fought and 37,000 died.   In one letter, a black soldier heading South wrote his wife, "though great is the present national difficulties yet I look forward to a brighter day when I shall have the oportunity of seeing you in the full enjoyment of freedom.   "I would like to no (sic) if you are still in slavery if you are, it will not be long before we shall have crushed the system that now oppreses you for in the course of three months you shall have your liberty.   Great is the outpouring of the coloured people that is now rallying with the heart of lions against the very curse that has separated you and me."   In another letter dated January 1865, a well-to-do Washington matron wrote to Lincoln to plead for her son, who faced a dishonourable discharge from the Army.   "James is a prisoner for a thoughtless act of folly, while those who have done nothing for the cause are free," she wrote.   Lincoln's notation on the letter read: "If his colonel will say in writing on this sheet he is willing to receive this man back to the regiment, I will pardon and send him."   The soldier was subsequently pardoned.   While the letters speak to the anguish of separation, a photograph of a black amputee speaks to the terrible physical cost of the war.   In a picture required for his military discharge, Pvt.   Lewis Martin, with haunted eyes, posed bare-chested to reveal his missing arm and leg, blown off during a battle at Petersburg, Virginia, in July 1864.   The work on black troops has provided new insight into the rhythms of plantation talk and culture, said John Simon, professor of history at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and editor of Gen. Ulysses Grant's papers.   "These (writings) are not only poetic but a linguistic treasure trove.   This is the first generation of African Americans that really can express itself without fear and punishment," Simon said.   "I think there's probably a whole lot of material that would expand our understanding of the sociology of the war," said Edward Smith, director of American Studies at American University in Washington.   The war between the North and South raged for nearly four years, claimed the lives of half a million Americans and forever seared the nation's consciousness.   Southern records have already been preserved.   They were put on microfilm about 30 years ago through a grant from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.   The Civil War Conservation Corps is mostly retirees joined by students during the school year.   Director Budge Weidman, who has shepherded the project from the beginning, predicts it will take up to a decade to complete.   The work was inspired by a National Park Service plan to put computer databases at Civil War battlefields across the country so that Americans might research their ancestors.   The records also provide insight into medical thinking of the day.   One soldier was discharged because of "mental incapacity and inebetude (sic) of the brain, alleged by the Patient to be connected with a fall on the head but believed to arise from long continued and excessive masturbation." 
5581 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  New York, Aug 28 Reuter - Comparing the possible post-election New Zealand political scene to troubled Turkey, a leading international economist has warned of economic "disaster" if a left wing coalition takes power in Wellington.   David Hale, a global analyst with Zurich Kemper Investments Inc in Chicago, said there was widespread concern in international markets that New Zealand's lavishly praised economic reforms would come to an abrupt halt if the ruling National Party were dumped by the electorate in October.    "And the big question is whether a three-party coalition of left wing parties is a possibility," Hale said in an interview.   "Some believe it is, with the likelihood of (NZ First leader) Winston Peters taking over as Prime Minister," he said.   "I can tell you that makes for a very nervous bond market."   The New Zealand government has gone to great lengths to reassure international markets there would not be fundamental change even if there was a new prime minister appointed after the October 12 election.    Finance Minister Bill Birch told the New York business community in June that the basic framework of the reformed New Zealand economy would remain in place regardless of who came to power.   This upcoming election is New Zealand's first under a proportional voting system called mixed member proportional (MMP), which is seen likely to deliver a coalition government.   However economists remain concerned that the New Zealand political and economic scene is poised for a mini-revolution.    Recent polls have shown the three main opposition parties -- Labour, economic nationalist New Zealand First and the left-wing Alliance -- between them have 57 percent support.   Support for the governing National Party had slipped to 34 percent, its lowest share of the party vote since May 1994.   It is widely expected that Labour and NZ First will be able to strike a deal after the election, but a NZ First-National coalition is seen as also possible, but less likely.   Hale said the Labour Party would be committing suicide and was likely to split in half if it was decided to form a coalition to form a new government.    "New Zealand is the focus of the region at the moment," he said.   "If a coalition was formed they would have a very hostile personality, it's analogous to Turkey in terms of personal animosity, but they might well do it with Winston Peters as prime minister," Hale said.   "If they did, you would have a real disaster for both the currency and bonds," Hale said. 
5582 !GCAT !GENT !GSCI  Archaeologists may be closing in on the final piece of proof needed to authenticate the first fort built as a permanent English settlement at Jamestown, the group that owns the property said on Wednesday.   For two years, archaeologists have been digging at a patch of ground along the James River trying to follow what appears to be the remains of a wooden palisade, according to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA).   Centimetre after centimetre of soil has been sifted, yielding 90,000 artifacts, many of them dating to 1601 and indicating researchers were on the right trail, APVA spokesman Tim Kolly said.   Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America and slavery was also instituted there.   The discovery of a bastion, or corner, that would enable archaeologists to trace the outline of the entire fort would clinch the discovery, Kolly said.   "We hope we'll find something in the next few weeks to prove that the fort has been located," added William Kelso, project director.   "We've just accumulated little bits of the puzzle."   Still, the organisation was confident enough of the find to plan a September 12 announcement by Virginia Governor George Allen.   Dennis Blanton, co-director of the Centre for Archaeological Research at the College of William and Mary, said a finding that the remains of a wooden palisade wall along the riverbank was the remnant of the 1607 fort first built by Captain John Smith and the earliest New World settlers from Europe would mark a milestone in American archaeology.   "If they have it, it's a world-class discovery," he said.   "It deserves any attention it gets.   But 'if' is the key word."   Since the dig started archaeologists have eagerly shared their progress, exhibiting crucial pieces such as copper coins stamped "1601" and other artifacts.   For years, most archaeologists thought the last traces of the fort had been swept away by erosion along the James River.   Bly Straube, curator of the Jamestown Rediscovery project, said the dig site continues to yield items of interest, but no definitive artifact has been unearthed.   "I'd like to say we've found something to say 'John Smith was here,' but we don't have it," Straube said. 
5583 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  President Bill Clinton arrived in Chicago on Wednesday as the Democratic convention prepared to re-nominate him for a second four-year term.   Clinton flew in by helicopter from Michigan City, Indiana, after ending a four-day, 559-mile trip aboard a campaign train from Washington. 
5584 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  The Treasury Department on Wednesday formally blocked a bid by controversial Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan to receive more than $1 billion from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.   Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control denied applications for Farrakhan to receive either a $250,000 honorarium or a $1 billion pledge of funds from Libya.   Richard Newcomb, director of the Treasury branch that oversees travel and trade restrictions against U.S. citizens' dealing with Libya, cited among reasons for the denial the belief that Libya was "a strong supporter of terrorist groups."   Gaddafi pledged $1 billion to the Nation of Islam after meeting Farrakhan in Libya last January.   At a Tuesday news conference in Chicago, Farrakhan said he planned to return to Tripoli to receive an additional $250,000 humanitarian award that Gaddafi gives annually.   Farrakhan said he would fight any U.S. government effort to deny him the Libyan funds, which he said would be used to build schools and business in American black communities.   But Treasury said that after consulting with the State Department, it was turning down Farrakhan's applications because of longstanding grievances with the Libyan regime and because U.S. law prohibited accepting it.   "United States foreign policy has consistently sought the international isolation of the Libyan regime for a number of reasons," Treasury said.   It said Libya has been on a list of states that sponsor international terrorism since December 1979, and noted that Libya refused to turn over two Libyan suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.   That refusal led to the imposition of United Nations sanctions against Libya.   The White House had signaled on Tuesday that a denial of Farrakhan's license application was likely.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry, traveling with President Bill Clinton, told reporters that "we would expect American citizens to honor their obligations under U.S. law, which prohibits economic transactions involving the government of Libya that are not sanctioned by licenses issued through the Treasury Department."   Farrakhan was the organizer of last October's Million Man March, which brought thousands of black men to Washington for a peaceful rally.   But he drew more attention during a lengthy tour early this year that included stops in Libya, Iran and Iraq -- all states that the United States considers sponsors of terrorism.   Farrakhan's trip drew widespread criticism and sparked congressional hearings into it. 
5585 !GCAT !GVIO  Separatist guerrillas planted two bombs overnight at government offices on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica despite fresh warnings of a crackdown by Paris, police said on Thursday.   In the latest in a wave of attacks, a two kg (four lb) bomb seriously damaged two floors of Agriculture Ministry offices located just 50 metres (yards) from a police station in the centre of the island capital Ajaccio.   No one was hurt.   A second device, packed with five kg (10 lbs) of explosive, was defused before it could go off, police said.   The new attacks followed by a day a warning of a new "get-tough" policy by Paris toward the separatists, who seek greater autonomy.   Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre, under fire for staging secret talks with one of the largest of several rival underground nationalist groups, told the daily La Corse in a statement he had given "firm orders" to police to round up those responsible for the bombings and bring them to justice.   Judges on the island had accused Paris of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while conducting secret but widely-reported talks with separatists which have now failed.   The latest bombing, close on the heels of the new orders, brought charges that police were powerless.   "No searches, no arrests, no police reinforcements visible on the island, despite the ministry's promises," the daily France-Soir lamented.   "On the island, as at the Place Beauvau (the Interior Ministry's Paris address), people are well aware who is who and who is doing what.   It is time to end this nightly farce," said the pro-government daily Le Figaro in an editorial.   No one immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday's incidents, which brought to 23 the number of guerrilla attacks on the resort island since mid-August, when separatist guerrillas ended a shaky seven-month truce.   Corsica has been racked by low-level separatist-inspired violence, principally directed against government targets, for two decades.   The daily Le Monde reported on Wednesday some separatist movements were considering taking their attacks to the French mainland on the principle that "300 grammes of explosives on the continent have more impact than 300 kilos in Corsica".   The newspaper said separatists may take advantage of social unrest widely expected on the mainland in coming weeks over government austerity plans to stoke a popular backlash against the government. 
5586 !GCAT !GCRIM  Sniffer dogs waited in the wings on Thursday as police searching for bodies in Belgium's child sex scandal focused on the cellar of a house owned by chief suspect Marc Dutroux.   The nation has been in shock since Dutroux led police on August 17 to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in the garden of another house he owns at Sars-La-Buissiere.   Lorries hauled debris from the sodden site at Jumet, one of Dutroux' six houses around the southern town of Charleroi, after torrential rain forced police to abandon outdoor excavations.   "Because of the weather we can no longer work out in the yard -- it's like a big swimming pool," gendarmerie spokesman Jean-Marie Boudin, told reporters.   "We are going to concentrate on cleaning up the house and cellar....The aim is to empty it completely," he added.   "We are still looking for bodies."   The search, now in its third day, has so far been fruitless.   Work also continued inside a large ramshackle shed, where investigators were digging beneath a concrete floor.   "Jumet still has not delivered up its secrets," the popular daily Vers L'Avenir said in its front page headline.   "The macabre searches at Jumet will continue to the finish," the Francophone paper Le Soir declared.   The Jumet investigation is expected to last at least another day.   In all, 11 sites will be explored in the coming days.   Searches for bodies and clues have focused on teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, whom Dutroux, 39, has admitted kidnapping a year ago.   Their fate remains unknown although police have expressed some hope they are still alive.   Dutroux's accomplice Bernard Weinstein, whom he admitted killing, was found next to Julie and Melissa.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a dungeon in yet another of Dutroux's houses.   Dutroux, a father of three, and associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   Dutroux said Julie and Melissa, who were abducted in June 1995, starved to death early this year.   He denies killing them but admits paying Weinstein and Lelievre 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap them.   They were buried a week ago in the city of Liege after what amounted to a state funeral amid outpourings of grief and anger.   In their investigations police have so far seized up to 400 videos -- some featuring Dutroux -- children's clothing, magazines and a gun.   The sordid affair has grabbed world headlines and prompted wider debate on trade in children, prostitution, paedophilia, and the role of the Internet in spreading the sickness.   Belgian media reported on Thursday an unemployed man had been arrested in Flanders for trying to sell 3,000 pornographic photographs via the Internet -- one third were of children.   Described as cold and manipulative, Dutroux was released 10 years early in 1992 for good behaviour from a 13-year sentence for multiple child rape, violence and illegal imprisonment.   Dutroux has also been named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol has said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one other Slovak woman.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair", including Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin, who has been charged as an accomplice.   There has been widespread anger over revelations of police bungling, and an inquiry is under way.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, fuelling questions about a possible high-level cover-up. 
5587 !GCAT !GDIS  All 141 passengers and crew on board a Russian airliner that crashed on Thursday on the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen have died, Norwegian officials and the Russian airline said.   "No survivors have been found and our first aid staff are returning from the crash site," local government official Kjetil Hansen told reporters.   The Norwegian news agency NTB quoted a Vnukovo Airlines official as saying no one appeared to have survived the disaster.    The Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154 flight from Moscow, carrying 129 passengers and a crew of 12, crashed in bad weather 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen, the island's only airstrip, officials said.   All passengers on the plane, chartered by the Russian mining company Trust Arktik Ugol, were miners going to work in one of the island's two open cast coal mines, accompanied by their families, Russian officials told the Norwegian news agency.   First rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) and reported soon afterwards that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest had slid down the mountainside.   Spitzbergen is a Norwegian coal-mining settlement.   The only other community is in the Russian village of Barentsburg.   Russia and Norway share the island's resources under a treaty dating back to the 1920s. 
5588 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !GHEA  The European Commission said on Thursday it would study scientific reports saying Britain's mad cow epidemic would die out by 2001 but offered little prospect the findings would change an agreed slaughter campaign.   "Obviously we are interested in this research.   We will ask the scientific and veterinary committee to examine it," Commission spokesman Gerard Kiely told Reuters.   But he added that new research into the dynamics of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal brain-wasting disease suffered by cattle, was unlikely to alter a slaughter plan agreed by Britain and its 14 EU partners.   "We agreed that following detailed scientific analysis using a methodology which would take out the maximum number of BSE cases possible.   I think it would be very difficult to sell to the European Commission a programme which would involve the elimination of fewer BSE cases," Kiely said.   "We have always avoided the question of numbers of animals to be slaughtered, that's not the issue.   The issue is the protection of consumers' health and the rapid eradication of BSE," he added.   Separately, Kiely told reporters the scientific and veterinary committee would review on September 6 findings that were announced earlier this month that mad cow disease can be passed from cows to their calves.   He said the committee could decide that a "wider, more selective cull" was needed, but could equally decide that the present plan was adequate.   "We'll see where we go after we have the opinion of the scientific and veterinary committee," he said. "  (It) may well say everything is fine, there's no need to do any more."   The Commission's reaction to the latest findings is likely to disappoint British farmers, who seized on research by Oxford scientists in the scientific journal Nature saying it would be hard to get rid of the disease any faster than 2001 without killing vast numbers of cattle.   The researchers predicted there would be 340 new infections and 14,000 new cases of BSE before 2001.   A British farmers representative called on Wednesday for an urgent meeting with ministers to discuss the report.   "I hope the government will now make it clear they believe there is a better way of dealing with this issue," National Farmers Union president Sir David Naish told BBC radio.   Naish said there was no need for Britain to carry out a planned cull of some 147,000 cattle to which it had reluctantly agreed to placate its European partners.   The report could well reopen a damaging row between Britain and the EU, which slapped a worldwide ban on British beef after the government said there could be a link between BSE and the human form of the disease.   The issue flared up in March when government scientists admitted that people could become infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) from eating BSE-infected beef. 
5589 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA !GVIO  Thousands of farmers blockaded roads across France overnight, checking lorries suspected of importing non-European Union beef in a surprise protest at falling prices following the mad cow crisis.   Farmers had threatened an "incendiary" end to the summer holidays and this show of force was the first in a wave of social unrest expected to target the austerity-minded government in coming weeks.   The FNSEA farmers' union, which mobilised demonstrators by mobile phone and fax in complete secrecy, said about 15,000 farmers erected blockades on main roads and at motorway toll gates in many areas to carry out spot checks on cargoes.   The main quarry were trucks carrying imports from Britain or from outside the European Union -- especially cheap imports from eastern Europe, which breeders say have helped force beef prices down by a third in recent months.   "I'm very happy with today's mobilisation.   The aim of the checks is to ensure that both producers and consumers benefit from complete openness on the origin of meat," FNSEA head Luc Guyau told Europe-1 radio.   "We will be inflexible," he said.   A union spokesman said virtually all the blockades had been dismantled by mid-morning.   More than 2,000 lorries were searched and a dozen had suspect cargoes.   "There will be more union operations in the next few days if the calls for help are not heard," said a union statement which demanded urgent compensation and reform of the beef market.   On the Franco-Belgian border, one Dutch driver who resisted orders to have his load searched had the tyres of his lorry punctured.   His cargo was handed over to local customs officials.   In the Lozere region, farmers who stopped a truck found frozen meat among more than 500 kg (1,100 lb) of frozen fish.   The blockades coincided with surprise protests called in a host of towns, on the eve of a European Union meeting on how to counter the mad cow crisis.   In Laval, farmers unloaded veal in the streets.   Protesters occupied the offices of the prefecture (local government authority) in the Creuse region.   Near Grenoble, 100 farmers occupied a slaughterhouse at Hieres sur Amby and found a truck carrying carcasses of unspecified origin.   In southern Rodez, some 600 breeders entered supermarkets to check the origin of meat.   Agriculture Minister Philippe Vasseur acknowledged the breeders' "distress and disarray".   He added: "They must be reassured.   We'll do what we have to do to ensure they are compensated for their losses and to safeguard their future".   Vienne breeders who marched their cows to Paris will walk into the courtyard of the presidential Elysee palace on Friday.   Jacques Chirac, who started out as an agriculture minister defending farmers' interests in the EU, will receive them.   European beef sales plunged after Britain announced the discovery of a likely link between bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, and its fatal human equivalent Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD).   Marc Blondel, leader of the Force Ouvriere union, warned that social conflicts in the autumn could be worse than last year's crippling public sector strikes over welfare reform.   "This risks happening outside the control of the unions.   More a sort of 'Poujadism'," he said, referring to a popular 1950s political uprising led by grocer Jean-Pierre Poujade.   Chirac, chairing his first post-holiday cabinet meeting on Wednesday, urged his ministers to "get yourselves together" and exude optimism to help snap France out of doldrums fuelled by record unemployment, planned spending cuts and layoffs. 
5590 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying 129 passengers and a crew of 12 crashed on Norway's remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen on Thursday, rescue officials said.   NTB said the wreck of the Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154 had been found between the Helvetia and Opera mountains 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen, the only airport on the island.   "We have established there has been a plane crash," spokesman Finn Bjoernar Hansen at the north Norway Bodoe rescue centre told Norwegian radio.   "That is all we know for now.   We have started an extensive rescue operation.   We have made contact with Russian authorities through the Foreign Ministry in Oslo for a Russian contact person to be made available on Spitzbergen."   The flight from Moscow had been due to arrive at around 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT) but flight officials lost contact with the jet shortly before it was due to land.   Wreckage was spotted about an hour and a half later.   The flight path in and out of Longyearbyen takes planes along a narrow fjord and jets fly below the height of surrounding hilltops.   Weather in the area was bad on Thursday with low cloud cover, officials said.   A hospital on the Norwegian mainland at Tromso -- one hour's plane ride away -- was put on full alert.   NTB said three Norwegian helicopters, two Russian helicopters and an aircraft were searching for the missing flight on the barren island.   It said no distress signals had been received from the aircraft.   Spokesman Finn Bjoernar Hansen at the Bodoe centre told Norwegian radio.   "We know nothing about what has happened to the passengers.   "The flight probably had something to do with the Russian coal mining at Spitzbergen," he said.   Russia runs a coal mine near the town of Barentsburg under an agreement dating back to the 1920s which granted Norway sovereignty over Spitzbergen.   Longyearbyen, also an open cast coal mining centre, is the only other community on the island.   The two villages are linked by boat in summer and by snow scooter in winter.   At such latitudes winter will already have started to close in. 
5591 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  France said on Thursday it had sent home 88 Africans despite protests against a crackdown on illegal immigrants.   The Interior Ministry said 35 Malians, 11 Senegalese, 12 Tunisians and 30 Zaireans -- 10 of them expelled from the Netherlands -- were aboard two chartered planes which left on Wednesday night.   The government apparently waited until the flights had reached their destination to confirm they had taken off and disclose who was on board.   The airliners, at least one of them a military plane, left from Evreux air base west of Paris after unionists and human rights activists had urged civilian pilots not to fly deportees.   The air force Airbus A-310 flew to Mali and Senegal, the ministry said.   The other plane, a Boeing 737, flew to Tunis and Kinshasa, refuelling on the way in Niger.   French handling of the illegal immigration issue has taken centre stage since a controversial police raid on 300 African protesters, 10 of them on a hunger strike, who had been occupying a Paris church for two months in a symbolic protest.   CIMADE, an organisation looking after immigrants, said three of the church protesters were on the latest deportation flights.   This was not confirmed by the ministry.   Four of the church protesters and 53 other Africans had been deported last week on a military aircraft.   Thousands of demonstrators marched through Paris on Wednesday to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed. 
5592 !G15 !G155 !GCAT  The Dutch government has issued a tentative agenda for its European Union presidency, due to begin on January 1, setting Amsterdam as the locale for one summit and three informal EU meetings.   As previously announced, the city will be the host for the end-of-presidency European Council on June 16 and 17, 1997.   EU officials are hoping that it will be at that meeting that the inter-governmental conference (IGC) is concluded.   Amsterdam will also play host to informal ministerial meetings on transport, environment and development.   Rotterdam and Noordwijk will host two informals each.   Others will be held in Apeldoorn and Domburg.   Here are the tentative dates:   - Agriculture.   May 25, 26 and 27.   Domburg.   - Development.   February 28, March 1 and 2.   Amsterdam.   - Ecofin.   April 4, 5 and 6.   Noordwijk.   - Education.   March 3.   Rotterdam.   - Environment.   April 18, 19 and 20.   Amsterdam.   - Foreign Affairs.   March 15 and 16.   Apeldoorn.   - Justice and Internal Affairs.   February 5 and 6.   Noordwijk.   - Social Affairs.   February 14 and 15.   Rotterdam.   - Transport.   January 31 and February 1.   In addition, the Committee of Permanent Representatives (COREPER), will meet in the Netherlands on May 22 and 23.   It has not yet been decided where. 
5593 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  An international organisation overseeing Bosnia's first post-war general election appealed on Thursday to refugees in Germany -- the largest group outside former Yugoslavia -- to ignore calls for a poll boycott.   "We think it's a shame that some parties are calling for a boycott," said Jens Grimm, spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) election bureau in Bonn.   "We believe these elections are both important and justified and we don't believe any political solution will be achieved more easily by a boycott," Grimm told Reuters at the OSCE's depot for processing postal votes from refugees in Germany.   The depot, at a location in western Germany kept secret for security reasons, has been set up to collect and scan the ballot papers of 130,000 Bosnians who have registered for a postal vote ahead of the September 14 elections.   OSCE officials said it was too early to say if the boycott calls, spearheaded by Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic's ruling Moslem nationalist Party of Democratic Action (SDA), had influenced refugees in Germany.   The SDA and two other parties issued the boycott call after the OSCE on Tuesday postponed municipal elections because of numerous problems including registration irregularities but allowed the other polls set for the same day to go ahead.   Only a few dozen ballot papers from Bosnians in Germany trickled in on the first day of postal voting on Wednesday but around 2,000 envelopes arrived at the depot on Thursday.   Moslem parties have accused the Bosnian Serbs of encouraging their refugees to register for constituencies that had been "cleansed" of their Moslem majorities in the war in a bid to secure political control of areas they had won by force.   Aware that feelings are running high over the election and that a bomb or arson attack on their depot could smash a fragile peace process to smithereens, the OSCE in Germany is taking no chances with security.   The envelopes containing the postal votes are x-rayed by security officials before they even reach the depot.   Each envelope has a unique registration number and bar code.   A laser scanner at the depot reads each one and rejects an envelope if it has come across the number before to prevent multiple voting.   Inside each envelope is a smaller one containing the ballot papers for the elections.   These are separated and sealed with a sticker to prevent any tampering.   They are then stored at another secret location before being transported to Bosnia for counting on election night.   "We've had to develop everything very quickly," said the manager of the depot, whose identity could not be revealed.   "Our biggest problem is time pressure." 
5594 !GCAT !GENT  Actor Dustin Hoffman hosted a screening of his new film "American Buffalo" at the Venice film festival on Thursday, wryly calling it "critic-proof."   The festival honoured Hoffman this year with a Golden Lion prize for life achievement.   The film is of a play by the same name by playwright David Mamet.   "This is virtually a play on screen...an hour and 30 minutes of dialogue," Hoffman said of his performance as the low-life petty criminal "Teach".   He said his record, which includes two Oscars for best actor, allowed him to pick and choose his roles, including non-commercial ventures like "American Buffalo".   "This is a critic-proof movie," Hoffman joked.   "If they love it we make two dollars and if they hate it we make one dollar.   It's a very liberating way to work."   The Oscar winner and screen wannabes shared some common ground at the festival.   On the other end of the fame spectrum was a group of out-of-work actors from Los Angeles also able to choose their own roles by making their own film.   The product "Swingers", which they filmed in 21 days on a budget of $250,000 from private donations, was warmly received by critics at an out-of-competition screening.   "A year ago today we were in a car garage behind a house in L.A., which was our office, trying to figure out what we were going to do on our first day of shooting," co-producer Victor Simpkins told a news conference.   The screenplay was written by John Favreau, who also plays a leading role in the film, based on his life in Los Angeles as a struggling actor and comedian.   Much of the film is about how he and his friends, also struggling actors, get dressed up and cruise various bars, many of them seedy lounges where one is more likely to hear Frank Sinatra than the newest rock music, looking for women.   Favreau's friends on whom he based the screenplay were cast to play themselves.   "A lot of the time when young people make films, everyone looks very cool and acts very cool, but I wanted to show these guys going to clubs and talking about girls like they were in grade school, talking like jerks," Favreau said.   Director Doug Liman brushed aside a question asking whether the film represented a "new California realism".   "I think that is a too intellectual approach.   We just wanted to tell a really good story," Liman said.   But much to their surprise, the film has caught on and has been picked up by the major distributor Miramax and also will be shown at the Toronto Film Festival.   Because of his work in "Swingers", the other lead actor in the film, Vince Vaughn, said he had won a role in Steven Spielberg's new thriller "The Lost World: Jurassic Park 2".   "When John asked me to do 'Swingers' my agent had just let me go.   I was at my lowest low," Vaughn said. 
5595 !E11 !E12 !E41 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GJOB  The French government, facing labour unrest at home and investor worries abroad, pledged on Thursday to combat gloom and push through its economic reforms.   Conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe, standing firm despite attacks on his economic policies, reaffirmed France's commitment to join a single European currency.   France will "meet the deadline for economic and monetary union within the criteria and the timetable," he told a meeting of French ambassadors.   The franc and French stock and bond markets have been hit recently by renewed fears of serious labour unrest and doubts over France's ability to meet the Maastricht treaty targets for European Economic and Monetary Union.   The franc was trading at 3.4267 per mark on Thursday afternoon, back at levels seen before interest rate cuts last week temporarily lifted the currency from its lows of mid-August.   Juppe also defended France's battle to squeeze inflation out of the economy and expressed surprise at criticism of that policy.   "We have in the past few years eradicated inflation," he said.   "I couldn't have been more stunned to see that in the end, some are sorry," he added.   "As though all over the world people are not trying to eradicate inflation because less inflation means more purchasing power and more justice," he said in a speech to French ambassadors at the foreign ministry.   Juppe was responding to the latest attack on his economic policies, which came from inside his governing majority.   Former finance minister Alain Madelin, in an article in daily Le Monde, said France was in a period of falling prices and that government policies would aggravate the deflation problem, leading to social disorder and political instability.   Madelin, a fervent supporter of free-market economics, was sacked last August after a clash with Juppe over the speed of economic reform.   The government shows no signs of softening its resolve to enact planned reforms to the country's generous welfare system and cut France's public deficit to three percent of gross domestic product, as required by Maastricht.   "I am not a fan of consensus at any price," Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jacques Barrot said, defending the government's plans.   "It's not now that France is making choices for the future that we should give in to discouragement, doubt, and, for some, a protest that can only be sterile," he added in an interview to be published Saturday in weekly magazine Valeurs Actuel.   The ministers' comments came on the heels of a similar call on Wednesday by President Jacques Chirac.   "Now that the bulk of our programme is under way, we must display a willful optimism which leads to dynamism and a winning spirit," said Chirac, back from a Riviera holiday and attending his first cabinet meeting after the summer holidays.   While most analysts said they do not think this year's social unrest will be as sharp as last year's, unions have warned that government plans for deficit reduction could prompt a repeat of last autumn, when unions virtually crippled France with a 24-day strike over efforts to cut social benefits.   Record unemployment, planned public spending cuts and layoffs have infuriated unions, and public anger also has been swelling over the government's handling of African immigrants evicted from a church in Paris after a two-month occupation.   They were hoping to renew or gain residence rights in France.   Marc Blondel, leader of the non-partisan Force Ouvriere union which was at the heart of last year's strike, has said "all the ingredients are there for it to explode". 
5596 !E21 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GWELF  The lower house of the German parliament voted again on Thursday to back the government's austerity plan, allowing the package to proceed on schedule for enactment in mid-September.   In a special session, Chancellor Helmut Kohl's Christian Democrats and their allies the Christian Social Union and Free Democrats cast aside objections decided on Monday by an arbitration committee of both houses of parliament.   The government unveiled its Programme for More Growth and Jobs in April, aiming to cut 50 billion marks from public spending and 20 billion marks from health, social security and pension funds in 1997.   The upper house, dominated by the opposition Social Democrats, is expected to vote against the package of bills on September 12, but its approval is not required for the bills to become law.   Most of the bills are likely to be passed into law by the lower house the following day.   That vote, however, will face a higher hurdle, requiring an absolute majority of the lower house, instead of the simple majority of those present needed in Thursday's vote.   In Thursday's debate, economics minister Guenter Rexrodt stressed that the aim of the package was to reduce joblessness by slimming the state, easing the burden on corporations and encouraging competition.   -- Terence Gallagher, Bonn newsroom, 49 228 26097150 
5597 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The European Union said on Thursday that rising tension in Jerusalem threatened the Middle East peace process and urged Palestinians and Israelis to show restraint and resume negotiations.   "The whole peace process, which is a fundamental interest of the Union, could be undermined by this regression to direct confrontation," said Irish Foreign Minister Dick Spring, whose ccountry is current EU President.   The statement was issued because of escalating tension in Jerusalem and the Occupied Territories following Israel's demolition of a Palestinian community hall and its decision to build more Jewish homes in the West Bank.   "The Taniaste (Foreign Minister) calls on both sides to exercise restraint and to immediately re-engage themselves in the peace process," the statement said.   Palestinian shops and businesses shut on Thursday for four hours across the West Bank and Gaza, as well as Israeli-annexed Arab East Jerusalem, in response to a strike call by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat to protest against Israel's plans.   The Middle East peace process is expected to be high on the agenda of an informal EU Foreign Ministers meeting chaired by Spring in the southern Irish town of Tralee in 10 days time. 
5598 !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union's sugar management committee concluded its Wednesday meeting by fixing end-of-month refunds, an EU source said on Thursday.   "It was usual business," the source said.   "The first bit of business was the export refund tender for white sugar."   The maximum amount of refunds was set at 43.521 Ecu/100 kg.   "That will release a total of 16,000 tonnes of white sugar," the source said.   Periodic refunds were set for white sugar at 40.52 Ecu/100 kg, for raw sugar at 37.07 Ecu/100 kg, for syrup at 40.52 Ecu/100 kg and for inulin syrup at 76.99 Ecu/100 kg.   Refunds for sugar in non-annex II goods such as biscuits, chocolate and other food items not covered by the Common Agricultural Policy were also set.   For white sugar, non pre-fixed refunds were 40.518 Ecu/100 kg.   Pre-fixed refunds were 37.518 Ecu/100 kg.   For raw sugar, non pre-fixed refunds were 37.28 Ecu/100 kg.   Pre-fixed refunds were 34.52 Ecu/tonne.   In other business, the committee reviewed import duties on cane and beet molasses.   "The import duty on beet molassases remains suspended," the source said.   The CIF price established by the Commission was 11.10 Ecu/100 kg.   "A small duty is being set on cane molasses -- 0.11 Ecu/100 kg," the source said.   It was done on the basis of a CIF price of 8.10 Ecu/100 kg." 
5599 !GCAT !GCRIM  With his new watch, gold necklace and smart clothes Mark thought life was pretty good.   Spending most days hanging around central Manila with friends, the 10-year-old Mark always had money in his pocket to buy ice cream and trinkets -- earned by selling his body to middle-aged tourists for $100 a night.   "For the first time in my life I had new clothes and it was not even Christmas," Mark, now 19, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.   Mark (not his real name) plied his trade on the streets of Manila from the age of eight to 13.   Now he works for a child refuge centre, Bahay Tuluyan, in Manila, trying to keep children off the street, and is a member of a youth panel at the World Congress on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Stockholm this week   Mark understands the trappings of prostitution.   The only difference now is that instead of $100 a night, children are paid around $20.   An expansion in child sex trade has come with tighter control and entrepreneurial middlemen.   Mark's story is typical of a Third World child prostitute.   He was the third of 12 children and each day was a struggle for his family, which lived in a shanty town area in Malate in the squalor of the sprawling Philippine capital.   Mark and his brothers spent most days on the street, begging or dodging the traffic to sell cigarettes and sweets.   He was introduced to the seamier side of street life at the age of eight after helping to direct a middle aged American tourist who claimed to be lost.   "He said we had helped him so he would help us, be our friend, and he took us to a restaurant and bought us food," said Mark, an intelligent teenager whose round, childlike face shows no scars of the life now behind him.   "We went to his hotel with him and he showed us this little swimming pool, a bath.   We all got in and he started taking photos of us.   He asked us to pose and we all thought it was funny.   "Then we moved to the bed and he took more photos then joined us and we all played about, kissing and touching.   We slept there the night.   We didn't think it was wrong."   A year after this first encounter Mark left home.   His father had been discharged from the army, and spent most of his days at home, unemployed and bored.   "My father would beat us.   He would put me and my brothers in sacks, tie us from the roof and beat us," Mark said.   "I ran away from home and lived in the street.   "One day I saw a group of children in a park in central Manila, dressed well and with lots of money.   I started talking to them and they introduced me to their friend."   Mark said his life took a new path.   With a pimp orchestrating his meetings with child sex tourists, he spent the next four years working as a prostitute, spending the money he earned on clothes, outings and trinkets.   "My pimp was nice to us.   He always said that he had been a prostitute but he was too old now and no one wanted him any more.   He was about 23," Mark said.   "But at 13 I wanted to go home.   I missed my family.   My pimp never came to find me.   There are so many children like me in Manila.   I was easily replaced."   Martin Cottingham, a spokesman for Christian Aid which is working in Asia to combat child sex tourism, said authorities in the Philippines were clamping down on child sex trade.   Over the past year 36 foreigners were arrested on child-sex offences.   Briton Steven Mitchell in July was jailed for 17 years for having sex with two brothers, aged eight and four.   "But as things clamp down in the Philippines, paedophiles are moving to new destinations like Cambodia and Vietnam where things are easier," Cottingham told Reuters. 
5600 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Thursday that he remained committed to the tough goals set out in the Maastricht Treaty for an EU single currency but the rest of Europe might need to grant Italy a little leeway.   "(European Monetary Union) must go ahead, it must start as soon as possible," Prodi said in an interview with news magazine Panorama released ahead of publication.   "If then, in agreement with our partners, special, intermediate, brief stages should have to be set up for our country... well, we can live with that."   Prodi said France and Germany had "never been so convinced that it's difficult to go ahead... without Italy".   But creeping doubts about the feasibility of starting EMU as planned in 1999 have swept the 15-member European Union as states struggle with recession and unemployment to meet Maastricht's tough budget deficit, debt and inflation goals.   With Italy hopelessly behind on the debt target and still lagging on the other criteria, dissent at home has grown.   Cesare Romiti, the powerful boss of car firm Fiat, said last week it could be worthwhile for Italy to delay joining a single currency for some time if it allowed more jobs to be created.   Deputy Prime Minister Walter Veltroni also said a re-think of the timing and criteria could be needed.   Prodi said the Maastricht Treaty should not be changed.   "It's like when you take out a mortgage to buy a house," he said.   "Maybe you go ahead and then change your mind.   But what can you do, you've just got to keep paying the instalments."   Italy's centre-left government must unveil its 1997 budget by the end of September and Prodi said this autumn would prove crucial to its hopes of making the grade for a single currency and of lowering interest rates "once and for all".   "The autumn will be a decisive moment, a turning point and a completion of the programme," he said.   Prodi has said he plans to slash 32 trillion lire ($21 billion) from the 1997 state budget, but has not yet said how.   "The budget arithmetic has been worked out with two aims in mind -- the first is to go into Europe, but not with a dead country...then a secondary, but no less important goal -- reducing interest rates once and for all," Prodi said.   Italy finally cut its discount rate by 0.75 point to 8.25 percent on July 24 after keeping financial markets on tenterhooks for more than a year.   But Prodi said he aimed to bring Italy's rates in line with those of Germany, which at 2.5 percent for the discount rate and 4.5 percent for the Lombard rate, are near historic lows.   "Obviously we have to go softly, softly... But I can't have a country always with a primary surplus but which can't invest in development or schools because there's no cash," he said.   "I've got to aim for rates level with Germany's and that will give me 40-50 billion lire a year to relaunch the country."   Asked when the Italian economy would pick up, Prodi said: "The most trustworthy forecasts lead us to believe that the turning point will come around the end of the year."   He brushed aside talk that his coalition of ex-communists, centrists and Greens was creaking at the seams but admitted it was difficult having to rely on support from the hardline Communist Refoundation party for a majority in the lower house.   But he said he had always forseen the problems and had no intention of changing strategy or the thrust of the 1997 budget. 
5601 !G15 !G155 !GCAT  Negotiations on a new European Union treaty are to speed up over the next few months as the bloc's 15 countries seek to make decisions about their future.   A draft treaty is to be prepared by the end of the year, and EU leaders are to meet in a special summit in Ireland in October to discuss the direction the bloc should take as it prepares for an influx of new members.   The leaders want to wrap up the talks, known formally as the inter-governmental conference (IGC), by the middle of next year with the long-term goal of adding a dozen or more new countries from eastern Europe and the Mediterranean.   But despite the speeded-up timetable, officials in Brussels say many EU countries remain unwilling to show their hand in negotiations until other issues facing the bloc, including the single currency and future EU finances, have become clearer.   Even then, they say, what emerges from the IGC will almost certainly be a modest adjustment to the landmark Maastricht Treaty and not a radical new step towards European integration.   Diplomats say impetus for accelerating the negotiations has been a belief among many countries that since treaty talks began in March, they have been little more that an airing of individual countries' positions.   "They (negotiators) have gone through the whole treaty now a couple of times," said one EU diplomat.   Diplomats and officials says there has been widespread agreement on the need for a more organised approach to the bloc's joint foreign policy, likely to mean the setting up of a planning and coordination office.   Most EU countries also want the fight against unemployment to be formalised somehow by being included in the treaty.   Germany and Britain are opposed to anything too stringent, however, fearing it could lead to centralised meddling in what they believe to be a largely local issue.   Some language, however, is likely to be incorporated, diplomats say.   The five months of talks have also made it clear that the new treaty will contain some system for improving efficiency in setting joint justice and interior policies.   Some treaty language is also expected concerning joint defence issues, particularly in light of NATO's recent agreement to allow the Western European Union defence group to use its equipment for peacekeeping and humanitarian projects.   On internal EU decision making, there is widespread agreement that changes need to be made if the EU is to work with another dozen or so members, but little sign yet of the required unanimity over what to do.   Britain, with allies in some areas, remains opposed to diluting the ability of single countries to veto things they do not like.   The bloc's smaller countries are steadfast against any change in their representation in Brussels or regular stints as EU president.   What promises to be a key debate over so-called flexibility -- the right of some countries to integrate faster than others -- has also moved forward, with most countries favouring the concept being incorporated into the treaty.   No agreement, however, has been reached over how, with some favouring allowing flexibility across a broad swathe of issues, and others saying it should be limited to certain areas only.   Some countries, meanwhile, have started worrying about the process that will follow an agreement -- ratification.   Diplomats said, for example, that France has been one of the key instigators of speeding up the IGC, seeking to avoid having ratification clash with its next round of elections. 
5602 !C12 !C13 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The state prosecutor's office said on Thursday it had ordered an investigation into Portugal's Banco Finantia after allegations of insider trading during its unsuccessful bid to buy Banco de Fomento & Exterior (BFE).   "We confirm that the state prosecutor has opened an investigation into Finantia," a spokesman told Reuters.   The spokesman was confirming a report in the daily Diario Economico newspaper of the investigation, although he declined to comment on the nature of the probe.   Diario Economico said an official at Portugal's Financial Markets Committee (CMVM), the market watchdog, had reported Finantia for alleged insider trading over shares it is thought to have bought in BFE after lodging its takeover bid.   At the time, BFE shares were surging on speculation of how high the bidding might go.   The CMVM declined to comment on the report but Finantia said in a statement that it had done nothing that warranted an investigation.   "The bank has always adopted rigorous legal and ethical standards and in the relevant cases, namely that of the privatisation of BFE, was aided by the legal opinions of reputable law professors," the bank said.   According to Diario Economico, the investigation would focus on a purchase of one million BFE shares at 2,500 escudos ($16.51) which took place on July 18 after Finantia and two other banks had lodged their bids for BFE with the Finance Ministry.   The government announced last week that Banco Portugues de Investimento (BPI) had won the battle for BFE after a special selection jury ruled that its proposal was superior to that of Banco Finantia or the third candidate, Banco Nacional de Credito Imobiliario.   BPI paid 2,615 escudos per share for the 65 percent of BFE controlled by the state.   The maximum penalty for insider trading in Portugal is a two-year prison sentence which cannot be suspended.   ($ = 151.4 Portugese Escudos) 
5603 !E12 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  German Chancellor Helmut Kohl arrives in Ukraine next Monday on the day it launches a new currency, to renew Germany's support for Kiev's progress towards fully-fledged democracy and a market economy.   While market reform in Ukraine has been much slower to take hold than in neighbouring Russia, German officials say Kohl is still keen to show support for the step-by-step progress made by President Leonid Kuchma.   But they say Bonn is not preparing to pledge new financial aid in addition to the three billion marks it has provided in various forms since Ukrainian independence, and the international programmes it is currently involved in.   Both Bonn and Kiev see Germany as Ukraine's leading advocate in helping to bring it closer to international bodies such as the European Union and NATO.   Kohl last visited Kiev in 1993, and Kuchma came to Bonn in July 1995.   In particular, Bonn is pleased that Kuchma has improved relations with Russia as well as ensuring his country opens up towards western and central Europe.   Ukraine introduced its first democratic constitution in June.   The reduction of inflation to manageable proportions of 0.1 percent in June and July has allowed Ukraine to introduce its new currency, the hryvna, from Monday.   It will knock five zeroes off prices hit by post-independence hyperinflation.   Around 20 German business leaders will accompany Kohl, and they will be joined by another dozen German company representatives based in Kiev for commercial negotiations aimed at boosting trade between the two countries.   In 1995 Germany exported 1.8 billion marks' worth of goods to Ukraine, and imported goods worth about 600 million marks.   One project which could prove auspicious for German companies is the modernisation of a coal-fired power station at Smiyev which Ukrainian authorities are discussing with Siemens AG and ABB Asea Brown Boveri AG.   The Group of Seven industrial powers have promised $2.3 billion in grants and aid to help Ukraine to close the Chernobyl nuclear plant by the year 2000.   The Smiyev project is seen as a first step towards helping Ukraine to build up power generating capacity to replace the Chernobyl reactors.   Kohl will hold talks with Kuchma and prime minister Pavlo Lazarenko on Tuesday, and make a speech at Kiev's Taras Shevchenko university.   He will also lay a wreath at a new German war cemetery, and on Wednesday visit a college, financed with German money, which retrains army officers for civilian life.   Kohl then travels on to visit the Black Sea port of Odessa before flying home.   The agenda for Kohl's talks also includes the status of Ukraine's 40,000-strong German minority and the return of works of art and cultural treasures taken as booty by both sides in World War Two. 
5604 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Labour and Social Affairs Minister Jacques Barrot said in an interview to appear on Saturday that government economic policy concerned crucial choices for the future and could not be compromised for consensus at any cost.   "It's not now that France is making choices for the future that we should give in to discouragement, doubt, and, for some, a protest that can only be sterile," he said in an interview to be published in Valeurs Actuelles.   He told the magazine he did not favour "consensus at any price."   An advance copy of the interview was supplied to Reuters.   Fears of an autumn of industrial unrest in France drove down French stocks and put pressure on the franc, which fell to a five-month low against the mark at one stage.   Prime Minister Alain Juppe's cabinet reconvened on Wednesday after the summer break and has started on the offensive, with President Jacques Chirac, Juppe and other ministers defending their policies and calling for less gloom among the population.   Referring to reports quoting France's national health insurance fund chairman Jean-Marie Spaeth as saying he expected a social security deficit this year of 50 to 55 billion francs, Barrot said social security reforms would not be in place until 1997.   He said this year's goal was to contain spending.   Barrot said an economic recovery would rely heavily on the services sector and added that it was essential to reduce labour costs and increase flexibility.   -- Paris Newsroom, +33 1 4221 5452 
5605 !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Unidentified attackers set fire to a foreigners' hostel in the southeastern German town of Schwarzenbach, and one resident was slightly injured, police in the town of Hof said on Thursday.   The attackers poured inflammable liquid over two car tyres late on Wednesday and set them alight, setting fire to the home where about 60 asylum seekers live.   Police put the damage to the hostel at around 100,000 marks ($68,000).   Germany has experienced several arson attacks on foreigners since unification in 1990, among them a blaze started by four young right-wingers in the town of Solingen in 1993 in which five Turkish women and girls died.   Last January 10 people died in a fire which appeared to have been started deliberately at a foreigners' hostel in Luebeck.   Prosecutors have charged a young Lebanese resident, although a court ruled that suspicions were not strong enough to keep him in custody.   ($1=1.4770 Mark) 
5606 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Germany, the self-appointed patron of a stable future European currency, on Thursday made clear that it would not be a party to political compromise in the creation of the Euro.   In a two-pronged offensive against speculation that Europe might slacken its efforts to cut budget deficits, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer said there was no room for laxity in meeting economic criteria for the planned common Euro currency.   That view was restated by a senior German Finance Ministry official, Juergen Stark, who told a forum in Austria that the economic conditions set for entry to economic and monetary union (EMU) must not be diluted.   "There must not and will not be any weakening of the criteria," he said, according to the text of a speech.   Germany's restatement of its hardline approach comes at a critical time, with a growing number of dissenting voices raised against the austerity measures that Europe must implement if it is to bring its budgets into line by a 1997 deadline.   Countries which want to meld their currencies into the Euro from January 1, 1999, must meet tough conditions on inflation, currency, interest rates and public budgets in that year.   Germany itself is by no means certain to reach the reference levels laid down in the Maastricht Treaty on deficits and debt, calling for a three percent and 60 percent maximum ratio to gross domestic product, respectively.   But it has remained adamant that these levels must be seen as absolutes if the currency project is to succeed.   In speeches, both Kohl and Tietmeyer focused on the importance of the new currency gaining credibility from the outset -- not only in financial markets but also from ordinary people, who are nervous of ceding the cherished deutschemark.   They both rejected the suggestion that Germany's insistence on fiscal discipline before and after 1999 was some attempt to force a German way of thinking on its European partners by bringing its considerable economic power to bear.   "We know that the Euro must come and will come, at conditions which cannot be diluted as the trust of the public is at stake," Kohl said in a speech at a celebration on Wednesday evening to mark Tietmeyer's 65th birthday.   "Those looking at us from outside should not see us as crazy or slightly hysterical over this.  .  ," he added, noting that older Germans had suffered two bouts of hyperinflation.   "EMU is only possible as a low-inflation community, not just at its birth but down the years," Kohl said.   "When we say this, it is not just a routine comment from us.   And it is certainly not an attempt to make others adopt German ways," he added.   Tietmeyer, who has often been billed as opposing EMU -- a charge he firmly rebuts -- said he was in total support of European integration providing it had the right economic basis and ideally went hand in hand with deeper political union.   "The economic fundamentals are important and indispensable," Tietmeyer said.   "Stability...does not come of itself.   You have to work for it.   But it is worth fighting for."   Germany faces an uphill struggle to reach the Maastricht targets.   Bonn admitted on Wednesday that it would not be able to meet its planned budget deficit of 60 billion marks ($40.6 billion) in 1996 and coalition sources said on Thursday the actual figure could be more than 70 billion.   In France -- the country viewed with Germany as an essential initial partner in EMU -- threatened strikes pose a new challenge to unpopular budget measures in spite of a deep-rooted political will to see EMU go ahead.   Many other European countries, including Italy, a founder member of the integration movement, are judged by analysts to have barely any chance of meeting the conditions in time. 
5607 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  Producers of a new film version of Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita," unbowed by a controversy fuelled by Belgium's paedophile scandal, said on Thursday that several American distributors were still interested in releasing it.   Some U.S. and British critics have savaged Adrian Lyne, director of steamy "9 1/2 Weeks" and "Fatal Attraction", after reports of sex scenes between actor Jeremy Irons and an adult stand-in for co-star Dominique Swain, 14.   The Russian-born American writer's 1955 bestseller on a middle-aged man's obsessive relationship with a 12-year-old girl was the subject of a film 34 years ago which portrayed the child as somewhat older.   The remake has yet to be released in America.   "The row is a complete fabrication," said a senior official at Paris's Pathe company, which pioneered cinema worldwide a century ago.   "No one has seen the film yet.   Lyne is still in the cutting room because he's very demanding and spends a lot of time in post-production."   The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, insisted that new worldwide concern about paedophilia sparked by the Belgian child-killing, kidnapping and porn scandal had nothing to do with the new adaptation of the novel.   The cameras had started rolling in September last year and filming ended six months ago.   "Negotiations are under way with several American distributors.   That's not abnormal because we chose not to pre-sell the film but to wait for it to be very advanced," the official said.   "Read the book again, this is silly.   We took the decision to make the film a long time ago, it has nothing to with the scandal," he said.   Lyne's remake, which cost an estimated $30 million, is reportedly far more explicit than the critically acclaimed 1962 version by Stanley Kubrick starring James Mason, Peter Sellers, and Sue Lyon.   "Sex is shown in a way that is relevant to the story and not for the sake of stimulating filthy minds," scriptwriter Stephen Schiff has told an interviewer.   "But it's not backed off from."   "This is not a sex film," Schiff said.   "When you see it you will think of it as a film involving sex not first or second but maybe fourth or fifth.   It's about a lot of things."   The Pathe source denied that Oscar-winning producer Richard Zanuck's decision to pull out before filming even started had scared off Hollywood.   Zanuck has said he quit because of scheduling delays.   Even before seeing the film, American critics have condemned it as politically incorrect.   Britain's Daily Mail said: "Let us be sure that the new, authentic, honest, fearless and explicit film version of this dreary and poisonous tract in our misbegotten times gets its just reward -- critical obloquy."   Asked whether he had seen at least rushes of Lyne's work, the Pathe official answered: "I don't want to say anything about the film itself as long as it is not ready.   That would be against the rights of the director who can decide what scenes to put in."   Lyne's contract, he said, stipulated that the film must qualify for a wide-distribution 'R' rating, allowing young people accompanied by an adult to see it in the United States, a crucial market for the film's profits.   "My poor Lolita is having a rough time," Nabokov once wrote to fellow-novelist Graham Greene.   "The pity is that if I had made her a boy, or a cow, or a bicycle, philistines might never have flinched." 
5608 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Sweden's doubts about monetary union make the country's a quick entry into the EU exchange rate mechanism (ERM) unlikely even if neighbouring Finland decides to join this autumn, economists said on Thursday.   "There is no reason for Sweden to join the ERM until we have decided to enter monetary union," one analyst in Stockholm said.   Speculation about imminent Swedish ERM entry seems to have cooled considerably over the last few months, despite signs that Helsinki may decide to join any month now.   "I think the reasonable conclusion is that it is being put on ice," said Thomas Pousette, head of economic research at Nordbanken.   A statement by Finance Minister Erik Asbrink on Wednesday that Swedish entry into economic and monetary union (EMU) could be delayed beyond its planned start in 1999 has strengthened the view that the crown will continue to float on currency markets.   "It is clear that it is hard to reconcile ERM membership with this standpoint," said Swedbank economist Ake Gustafsson.   Asbrink said it was an open question whether Sweden would join EMU in the first stage or not, further fuelling speculation that Sweden would decide next year not to join EMU in 1999.   "It is not a question of yes or no to currency union.   It is rather about 'yes now' or 'no now'," Asbrink said in a signed article in the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.   His comments, which caused domestic bond yields to rise and the crown to weaken, came at a time when speculation is mounting that Finland will soon decide to link its currency to the ERM.   Such a move would be in line with Helsinki's determination to be among the first group of countries to join EMU.   "It is completely clear that the markka will be linked," said Risto Uimonen, editorial writer at daily Helsingin Sanomat.   "All the time the question has been one of when, not whether."   The main reason for joining ERM would be to qualify for the single currency since it seems to be one of the criteria laid down by the EU's Maastricht treaty for entering monetary union.   Both the Swedish crown and the Finnish markka have been floating since Europe's currency turmoil in 1992.   Economist James McKay at investment bank Paine Webber said that while Finland and Italy may join the ERM within the next few months, Swedish entry was unlikely both this year and next.   Referring to a split about monetary union among the party's supporters, McKay said it was was becoming "increasingly difficult for the Social Democratic government to further integrate the Swedish economy with Europe."   However, economists saw only limited benefits from joining ERM, apart from helping in meeting the EMU criteria.   They seemed to be happy with the current policy aimed at keeping inflation low, rather than fixing the currency.   "We know that (Swedish Prime Minister) Goran Persson views the system as not appropriate for the Swedish krona.   I would certainly agree with him on that point," McKay said.   He said the Swedish economy, relatively dependent on forestry products, was quite different from the one of core Europe.   A link to the German mark could therefore "promote quite significant volatility in the economy," he added.   "So I would not view a link as that appropriate for the time being and I suspect that is the line domestic politicians will be taking, particularly given the public opposition towards further integration," McKay said. 
5609 !GCAT !GCRIM  The first world conference on commercial sexual abuse of children turned the spotlight on news media on Thursday, urging journalists to bring the taboo issue into the open in a sensitive way.   The five-day conference in the Swedish capital is being held in the shadow of revelations of child sex-abuse and murder in Belgium and a growing realisation that child pornography has become a multi-million dollar industry around the world.   Aidan White, secretary general of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), called on the media to bring issues of children's rights and child sex abuse to light.   He said the Stockholm conference should produce "concrete ideas for helping journalists to raise this issue, to report on this issue, and to make it part and parcel of the democratic discussion for which we're responsible."   Organisers have said the conference, attended by over 1,000 delegates from 130 countries and several hundred journalists, aims to draw international attention to the trafficking and trade of children for sexual purposes.   The IFJ said that the media had a responsibility to raise awareness without sensationalising cases of child sex abuse.   The media could become an exploiter of children "by creating sexually provocative images of children in news or advertising, or, at worst, as the vehicle for child pornography, or sources of information for paedophile networks and sexual tourism," the IFJ said in a report.   At the conference as UNICEF's special representative for the film arts, British actor Roger Moore, who portayed fearless agent James Bond, revealed a disturbing childhood experience influenced his work as a children's rights activist.   Moore said that when he was eight years old a man made sexual advances towards him when he was camping with a friend, but that the incident was relatively minor and he managed to escape before any more serious move was made.   "I left the tent and I was sitting on a branch and after a couple of minutes he came up and he made another suggestive remark about my anatomy...he made a grab and I just rolled backwards over the branch and ran off."   Moore said the event illustrated many children's inability to talk to adults about issues that trouble them.   "Sometimes (children) can't be heard because their voices are not strong enough and there's nobody to hear them.   And so we as UNICEF representatives are the voices of those silent children."   He called for stronger paedophile police units around the world.   "I would like to see police forces all over the world increase their paedophile section," Moore told reporters.   Child sex abuse cases have grabbed world headlines during the Stockholm conference, with the worst case still creating shockwaves in Belgium and the rest of Europe.   Police investigating a Belgian child kidnapping, porn and killing scandal dug for bodies for a third day on Thursday at one of six houses owned by chief suspect Marc Dutroux.   Belgium went into shock on August 17 as Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in the garden of another house he owns.   Finnish police said this week they had seized two computers and nearly 350 floppy disks at a Helsinki flat holding material including pictures of sadistic acts with children, torture, mutilation and cannibalism.   Law enforcers there said they had no powers to arrest the suspect, a 19-year-old student, because under Finnish law distributing hard-core pornography is a minor offence.   Police also arrested suspects for child sex abuse in Finland and Austria, while Berlin prosecutors said they had filed charges against two German men for sexually abusing children in Thailand.   The Stockholm conference is jointly organised by the Swedish government, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the pressure group ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asia Tourism) and an NGO (non-governmental organisation) group on the rights of the child. 
5610 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Germany, the self-appointed patron of a stable future European currency, on Thursday made clear that it would not be a party to political compromise in the creation of the Euro.   In a two-pronged offensive against speculation that Europe might slacken its efforts to cut budget deficits, Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer said there was no room for laxity in meeting economic criteria for the planned common Euro currency.   That view was restated by a senior German Finance Ministry official, Juergen Stark, who told a forum in Austria that the economic conditions set for entry to economic and monetary union (EMU) must not be diluted.   "There must not and will not be any weakening of the criteria," he said, according to the text of a speech.   Germany's restatement of its hardline approach comes at a critical time, with a growing number of dissenting voices raised against the austerity measures that Europe must implement if it is to bring its budgets into line by a 1997 deadline.   Countries which want to meld their currencies into the Euro from January 1, 1999, must meet tough conditions on inflation, currency, interest rates and public budgets in that year.   Germany itself is by no means certain to reach the reference levels laid down in the Maastricht Treaty on deficits and debt, calling for a three percent and 60 percent maximum ratio to gross domestic product, respectively.   But it has remained adamant that these levels must be seen as absolutes if the currency project is to succeed.   In speeches, both Kohl and Tietmeyer focused on the importance of the new currency gaining credibility from the outset -- not only in financial markets but also from ordinary people, who are nervous of ceding the cherished deutschemark.   They both rejected the suggestion that Germany's insistence on fiscal discipline before and after 1999 was some attempt to force a German way of thinking on its European partners by bringing its considerable economic power to bear.   "We know that the Euro must come and will come, at conditions which cannot be diluted as the trust of the public is at stake," Kohl said in a speech at a celebration on Wednesday evening to mark Tietmeyer's 65th birthday.   "Those looking at us from outside should not see us as crazy or slightly hysterical over this.  .  ," he added, noting that older Germans had suffered two bouts of hyperinflation.   "EMU is only possible as a low-inflation community, not just at its birth but down the years," Kohl said.   "When we say this, it is not just a routine comment from us.   And it is certainly not an attempt to make others adopt German ways," he added.   Tietmeyer, who has often been billed as opposing EMU -- a charge he firmly rebuts -- said he was in total support of European integration providing it had the right economic basis and ideally went hand in hand with deeper political union.   "The economic fundamentals are important and indispensable," Tietmeyer said.   "Stability...does not come of itself.   You have to work for it.   But it is worth fighting for."   Germany faces an uphill struggle to reach the Maastricht targets.   Bonn admitted on Wednesday that it would not be able to meet its planned budget deficit of 60 billion marks ($40.6 billion) in 1996 and coalition sources said on Thursday the actual figure could be more than 70 billion.   In France -- the country viewed with Germany as an essential initial partner in EMU -- threatened strikes pose a new challenge to unpopular budget measures in spite of a deep-rooted political will to see EMU go ahead.   Many other European countries, including Italy, a founder member of the integration movement, are judged by analysts to have barely any chance of meeting the conditions in time.   ($1=1.4770 Mark) 
5611 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Worker councils representing ground staff at Swissair AG on Thursday said they unequivocally rejected management proposal to cut salaries by five percent across the board.   A statement from three personnel unions and worker councils representing 7,700 Swissair ground staff said shorter working hours, which would improve employment, was preferred.   Union representatives and Swissair management, led by chief operating officer Philippe Bruggisser, met earlier today and unions will consider their response next Monday.   At the meeting Bruggisser modified Swissair's position and told the worker representatives that a five percent cut was not mandatory, but managment would insist on carrying out savings of 30 million Swiss francs.   A Swissair spokesman confirmed Bruggisser's views.   On July 30 Bruggisser told Swissair's staff magazine that he would beging talks with worker councils with the aim of lowering personnel costs by five percent in 1997.   The savings are part of Swissair's overall target of cutting personnel costs by five percent, or some 100 million francs.   Swissair is working on improving its bottom line by 500 million francs by 1998, including 100 million in personnel cost that also will be achieved by reducing jobs.   The protest over management's proposal reflects the growing dissatisfaction among ground staff, which has seen productivity increase dramatically, unions said.   The unions noted staffing had been cut by 18 percent since 1991 while revenue tonne-kilometres -- a measure of an airlines production -- had risen more than 40 percent.   -- Peter Nielsen, Zurich Editorial +41 1 631 7340 
5612 !E11 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GJOB !GPOL  Prime Minister Alain Juppe, struggling with record unemployment and facing threats of labour unrest, urged France's ambassadors on Thursday to project optimism and confidence about France abroad.   He said they should "give the image of a country which wants to modernise and reform and which has the ability to do it".   "It must be done because it's the truth.   France is a dear and old nation but one that knows how to adapt and a country preparing its future," the conservative prime minister told French ambassadors from around the world at a lunch.   A year ago, the envoys' main task was to try to blunt foreign outrage about France's nuclear tests in the South Pacific.   This year, they will be trying to make the best of a spluttering economy, record unemployment and threats of labour unrest that are raising doubts about France's ability to qualify for a single European currency from 1999.   Juppe told ambassadors to mobilise to "give France the image of a country that is strong, politically stable, economically rich and socially balanced."   "Like everywhere, there is of course resistance to change, conservative habits, fears of the future.   But there is also dynamism, imagination and determination," he said, pointing to reforms under way ranging from welfare to defence. 
5613 !GCAT !GCRIM  Austrian police said on Thursday they had arrested three men on suspicion of sexually abusing children and producing child pornography in what looked like a "child-for-hire" network spread across central Europe.   Vice squad officers seized box-loads of videos and other pornographic material from the home of one of the suspects at the start of a major investigation into the procuring of children, some as young as seven, to paedophiles in the region.   The hunt for others connected to the ring could involve neighbouring Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Germany.   "The three men, who are aged between 40 and 51, have been arrested and there appears to be evidence of child abuse," a Vienna police spokesman said.   Two of the men are Austrian citizens, one born in Slovakia and the other in the Czech Republic.   The third is Polish, police said.   Police declined to comment on whether there was a connection with a Belgian murder and child abuse case which has caused a wave of revulsion across Europe.   Belgian Marc Dutroux, alleged to be the dominant person in a paedophile pornography ring, has been named by police in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, as a suspect in the murder of one Slovak woman and the kidnapping of another.   Austrian current affairs magazine News launched a major investigative report into the Vienna-based network which provided clients in the Austrian capital with a choice of 70 girls, largely from Slovakia, aged between seven and 13.   Some visited customers in Vienna's top hotels, it said.   Catalogues and videos are sent to clients showing the girls parading like models and a code number for booking them -- material which appears not to be illegal in Austria.   A News team went under cover to check out the network and met a major "child trader" in Bratislava who led them to a city apartment where three girls aged 12 and 13 awaited them.   Vienna police sources said paedophiles made contact by using codes in sex magazines, some of which experts had cracked.   Apart from more sophisticated communications through computers, paedophiles were also putting ads in magazines to buy and sell "art objects", such as a statue of a child, which was understood to mean the procuring of a child for sex.   News published its report in this week's edition issued on Thursday but accompanying photographs showing young girls naked with only a black box over their eyes and their genitals obscured raised questions over the magazine's ethics.   "The story exposing the network is good but the words are enough," said Greens spokesman Stefan Schennach.   "It's not necessary to show such photos.   It's a step over the limit."   News's deputy editor Walter Pohl defended the magazine's decision to publish the pictures, saying it was part of a strategy to force police action.   "We showed the pictures to the police before publication and it was a big shock to them.   We are not sure they would have made the arrests if we had not done so," Pohl told Reuters.   Asked whether the photos were little more than soft porn pandering to the tastes of paedophiles, Pohl said: "Maybe 50 to 100 paedophiles in Austria will think it is porn, but on the other hand police have made arrests and hopefully some of these girls in Bratislava will no longer work in these networks." 
5614 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GPOL  The French government stuck to a hard line on illegal immigrants on Thursday, announcing that 88 deported Africans were flown home despite left-wing protests.   The government apparently waited until the overnight flights had reached their destination to confirm they had taken off.   The Interior Ministry said two French planes flew home 88 immigrants, 10 of them expelled from the Netherlands.   This took to 25 the number of deportation flights from France since conservative Prime Minister Alain Juppe took over 15 months ago.   The planes left on Wednesday night from an air force base at Evreux west of Paris after unionists and human rights activists had urged civilian pilots not to fly deportees.   A wide-bodied air force Airbus A-310 flew home 35 Malians and 11 Senegalese.   A Boeing 737 of Air Charter, a subsidiary of state-owned Air France, carried 12 Tunisians and 30 Zaireans, including 10 from the Netherlands.   The Communist CGT and pro-Socialist CFDT unions called on airlines not to lend their planes to the government and urged airlines and airport staff to demonstrate at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport on Friday against "flights of shame".   "Airline personel must not be turned into police assistants," they said.   The daily Le Monde said opposition to the immigration policy was growing in France and African countries, mainly Mali and Senegal, were voicing increasing concern.   The flights took off as police said 11,000 protesters marched through Paris to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed -- a demonstration twice the size of a similar protest last week.   French handling of illegal immigration has taken centre stage since police last week dragged out 300 African protesters, 10 of them on a hunger strike, who had been occupying a Paris church for two months to demand residence permits.   Two protesters and two policemen were slightly injured in clashes as some of the demonstrators tried to march on the Saint-Bernard church, in the heavily immigrant Goutte d'Or district, which has become a symbol of the protest.   Four of the church protesters were among 57 Africans deported last week on a military aircraft.   CIMADE, a group looking after immigrants, said three more were on the latest deportation flights.   This was not confirmed by the ministry.   Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre, buoyed by surveys saying that a majority of voters backs hardline 1993 laws to curb immigration, has said they would be enforced but he would review individual cases on humanitarian grounds.   "Sending people home on chartered flights while at the same time promising to review their cases is not a solution," the protesters' spokesman Abubakar Diop said.   He called at the National Assembly on Gilles de Robien, the floor leader of the UDF junior partner in the ruling coalition, in order "to see how we can get out of the deadlock".   The opposition Socialists called the policy on immigration "incoherent and brutal" and said they were drafting proposals to reform the law, including restoring the tradition that anyone born on French soil automatically becomes a French citizen.   The 1993 laws say children born in France to foreigners only become French if they request it after turning 16.   Debre's adviser on immigration Jean-Claude Barreau called the Socialists' proposals "suicidal demagoguery going against their voters' beliefs".   "If someone tries to get in without a ticket and gets caught, it is not abnormal that he be expelled," he wrote in Le Monde. 
5615 !GCAT !GENV !GVIO  About 200 German anti-nuclear activists protested on Thursday against nuclear waste transportation by re-enacting scenes from a demonstration they staged in May that turned into a violent clash with police.   Activists dressed as police brandished batons and firing a theatre-prop water cannon at "demonstrators".   Police who had turned out in force all around the government quarter fearing violence looked on in amusement.   Last May dozens of demonstrators and police were injured in violent clashes around the Gorleben nuclear waste depot as hundreds of protesters tried to block a delivery of waste by train and truck. 
5616 !GCAT !GCRIM  Italian Police said on Thursday they had arrested five people in connection with the slaying of the daughter and 14-year-old nephew of a Mafia boss earlier this week.   Santa Puglisi, 22, and Salvatore Botta were gunned down in a cemetery in this eastern Sicilian city on Tuesday in a crime which shocked even hardened anti-Mafia investigators.   The arrests followed a tip-off from a married couple who unexpectedly showed up at investigators' offices on Wednesday.   "They wanted to get a weight off their consciences," a police spokesman said.   He added the couple had also shed light on the murder last year of the wife of Mafia boss Nitto Santapaola.   Puglisi was shot as she knelt praying by the tomb of her young husband, who was himself killed last year in a Mafia ambush.   Botta, who had accompanied Puglisi to the cemetary, tried to flee the lone gunman but was caught and killed. 
5617 !C12 !C13 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Portugal's Banco Finantia said there was no basis for an investigation ordered by the state prosecutor following allegations of insider trading during the bank's unsuccessful bid to buy Banco de Fomento & Exterior (BFE).   "The bank believes there is no basis whatsoever for opening an investigation...against (it)," Finantia said in a statement.   "The bank has always adopted rigorous legal and ethical standards and in the relevant cases, namely that of the privatisation of BFE, was aided by the legal opinions of reputable law professors," it said.   Portugal's state prosecutor's office said earlier it had ordered an investigation into Finantia but refused to comment on the nature of the probe.   The daily Diario Economico said an official at Portugal's Financial Markets Committee (CMVM) had reported Finantia for alleged insider trading.   The paper said the investigation would focus on a purchase of one million BFE shares at 2,500 escudos which took place on July 18 after Finantia and two other banks had made bids for the state-controlled bank.   The purchase was allegedly based on confidential information.   The government announced last week that Banco Portugues de Investimento (BPI) had won the bidding battle.   It offered 2,615 escudos per share for 65 percent of BFE.   The maximum penalty for insider trading in Portugal is a two-year prison sentence which cannot be suspended.   -- Lisbon editorial +(351-1) 3538254 
5618 !E21 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Germany's Federal Labour Office expects a deficit of 11 to 12 billion marks this year, over seven billion more than the government had budgeted for, sources at the Office said.   German Finance Minister Theo Waigel had originally allowed for a deficit of 4.3 billion marks this year at the labour office, which the federal government is obliged to cover.   He has already acknowledged that the office would need more than this but has given no precise figure.   The sluggish economy and rising unemployment have put paid to his original calculations and are behind Wednesday's admission from the finance ministry that the planned 60 billion mark federal public deficit could not be met this year.   The office had already said in May that the deficit would be at least eight billion marks this year.   -- Ashley Seager, Bonn newsroom, 49-228-2609750 
5619 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Norway's Labour Directorate said on Thursday it saw signs of emerging local bottlenecks in the country's labour market.   "Besides public health care, there is considerable tightness in the pulp and paper industry, furniture manufacturing and shipbuilding," said Ted Hanisch, head of Norway's Labour Directorate.   "But besides that, I can see no serious bottleneck problems," he added.   The country's unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent in August is among the lowest in Europe, and only about half that of its Scandinavian neighbours Sweden (8.4 per cent) and Denmark (8.7 per cent).   One week ago, Statistics Norway announced employment growth of 68,000 people or about three percent year-on-year in the second quarter.   Unemployment, however, shrank by only 17,000.   Norway, which pumps about three million barrels of crude oil per day, is the world's largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia.   Director of research at Statistics Norway, Nils Martin Stoelen, said besides spending the country's oil revenues, factors behind the low unemployment were several years of successful wage deals and considerable supply-side flexibility in the labour market.   "The capacity in Norway's education system has greatly increased over the last few years, and arrangements for early retirement have been very liberal, thus contributing to a lower unemployment rate," he said.   But he added that there were limits to how fast employment could grow without spurring inflation.   "A few years ago, a government study concluded that an employment rate of about 3.5 percent was compatible with non-accelerating inflation," said Stoelen.   "But there is probably no reason to fear serious bottlenecks in the next year or two," he said.   --John Eriksen, Oslo newsroom +47 22 93 69 73 
5620 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  An airliner carrying Russian coal miners to the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen crashed on Thursday, killing all 141 passengers and crew, Norwegian officials and the Russian airline said.   Spitzbergen is a Norwegian coal-mining settlement.   The only other community is in the Russian village of Barentsburg.   Russia and Norway share the island's resources under a treaty dating back to the 1920s.   The crash took place in bad weather 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen, the island's only airstrip.   "No survivors have been found and our first aid staff are returning from the crash site," local government official Kjetil Hansen told reporters.   The Norwegian news agency NTB quoted a Vnukovo Airlines official as saying no one appeared to have survived   The Tupolev 154, chartered by the Russian mining company Trust Arktik Ugol, left Moscow with 129 passengers and a crew of 12.   It carried miners, who were travelling to work in one of the island's two open cast coal mines, and their familes, Russian officials told the Norwegian news agency.   Air traffic officials said they had lost contact with the flight, scheduled to arrive at around 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT), shortly before it was due to land.   First rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. and reported that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest had slid down the mountainside. 
5621 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  American best-selling trend-watcher John Naisbitt says Europe's planned single currency project is doomed to fail, Finnish current affairs weekly Suomen Kuvalehti reported on Thursday.   "Maastricht is dead, stone dead.   It will never come about... A currency is part of national identity.   That's why there won't be any single currency," Naisbitt was quoted as saying in an interview.   The European single currency idea was as absurd as if a single currency were proposed for the United States, Canada and Mexico, he said.   "Free trade yes, currency union no," said Naisbitt, the author of "Megatrends", "Global Paradox" and "Megatrends Asia". 
5622 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  Thieves stole almost 2,000 Irish pounds ($3,000) from the officers' canteen of a Limerick jail on Thursday while warders slept in a room upstairs.   Police said the thieves intercepted a woman arriving to work at the canteen, forced her to open the safe where takings were kept and made off with the cash.   While the robbery was going on, several officers were asleep in a room over the canteen, which is in the grounds of the prison on Ireland's southwest coast. 
5623 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  Italian police said on Thursday they had arrested a 61-year-old man after he fired blank shots at prostitutes he blamed for spreading AIDS.   The pensioner, named only as Pietro T., told investigators he was infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, and his wife had died of the disease.   He did not say how they had contracted the illness.   Police said the man had recently been spotted cruising red-light areas in this northern Italian city, hurling abuse at prostitutes and firing blank shots at them.   Police said they found in his apartment two fake guns and a pistol that would only fire blanks.   "Although fake guns are legal, the use he made of them means he could be tried," a police official said. 
5624 !C12 !C13 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Portugal's state prosecutor's office said it had ordered an investigation into Banco Finantia following allegations of possible insider trading during its unsuccessful bid to buy Banco de Fomento & Exterior (BFE).   The spokesman was confirming a report of the investigation in the daily Diario Economico newspaper but he refused to comment on the nature of the probe.   "We confirm that the state prosecutor has opened an investigation into Finantia," he told Reuters.   Diario Economico said an official at Portugal's Financial Markets Committee (CMVM) had reported Finantia for alleged insider trading.   The CMVM and Finantia both declined to comment on the report.   The paper said the investigation would focus on a purchase of one million BFE shares at 2,500 escudos which took place on July 18 after Finantia and two other banks had made bids for the state-controlled bank.   The purchase was based on confidential information.   The government announced last week that Banco Portugues de Investimento (BPI) had won the bidding battle.   It offered 2,615 escudos per share for 65 percent of BFE.   The maximum penalty for insider trading in Portugal is a two-year prison sentence which cannot be suspended.   -- Lisbon editorial +(351-1) 3538254 
5625 !GCAT !GCRIM !GENT  Roger Moore, the British actor and children's rights activist, said on Thursday a paedophile had made sexual overtures towards him when he was on boys' camping trip at the age of eight.   Speaking in his capacity as UNICEF's special representative for the film arts, Moore told reporters at a conference on child sex abuse that the incident had influenced his decision to work in children's rights.   "The whole story was that my friend and I, we were in the Cubs (junior Boy Scouts), we had a tent.   We went on to Wimbledon Common (in London) we put our tent up and a man came," said Moore, famous for playing tough secret agent James Bond.   "He sort of said I had nice knees which I thought was a bit peculiar," Moore, now 68, told a crowd of journalists.   He said the man continued with his advances but that the incident was relatively minor and he managed to escape before the man could make any more serious move.   "I left the tent and I was sitting on a branch and after a couple of minutes he came up and he made another suggestive remark about my anatomy...he made a grab and I just rolled backwards over the branch and ran off."   Moore said the incident illustrated many children's inability to talk to adults about issues that troubled them and it was a catalyst for his work promoting children's rights.   "I was 16 before I told my mother because somewhere deep down I had a sense of guilt that maybe I had done something wrong," Moore said.   "Sometimes (children) can't be heard because their voices are not strong enough and there's nobody to hear them.   And so we as UNICEF representatives are the voices of those silent children."   Over 1,000 delegates from 130 countries gathered in Stockholm this week for the first World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, to discuss the scope of abuse of children, legal reform and raising public awareness. 
5626 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Bodies have been sighted but no survivors have yet been found at the site of Thursday's crash of a Russian airliner on Norway's remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen, Norwegian officials said.   "We have found dead people," said Rune Hansen, the island's deputy governor, told Norwegian television.   The Norwegian news agency NTB quoted another official on the island as saying no survivors had been found.    The Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154 flight from Moscow, carrying 129 passengers and a crew of 12, crashed in bad weather 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen, the island's only airstrip, officials said.   First rescuers arrived shortly after 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) and reported soon afterwards that most of the three-engine jet's wreckage was scattered around the top of the small Opera mountain while the rest had slid down the mountainside.   Air traffic officials said they had lost contact with the flight, scheduled to arrive at around 10.15 a.m. (0815 GMT), shortly before it was due to land.   Spitzbergen is a Norwegian coal-mining settlement.   The only other community is in the Russian village of Barentsburg.   Russia and Norway share the island's resources under a treaty dating back to the 1920s. 
5627 !GCAT !GDIP  German officials on Thursday played down the significance of Chancellor Helmut Kohl's hastily organised trip to see Russian President Boris Yeltsin next week, saying it was a spontaneous impulse between friends.   The tenor of the visit was one of "just come on over for a quick visit without much fuss or protocol", they told journalists in Bonn, while pointedly declining to say whether Kohl or Yeltsin had suggested the trip.   But the visit comes at a time of renewed speculation about the health of the Russian president, who is taking a holiday outside Moscow while security aide Alexander Lebed tries to negotiate an end to the war in Chechnya.   Yeltsin has only been seen in public once since late June.   He made a brief appearance at his inauguration ceremony for a second term of office on August 9.   German officials, who declined to be identified, would not reveal whether Kohl got any impression of Yeltsin's health from the telephone call with him on Wednesday during which his visit was agreed.   They only said it was a "very good conversation".   But Kohl, Russia's chief advocate in the West who likes to stress his close friendship with Yeltsin, appeared to have had an easier time getting to see the president than Lebed had.   Yeltsin's security troubleshooter returned to Moscow from Chechnya last week intending to discuss a new peace plan with Yeltsin, but found the president could not or would not see him.   German officials say Kohl planned to see Yeltsin soon after his re-election and seized on September 7 as a rare gap in their packed calendars.   Keeping the visit informal means it can be organised at short notice without the protocol trappings which would be required for a more official visit, they said.   The meeting will take place in an unspecified presidential residence near Moscow.   German government sources declined to say if there was a specific agenda.   Kohl last week made a point of delivering a personal message to Yeltsin urging him to fulfil the promise he made before his re-election in June and bring the bloody conflict in Chechnya to a speedy and peaceful solution.   Yeltsin got a boost last spring when Kohl visited him in Moscow during his re-election campaign and left little doubt he wanted the incumbent to win.   German officials say it was only natural now for Kohl to take the opportunity to resume regular, personal contacts with one of Germany's most important partners. 
5628 !C12 !C17 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  French tobacco company Seita has started legal proceedings against Salomon Brothers in the New York Supreme Court over losses of $29.8 million on swaps transactions in 1994, lawyers for Seita said on Thursday.   The lawyers said their case was based on charges that the bank did not respect its duties of informing and advising its client, the presentation of inexact or incomplete data on the financial derivatives products concerned, as well as negligence and breach of contract.   One of the lawyers told Reuters a case had previously been filed against Salomon in the same affair but dismissed by a federal court, although on purely jurisdictional grounds.   "It was not dismissed on the substance, only on jurisdiction," the lawyer said.   Seita itself had no comment but was expected to issue a statement after 1500 GMT, the lawyer said.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
5629 !GCAT !GWEA  Torrential rains and galeforce winds battered Belgium on Thursday causing widespread damage as some areas had more rainfall in 24 hours than they normally get in a month, the meteorological office said.   Cellars were flooded, trees uprooted and roofs damaged, but there were no reports of any injuries, an interior affairs ministry spokesman said.   Some trains were delayed as fallen trees blocked lines.   Brussels received 5.6 cm (2.24 inches) of water in the past 24 hours -- compared to an average 7.4 cm (2.96 inches) per month -- but in several communes in the south of the country up to 8 cm (3.2 inches) fell, the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMT) said.   The RMT spokesman said that near the eastern city of Turnhout, a group of boy scouts camping in a low-lying meadow had to be evacuated as water flooded their tents.   The rain also severely hindered Belgian investigators' excavations in the southern village of Jumet, where they are looking for bodies in one of the houses of the main character in a paedophile sex-and-murder scandal.   But the coastal towns got off lightly as the flooding that had been expected due to a combination of spring tides and high winds failed to materialise. 
5630 !G15 !G155 !GCAT  Following are highlights of the midday briefing by the European Commission on Thursday:   Spokesman Joao Vale d'Almeida said in reply to a question that the Commission was still waiting for proposed projects from the Spanish government in order to receive EU financial assistance after recent flooding.   Spokesman Gerry Kiely said the Scientific Veterinary Committee would meet on September 6 and would discuss new British data on mad cow disease.   He said it was too early to say what its conclusions would be.   - - - -   The Commission released the following documents:   - IP/96/807: Operation ECHO-flight extended in east and central Africa.   - IP/96/808: Somalia: Commission clears humanitarian aid worth Ecu 1.9 million.   - IP/96/809: Colombia: EU humanitarian aid for victims of violence.   - IP/96/810: Commission clears emergency food aid for refugees and displaced people.   - IP/96/811: Ethiopia and Sudan: Commission clears emergency food aid worth Ecus nine million.   - IP/96/812: Commissioner Van den Broek visits Kazakhstan, Kyrghystan, Mongolia and China. 
5631 !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  French President Jacques Chirac travels to Bonn on Sunday for talks and dinner with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Chirac's office announced on Thursday.   The two leaders, whose countries are considered the driving engine of European unity, will confer on a broad range of topics including bilateral, European and international issues, aides said.   But defence cooperation and European monetary union are likely to get special attention due to German anger over French military reform plans and growing speculation that France may not be able to qualify for a single European currency.   Against a backdrop of an economic slowdown and rising unemployment, Paris must make tough budget cuts to reduce its public deficits enough to meet the 1997 criteria for monetary union.   In defence, the French and German foreign ministers said this month that they were on the path to putting their differences behind them over plans by Paris to withdraw some of its troops from German soil.   Chirac unveiled in July a major streamlining of the armed forces that will involve disbanding 38 regiments, closing barracks, army hospitals and air bases.   The plan, part of a shift to a smaller, all-professional army, would include major cuts in French forces based on German soil since the end of World War Two.   But French Defence Minister Charles Millon assured his German counterpart Volker Ruehe at a mid-August meeting that Paris would proceed gradually with its reform plan, in constant contact with its close ally.   Chirac and Kohl last met in June, after a summit of the Group of Seven industrialised nations in the central French city of Lyon.   REUTER 
5632 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Dutch central bank President Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday he welcomed the government's 1997 budget proposal, saying it would put the Netherlands firmly on course for Europe's single currency.   "If it's true what I've read about it, I must say it is very satisfactory," Duisenberg told journalists during an economic conference in this Tyrolean mountain resort.   Duisenberg said the government's proposals, which have not been made public yet, would reduce the government deficit to "just above two percent" of gross domestic product (GDP) in 1997, from already less than three percent this year.   The designated head of the European Central Bank admitted the country's debt level was still in excess of 60 percent of GDP, but said it was going in the "right direction" to satisfy Maastricht criteria for membership of Europe's monetary union.   Duisenberg has been one of the severest critics of Dutch governments' finance policy in the past, relentlessly stressing the need for budget discipline and wage restraint.   He has moderated his tone since right-of-centre Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm imposed strict and clear budget targets for the full four-year rule of the Labour-led government which took office in 1994 and which should enable the Netherlands to qualify for EMU.   Zalm's main worry was the state debt of 78.8 percent of gross domestic product in 1995 and which has to fall 'significantly' to enter the single currency union in 1999.   The Finance Ministry recently said the debt could be reduced by as much as 2.5 percentage points in 1997 if the state's cash reserves at the central bank were used to redeem some debt.   Duisenberg said the budget proposals he had seen would also guarantee that Dutch interest rates, both at the short and the long end, would remain below German rates.   Currently, the Dutch special advances rate is 50 basis points under the equivalent German repo rate of 3.00 percent.   Three-month guilder deposits trade 35 basis points under German equivalents while 10-year guilder bond yields are eight basis points below 10-year bunds.   "The budget will support that phenomenon," he said.   -- Knut Engelmann, Alpbach newsroom +43 663 025 661 
5633 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  With doubts over Europe's economic outlook and ability to curb public spending growing, EU officials will be under intense pressure to deliver progress on three critical aspects of EMU in early September.   A budget stability pact, a new Exchange Rate Mechanism and the legal underpinings of a common currency will be addressed by the European Commission during the early part of next month.   Together with the views of the European Monetary Institute, forerunner to Europe's central bank, the conclusions will form the basis for discussion among EU finance ministers meeting in Dublin on September 21.   The unveiling of such views, however, comes at a most inauspicious time.   Despite unwavering political commitment, doubts over the timetable for Economic and Monetary Union and the ability of some countries, notably France, to meet its preconditions are growing daily.   Such concerns are not only confined to Europe.   On Wednesday U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin expressed what many here have been wondering -- whether the drive to curb public spending will not lead to a downward spiral which harms both growth and government revenues.   "If you go too quickly on the deficit reduction you have so much of a drag you can overwhelm the interest effect," Rubin told Reuters in an interview.   The pressure to keep EMU on course has also focused attention on Germany's Bundesbank, with many questioning how much of a factor EMU will play in its future policy decisions.   For the immediate future, however, a number of sticking points remain in all three areas under discussion.   Still, EU monetary officials and analysts remain confident that such differences can be resolved without much conflict.   Following is a brief summary of where negotiations stand.   BUDGET STABILITY PACT -- A German initiative designed to enforce budget discipline among EMU participants, the primary obstacle is how to incorporate penalities in an automatic fashion against governments which let their deficits rise.   While the Maastricht treaty already allows for fines on those with deficits above 3.0 percent of GDP, the procedure is considered cumbersome and without much bite.   German Finance Minister Theo Waigel wants the review process sped up, and the Commission has put forward a compromise which seeks to streamline the process.   How to accomplish this, however, is a bit tricky given the treaty's legal constraints.   As Werner Becker of Deutsche Bank Research in Frankfurt puts it: "The key point is how to fit the stability pact into a legal framework."   EU officials say the most reasonable option would be to have secondary legislation which includes Waigel's plan.   ERM II - Unlike the present currency grid where currencies are bi-laterally aligned against each other, the new proposal will put the single currency as the anchor and all currencies not in the EMU area will, if their governments want, trade against it in relatively wide and flexible bands.   The voluntary nature of a new ERM is considered essential.   "My view is that countries will not be forced to join the ERM but I think the EU will say that any country that wishes to enter EMU in the future will have to be a member," says Charles Goodhart of the London School of Economics.   Still unclear, however, is the role the European Central Bank (ECB) will play in supporting currencies outside the grid should they come under speculative attack.   There is a strong desire to place limits on intervention and many want the ECB to have a say in initiating parity changes should the need arise.   But such a proposal runs into questions about political sovereignty and no one is yet certain what kind of compromise will be forthcoming.   LEGAL FRAMEWORK - The issue of contract continuity has been uppermost in the minds of financial markets and the Commission has tried to assauge such worries through numerous proposals.   The major concern is what legal standing bondholders have, for example, when a contract denominated in a national currency matures after the start of EMU in 1999.   Some investors want every contingency covered in EU legislation, but many say that such blanket coverage is virtually impossible.   Another question mark is when the legal framework is enacted.   Under the treaty the EU may have to delay a final decision until 1998.   For investors, there is a strong desire to have such issues clarified as soon as possible.   REUTER 
5634 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Job cuts in the German automobile industry slowed during the first half of 1996 following recent years of sharp cutbacks, the VDA German car industry association said on Thursday.   VDA President Erika Emmerich said industry employment during the first six months of 1996 fell 0.4 percent from year-ago levels.   The 1995 first half saw job cuts of one percent while the 1994 first half saw an 8.3 percent reduction in the German car industry workforce from 1993 levels.   Emmerich said average industry employment during the first six months of the year was 654,000 people, of which 363,000 people were directly involved with vehicle production.   The VDA also said that a five percent rise in 1996 domestic car sales was possible.   Emmerich said the consumer vehicle market segment in Germany has developed somewhat more favourable than earlier expected.   She also said that domestic demand was expected to firm further from current levels.   The growth rate for 1996 was expected to be about two to three percent lower than the 1995 level but Emmerich said the 1996 results were still expected to be satisfactory. 
5635 !GCAT  These are leading stories in Thursday's afternoon daily Le Monde, dated Aug 30.   FRONT PAGE   -- Finance Minister Jean Arthuis floats proposal of draft legislation on private pension savings scheme expected to cover 14 million private sector wage-earners.   -- Cattle farmers stage several angry rallies in protest against inadequate government support.   -- Former finance minister Alain Madelin says supply, not consumption, is the key to avoiding deflation and recommends deregulation, privatisation, new business incentives, tax reforms and bringing interest rates as close to zero as possible.   BUSINESS PAGES   -- Credit Foncier bailout faces obstacles over share price offer, parliamentary approval, trade union consent and transfer of loan portfolio to Credit Immobilier de France   -- Satellite dishes surge by 41 percent in French homes to June 1996 from October 1995 when dishes and cable TV were neck-to-neck.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 42 21 53 81 
5636 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying 129 passengers and a crew of 12 crashed on Norway's Arctic island of Spitzbergen on Thursday, the national news agency NTB said.    NTB said the wreckage of the Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154 had been found between the Helvetia and Opera mountains 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen airport.   "We have established a plane crash," spokesman Finn Bjoernar Hansen at the north Norway Bodoe rescue centre told Norwegian radio.   "That is all we know now.   We have started an extensive rescue operation.   We have made contact with Russian authorities through the Foreign Ministry in Oslo for a Russian contact person to be made available on Spitzbergen."   An ambulance helicopter was headed for the crash site, Hansen said.   Tromsoe hospital on mainland Norway was put on full alert, the radio said. 
5637 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Norway's Labour directorate issued the following economic indicator.    NORWEGIAN UNEMPLOYMENT  AUG 1996 JULY 1996 AUG 1995    Unemployment (in pct)  4.5  4.7  5.2    Unemployed 97,900  103,000 111,337   SEASONALLY ADJUSTED FIGURES    Unemployed 90,100  92,340 102,397   --Oslo newsroom, +47 22 42 50 41 
5638 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Thursday the forthcoming privatisation of state telecoms company Stet could be approved in parliament with help from some opposition parties.   Asked in an interview with Panorama magazine whether he found it "natural" for opposition groups to endorse the Stet sale, Prodi said: "Such parliamentary behaviour is completely consistent with the working of a bi-polar system."   The interview was released ahead of publication.   Prodi's centre-left Olive Tree coalition, which includes former communists, centrists and Greens, has a majority in the Senate (upper house) but relies on support from the hard left Communist Refoundation party in the lower Chamber of Deputies.   Communist Refoundation has to date sided with the government in crucial votes but has strongly rejected the planned Stet sale for ideological reasons.   The main opposition is Silvio Berlusconi's centre-right Freedom Alliance, comprising his own Forza Italia party, the far-right National Alliance (AN) and centrist parties.   Outside the main blocs is the secessionist Northern League.   The privatisation of Stet is set for Spring 1997 but parliament must first approve a controversial media and telecoms bill which will set up a watchdog for the phone sector.   AN leader Gianfranco Fini said in an interview with Thursday's La Stampa that it was too early to say whether the centre-right Freedom Alliance would give the green light to the Stet sell-off.   The Northern League has said it would be prepared to help pass the legislation needed for the Stet sale but wants Prodi to come to its self-proclaimed "parliament of the North" in Mantua to ask for help.   -- Rome newsroom +396 678 2501 
5639 !GCAT !GDIP !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying 129 passengers and a crew of 12 crashed on Norway's Arctic island of Spitzbergen on Thursday, the national news agency NTB said.    NTB said the wreckage of the Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154 had been found between the Helvetia and Opera mountains 10 km (six miles) east of Longyearbyen airport.   "We have established a plane crash," spokesman Finn Bjoernar Hansen at the north Norway Bodoe rescue centre told Norwegian radio.   "That is all we know now.   We have started an extensive rescue operation.   We have made contact with Russian authorities through the Foreign Ministry in Oslo for a Russian contact person to be made available on Spitzbergen."   An ambulance helicopter was headed for the crash site, Hansen said.   Tromsoe hospital on mainland Norway was put on full alert, the radio said. 
5640 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA  Spain's first maize is being harvested in the southern region of Andalusia after a severe drought all but obliterated output there last year, agricultural experts said.   Spain's total maize crop is likely to surge to 3.6-4.0 million tonnes this year from 2.6 million last year, farmers' association and Agriculture Ministry forecasts show.   Producers say this puts production back at a normal level.   The bulk of Spanish maize comes from the northern region of Aragon and harvesting does not get under way until mid-October, a spokesman for maize producers' association AGPME said.   So far, the prospects are good in the north, with around 25 percent more hectares planted this year from last.   "So far everything's going well.   We've planted more this year than last and we're expecting a yield of around nine tonnes per hectare," a spokesman said.   "The harvest is likely to be qualified as normal, both in terms of quality and quantity," he said.   There had been talk of a delay in the maturing of the crop because of rain, but plantings have managed to compensate for this effect during the summer, he said.   Down in Andalusia so far around 40 percent of the regional crop has been now been collected, farmers' association ASAJA estimates.   This may account for around five to 10 percent of the total national crop.   "The harvest advances quite quickly, so I'd estimate by tomorrow we'll have about half in," technical expert Jose Vasquez said.   However quality in the south has not been particularly good, with humidity levels so far at around 14 percent on average although this figure should decline, he said.   Generally this kind of maize is used for animal feed, he said.   According to ASAJA, maize yields in the southern regions of Seville and Cordoba this year should be almost 11 tonnes per hectare.   Yields vary widely from region to region in Spain, and are much higher than in other areas of Europe.   Estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture for average maize yields nationally are around 8.8 tonnes per hectare this year, although traders say this forecast may be optimistic.   Extremadura, the southwestern region next due to harvest maize, should have completed its task by the end of September, Vasquez said.   This year the Agriculture Ministry is forecasting a 20.6 million tonne total Spanish cereal crop, around double last year's total.   -- Madrid newsroom +341 585 2160 
5641 !GCAT !GVIO  Algerian security forces killed four Moslem guerrillas on Tuesday in a village south of the capital Algiers, an Algerian newspaper said on Thursday.   The armed militants were shot dead in Nahar village 90 km (56 miles) south of Algiers, Liberte newspaper said.   Security forces also killed an unspecified number of members of a rebel gang on Wednesday in the Leveilly suburb of Algiers, Le Matin newspaper reported.   An estimated 50,000 people, mostly Moslem militants and security forces members, have been killed in violence pitting Moslem guerrillas against government forces since early 1992, when authorities cancelled a general election in which Islamists had taken a commanding lead. 
5642 !C13 !C18 !C183 !CCAT !E12 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said on Thursday that new rules to enact planned reforms to pension funds would be unveiled by the end of August, enabling them to take part in Italy's forthcoming privatisations.   "By the end of the month the Treasury Minister (Carlo Azeglio Ciampi) will present...rules regulating pension funds," Prodi said in an interview with Panorama magazine released ahead of publication.   "It's more than a year since the (pensions) law was approved and finally we will make it fully operational.   I am sure that the cabinet will have a swift response.   The privatisations will go ahead with the pension funds.   It's a task I have set myself."   Former prime minister Lamberto Dini pushed through pension reforms last year after hard-fought negotiations with trades unions.   They included measures aimed at an overhaul of Italy's under-developed private pension funds.   Treasury undersecretary Laura Pennacchi said in July that elaboration of the measures, to be put in a treasury decree, was almost ready and that pension funds should be able to take part in the next wave of Italian privatisations.   The government is planning to sell off state-controlled telecommunications monopoly Stet next spring.   The privatisation of electricity group Enel is also due next year and the sale of a second tranche of energy company Eni is scheduled for this October.   -- Rome newsroom +396 678 2501 
5643 !GCAT !GCRIM  Finnish police said on Thursday they had arrested two men suspected of sexually abusing a captive 13-year-old girl, but did not believe the case was linked to others in Europe.   The men, both Finns aged about 40, were arrested last Saturday in the western town of Tampere in a raid on a luxury boat owned by one of them.   The girl was being held on the boat and had sought help from a passer-by, police chief inspector Ilkka Laasonen said.   "This is an individual case and I don't have any evidence linking the suspects to any other cases," Laasonen said.   The girl was taken to hospital.   The men could face charges carrying up to six to 10 years in prison, he said.   Witnesses had reported seeing many young women and some girls who looked clearly underage at parties around the boat in recent weeks, the daily newspaper Iltalehti said. 
5644 !GCAT !GENT  What do the author Henry James, the rock group Queen and the late New York artist Jean-Michel Basquiat have in common?   Just check out the programme of the Venice Film Festival.   Many of the films at Venice this year look to other art forms -- literature, music or visual arts -- for inspiration.   Continuing cinema's fascination in recent years with 19th century literature, New Zealand-born director Jane Campion will unveil her adaptation of James's novel "Portrait of a Lady" in an out-of-competition screening.   The film, starring Nicole Kidman and John Malkovich, has its world premiere on September 6.   German director Volker Schlondorff also turned to the written word for his film "The Ogre" based on the 1970 novel by French writer Michel Tournier, "The Erl-King".   The World War Two drama also stars Malkovich.   "Michel Tournier's book both fascinated and frightened me," Schlondorff said in an interview released by publicists.   "It is a very French view of Germany, a kind of realist fairy tale," he said.   "It's the story of someone who is nothing at home and who, once dragged into the war, suddenly believes his destiny is coming to pass and that great things are waiting for him."   Another book-turned-film competing at Venice is Colombian director Sergio Cabrera's "Ilona Llega con la Lluvia" (Ilona Arrives with the Rain), based on the novel by the same name by fellow Colombian Alvaro Mutis.   The New York City art scene is scrutinised in "Basquiat", which is also competing for the Golden Lion prize to be awarded on September 7, the final day of the festival.   The film, about the life of artist Basquiat who died of a heroin overdose in 1988, is the directing debut of artist Julian Schnabel, who was Basquiat's friend.   Singer David Bowie appears in the film as Basquiat's mentor, pop art legend Andy Warhol.   Queen, the British rock group whose flamboyant lead singer Freddie Mercury died of AIDS in 1991, is featured in "Made in Heaven", a compilation of seven short films produced by the British Film Institute.   It was shown out of competition at a private screening on Wednesday, the festival's opening day.   French director Jean-Luc Godard also evokes music in his entry, "Forever Mozart", set in Sarajevo during Bosnia's war.   The film is made up of four loosely-linked vignettes about efforts by artists to continue their trade despite the fighting.   Godard dedicated the final segment to a young pianist who performs a Mozart piano concerto in the film.   But not all movies at Venice are so artistically-inclined.   One character from a real-life drama is making his acting debut.   Bernard Tapie, France's former businessman, soccer boss and cabinet minister until the collapse of his business empire in 1994, will be starring in Claude Lelouch's "Hommes, femmes, mode d'emploi" (Men, Women, Instructions for Use).   Tapie, who is appealing two jail sentences imposed for tax fraud and rigging a soccer match, plays an over-stressed lawyer.   Lelouch said during filming that he hired Tapie because he was so impressed by his magnetic personality.   "He's a born actor," he said.   The film will be screened on September 4. 
5645 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Iraq expressed regret on Thursday that no consensus had been reached on a global nuclear test ban treaty, saying the failure could damage the credibility of the Conference on Disarmament.   Ambassador Barzan Ibrahim Al-Tikriti, half-brother of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, also said the international community was seeking total disarmament and destruction of nuclear weapons worldwide.   It was the first time the Iraqi delegation had addressed the main United Nations-sponsored negotiating forum on disarmament since being admitted to the Geneva talks last June.   India prevented the 61-nation conference from reaching consensus last week on a draft Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) which would prohibit all nuclear explosions.   However, Australia has vowed to bring the text to the U.N. General Assembly next month for signature and is marshalling support from other non-nuclear states, according to diplomats.   Barzan said that his country supported the current draft.   "It is really regrettable that the text provided by the chairman of the ad hoc committee for a nuclear test ban...has not met with consensus," he said in a speech made in Arabic.   "Hence, the conference has faced a difficult situation that might affect its credibility as the sole negotiation forum for disarmament affairs," he added.   The Geneva forum is expected to resume negotiations, launched in March 1995, to halt production of fissile material used in nuclear weapons -- plutonium and highly-enriched uranium.   As wrapping up the CTBT negotiations was given top priority, it has made virtually no progress on the fissile "cut-off" talks in the last 17 months, according to delegates.   Formerly head of Iraqi intelligence, Barzan has served for years as Iraq's ambassador to the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva and also has cabinent rank as presidential adviser.   Barzan said that total nuclear disarmament was vital to promoting international security, improving international relations and consolidating "confidence among states".   But he made no reference to international inspectors trying to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, as set forth under the terms of the 1991 Gulf War ceasefire.   Iraq and 22 other countries -- including Israel and Syria -- were admitted to the Geneva talks last June in a compromise deal ending a long standoff over Baghdad's participation.   The United States had blocked the conference's expansion three years ago, arguing that Iraq should not be allowed to hold veto power on the conference -- which takes decisions by consensus -- while still subject to U.N. economic sanctions.   Under the compromise, the 23 new members immediately gave written pledges not to individually veto the conference decisions during the first two years of their membership.   After that date, any of the 23 states under sanctions defined by chapter seven of the U.N. charter would be unable to wield its veto.   The conference successfully negotiated the Chemical Weapons Convention, signed in Paris in January 1993.   But the pact to ban chemical weapons has yet to come into force as the required 65 ratifications have not yet been reached. 
5646 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GWELF  Finance Minister Jean Arthuis on Thursday presented industry heads and unions with a draft bill on the introduction of private pension funds in France, Le Monde afternoon daily newspaper reported.   The bill should be examined by parliament in October or November, the newspaper said.    Back in early July, Arthuis said he expected private pension funds, which could invest in shares and bonds, to be in place in France at the start of next year.   Le Monde said that the bill presented by Arthuis on Thursday allowed for "retirement-savings plans" at the company, sectoral or profession level, in addition to an existing system involving a social security-backed pension and top-up retirement schemes.    The newspaper said the bill foresaw funds based on employee contributions, allowing employers to contribute but with a ceiling of six times the contributions from staff.   It said the bill also sought to create additional security by having such funds externally managed for companies.   The tax treatment side of the matter had yet to be decided, but the 1997 budget should include clauses on exemptions from income tax for contributions and on company tax.   Le Monde said the text did not spell out how the assets of these funds could be placed.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
5647 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  A Russian airliner carrying 129 passengers and a crew of 12 was reporting missing on Thursday on Norway's Arctic island of Spitzbergen, the national news agency NTB said.   It quoted a north Norway rescue centre official at Bodoe as saying the Spitzbergen airport at Longyearbyen lost contact with the Vnukovo Airlines Tupolev 154 as it was due to land.    NTB said three Norwegian helicopters and an aircraft were searching for the missing plane on the barren island, but it said visibility was poor and that no distress signals had been received from the aircraft.   "We don't know what the status for the plane is," spokesman Finn Bjoernar Hansen at the Bodoe centre told Norwegian radio.   "We know nothing about what has happened to the passengers.   He said the plane came from Moscow.   "The flight probably had something to do with the Russian coal mining at Spitzbergen."   Russia runs a coal mine near the town of Barentsburg under an agreement dating back to the 1920s which granted Norway sovereignty over Spitzbergen. 
5648 !GCAT !GVIO  Separatist guerrillas bombed a government office on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on Thursday despite fresh warnings of a crackdown by Paris, police said.   In the latest of a series of attacks, a two kg (4.4 lb) bomb seriously damaged Agriculture Ministry offices in the centre of the island capital Ajaccio, police said.   The blast, just 50 metres (yards) from a police station, followed by a day a warning of a new "get-tough" policy by Paris toward the separatists, who seek greater autonomy.   Interior Minister Jean-Louis Debre, under fire for staging secret talks with one of the largest of several rival underground nationalist groups, told the daily La Corse in a statement he had given "firm orders" to police to round up those responsible for the bombings and bring them to justice.   Judges on the island had accused Paris of taking a lax stance on guerrilla violence while conducting secret but widely-reported talks with separatists which have now failed.   The latest bombing, close on the heels of the new orders, appeared to emphasise police impotence, some officials and commentators said.   "No searches, no arrests, no police reinforcements visible on the island despite the ministry's promises," the daily France-Soir lamented.   "On the island, as at the Place Beauvau (the Interior Ministry's Paris address), people are well aware who is who and who is doing what.   It is time to end this nightly farce," said the pro-government daily Le Figaro in an editorial.   No one immediately claimed responsibility for Thursday's blast, the 22nd to strike the resort island since mid-August, when separatist guerrillas ended a shaky seven-month truce.   Corsica has been racked by low-level separatist-inspired violence, principally directed against government targets, for two decades, but the pace of the bombings has picked up markedly since separatist guerrillas buried the truce.   The daily Le Monde reported on Wednesday some separatist movements were considering taking their attacks to the French mainland on the principle that "300 grammes of explosives on the continent have more impact than 300 kilos in Corsica".   The newspaper said separatists may take advantage of social unrest widely expected on the mainland in coming weeks over government austerity plans to stoke a popular backlash against the government. 
5649 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Dutch central bank chief Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday the European Union had come a long way towards securing stable inflation and exchange rates but public finances were still in disarray.   "The red lights are still flashing for most countries," Duisenberg, the designated president of the future European Central Bank, told a conference on European issues in this mountain village near Innsbruck.   The Dutch central bank president noted that according to the Maastricht criteria, only Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg would at present qualify for entry into Europe's planned monetary union scheduled to begin in 1999.   "The others will have to slim down further in order to appear in good shape at the start of EMU (economic and monetary union)," he said.   The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 has laid down strict entry requirements in terms of inflation, deficit and debt levels for any country wanting to join the single currency.   "I count on Austria and the Netherlands to succeed in qualifying for EMU," Duisenberg said.   "Considerable efforts are required, but indications are that Austria and the Netherlands could pass the EMU fitness test."   Duisenberg, addressing a high-level forum of bankers, businessmen and academics, reiterated calls for a so-called stability pact to prevent member countries from running up excessive deficits once they have joined the single currency.   He said it was a matter of sound policy to strive for a balanced budget under normal circumstances so that automatic stabilisers could work in times of economic difficulties.   "To me, the stability pact has great appeal," he said. 
5650 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  Health spending emerged on Thursday as the biggest bone of contention in talks on the crucial 1997 budget between Spain's new conservative government and its Catalan nationalist allies in parliament.   "It looks as if this has turned into the main point of dispute," said a spokeswoman for the Catalan government's health department.   The government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar started budget talks on Wednesday with the Catalans, whose support it needs to pass a 1997 spending plan, and ran into trouble right away over its proposals to cut health spending in order to help Spain qualify for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).   "There's a certain discrepancy over spending criteria for health in 1997," the Catalans' economic spokesman in parliament, Francesc Homs, told a radio interviewer on Thursday.   "This is probably the only issue in the social domain where we don't agree, but I don't think this difference is hopeless.   We will have to study it a bit more."   Aznar's Popular Party (PP) government needs to trim the overall public-sector deficit by at least a trillion pesetas ($8 billion) to meet next year's European monetary union target.   It wants to cut overall spending by around one percent in real terms and has proposed introducing small charges for prescriptions and basic medical services as a means of curbing burgeoning health costs.   The Catalans oppose any reduction in health spending.   On top of this, they want an extra 200 billion pesetas of central government funding to be transferred to the seven autonomous regions, including theirs, that run their own health services.   Of this, some 30 billion would correspond to Catalonia.   "The health system in the whole of Spain in 1997 will have higher costs than the government estimates," Homs said.   The economy ministry in Madrid declined to comment.   Catalan spokesmen said they agree with the government on the general lines of the budget, implying there will be a final agreement.   If the Catalans' objections stop Aznar from trimming health spending, which accounts for more than five percent of gross domestic product, the axe will have to cut deeper into other areas if Spain is to remain on course for monetary union.   The government must present its draft budget to parliament by the end of September.   Since it does not have a majority of its own, it will be unable to approve it without the Catalans' 16 votes and support from its minor allies in the moderate Basque Nationalist Party or in the Canary Islands coalition.   -- Madrid newsroom, + 34 1 585 2151 $=125 pesetas 
5651 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in the Swedish papers on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAGENS NYHETER   - Scandinavian Airline Systems (SAS) is tightening up checks on its discount fare system because too many passengers are abusing the scheme.   - A Swedish doctor is the subject of an investigation into racial and sex discrimination after he stopped sick pay to a Turkish woman with back problems.   The woman's injuries kept her at home from her arduous work in a bakery.   SVENSKA DAGBLADET   - Social Democrat (SDP) politicians are debating whether to cut youth social benefits in order to trim local social welfare budgets.   - Many large Swedish company employees defy tax regulations by claiming entertainments and bonus trips as conference trips.   - Volvo and Scania's truck units will face tougher competition as Mercedes launches its latest heavy truck models.   DAGENS INDUSTRI   - Norwegian state-owned power company Statkraft has become a major owner in Swedish power firm Sydkraft.   The company paid 2.8 billion crowns for 10 percent of the shares in Sydkraft.   - Finance Minister Erik Asbrink's comments that Sweden might not join the European Union's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) when it starts in 1999 sent longer debt yields higher.   - Work on Coca-Cola's new 50,000-square-metre bottling plant outside Stockholm for 300 million crowns, for which Skanska has signed a preliminary agreement, is expected to begin in late September.   -- Stockholm newsroom +46-8-700 1003 
5652 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  France said on Thursday it had sent home 88 Africans in a continuing crackdown on illegal immigrants.   The Interior Ministry said 35 Malians, 11 Senegalese, 12 Tunisians and 30 Zaireans -- 10 of them expelled from the Netherlands -- were aboard two chartered planes which left on Wednesday night.    The airliners, at least one of them an air force plane, left from Evreux air base west of Paris after unionists and human rights activists had urged civilian pilots nto to fly deportees.   The air force Airbus A-310 flew to Mali and Senegal, the ministry said.   The other plane, a Boeing 737, flew to Tunis and Kinshasa, refuelling on the way in Niger.   French handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since 300 African protesters, 10 of whom had been on hunger strike, were dragged out of a Paris church in a controversial police raid last week.   Thousands of demonstrators marched through Paris on Wednesday to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed. 
5653 !C31 !C312 !CCAT !G15 !G153 !GCAT !M14 !M141 !MCAT  The European Union is likely to come under further pressure to restore export subsidies for its wheat on Thursday amid renewed competition for international supplies and promising harvests, grain traders said.   Grain houses are bidding for EU wheat at a weekly auction aware that Brussels is unwilling to relax its export tax policy but also faces a better wheat crop than previously thought.   The EU last week rejected traders' bids for export subsidies and granted 145,350 tonnes of soft wheat at a minimum tax of 1.27 Ecus per tonne, equating to $184 per tonne or around nine dollars more than soft red winter.    EU officials believe they can maintain a premium for their wheat over U.S. supplies while avoiding traditional export subsidies because of crop quality fears in the United States.   But fragile world prices and a six percent rise in EU wheat output to 85 million tonnes this year mean Brussels has less scope to sell at firm prices, traders said.   Egypt bought up to 200,000 tonnes of French wheat at what traders called a market-busting price of $178 per tonne fob.   To match that sale for October shipment the EU would need to award a subsidy of some 2.5 Ecus per tonne, traders calculated.   To match soft red winter it would need to pay 3.8 Ecus.    For North African importers like Algeria and Morocco, traders said they needed a refund of three to four Ecus.   EU officials stressed, however, that the war on high internal wheat prices which caused the subsidies to be withdrawn last year was not yet over.   At 890-895 francs per tonne for Rouen delivery in September, plus carrying charges, French wheat is "still too high," one official said.   On a fob basis, and including the twice-monthly carry of 3.64 francs per tonne from August 1, French wheat is still nearly 10 percent over intervention levels, others said.    In Germany and Britain the gap is narrower, they said.   To maintain the same French fob export price as last week, the EU would have to tax wheat by around 0.54 Ecus per tonne at Thursday's tender, trade analysts said.   To keep a constant premium of some nine dollars over soft red winter wheat it would have to tax exports by 0.8 Ecus per tonne.   Bids are due to be considered by the EU's cereals management committee in Brussels later on Thursday.   --Paris newsroom +331 4221 5146 
5654 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  Dutch central bank chief Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday the European Union had come a long way towards securing stable inflation and exchange rates but public finances were still in disarray.   "The red lights are still flashing for most countries," Duisenberg, the designated President of the future European Central Bank, told a conference on European issues in this mountain village near Innsbruck.   The Dutch central bank president noted that according to the Maastricht criteria, only Denmark, Ireland and Luxembourg would at present qualify for entry into Europe's planned monetary union (EMU), scheduled to begin in 1999.   "The others will have to slim down further in order to appear in good shape at the start of EMU," he said.   The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 has laid down strict entry requirements in terms of inflation, deficit and debt levels for any country wanting to join EMU.   "I count on Austria and the Netherlands to succeed in qualifying for EMU," Duisenberg said.   "Considerable efforts are required, but indications are that Austria and the Netherlands could pass the EMU fitness test."   Duisenberg, addressing a high-level forum of bankers, businessmen and academics, reiterated calls for a so-called stability pact to prevent member countries from running up excessive deficits once they have joined the single currency.   He said it was a matter of sound policy to strive for a balanced budget under normal circumstances so that automatic stabilisers could work in times of economic difficulties.   "To me, the stability pact has great appeal," he said.    -- Knut Engelmann, Alpbach newsroom +43 5336-5652 
5655 !E51 !E511 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A senior Burmese leader on Thursday criticised Western activists campaigning for economic isolation of the Asian nation, saying firms that withdrew from Burma over human rights concerns would hurt only themselves.   Neither political pressure nor recent decisions by major companies to pull out of Burma could slow its economic bandwagon, said planning and development minister Brigadier-General David Abel in China's southwestern Kunming city.   "(It will have) absolutely no impact at all," Abel told Reuters in an interview during a conference on regional economic cooperation.   "They came of their own free own will...They withdrew of their own free will.   They stand more to lose than they gain."   A number of major Western firms have in recent months cut or scaled back investment in Burma after intense lobbying by activists protesting against its human rights record.   The leader of Burma's democratic oppostition, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, is spearheading a campaign for sanctions to pile pressure on the military State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC).   Businessmen have said the SLORC crackdown on the democracy movement is likely to hurt efforts to attract foreign investment, but Abel said Burma's experience of self-imposed isolation before opening up in 1988 made the withdrawal of firms such as Dutch brewer Heineken and Denmark's Carlsberg no threat.   Investors from elsewhere stood ready to take the place of those who left, he said.   "We isolated ourselves for 26 years, we didn't have Heineken, we didn't have anything," he said.   "These sort of things are just consumer items.   Anybody is willing to replace them.   We have offers already."   Burma's economy surged over the past four years, with average annual gross domestic product growth of 8.2 percent.   Abel lashed out at a report from the U.S. embassy in Rangoon last month that cast doubt on such growth figures, calling the report a slanted and unprofessional attack.   "They want to discredit us, that's all," he said.   Pressures for Western economic action against Burma grew in May when the SLORC rounded up more than 250 members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy to try to block a party congress.   The U.S. Senate last month paved the way for possible future sanctions on Rangoon if political repression increased.   European activists have stepped up campaigns against companies involved in Burma since the death in a Rangoon jail in June of Danish honorary consul James Nichols.   Campaigners say public support has never been stronger, but Abel dismissed them as undemocractic and unrepresentative.   "I think the activists may be one holiday worker sitting in his room...typing out some malicious letters during the weekend," he said.   Burmese officals in Kunming have been discussing ways to boost regional cooperation at a conference organised by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).   Differences over how to deal with Rangoon have put the ADB in a delicate position.   While some Western nations seek to increase pressure on Burma, its neigbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations reject santions and are pursuing a policy of "constructive engagement". 
5656 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL !GVIO  French union leader Marc Blondel said on Thursday he expected social conflicts in the autumn because there was much discontent in the country.   But the Force Ouvriere leader warned he feared such a social movement could be out of the hands of the unions.   "It's my problem as a unionist that this risks to happen outside the control of the unions.   More a sort of 'Poujadism'," Blondel told RTL radio, refering to a popular political uprising led by grocer Jean-Pierre Poujade in the 1950s. 
5657 !C11 !CCAT !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  The European central bank (ECB) should be clear about its targets and prepared to explain blunders in order to win credibility, Dutch central bank president and possible ECB president Wim Duisenberg said.   "Its strategy should be transparent.   The ECB should use clear policy goals on the basis of which the public and financial markets can come to a verdict," he said in a speech on Thursday that was made available in advance.   "Secondly, its strategy should be such that it can explain its moves.   Blunders should be explained...Timely and accurate information to the public and markets is essential," he said.   Duisenberg, who will take over as head of the European Monetary Institute in July 1997 and probably its successor, The European Central Bank, also said the European central bank's main goal of price stability could be achieved by either money supply targets or direct inflation targeting.   Both strategies had their merits and did not exclude other factors.   "In reality there is a certain similarity between the two strategies," he told a conference in Alpbach, Austria.   Which one of the two the ECB would choose depended on the possibilities for transparency and explanation, he said.   -- Amsterdam newsroom +31 20 504 5000, Fax +31 20 504 5040 
5658 !GCAT  Leading stories in the Greek financial press:   FINANCIAL KATHEMERINI   -- Annual T-bills at 12.70 percent in September   -- The number of tourists from the U.S rises despite the travel advisory issued by U.S authorities.   The number is expected to reach 500,000   IMERISIA   -- Pre-election promises cause political storm.   The socialist party (PASOK) and the conservative party (ND) exchange accusations over public sector spending waste   -- Greek exports to the Balkans jumped 142 percent in the last three years with 2,500 Greek firms expanding their operations there   KERDOS   -- The business community expresses its opinion openly about the platform of political parties for the first time   -- Liquidity is augmented by forex inflows   EXPRESS   -- Lower interest rates on T-bills due to excess liquidity in the money market.   The borrowing needs of the state amount to 1.8 trillion drachmas in September   -- New delays in the construction of the Athens metro due to the lack of money   NAFTEMBORIKI   -- The confederation of Northern Greek industries disagrees with pre-elections promises   -- The interest rates constitute the Achilles heel of the public debt --Dimitris Kontogiannis, Athens Newsroom +301 3311812-4 
5659 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Finnish commentators fully expect the markka to be linked to Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism, but while some expect a move very soon others think authorities will wait at least until after an October election.   "It is completely clear that the markka will be linked," said Risto Uimonen, editorial writer at daily Helsingin Sanomat.   "All the time the question has been more one of when, not whether."   A markka-ERM link was unlikely shortly before the October 20 local government and European parliament polls, analysts said.   Of 10 observers in a straw poll by Reuters on Tuesday and Wednesday, five were inclined to see a decision to link coming later while four expected an early move.   One put even odds on a decision to peg either before or after the elections.   "Their choice is September or November.   I would think they would rather go in early than late," said one political insider, adding speculative pressures might increase if the widely anticipated decision failed to materialise.   But ABB Treasury Center Finland president Kenneth Stenberg said chances of a post-election move were growing and financial markets would not mind being kept waiting.   "It is starting to look more likely after (the election)," he said.   "The market is absolutely sure that the ERM link is coming ... (waiting) is no problem.   Strong confidence in the markka and in Finnish convergence will hold," he added.   Those advocating a decision later said going for a peg prior to the elections may put unnecessarily sharp ammunition in the hands of the opposition to Finland's five-party coalition.   Speaking on condition of anonymity, a long-time close observer of Finnish politics said "plenty of nationalistic chauvinism" was involved in a link of the markka to ERM.   Populists may try to use this to put government parties in an unfavourable light, he said.   "They (the government) are hardly eager to voluntarily promote that," he said.   Esko Seppanen, a Leftist Alliance MP and outspoken critic of ERM and Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) gave one example:   A peg would be evidence of "allegiance to Germany" and would "rob us of the possibility to ourselves affect the exchange rate", said Seppanen, who also sits on the Bank of Finland's board of parliamentary supervisors and is a candidate Euro MP.   He said he expected a link after the elections.   Another central bank supervisory board member, Kimmo Sasi of the Conservative Party, expected a move after the polls.   "My view is that it is unlikely that a decision would be made before, but the important thing is that when it is made it is based on economic reasons, not political," Sasi said.   "But from the government's point of view it might be politically inappropriate to decide on a link, say just two or three weeks before the elections," he said.   The Bank of Finland's role in a link must not be ignored, some analysts said.   Independent on monetary policy, it must work with government on a markka-ERM decision.   The central bank's officials have repeatedly pointed out that the markka is stable already, and warned an ERM link may expose the currency to more speculative forces.   "They are less than enthusiastic," one insider said.   "But they have had to accept that something must be done."   It was now "obvious that the Bank of Finland understand they have to play ball", said Uimonen at Helsingin Sanomat.   The central bank was likely to stand by a view that the ERM environment might be volatile as long as convergence uncertainties elsewhere in Europe remained, analysts said; that would point to a link later rather than sooner.   But some market analysts expect a link very soon: one theory is that the move will come before the September 20-21 meeting of European Union finance ministers, and a September 9-10 monetary committee meeting will prepare the ground.   A September 18 date set for a meeting of the key Finnish economic council meeting could back this theory, by providing an opportunity to inform its highly influential members.   And with the September 20-21 meeting due to rule on relations between so-called EMU 'ins' and 'outs' after the third stage of monetary union in 1999, Finland may seek a place in the 'ins' camp by setting a link ahead of the meeting, one analyst said.   Juha Ahtola, chief economist at Merita Bank, had another reason to expect a quick decision to join.   "This government has consistently wanted to demonstrate that it is capable of assertive decision-making.   Why delay and let this issue remain open ahead of the elections," he said.   Esko Torsti, head of market advisory at Enskilda in Helsinki agreed and expects a link within three weeks.   "The most consistent element of this government's decision-making has been the unwavering commitment to EMU.   There is absolutely no reason to delay," he said.   --Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
5660 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The Finnish unemployment rate   fell to 15.9 percent in July from 16.6 percent in June, and it   fell 1.4 percentage points from July last year, Statistics   Finland (SF) said in a statement on Thursday.    July 1996  June 1996  July 1995    Unemployed  421,000  439,000  462,000    Jobless rate (pct) 15.9  16.6 17.3   NOTE - The above figures are not seasonally adjusted.   Finland's labour ministry, calculating on a different basis,   earlier said the July unemployment rate rose to 18.4 percent   from 18.0 percent in June. 
5661 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Controversial U.S. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has arrived in Libya, which had decided to award him a human rights prize worth $250,000, Libyan radio reported on Thursday.   The U.S. Treasury Department in Washington on Wednesday denied Farrakhans application to receive the honorarium or $1 billion Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had pledged to the Nation of Islam after meeting Farrakhan in Libya last January.   Libyan radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said Farrakhan had arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli.   At a Tuesday news conference in Chicago, Farrakhan had said he planned to return to Tripoli to receive the humanitarian award that Gaddafi gives annually.   He was apparently already on his way to the Libyan capital when the Treasury decision was announced and it was not immediately known how it might affect his plans.   I would like to thank the people of the Jamahiriyah (Libya), our brother Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the committee which decided to award me this years Gaddafi international human rights prize, Libyan radio on Thursday quoted Farrakhan as saying in a statement.   Richard Newcomb, director of the U.S. Treasury branch that oversees travel and trade restrictions against U.S. citizens dealing with Libya, had cited among reasons for the denial the belief that Libya was a strong supporter of terrorist groups.   Farrakhan organised last Octobers Million Man March in the United States that brought thousands of black men to Washington for a peaceful rally.   On Tuesday he said he would fight any U.S. government effort to deny him the Libyan funds, which he said would be used to build schools and business in American black communities.   But the Treasury said that after consulting the State Department, it was turning down Farrakhans applications because of long-standing grievances with the Libyan regime and because U.S. law prohibited acceptance of the funds.   United States foreign policy has consistently sought the international isolation of the Libyan regime for a number of reasons, the Treasury said.   It said Libya has been on a list of states that sponsor international terrorism since December 1979, and noted that Libya refused to turn over two Libyan suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.   That refusal led to the imposition of United Nations sanctions against Libya.   The White House had signalled earlier that a denial of Farrakhans license application was likely.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters that we would expect American citizens to honour their obligations under U.S. law, which prohibits economic transactions involving the government of Libya that are not sanctioned by licenses issued through the Treasury Department. 
5662 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   DAILY TELEGRAPH   -- PORTERBROOK DIRECTORS AND STAFF SHARE 80 MILLION STG   The 475 million stg takeover of Porterbrook, the train leasing company, by bus operator Stagecoach went ahead yesterday, triggering payments of 80 million stg to the companies' six directors and 43 staff.   Managing director of Porterbrook Sandy Anderson will collect cash, shares and loan notes worth 33 million stg within the next fortnight after the deal went unconditional.   The Office of Fair Trading and the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising have yet to announce their views on the acquisition.   -- PRICING PRESSURES DEEPEN STENA LOSS   The Swedish-owned ferries operator Stena Line has increased passenger numbers by 40 per cent on the key Dover-Calais route in the first half of the year.   Pressures on pricing caused by competition from Eurotunnel and the late delivery of ferries for the group's Irish Sea services led to a 60 per cent rise in the company's losses.   Bo Lerenius, managing director, said the strategy for 1996 had been to increase volumes and market share by adding to capacity and increasing the frequency of services.   -- TOP COMPANIES FAIL THE 'TRUE PICTURE' TEST   According to Lane Clake and Peacock, a firm of actuaries, the disclosure of pension fund details by Britain's 100 largest companies is inadequate, misleading, confusing, long-winded and difficult to follow.   A survey by the firm shows that annual accounts do not give readers of accounts sufficient information to form a true picture of the company's liabilities.   It added that little was published in accounts about assumptions behind asset valuations.   THE TIMES   -- WH SMITH REPORTS FIRST LOSS IN 204-YEAR HISTORY   WH Smith has admitted that it is up to four years away from recovery as the company reported its first loss in its 204-year history.   Chief executive Bill Cockburn said that so far this year trading has been patchy with sales in books and stationary doing well but poor sales of music, computer games and video.   He said the group was on the right track after major reconstructuring.   -- SEARS TO CLOSE 200 SHOE SHOPS RETURNED FROM FACIA COLLAPSE   The retailer Sears is to close 200 shoe shops that have come back to it after the collapse of the Facia empire with the loss of 2,000 jobs.   90 of the shops have already been closed and the rest will be closed after remaining stock is sold.   There are huge sales in all shops owned by Sears, with customers being offered fixtures and fittings as well as shoes below half price.   Even though Staff are technically employed by Stephen Hinchliffe, former owner of Facia, Sears has agreed to make redundancy payments as if they had never left the employment of Sears.   This will cost the company more than four million stg.   -- LLOYD'S POISED FOR THREE BILLION STG STEP AS RESCUE IS BACKED   Lloyd's of London, after receiving an endorsement of its recovery plan for the insurance market, is to declare its 3.2 billion stg settlement offer as unconditional.   More than 90 per cent of the 34,000 Names world-wide had accepted the settlement by yesterday's deadline.   Lloyd's said it would continue receiving acceptances from Names in America as many had delayed responding while court proceedings were going on.   THE GUARDIAN   -- EU EXPORTS CUT TRADE GAP   The Office of National Statistics have said that surging exports to the Continent have fuelled a pick-up in the UK's trade performance.   This has dispelled City fears that a buoyant high street would send Britain into the red.   The shortfall in European Union partners has fallen to 28 million stg in June against 314 million stg the previous month.   Treasury ministers welcomed the news of a narrowing trade gap as a sign of new competitiveness among exporters.   -- DIVIDENDS WILL FALL AS HANSON IS BROKEN UP   The Hanson group have revealed that its demerger will cost 95 million stg and will leave shareholders worse off as the dividends of the constituent parts will fall well short of the group's recent payouts.   The figures were given to shareholders who will vote on the split next month.   If they approve the plan they will get one share in Imperial for every ten they own in Hanson, and one share in Millennium for every 70 Hanson shares.   -- IRAN SUES SIEMENS FOR FAILING TO COMPLETE NUCLEAR PLANT   It has emerged that Siemens, the German industrial giant, is facing a multi-billion pound stg claim for damages from Tehran over its failure to complete a nuclear power plant.   Siemens is facing claims for more than eight billion marks in compensation over the abandoned plant in the southern port of Bushehr.   Houssain Moussavian, Iran's ambassador to Germany, said the claims had been lodged with the International Court of Justice.   He also accused Siemens of bowing to US pressure to block development of the plant.   THE INDEPENDENT   -- GREENBURY MAN BACKS SIMPSON'S TEN MILLION STG PAY   Tim Melville-Ross, a leading member of the Greenbury committee which is set to curb excessive pay, defended a controversial package that could net George Simpson, GEC's chief executive ten million stg over the next ten years.   He described the hostile reaction of most institutional investors, shareholders' groups and opposition politicians to the deal as "totally unjustified".   -- WIDENING RIFT OVER 'BLUE SKIES' THREATENS BA DEAL   US Government officials have intimated that the breakdown in US-UK talks aimed at securing an open skies agreement could be permanent, thus ending the planned alliance between British Airways and American Airlines.   The latest negotiations were postponed by the US team because they claimed that a draft agreement drawn up by the UK Department of Transport was "miles away from a true open skies" deal.   They insisted that talks could only resume unless Britain substantially shifted its negotiating stance.   -- INVESTOR ATTACKS HAMBROS   The Hong-Kong investment group Regent Pacific could be trying to put in a takeover bid for Hambros, the merchant bank, by disclosing a three per cent stake and mounting an attack on the board's performance.   Chairman of Regent Pacific Jim Mellon said that Hambros is an undervalued and undermanaged enterprise and that the company is in need of "repairs".   Regent has spent 14 million stg buying shares in the bank, money which came from Regent's own capital and not from funds under management for clients.   BMC +44-171-377-1742 
5663 !GCAT  Prepared for Reuters by The Broadcast Monitoring Company   -- NATIONAL INCOME MAY BE OVERSTATED BY 2 BILLION STG.   New economic indicators which take into account the   environmental effects of industry claim that Britain's national income may be being overstated by more than 2 billion sterling a year because the figures do not take account of the depletion of oil and gas reserves.   A pilot study by the Office for National Statistics claimed that net national income in 1993 was overstated by 2.2 billion stg.   The study is the UK's first attempt to incorporate previously ignored costs into the national accounting system.   -- WINDFALL FOR CHIEFS AT HANSON ARM   30 of the most senior executives at Millennium Chemicals, soon to be demerged from Hanson, are to share in a 63.5 million dollar share options scheme.   As part of a poison pill defence any attempted takeover for the company and subsequent decision to dismiss executives would also trigger large golden parachute payments to management.   -- COMPANY PENSION DISCLOSURE ATTACKED   A survey from actuaries Lane Clark & Peacock claims that pensions disclosure by companies in the FT-SE 100 is 'confusing, long-winded and badly written'.   The annual survey also warned that standards for disclosures in annual reports set by the Accounting Standards Board are not rigorous enough.   The survey also found that more than one third of the UK's 100 largest public companies are averaging pensions contributions of 10 per cent of post-tax profits.   -- CHILDCARE CONSULTATION LAUNCHED   Education and Employment minister Cheryl Gillan has launched a consultation paper on a national framework for childcare, warning that the government believes that responsibility for childcare - and its funding - rests firmly with parents and not the state.   The paper points out that women now comprise almost 45 per cent of the workforce, and identifies as key issues the availability of childcare, ways of making it affordable for parents, and increasing access to its provision.   -- REGENT PACIFIC ATTACKS HAMBROS   Hong Kong-based Regent Pacific is reported to have acquired a 3 per cent stake in British merchant bank Hambros and launched a scathing attack on a record which it described as "diabolical".   Regent has called for a meeting with Hambros to discuss the bank's strategy and is expected to call for the bank to move towards operating in the more lucrative corporate finance and fund management areas.   -- GEC FACES SHAREHOLDER REVOLT OVER NEW CHIEF'S PAY DEAL   GEC has sparked outrage among both the public and shareholders in the company by offering a pay package to new managing director George Simpson which includes annual remuneration of up to 1.5 million stg with share options worth up to 4.8 million stg.   The controversial package has prompted a number of large institutional shareholders, including Norwich Union, to consider voting against the appointment of Simpson at GEC's annual general meeting on September 6.   Separately, the London stock exchange is reported to be considering whether the way in which GEC disclosed details of Simpson's contract breaches its listing rules.   -- STRONG UK EXPORTS GROWTH SHARPLY REDUCES TRADE GAP   Official figures released Wednesday show that Britain's trade gap with countries outside the European Union halved last month, due to a strong growth in exports.   The trade gap with EU countries was cut in June to its lowest level since November 1995.   The figures, from the Office for National Statistics, show that the UK's overall trade deficit with the rest of the world was a seasonally adjusted 1.1 billion sterling in June, the same as for the previous month.   Despite the encouraging results, independent economists maintain that Chancellor Kenneth Clarke's forecast of a full-year trade deficit of 3.5 billion stg is unlikely to be met.   -- FIRST INFORMATION SHARES TUMBLE 40 PER CENT   Shares in multimedia publisher First Information Group have fallen sharply in value after it issued a warning that sales would be lower than had been anticipated at the time of the company's flotation some five months ago.   First Information also revealed that it is engaged in talks with a number of British media groups regarding a possible sale.   The company has noted that sales in the pre-Christmas season will be vital.   -- WH SMITH FALLS INTO 195 MILLION STG LOSS   High street retailer WH Smith has reported the company's first loss, some 194.7 million stg, since its foundation some 240 years ago.   The loss resulted from provisions made for the costs of restructuring and the sale of non-core businesses.   Describing the results as "inadequate", chairman Bill Cockburn expressed confidence that the benefits of this restructuring would begin to show through later this year.   The company, which has experienced a downturn in business, last year issued two profits warnings.   BMC +44-171-377-1742 
5664 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  U.S. Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has arrived in Libya to receive a human rights award worth $250,000, Libyan radio reported on Thursday.   The U.S. Treasury Department in Washington on Wednesday had denied applications for Farrakhan to receive either the $250,000 honorarium or a $1 billion pledge of funds from Libya.   Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi pledged the $1 billion to the Nation of Islam after meeting Farrakhan in Libya last January.   Libyan radio, monitored by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said Farrakhan had arrived in the Libyan capital Tripoli.   "I would like to thank the people of the Jamahiriyah (Libya), our brother Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the committee which decided to award me this year's Gaddafi international human rights prize," Libyan radio quoted him as saying in a statement.   Richard Newcomb, director of the U.S. Treasury branch that oversees travel and trade restrictions against U.S. citizens' dealing with Libya, had cited among reasons for the denial the belief that Libya was "a strong supporter of terrorist groups".   Farrakhan was the organiser of last October's Million Man March in the United States that brought thousands of black men to Washington for a peaceful rally.   At a Tuesday news conference in Chicago, he had said he planned to return to Tripoli to receive the humanitarian award that Gaddafi gives annually.   Farrakhan said he would fight any U.S. government effort to deny him the Libyan funds, which he said would be used to build schools and business in American black communities.   But Treasury said that after consulting with the State Department it was turning down Farrakhan's applications because of longstanding grievances with the Libyan regime and because U.S. law prohibited accepting it.   "United States foreign policy has consistently sought the international isolation of the Libyan regime for a number of reasons," Treasury said.   It said Libya has been on a list of states that sponsor international terrorism since December 1979, and noted that Libya refused to turn over two Libyan suspects in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.   That refusal led to the imposition of United Nations sanctions against Libya.   The White House had signalled on Tuesday that a denial of Farrakhan's license application was likely.   White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters that "we would expect American citizens to honour their obligations under U.S. law, which prohibits economic transactions involving the government of Libya that are not sanctioned by licenses issued through the Treasury Department". 
5665 !GCAT !GVIO  A leading figure in Northern Ireland's shadowy Protestant "Loyalist" politics said on Thursday that he would defy an order to leave the province by the movement's underground leadership.   Billy Wright told BBC radio that he had been given 72 hours to leave Northern Ireland or face "summary justice" from the Combined Loyalist Military Command (CLMC), the umbrella group for outlawed Protestant pro-British guerrilla groups.    "I have no plans to leave my family or home," said Wright, who says he is close to the leadership of one branch of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) guerrillas fighting a murky war to keep Northern Ireland British.   A statement from the CLMC said that Wright and a colleague, who is still in jail, must leave Northern Ireland by the weekend after attempting to set up a breakaway faction.   "Failure by either man to comply with this directive will result in summary justice for their treasonable and subversive activities.   Anybody supporting these persons in their activities will be similarly dealt with," a CLMC statement said.    The dispute highlighted strains in the Loyalist movement which threaten a 22-month ceasefire it declared to get its political spokesmen involved in Anglo-Irish Northern Ireland peace talks which resume in Belfast on September 9.   Wright accused the UVF's political arm, the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), of betraying Loyalism, so-called because of its membership's allegiance to the British crown and opposition to IRA guerrillas fighting to end British rule of the province.   "I believe that the political direction in which they are moving is wrong.   I believe time would be better spent sticking up for Northern Ireland," said Wright.    Wright has survived several assassination attempts by the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which ended a 20-month ceasefire in February and resumed its war on British rule with a wave of attacks outside the province.   David Ervine, leader of the PUP, said this week that the Loyalist truce was close to breaking point because of the IRA's failure to renew its own ceasefire.   The Mid-Ulster UVF faction was expelled from the CLMC in August after the unsolved killing of a Catholic taxi driver during a standoff between Protestant Orange marchers and police at Drumcree near Portadown.    The UVF denied that any of its units carried out the killing but police said the death had all the hallmarks of a killing by Loyalists, who killed 900 Catholics in a 25-year war to terrorise the community from which the IRA draws support.   The Drumcree standoff ended when police reversed a ban on the Orange Order marching through a Catholic, Irish nationalist area of Portadown, sparking a wave of Catholic protests which included the bombing of a hotel and riots.   Wright, in his trademark tight jeans, cropped blonde hair and earring, was seen by reporters monitoring the standoff between marchers and police at Portadown.   Both the IRA and Loyalist movements have survived numerous policy fissures and breakaway movement over the past quarter century but internal feuding has killed dozens of members. 
5666 !G15 !G155 !GCAT !GDIP  Britain has underlined its determination to try to rein in the powers of the European Union over member states by proposing that the principle of subsidiarity built into the Maastricht Treaty be strengthened.   Britain said on Wednesday it would present the idea when foreign ministers' representatives have their weekly inter-governmental conference (IGC) meeting in Brussels on September 3 and 4.   It is suggesting a protocol to strengthen Article 3B of the treaty, which sets out the principle of subsidiarity -- that action should be taken at the lowest appropriate level.   "If adopted, the protocol will help to improve the quality of European legislation, and curb some if its more intrusive aspects," the Foreign Office said.   It said Britain wanted to ensure that the principle of subsidiarity was applied consistently and coherently.   "A Community institution shall not adopt a measure unless it is satisfied that the objective of the measure is clearly established, that the objective is aimed at meeting one or more of the objectives of the Treaty, and that the necessary legal basis for its adoption exists," its paper says.   An EU institution would be required to justify its case for EU-wide action, and the European Commission would be under an obligation to propose the simplest form of action possible.   Britain also wants the Commission to justify itself whenever it opts for binding, rather than non-binding, measures.   "In choosing the type of Community action, the Commission shall also explain, where appropriate, why preference was not given to proposals encouraging cooperation between member states, coordinating national action or to complementing, supplementing or supporting such action," the Foreign Office paper says.   The proposal is the latest in a series that Britain, like other member states, has put to the IGC.   London's other proposals have concerned the European Court of Justice, quota-hopping by fishermen, animal welfare, the quality of EU legislation, competition rules for farm products, trans-European networks, and common foreign and security policy. 
5667 !GCAT !GPOL  Britain's ruling Conservatives have cut the 24-point lead of the opposition Labour Party by three points over the past month, according to a poll published in Thursday's edition of the Times newspaper.   But Labour still enjoys a huge 21 point-cushion with at most nine months to go before a general election, the poll conducted by the MORI organisation said.   It gave the Conservatives the backing of 30 percent of Britons, up one point from July, against 51 percent for Labour, down two.   The Liberal Democrats were on 13 percent, up one point.   Prime Minister John Major has indicated he plans to hold a general election close to the last possible date of May 1997, hoping that economic growth will gradually attract electors back to his party despite its deep internal splits over Europe.   The poll, in which 1,705 people were interviewed, was conducted between August 20 and 25.   REUTER 
5668 !C12 !C15 !C152 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Shares in engineering and motor components group T&N Plc fell 3-1/2 pence to 140-1/2 by 0814 GMT Thursday amid renewed fears about its exposure to asbestos-related law suits.   Worries that the company could face an additional 50 million stg of charges if a key U.S. damages system for asbestos fails overshadowed T&N's first-half results, which were broadly in line with expectations.   News of the possible additional costs had sent the shares down to a low of 132-1/2 pence in early dealing.    One market-maker in the stock said: "Basically the results were okay."   But he cited worries that the company's liabilities for the U.S. settlement may be double previous expectations.   Another dealer who asked not to be named said he expects T&N shares "will be weak for some time", adding he is recommending investors sell the stock.   The group's shares were trading close to what many analysts had hoped would prove to be a floor level of 140 pence in midmorning.    T&N on Thursday announced that first-half pretax profit slipped to 58.1 million stg from 73.2 million a year before, after warning that destocking and disposal costs had hit its performance.   Market-makers said the group's failure to lift its dividend, although widely expected, and a downbeat outlook for the second half compounded the gloom.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7717 
5669 !C17 !C172 !CCAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  The following bond was announced   by joint lead managers Den Danske Bank and Generale Bank.    BORROWER EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK    AMT 600 MLN DKR COUPON 7.00  MATURITY 15.  DEC.04    TYPE  STRAIGHT ISS PRICE 101.71 PAY DATE L-15.  OCT.96    FULL FEES 1.875 REOFFER =  YIELD  6.71    NOTES  L LONG FIRST COUPON    MOODY  AAA  LISTING LUX  PAY FREQ =    S&P  AAA  DENOMS (K) 10-50 SALE LIMITS US/UK    NEG PLG YES  CRS DEFLT YES  FORCE MAJ YES    GOV LAW LUX  HOME CTRY SUPRA TAX PROVS STANDARD    MGT/UND 0.625 SELL CONC 1.25  PRAECIP =   -- London Newsroom +44 171 542 7658 
5670 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in two London-based Arabic-language newspapers on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-HAYAT   - Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan's visit to Yemen expected to have positive impact on economic links.   - Jordan to issue a new stock exchange law before the end of 1996.   - Arab countries need $200 billion to develop their oil production capacity.   ASHARQ AL-AWSAT   - Tehran seeks to purchase long-range missiles.   Iranian defence minister is expected to sign a new military agreement with China for weapons worth $4.5 billion.   - Iran plans to set up a new project in Syria to produce cars and engines. 
5671 !C16 !C17 !C18 !C182 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  British retail group Sears Plc is closing around 200 shoe shops which have returned to its control after their buyer Facia fell into financial troubles, the Times newspaper reported.   It said the shops were being offered for sale as vacant premises by chartered surveyor Healey & Baker.   The Times said around 2,000 jobs could be lost as a result of the closures.   Sears has undertaken to make redundancy payments which could cost it up to four million stg, the Times said, even though staff were technically employed by Facia.   No one at Sears was immediately available for comment.   The Times said the closures could push Sears into a loss for its half year results which are due next month.   Facia collapsed with 30 million stg of debts after banks called in the receivers on June 1, a day after Sears had applied for the shoe companies of Facia to be put into administration.   Sears had been in the process of selling its Saxone shoe chain to Facia but called for them to be placed into administration when it became concerned that Facia could not pay debt related to the deal.    Stylo Plc has already agreed to take on 61 properties from Sears which were occupied by two Facia group companies under administration and trading under the Saxone, Trueform and Freeman Hardy Willis logos.   -- London Newsroom +44 171 5427717 
5672 !GCAT  HOWARD JOSTLED AT APEC DINNER   Prime Minister John Howard has moved to reaffirm his government's commitment to trade with Asian nations.   Mr Howard was speaking last night at a dinner with APEC energy ministers at Sydney's Town Hall, where he was jostled and jeered by protestors as he arrived.   Mr Howard told the ministers the region would continue to provide economic growth if economic management, access to export markets, and good education and health services continued.   And he defended the rise of some private health insurance premiums, saying Labour's failed health policy was the reason two health insurance companies have raised thier premiums.   - - - -   FOX STILL ON THE RUN   Police at Glenwood say information from the public on the whereabouts of fugative William Kelvin Fox indicates that he's still in the scrubland area cordoned off by police.   On Tuesday night police surrounded the 15 kilometre wide area, at Glenwood, north of Gympie where Fox is believed to have gone to ground.   Fox is alleged to have fatally shot his estranged wife and wounded two others early on Tuesday.   Police are also searching a number of homes in the area after tip-offs from the public.   - - - -   BODY FOUND AT TERRIGAL   A body has been found in a garbage bin in bushland at Terrigal on the New South Wales central coast.   A local resident alerted police to a body protruding from a bin after he went to investigate the activities of a group of young people yesterday afternoon.   Police say the body is that of a man and it's thought he's been dead for up to five months.   - - - -   CRIME FIGURE DIES IN PRISON   Leading Sydney crime figure Len McPherson has died in Cessnock Correction Centre in the Hunter Valley.   Police say 75 year old McPherson who was serving a sentence for assault, collapsed and died at the minimium security at around half past seven last night.   It's understood he was making a phone call when he suffered an apparent heart attack.   Police say there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding Mr McPherson's death.   - - - -   FRENCH SAYS LEGISLATION UNLIKELY   Native Title Tribunal head, Justice Robert French, says it's unlikely there'll be legislation allowing pastoral leases to extinguish native title.   Northern Territory pastoralists have called for the legislation, saying they've opted put of the legal process.   But Justice French says the Federal Government has already recognised the difficulties involved with such legislation.   They include the implications for the racial discrimination act, the question of constitutional compensensation, and the international implications.   - - - -   STUDENT PROTESTS PLANNED   Tertiary students across the country will today take part in another day of action, to voice their anger over cuts to tertiary funding and increases in HECS charges.   It's the first day of action since the Federal Budget.   The students are confident of gaining enough support to have Budget cuts to higher education opposed in the Senate.   The National Union of Students says the budget cuts to tertiary funding and increases in HECS charges, will mean a massive shift in the focus of education.   They say the changes will throw the concepts of equity and access out the window.   - - - -   BUCKLEY OUT OF MATCH AND BROWNLOW   In AFL, a one-week suspension handed last night on Nathan Buckley has cost the Collingwood star a chance of winning this year's Brownlow Medal.   Buckley has been found guilty of tripping Adelaide's Ben Hart.   He told the Tribunal he had no intention of tripping.   Videotape of the incident showed Buckley's left foot making contact with Hart's thigh, and Buckley's advocate tried to argue that contact above the knee couldn't be called tripping.   But the Tribunal differed, and suspended the Collingwood star.   He'll miss the Magpies last game for the season on Saturday.   -- Reuters Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
5673 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Australian Finance Minister John Fahey committed the government on Thursday to further measures to retain the budget surplus if the Senate kills some of those announced in the budget.   This contrasts with Treasurer Peter Costello's repeated refusal to discuss what might happen next.   The issue is the remainder of the the A$8 billion in savings that the government has promised for the 1997/98 budget year.   The August 20 budget has detailed A$7.2 billion in 1997/98 cuts, but that leaves A$800 million owing plus whatever the Senate removes.   Fahey almost said today that the government will get its underlying surplus (that is, without asset sales) come what may.   Here's the quote:   "We have of course a strategy to reduce that deficit and get back into balance by 1998/99 -- a small (positive) balance of A$900 million.   "And if we do lose some in the Senate then I guess we are going to have to go back to the drawing board because we are very, very determined to ensure that again in this period of economic growth that we get back into balance."   This strongly suggests that the government will top up its A$7.2 billion if the Senate takes any away.   But he still says nothing about the A$800 million needed to turn A$7.2 billion into A$8 billion.   Heightening the concern, one notices from Treasury's forward estimates that the whole A$8 billion is not needed to produce the surplus.   Worse, some private sector economists, thinking Treasury is a bit pessimistic on the budget, expect a bigger surplus in 1998/99 or even a surplus in 1997/98.   If that sort of thinking started to sink into the government's mind, there would be very little incentive to come up with the rest of the A$8 billion.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
5674 !C12 !C18 !C181 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GJOB  Legal experts believe there is a good case for an injunction on the sale of Forestry Corp, Wood Industries Union national secretary Jim Jones said on Thursday.   There was evidence that an injunction could be granted on the grounds that Fletcher had a tax advantage over the other bidders and that the Government did not get the NZ$2 billion book valuation of the corporation from Fletcher's bid, the New Zealand Press Assocciation reported.   "Our legal experts tell us there a case to be answered," Jones said.   However, legal action would not proceed unless the union could find enough money to fund it.    "Our legal costs could run into millions.   We are searching for those resources."   In the days leading up to the formal hand-over of the corporation the Trade Union Federation, including the Wood Industries Union, was planning a campaign of direct, political and legal action.   "We will continue to pressure the Government right up until the election.   We will stage protests in Rotorua and all the main centres," Jones said.    The main concerns about the sale related to the economic benefits to the country, the future development of the forestry industry and the future of workers and employment conditions.   After research and expert opinion it was evident the sale did not stack up on all counts, in spite of Fletcher Challenge's reassurances, Jones said.   On the industrial front, the union was talking to FCL over the future of the workers and their employment conditions.   Indications that FCL would increase contracting work was a concern in terms of deteriorating safety and working conditions.    FCLs' promises to step up work at Waipa as it had in Taupo may create extra jobs, but working conditions could suffer.   "The workers at Fletcher Taupo plant did not welcome the recent three shift system.   They are not happy with it," Jones said.   FCNZ was sold last week to a consortium comprising Brierley Investments Ltd and China's Citic.   -- Wellington Newsroom (64-4-4734746) 
5675 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  Australian Greens Senator Bob Brown said on Thursday he would oppose the government's plan to increase the Medicare levy for high-income earners who were not members of a private health fund.   "I support an increased Medicare levy for high-income earners across the board, regardless of whether private health insurance is taken out," Brown said in a statement.   He is one of two Green Senators who work in a loose coalition and whose votes may be needed by the government to get its enabling legislation for the Medicare levy surcharge through the upper House of parliament.   "I will support amending the government's legislation in the Senate accordingly," Brown said.   The one percent surcharge is to be imposed on people earning over A$50,000 each year but who are not members of a private health fund.   The measure is forecast to raise upwards of A$60 million from 1998/99 (July/June).   -- Canberra bureau 616-273-2730 
5676 !GCAT !GDIS !GENV  An earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale shook New Zealands upper South Island on Thursday but there were no reports of injuries, Television New Zealand said.   It said the quake, centred near the small town of Waiau, was strongly felt in the cities of Nelson and Christchurch.   Some minor damage had been reported in the spa town of Hanmer.   New Zealand is prone to frequent earthquakes but they rarely cause major damage.   The country has only 3.5 million people in an area about the size of Britain or Japan. 
5677 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Australian Finance Minister John Fahey said the government, determined to get its finances into surplus, would look again at its fiscal plans if it failed to get some of its budget measures through parliament.   "We have of course a strategy to reduce that deficit and get back into balance by 1988/89 -- a small (positive) balance of A$900 million," Fahey told a business function.   "And if we do lose some in the Senate then I guess we are going to have to go back to the drawing board because we are very, very determined to ensure that again in this period of economic growth that we get back into balance."    In its August 20 budget the government announced budget savings worth A$3.9 billion in the current fiscal year, to June, A$7.2 billion in 1997/98 and A$7.0 billion in 1998/99.   The measures are supposed to reduce the deficits expected in 1996/97 and 1997/98 and produce a A$957 million surplus in 1998/99.   But many of the measures require legislation, which would have to passed by the upper house of parliament, the Senate, as well as the government-controlled House of Representatives.    Since the conservative government is two votes short of a majority in the Senate, and almost all other senators lean to the Left, some measures are not expected to survive.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
5678 !C13 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Thursday that the government would in future need to approve any rises in private health insurance premiums.    Howard said he regretted the latest round of premium rises, approved by a Health Department official this week despite the government's budget decision to offer tax rebates worth A$500 million a year to encourage people to join private health funds.   "Any future increases in health insurance premiums will have to be approved by the Minister for Health in consulation with the Treasurer and myself," Howard told reporters in Brisbane.   Two health funds have already decided to raise their premiums, and others are expected to follow suit.   Howard said his government had discovered that under an arrangement with the former Labor government, approval for premium increases was delegated to Health Department officers.   "The Minister for Health (was) advised in an ad hoc way by one of the funds that the latest increases had been approved," Howard told a Queensland state Liberal Party meeting here.   He said he would now ask the acting health minister to revoke the delegation of power.   -- Canberra burea 613-9286-1421 
5679 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP !GENV  Asia Pacific energy ministers, ending two days of talks in Sydney, said on Thursday forecast growth in energy supply in the region will place considerable pressure on the environment.   The ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) forum said they had agreed that it was essential to apply economically sound measures to minimise adverse environment impacts in the region.   The ministers agreed "to integrate environmental considerations into the planning and evaluation processes for energy infrastructure projects."    Over the next 15 years, APEC expected electricity demands in the region to increase by 50 to 80 percent.   It said about US$1.6 trillion in investment capital would be required to establish a power infrastructure to underpin the region's economic growth.   APEC estimated that its 18 member economies consume about half the world's energy.   APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.    Speaking to reporters, Australian Federal Minister for Resources and Energy Warwick Parer said the group had accepted that no government within APEC had the economic strength to provide the funds needed to meet future energy demands to 2010.   The ministers also agreed to report to APEC leaders at the next meeting in the Philippines in November.   Other points he made to the APEC leaders included the need for reform to mobilise business investment in energy.   -- Sydney newsroom 61-2 9373 1800 
5680 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Nickel prospector Anaconda Nickel NL said on Thursday that legal action against it in the Western Australian supreme court by Perth investor Peter Salter over three mining leases had been discontinued.    Anaconada said it had received a letter from Salter's solicitors on Wednesday saying: "We are instructed to inform you that our client intends discontinuing the above action against both defendants."   Salter's legal action disputed the ownership of three of Anaconda's tenements which hold more than half the nickel in the A$780 million Murrin Murrin nickel project.   The project is forecast to produce 100 million pounds of nickel a year once it is fully operational in mid-1998.   Initial news that Salter had lodged the court action depressed Anaconda's share price.    Anaconda's share's were up ten cents at A$2.30 at 2.20 pm (0440 GMT).   -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 373-1800 
5681 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Australia said on Thursday it accepted an aid agency's report that six Roman Catholic missionaries, including three Australian nuns, had been freed by Sudanese rebels who held them captive for almost two weeks.   "We are fairly confident that's the situation," an Australian foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters here.   Earlier, a Norwegian People's Aid official in east Africa said the three nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest were released on Wednesday.   But church sources in the region have yet to confirm the report.   The missionaries were taken captive by Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels in the southern village of Mapourdit on August 17.   The rebels had accused four of the group of being spies and agents of Islam after reportedly finding a quotation from the Koran on a bookmark in a Bible belonging to the nuns.   The SPLA has fought Khartoum's government forces in the south since 1983 for greater autonomy or independence of the mainly Christian and animist region from the Moslem north.   "I understand all of them are fine.   They are obviously a bit tired and anxious but otherwise fine," Graham Wood, acting Sudan director of the Norwegian aid group, told Reuters on Wednesday.   Australia's foreign ministry said the aid group's information had been very reliable in the past.   A plane is due, weather permitting, to evacuate the six on Thursday, it said.   Believed released are Sisters Moira Lynch, 73, Mary Batchelor, 68, and Maureen Carey, 52, American Father Michael Barton, 48, Sudanese Father Raphael Riel, 48, and Italian Brother Raniero Iacomella, 28. 
5682 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The ruling National Party's coalition partner United New Zealand on Thursday released its party list of candidates for the October 12 election.   Leader Clive Matthewson heads the list which has the six sitting MPs who are seeking re-election in the top six places.   Deputy leader and former National Cabinet minister Bruce Cliffe is stepping down at the election.   The top ten places in order are Matthewson, former Labour Cabinet minister Margaret Austin, Internal Affairs Minister Peter Dunne, Papakura MP John Robertson, Wellington Central MP Pauline Gardiner, Glenfield MP Peter Hilt, manager Diane Colson,    lawyer Ted Faleauto, physiotherapist Malcolm Hood and deputy school principal Ramparkash Samujh.   United has named only 28 list candidates.   Polls in Dunne's Ohariu-Belmont electorate indicate he has a good chance of being re-elected, but nationally the United Party is rating about one percent in the opinion polls.   Parties which fail to win one of the 65 constituency seats must register five percent support to qualify for party list seats in the election set down for October 12.   -- Wellington newsroom 64 4 4734 746 
5683 !C13 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  The Australian Democrats party said on Thursday it might oppose the government's plan to give a tax rebate to people who take out private health insurance.   The measure -- expected to cost the budget A$113 million in 1998/99, its first year of operation -- is part of a package of government policies aimed at taking pressure of the national health insurance scheme, Medicare.   "The Australian Democrats will consider rejecting the (government) Coalition's private health insurance rebate in wake of the premium increases announced by major private health companies," Democrats senator Meg Lees said in a statement.    The Liberal-National government is two votes short of a majority in the upper house of parliament, the Senate.   Those two votes can come from the 28-strong Labor opposition, the seven Democrats, two Greens or a pair of Independents.   On Wednesday two health insurers said they were raising their premiums, effectively taking up all or part of the subsidy that their customers might get from the government.   -- Canberra Bureau 61-6 273-2730 
5684 !E11 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Hong Kong Financial Secretary Donald Tsang said on Thursday he expected the territory's economy to keep growing at around five percent but with some fluctuations from year to year.   Tsang, who made the remarks during a visit to New Zealand, also spoke strongly in favour of keeping the Hong Kong dollar pegged to its U.S. counterpart, and said negotiations with China on next year's budget were going smoothly.   Hong Kong's economy grew by only 3.1 percent in the first quarter, down from 5.9 percent a year earlier, and some private sector economists have revised downwards their predictions for the 1996 year.   Second quarter growth estimates will be released when the Hong Kong government issues its half-yearly economic report on Friday.   "Our trend growth rate of five percent in real terms is pretty solid," Tsang told a news conference after meeting New Zealand Finance Minister Bill Birch.   "There will be fluctuations in individual years, but it won't be a big margin," he said.   He said inflation was under control and the Hong Kong dollar was "rock solid".   Its link to the U.S. dollar had proved an engine of growth for the past 12 years.   "There's absolutely no economic or financial or political reason for us to change.   A lot of investment in Hong Kong, some of which (is) by China, is predicated on the link continuing."   Britain will hand over Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty at midnight on June 30, 1997.   Tsang said three sets of meetings with Chinese authorities on Hong Kong's 1997-98 budget, which will span the transition period, had gone smoothly.   "None of our basic precepts have been challenged."   Hong Kong will retain its own currency after the handover, run its own financial and monetary policy and have control over its own foreign exchange reserves.   It will have no duty to contribute any taxes to Beijing, Tsang said.   He described the condition of the property market as "very good indeed".   "You know, we went through a little climb and a little trough over the last few years.   Because of speculation in the market we introduced certain measures, but they are not draconian measures, and we brought it down to earth."   Tsang said the market would continue to appreciate because property and land were scarce.   The government would put land on the market to stop rentals "going through the roof", but this would mean reclamation, with possible environmental problems.   "There will be on the whole a slightly upward climb, consistent with our economic growth rate," he said in reference to the property market.   Tsang, the third senior figure in the government after the governor and chief secretary, said his stated aim was to serve as financial secretary for two years under British rule and three years under China. 
5685 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Up to 50 freight trains, carrying A$50-60 million worth of commodities, were being held up on Australia's national lines on Thursday by striking workers, the Public Transport Union (PTU) said.   PTU official John Crossing told Reuters the strike by South Australian employees of Australian National, the federal government owned rail system, had also stopped services run by the government's interstate freight service, the National Rail Corp.   Private interstate freight operators TNT and Specialised Container Traffic (SPT) were also affected, he said.    Crossing said workers were protesting refusal by the Australian government to respond to concerns about the future of AN, which operates in South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory, amid speculation services could be closed down or privatised.   "This is the first shot at trying to get some sense to prevail from this government," he said.   Crossing would not rule out further industrial action, saying he believed workers would not be too hesitant to continue the dispute over time if the government continued to procrastinate on consultations.  -- Sydney Newsroom 61-2 9373-1800 
5686 !GCAT  -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST - Japan pledged to maintain a strong relationship with Hong Kong after next year's handover.   -- HONGKONG STANDARD - The High Court granted leave to a civil service union for a judicial review of a government decision barring senior civil servants from joining the Selection Committee to chose Hong Kong's future chief executive and the provisional legislature.   -- Guangdong Investment holds talks with the Guangdong provincial government to acquire stakes in two toll-highways.   -- HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES - The People's Bank of China will invest 50 billion yuan in the domestic property market to boost the sagging sector.   -- ORIENTAL DAILY NEWS - A recent Government study showed the number of smokers in Hong Kong had risen seven percent to 750,000 from three years ago.   The number of female smokers had increased significantly.   -- WEN WEI PO - Chinese Vice-Premier Li Lanqing said any attempt to limit economic and trading exchanges between China and Taiwan went against the wishes of the people across the Taiwan Strait.   -- MING PAO DAILY - Zhang Ning, the former fiancee of the son of Lin Biao, Mao Zedong's annointed successor before he was disgraced, plans write an expose revealing Lin had no plans to murder Mao as was widely believed.   Lin was killed in a plane crash while fleeing China.   -- Richard Li, the second son of Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-shing, plans to spend bid for a plot of land in downtown Tokyo.   -- SING TAO DAILY NEWS - Yao Wenyuan, a member of the Gang of Four, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 1980, would be released in October.   He is expected to be subjected to house arrest after his release.   -- HONG KONG NEWSROOM (852) 2843-6441 
5687 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Judges hearing a lawsuit launched by Indonesian democracy figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri said on Thursday the case should go ahead after the contesting parties failed to reach an out-of-court settlement.   Megawati filed the 51 trillion rupiah ($21.77 billion) suit against the government, military and party rivals saying her ousting from the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) leadership at a congress in June was illegal.   "For the time being, an agreement has not been reached, so the suit will be read," head judge I Gde Ketut Sukarata told the packed court room at the Central Jakarta State Court.   The three-member panel of judges then took turns at reading the plaintiff's suit and the defendants' responses during the hour-long hearing.   The case was then adjourned to September 5 when Megawati's legal team is expected to respond to the defendants' statements.   The government-backed PDI congress, held in Medan in north Sumatra in June, elected deputy parliamentary speaker Surjadi as party leader.   Megawati was elected in 1993 for a five-year term.   Megawati has sued Surjadi, Interior Minister Yogie Memet, Armed Forces Chief General Feisal Tanjung and national police chief Lieutenant-General Dibyo Widodo.   "(The) Armed Forces chief has engineered and funded the participants of the congress.   The defendant has misused the name and authority of the armed forces," said the suit.   "We ask the court to rule the PDI's central executive board elected in 1993 is the one which has authority until 1998," it said.   Witnesses said supporters shouting "Mega will win" outside the court were calmly moved on by riot police after the hearing.   The case had opened just before 10 a.m. (0300 GMT) with the head of Megawati's legal team, R.O. Tambunan, telling the court the parties had been unable to reach agreement.   "We have tried hard but we regret to tell you that we did not come to an agreement even though we have tried.   We hope that in the future we can try again, but for now I suggest that the case continues," Tambunan told the court.   Political analysts have said the government wanted to depose Megawati as PDI leader over concern for her vote-drawing power ahead of general elections next year.   There were also concern she might challenge President Suharto, who has been elected unopposed six times, during the 1998 presidential poll conducted in a special session of the national parliament.   Last month, the worst rioting in Jakarta for more than 20 years was sparked after police seized PDI headquarters from Megawati loyalists who had occupied the building since the June congress.   Four people died in the rioting.   The Jakarta Post newspaper said Surjadi was questioned on Wednesday by police as part of their post-riot probe.   The Republika daily said Megawati, who has already been questioned twice by police, would be summoned next by officials from the Attorney-General's office for questioning in the subversion case against a left-wing activist and labour leader.   Budiman Sudjatmiko, leader of the small People's Democratic Party which the government blames for instigating the riots, and independent labour leader Muchtar Pakpahan are in the Attorney-General's custody facing subversion charges.   Subversion carries the death penalty in Indonesia. 
5688 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  Prosecutors arrested Japan's top expert on haemophilia and AIDS on Thursday in a widening scandal on charges stemming from accusations he knowingly administered tainted blood products to hundreds of patients.   The Tokyo District Prosecutor's Office arrested Takeshi Abe, 80, on professional negiligence charges, a police spokesman said.   The move follows legal complaints filed against Abe by the family of a haemophiliac who received unheated blood products from Abe's hospital team.   The patient died of AIDS in 1991.   Abe is under suspicion of using blood products which had not been heat-treated on haemophiliac patients, knowing that the products could have been tainted with the HIV virus.   Prosecutors also raided Abe's home, the offices of the Health Ministry and Teikyo University in Tokyo, where he was a professor and vice president, on Thursday.   "The investigation of involved parties including the Health Ministry will be a difficult but necessary ordeal for us to rebuild public trust," said Health Minister Naoto Kan.   Abe, a specialist in haemophilia, headed a research team set up by the Health Ministry in 1983 to investigate the source of AIDS infection in Japan.   He is believed to have influenced the team's decision in March 1984 to favour the use of unheated blood products instead of using safer heated products, such as cryoprecipitate.   The Health Ministry did not ban the unheated products until December 1985.   Last month, Abe testified in parliament that he had no choice but to use untreated blood products in the 1980s because cryoprecipitate was not easily available, and even if used tended to dangerously clog blood vessels.   But media reports quoted specialists as saying it was possible to obtain cryoprecipitate at the time and that they had not experienced it clogging blood vessels as Abe said.   Japanese media reports said Abe secretly asked U.S. researchers in 1984 to test blood samples from his haemophiliac patients in which over half tested HIV-positive.   He did not tell the patients or publish the results.   More than 2,000 haemophiliacs in Japan have become infected with HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus which causes AIDS, from tainted blood products.   Thursday's arrest and raid was the second police action in the widening scandal.   Prosecutors in Osaka, western Japan, last week raided the offices of drug maker Green Cross Corp on suspicion the firm knowingly sold HIV-tainted blood products, and questioned former company president Renzo Matsushita.   The Health Ministry for years maintained it could not find documents on the case, but in February officials revealed files from the 1983 study group chaired by Abe indicating that ministry authorities were aware of the danger of HIV infection from unheated products.   In March, Japanese haemophiliacs accepted an out-of-court settlement of a one-time payment of 45 million yen ($424,000) each, ending a seven-year legal battle against the state and five pharmaceutical firms, including Green Cross.   "I'm glad that the issue is finally being treated as a criminal case," said Ryohei Kawada, one of the plaintiffs and himself a haemophiliac who came down with the deadly virus from untreated blood products.   "Abe didn't do all this by himself.   I hope future investigations will expose the responsibility of the Health Ministry and other bureaucrats," Kawada told reporters.   Latest ministry figures show there are 1,154 people with AIDS and another 2,942 with the HIV virus in Japan, a nation of 123 million.   About 400 haemophiliacs have already died from AIDS and AIDS-related complications, activists say.   ($1=108 yen) 
5689 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Chinese political and business stories in leading newspapers, prepared by Reuters in Beijing.   Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.   Telephone: (8610) 6532-1921.   Fax: (8610) 6532-4978.   - - - -   PEOPLE'S DAILY   Chinese Premier Li Peng urged local officials and residents in central China's flood-stricken Hebei province to step up reconstruction work in the area.   - - - -   PEOPLE'S DAILY OVERSEAS EDITION   The Asian Development Bank held a six-country conference on economic cooperation in southwestern China's Kunming city.   - - - -   CHINA DAILY   Chinese President Jiang Zemin thanked visiting Nepali King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev for supporting Beijing on Tibet.   - - - -   CHINA SECURITIES   China's State Planning Commission said the economy showed strong growth in the first seven months of 1996, especially in fixed asset investment, consumer spending and investments from abroad.   News analysis assesses the growing trend of mergers as way to rescue ailing state enterprises.   - - - -   BEIJING DAILY   China held a Beijing-Taiwan economic cooperation seminar for a high-profile group of visiting Taiwanese businessmen as well as local businessmen. 
5690 !GCAT  Newspaper headlines   CHINA TIMES - Former Poland President Lech Walesa to visit Taiwan at end of October.   Three southern counties find fever among cows, with 57 cows reported killed so far.   UNITED DAILY NEWS - Students with sound physical condition to gain bonus points in Joint University Examination.   China may stop application for direct shipping link between Taiwan and China as it rejects application by one Taiwan shipping firm.   COMMERCIAL TIMES - Taiwan to set up Taiwan Industrial Zone in South Africa.   Foreign equity funds between August 1-27 turn to show net inflow of US$120 million.   ECONOMIC DAILY NEWS - Computer giant Acer cuts 1996 profit target by half to T$3 billion (US$109 million) due to stagnant growth in semiconductor industry.   Central bank allows designated banks to conduct equity swap business.   -- Taipei Newsroom (5080815) 
5691 !GCAT  Following is a summary of major Indonesian political and business stories in leading newspapers, prepared by Reuters in Jakarta.   Reuters has not checked the stories and does not guarantee their accuracy.   Telephone: (6221) 384-6364.   Fax: (6221) 344-8404.   - - - -   KOMPAS   Widigdo Sukarman, president director of the state-owned Bank BNI, said funds raised from its public float later this year will not be used to pay off the national debt but will help raise the bank's capital adequacy ratio.   - - - -   JAKARTA POST   President Suharto ordered the National Land Agency to handle land disputes wisely to stop them turning into political problems.   Prices of alcoholic drinks in the capital Jakarta are expected to soar as support grows for plans by the city administration to impose fees on the distribution of liquor.   - - - -   MEDIA INDONESIA   Central Bank Governor Sudradjad Djiwandono said Bank Indonesia will evaluate its security systems after a recent fraud case involving bank officials and businessmen.   - - --   REPUBLIKA   The government-backed head of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) Surjadi was questioned for five hours by police as part of their investigation into the July 27 riots.   His rival, ousted leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, is said to be facing further questioning, although this time by the Attorney-General's office and not the police.   About 2,000 Timor cars made by KIA Motors of South Korea are due to arrive at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok port on Thursday.   The cars are the first of around 40,000 of the foreign-made vehicles being imported under Indonesia's national car policy which is designed to promote local components industries. 
5692 !GCAT  DAY'S TOP STORIES   - President Fidel Ramos said he welcomed legal challenges to a peace deal with Moslem rebels and added that one petition calling for a referendum on the pact's proposed Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development had already been lodged with the Supreme Court.   Ramos said his own legal advisers had told him a referendum was not necessary.   Many Christians oppose the pact and have threatened legal challenges as well as violence.   (TODAY)   - Moro National Liberation Front chairman Nur Misuari said there can be no further amendments to the peace deal he is to initial on Friday with the government as there is no time to make further changes.   Misuari specifically ruled out accommodating Philippine Senate proposals for changes in the structure of the peace and development council envisaged in the plan.   (PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER)   - A quarrel is growing over the distribution of so-called "pork barrel" development funds to individual congress members.   Some 130 legislators, disgruntled that their allocations were lower than those of other House members, have threatened to help oust Speaker Joe de Venecia.   (MANILA TIMES)   - A special police unit admitted detaining a businessman and his family in what was initially reported to other police as a kidnapping.   The unit said the detention was part of an investigation into illegal drugs.   (THE PHILIPPINE STAR)     ++++ 
5693 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda was dogged for the second day on Thursday by protests against Japan's claim to islands in the East China Sea.   One group, which staged an all-night sit-down protest outside Ikeda's hotel, burnt a Japanese flag and a portrait of Ikeda outside Tokyo's consulate in the British colony after finding he had foiled them by leaving the hotel by a side door.   It was the second day Ikeda had been hounded.   On Wednesday several hundred demonstrators attempted to assail him with demands for compensation for World War Two atrocities committed when Japanese forces occupied Hong Kong.   Thursday's protesters had unfurled banners with sharply worded messages to lobby the minister when he came out of the hotel, but in vain.   The protesters condemned Japan's claim to sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands -- known as the Senkakus in Japanese -- which they said were Chinese territory.   The disputed islands are claimed by China, Taiwan and Japan.   A row broke out between China and Japan last month when Japanese right-wingers built a lighthouse on one.   Chanting slogans and waving placards, demonstrators marched to the consulate where the minister was expected.   "Get off Diaoyu Island, Japanese," they shouted.   "Protect the dignity of the Chinese."   They pinned an upside-down photograph of the minister on the consulate's door.   "It'll only take 10 seconds to receive the petition letter.   But he doesn't have the guts or courtesy to do so," protest spokesman Ho Chun-yan told reporters.   A Japanese foreign ministry spokesman accompanying Ikeda reiterated Tokyo's position, telling reporters the islands had always been an "an inseparable part of Japan".   The protesters were from various pressure groups.   Ikeda ends his visit later on Thursday. 
5694 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GPOL  Britains top military officer in Hong Kong on Thursday announced the start of a phased withdrawal of his forces from the last Asian outpost of Britains former empire.   Major-General Bryan Dutton told a news conference the four-stage withdrawal would begin on Friday in preparation for the 1997 transfer of Hong Kongs sovereignty back to China.   Dutton said he hoped Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), which will replace his troops on July 1, would behave as correctly as British troops had done during a century and a half of colonial rule.   The PLA, whose tanks crushed the student-led pro-democracy movement in Beijing in 1989 with heavy loss of life, is to form the new garrison after the change of flag at midnight on June 30.   We are now just about to start the final phase of the drawdown (of troops) in the next 10 months which will go from 3,250 from today to zero on July 1, 1997, Dutton said.   British forces in Hong Kong comprise 3,250 personnel, drawn from the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.   The withdrawal will be conducted in four stages which will see the closure of the Sek Kong airbase in the rural New Territories near Chinas present border; the HMS Tamar naval base on Stonecutters Island, just south of the Kowloon peninsula; a barracks on the Kowloon peninsula; and finally the Prince of Wales Barracks.   We will depart on June 30 with our heads high and with style from the Prince of Wales Barracks and we will sail and fly away at that time, Major-General Dutton said.   The British Navy would send a command frigate and a landing ship in April next year for the final withdrawal, he said.   British forces would also charter some jumbo jets to get the boys out.   Six weeks before the handover, manpower would be down to about 1,500, Dutton said.   The British and Chinese governments are still discussing arrangements for the handover ceremony, and it is not clear how many troops will take part, if any.   The arrival of Chinas PLA is viewed with some trepidation in this colony of 6.2 million people.   Images of the PLAs 1989 crackdown against the students in Tiananmen Square remain etched in Hong Kongs memory.   Chinas leaders, aware of the need to win the hearts and minds of Hong Kong people, have launched a public relations blitz to persuade them they have nothing to fear.   I think all of that implies the PLA do wish to get it right, Dutton said.   Although China refuses to reveal the number of forces it will station in Hong Kong, it has said it would send no more than the 10,000 Britain had stationed here at its peak level. 
5695 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Japan's ruling coalition appears set to weather a rebellion in its smallest party without having to call snap elections, buoyed by a pro-government court ruling on the divisive issue of U.S. military bases on Okinawa.   Two events on Wednesday that could have rocked Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto's coalition -- a Supreme Court ruling on whether the central government could force Okinawa to appropriate land for U.S. military bases and a mutiny in New Party Sakigake -- both turned out in the coalition's favour.   The court ruling freed Hashimoto from pushing through controversial legislation, while tactical mistakes by the Sakigake mutiny leader kept the number of rebels in non-threatening single digits.   The developments take pressure off Hashimoto, who must call a general election by mid-1997 but had been expected to dissolve parliament for polls soon after it reconvenes in October, analysts said.   The court decision upheld the central government's position that Okinawa Governor Masahide Ota had no right to block leases for military bases, since local governments were not responsible for defence.   Although the ruling has not ended the bitter row between Okinawa and Tokyo -- the next round of which is a September 8 Okinawan referendum on the bases -- it removed the need for Hashimoto's government to push through parliament legislation to force Okinawa to secure land for bases.   The legislation -- advocated by officials in Hashimoto's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to circumvent lengthy legal procedures -- was anathema to its partner the Social Democratic Party, a pacifist group which counts Okinawa as one of its only strong voter bases.   The turmoil in Sakigake, smallest member of the three-party coalition formed in June 1994, passed with only a handful of coalition members indicating they would bolt with maverick Yukio Hatoyama to form a new grouping next month.   Government spokesman Seiroku Kajiyama, a close Hashimoto ally, dismissed the revolt as an "off-course typhoon" that would have no direct impact on the government.   Hatoyama's political grouping is likely to attract no more than 10 of the 23 Sakigake members and a handful of Social Democrats -- too small a bloc to erode the coalition's more than 50-seat majority in parliament's Lower House.   "There has been no change in the sense of stability of the coalition," LDP Secretary General Koichi Kato told reporters.   "The coalition has reaffirmed its solidarity," Kato said, echoing remarks made by other coalition leaders.   Other LDP officials called for vigilance towards Hatoyama's group, because Hatoyama earlier this month hinted that his new party would back a possible opposition no-confidence measure against Hashimoto when parliament convenes in the autumn.   Hoping to capitalise on the fluidity in the ruling camp, Tsutomu Hata, a senior official of the main opposition Shinshinto (New Frontier Party) and a former prime minister, on Thursday sent out feelers to Hatoyama's group.   "They are all people of high calibre, but they lack numerical strength," Hata said.   "If they are really interested in reform, I believe a coalition is possible."   Shinshinto, which has been beset by internal strife and has squandered past opportunities to unseat Hashimoto's unwieldy coalition, is readying new weapons to attack the coalition when parliament convenes, party officials said.   Shinshinto's first target is alleged loan and political funding improprieties involving LDP Secretary General Kato, who the opposition is trying to drag before a never-before-used parliamentary ethics committee.   If the whiff of scandal is not enough to foul up the LDP-led coalition, Shinshinto plans to take aim at the ruling camp's unpopular plan to raise the consumption tax to five percent from the current three percent next April. 
5696 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Cambodian government officials said on Thursday breakaway Khmer Rouge leader Ieng Sary must make peace and reenter society before being allowed to form his own political organisation.   Ieng Sary and other Khmer Rouge dissidents, who broke from the mainstream rebel group earlier this month, risked jeopardising negotiations with the government if they set unacceptable conditions for a peace deal, the officials said.   Ieng Sary, previously one of the top Khmer Rouge leaders, said on Wednesday he wanted peace and reconciliation with the government, was loyal to the king, and was setting up his own political organisation.   "Ieng Sary can have whatever he likes but he can't do it now," Defence Minister Tea Banh.   "Up to now there's no sign that he will join with the government completely."   King Norodom Sihnanouk on Thursday sent a letter to Ieng Sary acknowledging an earlier communication, but the king did not reveal the contents of Ieng Sary's message.   Ieng Sary's announcement came as negotiations between his breakaway group and the government appeared to be encountering some stumbling blocks.   Tea Banh hinted the government might be losing patience and the talks could break down.   "If it's the case that they don't agree with the government then we might still have the same situation as before," he said.   The Khmer Rouge battled the Phnom Penh government through the 1980s after being ousted from power in early 1979 by a Vietnamese invasion.   The radical guerrillas continued fighting the government which emerged from U.N-run elections in 1993.   In his Wednesday announcement Ieng Sary, who was sentenced to death in absentie for his role in the Khmer Rouge's bloody rule, confirmed his split with paramount leader Pol Pot.   He said he was setting up a group called the Democratic National United Movement (DNUM) to end the war and work towards reconciliation with the government.   Government officials stressed peace and reintegration into society had to come before the dissidents could set up a political movement.   "They can form a political party in future but first they must find a solution to intergrate into society," said Minister of Information Ieng Mouly.   "Everyone must be under the constitution, under the law, to run a political party."   Co-Premier Hun Sen said on Wednesday that despite 1994 legislation outlawing the Khmer Rouge, the government was willing to accept the rebels back.   "Both sides want to get together but the Khmer Rouge are setting a lot of conditions," said one government source.   An official from the Ieng Sary faction told reporters on the Thai-Cambodian border on Wednesday that they rejected a government proposal that troops be stationed in the dissidents' Phnom Malai and Pailin strongholds.   Long Norin, an aide to Ieng Sary, said government troops would only be allowed into their zones after the next election, due in 1998, and said the dissidents wanted to take part in that election.   But officials in Phnom Penh said the breakaway rebels should not be allowed to impose conditions, such as exclusive zones.   "Unacceptable.   There must not be any divisions, there must be only one Cambodia," said Ieng Mouly. 
5697 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Singapores main opposition party appears to have shot itself in the foot, and the ruling Peoples Action Party Party (PAP) is taking full advantage ahead of elections due by April, analysts said on Thursday.   They got a chance to expose the government on a sensitive issue, but blew it, said one analyst who, like most others commenting on the current drama, refused to be identified.   The Social Democratic Party (SDP) set out to attack the government over health care subsidies earlier this month.   It alleged before a parliamentary committee that the governments share of total health costs had dropped to five percent.   The government replied that the figure was wrong and the SDP quickly backed down, admitting the number should have been 25 percent and blaming its blunder on a typographical error.   This week Health Minister George Yeo formally charged four SDP leaders with contempt of parliament, accusing them of presenting fabricated evidence to the committee.   Most prominent among those charged is SDP Secretary-General Chee Soon Juan, a trenchant government critic and a likely SDP candidate in polls expected by the end of the year.   The SDP has three seats in the 81-member parliament and the Workers Party has one.   The PAP, which has ruled Singapore since independence in 1965, holds the rest.   It has taken the city-state to economic heights where per capita income now is greater than in Britain, the former colonial ruler.   The opposition is keen to find a popular issue that would help it dent the PAPs dominance.   In health care, the SDP thought it had found one.   People are concerned about high costs of health care, flats and cars, a second analyst said.   Chee and his company could not have done a worse job in an election year, he said.   The real issue, which got sidestepped in the controversy, is how adequate are the present health care financing arrangements in Singapore for a rapidly ageing population, said an economist.   The governments share in total health expenditure has declined as it implemented policies to shift more of the health care costs burden on the private sector, he said.   If Chee and his colleagues are found guilty by parliaments committee on privileges, or ethics, they could be fined up to Singapore $50,000 (US$35,460), or jailed for the entire current session of parliament.   They would, lawyers said, still be able to contest the elections since the law only debars candidates jailed by a court of law for at least a year or fined more than S$2,000.   Parliament is not considered a court of law, they said.   Yeo accused the SDP leaders of acting in contempt of parliament by fabricating data and presenting false and/or untrue documents with intent to deceive.   There was a genuine human error on our part.   Such errors do occur, Chee told Reuters, declining further comment.   But Yeo, in a letter to the speaker of parliament setting out his charges, said Chees explanation of how the typographical error occured shows that he had presented the committee false documents with intent to deceive.   The development has upset the small and weak opposition.   The error was unfortunate, said opposition Workers Party leader J.B. Jeyaretnam.   It has given a handle to the PAP to tar all us with the same brush, he told Reuters.   They have now got an opportunity to tell people that we cannot be trusted as our information and figures are not reliable, he said.   In the last general election in 1991, the opposition won four seats -- including three by the SDP -- and the opposition percentage of the vote increased.   But the opposition has since had factional conflicts and has no single leader.   The PAP has until April, 1997 to call the next election.   Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong said recently there would be no polls before November. 
5698 !GCAT !GENV  Construction workers building a road through marshland in China's northwestern Qinghai province have been feasting on the eggs of several endangered species of wild birds, the China Youth Daily said on Thursday.   In May and June every year, labourers wade through marshland in Maduo county, loading hand-held tractors with the eggs of swans, grey cranes, wild geese and other endangered species, which they fry up for dinner, the newspaper said.   The marshland, near the source of the Yellow River, is a breeding ground for over 30 types of waterfowl.   Swans and grey cranes are protected species in China but most people consider it acceptable to eat their eggs, it said.   "The situation might improve but ultimately it depends on people's own awareness," the newspaper quoted a local wildlife official as saying. 
5699 !GCAT !GODD !GVIO  A middle-aged couple armed only with pails of boiling water kept progress at bay briefly on Thursday but failed to prevent demolition crews razing Hong Kongs Little Taiwan.   Wrecking crews moved through the shanty town reducing the settlement to rubble to pave the way for developers who will erect high-rise public housing on the site.   Only a few frayed and faded Taiwan flags fluttered over Rennies Mill, a now abandoned relic of a haven for thousands of vanquished Nationalist soldiers and their families who fled the 1949 Communist takeover of China.   The couple held the work up for a while by barricading themselves in their home and tossing scalding water out of the windows.   But as the crowbars and sledgehammers went to work, police negotiators convinced the couple their efforts were futile and coaxed them out of their home of 40 years.   The remote township on the coast of Hong Kongs Kowloon peninsula was the scene of fierce resistance by residents demanding better compensation last month when more than 100 riot police battled demonstrators opposed to the clearance.   Protesters had formed a human chain atop a mound of boxes and cooking gas cylinders and blocked the road to the settlement, forcing the government to postpone demolition work.   Demolition crews were braced for renewed clashes when they moved into the township this week to resume the clearance but they faced little resistance. 
5700 !C11 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  French securities firm BNP Securities Japan, the securities arm of Banque Nationale de Paris, plans to nearly double its Tokyo staff by the year 2000, the BNP Group representative in Japan said Thursday.   The increased staffing, which will bring the number of employees to 80 from the current 47, will begin in 1997 and take around three years, Jean-Francois Ledoux said.   The main emphasis will be on increasing the group's presence in derivatives, particularly equities derivatives, although the group also intends to expand in the areas of cash equities and other securities trade, he added.   As part of this expansion, Ledoux said the company was also considering buying a seat on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.   "This is more part of development in Asia.   It is not a choice between Hong Kong or Singapore and Tokyo at all," he added.   Another French bank, Societe Generale, announced in July that it was expanding its foreign exchange operations in Tokyo, partly as a result of the yen's depreciation against the dollar and rising business costs in places like Singapore. 
5701 !GCAT !GVIO  Philippine peace negotiators met for their final round of talks on Thursday to agree on the text of a formal accord to end 24 years of Moslem separatist rebellion in the south of the country.   Negotiators from the Manila government and the Moslem Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) met late into Wednesday night in Jakarta to work out final details covering the integration of Moslem guerrillas into the Philippine armed forces and police.   We face the final day of our long journey towards peace, government delegation chief Manuel Yan told the opening ceremony chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas.   By the end of this day...an historic document shall have emerged from our hearts and minds, Yan said.   Delegates will sign an interim agreement covering Thursdays fourth round of formal peace talks started in 1993, and put the finishing touches to the peace accord to end a conflict which has cost at least 125,000 lives.   The accord will be initialled in front of Indonesian President Suharto at Jakartas Freedom Palace on Friday, with a formal signing ceremony in Manila next Monday.   Surely, we are now on the threshold of...a just, comprehensive, honourable and lasting peace, MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari told the opening ceremony.   Alatas issued a note of caution: A common lesson of contemporary peace processes is that it is one thing to achieve a peace settlement; it is quite another thing to make it work.   It is after the Final Peace Agreement has been signed in Manila that the real hard work will begin.   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to facilitate and mediate in the talks.   Delegates said the military integration issue was the last major problem that was resolved in talks that ended around 1 a.m. (1800 GMT) on Thursday.   They included the rank and command structure for some 7,500 Moslem guerrillas to be integrated into the armed forces and the security (police) force in southern Mindanao province.   Misuari described the meeting as hectic, but said he was quite happy with the outcome.   Asked about the speed of integration, he told reporters: We dont have any specific timetable.   We want to see integration as quickly as possible, probably two years or less.   Asked how many MNLF guerrillas there were, Misuari said well over 30,000.   He conceded there was still opposition from both Moslem and Christian groups in southern Mindanao province to the peace accord, which envisages a three-year transitional Southern Philippine Council for Peace and Development, followed by a plebiscite and full regional autonomy in 1999.   Misuari said he would seek to persuade dissident groups, including the breakaway Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the fundamentalist Abu Siyyaf group, to accept peace.   The peace deal that we are making now is peace for our whole people...one intended not only for the living, but for those who are still in the womb of time, he said, adding it should embrace all those ostensibly opposed to our peace-making activities.   I believe that what we could not achieve through war, we could now achieve through peaceful means, he added. 
5702 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The nominal leader of the divided Maoist Khmer Rouge, Khieu Samphan, is expected to join a breakaway faction of the guerrilla group led by Ieng Sary, dissident and Thai intelligence sources said on Thursday.   Khieu Samphan, nominal leader of the Khmer Rouge since Pol Pot declared his retirement in the early 1980s, was living in fear in northern Cambodia, sources from the breakaway Khmer Rouge faction said.   ...Khieu Samphan will join with our movement later, when the time is convenient for him and his family, Major Lock Lee of the breakaway faction told Reuters.   Lock Lee said Khieu Samphan and his family were living in fear in an area under the control of one-legged Ta Mok, the Khmer Rouges most feared commander, who earned the nickname Butcher as Pol Pots hatchet man during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror in Cambodia from 1975-79.   Sources within the breakaway faction said Khieu Samphan was not being held but that his movements were being watched.   Political analysts have speculated that because of his moderate views, Khieu Samphan could be interested in joining the breakaway faction.   They also said that while Pol Pot declared his retirement in the early 1980s, he was still the Khmer Rouges top leader.   More than one million people died from execution, starvation or overwork in mass labour camps during the Khmer Rouge rule.   Khieu Samphan represented the guerrillas in numerous rounds of peace talks in the late 1980s and early 1990s which led to the signing of a 1991 peace treaty between various parties in Paris.   He returned to Phnom Penh after the peace treaty to represent the Khmer Rouge in the capital, but was attacked and beaten by a mob a few hours after he arrived.   He was put on a flight out of the country later that day.   Shortly afterwards the Khmer Rouge rejected the U.N. peace process and later boycotted a 1993 election and continued their war against the government.   A senior Thai intelligence source who has long been dealing with the Khmer Rouge guerrillas also said Khieu Samphan would defect to the dissident faction.   We learned that when the dissident faction forms a party, Khieu Samphan will be the leader... the intelligence source told Reuters.   He did not say anything about Ieng Sarys position.   Ieng Sary, foreign affairs minister during the Khmer Rouge government, confirmed on Wednesday that he had broken with Pol Pot and other hardliners of the Maoist guerrilla group and formed a rival movement.   Ieng Sary, in his first statement on a split in the notorious rebel group, said that the new movement to be called the Democratic National United Movement (DNUM) would seek an end to civil war and work towards reconciliation with the Cambodian government.   The hardline faction reshuffled its line-up right after the dissidents announced they were breaking from the Khmer Rouge.   Khieu Samphan was not mentioned in the reshuffle list. 
5703 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  Indonesia sought on Thursday to play down a fire bomb attack on a U.S. consulate earlier this week, saying it was being treated as a criminal rather than a political act, the official Antara news agency said.   The police are still investigating the incident.   It is evident the happening is not politically motivated but just an ordinary criminal act, the news agency quoted East Java military commander Major-General Utomo as saying.   The Tuesday morning attack on the consulate in Indonesias second largest city of Surabaya, caused slight damage to a guard house before being quickly extinguished, a spokesman at the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, 700 km (430 miles) west of Surabaya, said on Wednesday.   No one was injures, he said.   Nobody should try and exaggerate it by calling it a bomb because it was just a molotov cocktail, Utomo said.   He said police were investigating the incident and patrols around diplomatic offices in Surabaya would be stepped up. 
5704 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDEF !GPOL  The governor of Okinawa was silent on whether he would comply with a Supreme Court ruling to forcibly appropriate land on his prefecture for U.S. bases as the southern Japanese island formally launched on Thursday a campaign for its first referendum on the bases issue.   Governor Masahide Ota formally announced the prefecture would hold a non-binding referendum on whether U.S. bases should be phased out by 2015, urging voters to cast ballots on September 8 and promising to take the results to the central government and the United States.   The campaign started the day after a 15-member Grand Bench ruled unanimously that Okinawa must appropriate land for U.S. military bases, rejecting an appeal by Ota that the military presence was unconstitutional.   Following the verdict, central government officials pleaded that Ota comply with the court decision while promising to take administrative measures to lessen the burden on the island.   "We will continue to work to lessen the burden on Okinawa and its people," Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told reporters in Lima, Peru, late on Wednesday.   "The government policy to consolidate the bases on Okinawa is unchanged."   Top government spokesman Seiroku Kajiyama on Wednesday urged Okinawa's government to "take into consideration the court decision and cooperate with the government".   Ota said he would consult his lawyers before making a decision on whether to follow the court's orders.   The bitter row between Okinawa and Tokyo erupted last year after the rape of an Okinawan schoolgirl by three U.S. servicemen, who were jailed earlier this year.   The rape was a flashpoint for discontent over the fact that Okinawa is home to 75 percent of U.S. military bases in Japan and houses half of the 47,000 U.S. forces stationed in the country.   Japanese media generally supported Wednesday's Supreme Court decision, which reasoned that the U.S. base issue is beyond the scope of the judiciary.   Judge Itsuo Sonobe said in an addendum to the ruling: "It is true that military facilities are concentrated on Okinawa which is just 0.6 percent of Japan's total land, but this does not mean the judiciary can make judgments out of the ordinary on the constitutionality of these land appropriations."   The conservative mass circulation Yomiuri Shimbun said in Thursday's editorial: "Both Okinawa and the central government must directly face this decision and work to resolve the 'Okinawa problem'."   The ultra-conservative Sankei Shimbun published an editorial which urged Ota to comply with the court decision for national interests.   Meanwhile, the liberal Asahi Shimbun criticised the Supreme Court for failing to address key constitutional rights, which Ota claimed were violated by the security agreement between Japan and the United States.   "The Supreme Court has not addressed the constitutional principle of equality before the law and right of citizens to a peaceful livelihood, which was the key issue of this trial, and merely stressed the importance of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty," Asahi said in its editorial.   The Supreme Court denied Okinawa's requests to conduct hearings with island residents who were prepared to testify on their experiences about living near military bases and based the ruling purely on legal grounds.   Ota is expected to make a decision on whether he will sign the land-lease contracts for U.S. bases after he sees the results of the referendum.   Hashimoto will meet Ota to discuss the issue two days after the poll. 
5705 !GCAT !GPOL  Senior Hong Kong civil servants were given the go-ahead on Thursday to challenge a government ban on them standing for the Beijing-backed panel to choose the territory's first post-handover leader and lawmakers.   The Supreme Court ruled that a judicial hearing contesting the ban would be heard on September 11, three days before the nomination period for the Selection Committee closes.   The government maintains the ban, announced earlier this month, is necessary to avoid a possible conflict of interest because civil servants are involved in determining government policy.   Civil servants argue the ban stymies their political rights.   The 400-strong Selection Committee will select Hong Kong's future chief executive to replace the British governor and a provisional legislature to take over from the elected chamber which Beijing plans to dissolve.   Hong Kong, a British colony for more than 150 years, will be handed back to China at midnight on June 30 next year.   China intends to dismantle the territory's first fully-elected legislature because it opposes Britain's recent electoral reforms and install an interim appointed chamber, a decision that has generated considerable controversy.   The judicial review sought by directorate-grade bureaucrats will apply to only about 1,000 of the approximately 33,000 civil servants affected.   Police unions are not contesting the ban, which affects all 27,000 officers, and nor are the very top tier of Hong Kong's mandarin class, the policy secretaries.   More than 16,000 application forms for places on the Selection Committee have been handed out since the nomination period opened.   It closes on September 14. 
5706 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The Philippine government and Moslem separatist negotiators started their final round of talks on Thursday with hopes of ending a bloody 24-year rebellion in the south of the country.   We face the final day of our long journey towards peace, government delegation chief Manuel Yan told the opening ceremony.   By the end of this day ... an historic document shall have emerged from our hearts and minds, he said.   Delegates will discuss the final draft of a peace agreement that will be initialled in front of Indonesian President Suharto in Jakarta on Friday, and formally signed in Manila on Monday.   The chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Nur Misuari, said: Surely, we are now on the threshold of...a just, comprehensive, honourable and lasting peace.   The opening ceremony was chaired by Indonesian Foreign Minister Ali Alatas who praised the participants for their efforts to achieve peace in the southern Philippines where 125,000 people have died since the separatist revolt broke out in 1972.   The final peace negotiations opened on Wednesday and technical committees worked into early Thursday morning to settle details of the integration of Moslem guerrillas into the Philippines armed forces and into a regional security force in southern Mindanao province.   Asked if there had been agreement on the integration process, Yan told Reuters: Oh yes, definitely.   Indonesia has chaired a six-nation ministerial committee from the Organisation of the Islamic Conference that has brokered the peace talks to end the revolt.   The five million Moslems on Mindanao regard the area as their ancestral homeland, although they are now outnumbered three-to-one by Christian migrants.   Christian politicians and their followers have vowed to fight the peace deal, which involves a three-year interim Council for Peace and Development followed in 1999 by a plebiscite leading to an autonomous regional government. 
5707 !C31 !CCAT !GCAT !GENT  South Koreas largest ticket outlets have refused to sell tickets for Michael Jacksons HIStory concert, the Korea Herald newspaper reported on Thursday.   Major banks and bookstores, among popular spots to buy tickets in South Korea, said they would not sell the tickets.   Their refusal to unload tickets follows pressure from a coalition of Christian and civic organisations who oppose Jacksons appearance because of 1993 child molestation allegations against the singer.   Jackson was cleared of all charges.   The coalition has also said the expense of bringing Jackson to South Korea was a waste of money, the paper reported.   Jackson is scheduled to appear in the country on October 11-13.   Concert organiser, Taewon Arts, has also run into trouble finding a security company willing to oversee safety during the concerts.   The only local company considered capable of providing security at the huge event has refused the job, the paper said.   In 1994, the Cultural Ministry rejected a proposal to bring Jackson to South Korea on grounds that the performance would have a negative influence on youth morals. 
5708 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Chinese Petroleum Corp on Thursday closed the second of two crude unloading units near its north Taiwan refinery, stalling unloading of a 250,000-tonne tanker for as long as "a few days", an executive said.    "Both units were closed after we found minor oil leakage in one undersea pipeline and a connection problem in the other," a company official told Reuters by telephone.   An executive at Chinese Petroleum's headquarters in Taipei said by telephone that repairs could keep both units closed for "a few days", but said the shutdown would not seriously affect the firm's supplies or crude tendering schedules.   "A delay of few days would not disrupt our supplies, nor affect prices," the official said.   Officials reached at the offshore unloading facility near Chinese Petroleum's refinery at Taoyuan in northern Taiwan said the problem could be repaired in as little as one day.    Chinese Petroleum shut one of the unloading units on Wednesday after finding minor oil leaks.   The second was shut down on Thursday due to problems in a pipeline connector, officials said without disclosing details about the problem.   Unloading of a 250,000-tonne oil tanker, Sailor, was halted and the vessel moored nearby after the leak was discovered, a manager at the Taoyuan oil refinery said by telephone.   Details of the tanker's registry and the source of its cargo were not immediately available.   Officials could not say how much of its crude had been offloaded.   The leak was controlled within an hour and cleanup crews were using chemical and enzymatic agents to break up the oil.   "Only minor oil spills were reported," the manager said.   Repairs were under way and the affected unit would reopen soon, he said.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
5709 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GSCI  A Chinese telecommunications satellite company will use a Long March rocket to launch a telecommunications satellite in late 1997, the official China Daily said on Thursday.   The announcement comes less than two weeks after a Long March series rocket placed $120 million Chinese satellite in the wrong orbit, leaving it drifting hopelessly in space.   "There is no plan to switch to other rocket carriers," the newspaper quoted Hao Weimin, president of China Orient Telecommunications Satellite Co Ltd, as saying.   China Orient had signed a deal with China Great Wall Industry Corp to put the CHINASTAR-1 satellite into orbit between September and November next year, Hao said, adding that a final launch date had yet to be set.   The satellite, which China Orient bought from Lockheed Martin Corp of the United States, will carry 48 Ku-band transponders and would provide telecommunications service to China and southern and western Asia, the newspaper said.   China's space industry has been plagued by a recent string of failures.    On August 18, a Long March 3 rocket failed to place the U.S.-made Chinasat-7 telecommunications satellite in its proper orbit.   The cause of the failure is still under investigation.   In February, the launch of a Long March 3B rocket ended in disaster when it blew up seconds after liftoff, showery fiery debris over a wide area killing six people, injuring 57 and destroying an Intelsat satellite.   In January 1995, a Long March carrier exploded, destroying the Apstar 2 satellite, also killing six people. 
5710 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  A hearing law suit launched by Indonesian democracy figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri against the government and party rivals agreed on Thursday to hear the case after the parties failed to reach an out-of-court settlement.   "For the time being, an agreement has not been reached, so the suit will be read," head judge I Gde Ketut Sukarata told the packed court room at the Central Jakarta State Court.   The three member panel of judges then took turns at reading the plaintiffs suit and the defendants responses during the hour long hearing.   The case was then adjourned until September 5 when Megawati's legal team is expected to respond to the defendants statements.   Witnesses said supporters shouting "Mega will win" outside the court were peacefully dispersed by riot police after the hearing.   The case had opened just before 10.00 a.m. (0300 GMT) with the head of Megawati's legal team, R.O. Tambunan, telling the court the parties had been unable to come to an agreement.   "We have held marathon meetings four times.   The meetings were open and familiar in nature," Tambunan told the court.   There was no immediate reaction from Megawati supporters who were present.   "We have tried hard but we regret to tell you that we did not come to an agreement even though we have tried.   We hope that in the future we can try again, but for now I suggest that the case continues," he said.   About 500 people, including Megawati supporters, gathered outside the court, were closely watched by riot police and witnesses said traffic was blocked but the gathering was peaceful.   Megawati has sued the Interior Minister Yogie Memet, Armed Forces Chief Fiesal Tanjung and National Police Chief Lieutenant-General Dibyo Widodo as well as PDI party rivals Surjadi and his supporters.   She is seeking a court declaration that the government-backed PDI congress which was held in Medan in north Sumatra in June and elected Surjadi as party leader was illegal.   She is also seeking damages.   -- Jakarta newsroom +6221 384-6364 
5711 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT !GSCI  Japan's Agriculture Ministry is considering using a satellite to monitor grain output in the Asia region, a ministry official said on Thursday.   The ministry will launch three-year feasibility study next year, spending 13 million yen for fiscal 1996/97, he said.   "We'll start analysing satellite pictures of Indonesian farm land next year as a first step.   Our final goal is to establish a system to gather information about Asian grain output," he said.   Japan currently depends heavily on the United States Department of Agriculture for such information. 
5712 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Judges hearing law suit launched by Indonesian democracy figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri against the government and party rivals agreed on Thursday to hear the case after the parties failed to reach an out-of-court settlement.   "For the time being, an agreement has not been reached, so the suit will be read," head judge I Gde Ketut Sukarata told the packed court room at the Central Jakarta State Court.   The three member panel of judges then took turns at reading the plaintiffs suit.   The case had opened just before 10.00 a.m. (0300 GMT) with the head of Megawati's legal team, R.O. Tambunan, telling the court the parties had been unable to come to an agreement.   "We have held marathon meetings four times.   The meetings were open and familiar in nature," Tambunan told the court.   There was no immediate reaction from Megawati supporters who were present.   "We have tried hard but we regret to tell you that we did not come to an agreement even though we have tried.   We hope that in the future we can try again, but for now I suggest that the case continues," he said.   About 500 people, including Megawati supporters, gathered outside the court, were closely watched by riot police and witnesses said traffic was blocked but the crowd was peaceful.   Megawati has sued the Interior Minister Yogie Memet, Armed Forces Chief Fiesal Tanjung and National Police Chief Lieutenant-General Dibyo Widodo as well as PDI party rivals Surjadi and his supporters.   She is seeking a court declaration that the government-backed PDI congress which was held in Medan in North Sumatra in June and elected Surjadi as party leader was illegal.   She is also seeking damages. 
5713 !GCAT !GDIP  Former Poland President Lech Walesa will visit Taiwan at the end of October for four days, his first trip to the island, the mass-circulation China Times newspaper reported on Thursday.   Invited jointly by China Times and a leading industrial association Chinese National Federation of Industries, Walesa was scheduled to arrive in Taipei on October 31 and leave on November 3, the newspaper said.   Walesa will give speeches in Taipei and the southern city of Kaohsiung, it said.   The former Polish President will also visit parliament, the National Assembly and meet senior government officials and labour representatives, it said.   Walesa, who in 1980 launched a long struggle by Poland's Solidarity trade union movement against communist rule, was voted out as the country's President last November after losing in a poll to ex-Communist Aleksander Kwasnieski.   He has since returned to a $250 a month job as a shipyard electrician. 
5714 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Japanese politicians are likely to seize on the nation's latest gloomy economic data to press for extra public spending as a quick fix to woo voters worried the economy may be slipping backwards.   But private economists warn such measures would do little to promote the real reforms needed to ensure Japan's economy does more than putter along at low levels of growth.   A key central bank survey showed on Wednesday that big manufacturers grew more pessimistic about business prospects, confounding predictions that corporate sentiment had improved.   The Bank of Japan's quarterly corporate survey, or "tankan", showed the diffusion index for major manufacturers -- an important gauge of business sentiment -- fell to minus seven in August from minus three in the previous survey in May.   Several economists said the surprisingly gloomy index did not imply that Japan's economy, struggling to emerge from a five-year slump, was in danger of sliding into recession.   "The bears have got more ammunition," said Jesper Koll, chief economist at JP Morgan.   "But it does not mean that recession is a danger.   What it tells you is that the recovery is unbalanced."   Much of the drop in the manufacturers' diffusion index was due to deteriorating conditions in basic materials industries such as steel, chemical and petroleum, which were hit by the recent depreciation of the yen, economists said.   Major non-manufacturers grew less pessimistic, with their diffusion index rising to minus four from minus nine in May.   Still, some economists said the possibility Japan would stumble on the road to recovery could not be ruled out.   "There are many uncertain factors," Masaru Takagi, chief economist at Fuji Research Institute, said, citing worries over a food poisoning epidemic, pessimistic prospects for Japanese microchip makers, a fall-off in public work spending and a planned sales tax rise from next April.   "There is a possibility that Japan might enter a light recession again."   With interest rates already at rock-bottom levels since the Bank of Japan slashed its official discount rate to a record low of 0.5 percent a year ago, pressure for more government spending is certain to rise, economists said.   Politicians are keen to have funds to woo voters ahead of a general election that pundits say could come as early as October, although none is mandated until July 1997.   "In terms of policy, it's clear that the Bank of Japan can not move.   It can not justify a rate hike," Koll said.   "On the fiscal side, the argument for another supplementary budget to prevent fiscal policy from choking off the recovery is going to gather momentum," he added.   Priming the pump with an added two or three trillion yen in a supplementary budget for the year to March 31, 1997 might help ensure demand was not dragged down as the impact of last year's mammoth stimulative package peters out.   But economists point out that the punch delivered by pump-priming steps has diminished, while drafting heftier spending packages -- however attractive to campaigning politicians -- would worsen Japan's massive budget deficit.   Finance mandarins are clearly keen to avoid that scenario.   Japan enjoyed budget surpluses until 1992, but the balance has plunged into the red as the five-year slump and dwindling tax revenues forced the issuance of government bonds to finance stimulative packages.   In gross terms, Japan's total indebtedness is now nearly 90 percent of output, and appears headed for 100 percent.   This compares to an average of just under 74 percent for OECD nations.   Economists said policy makers needed to tackle deep-seated structural obstacles to growth such as over-regulation, uncompetitive pricing and low productivity, but held out little hope of bold moves any time soon. 
5715 !E41 !E411 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South Korea's seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.0 percent in June from a year earlier, provisional National Statistical Office (NSO) figures showed on Thursday.     July June July 1995    Unemployment (pct) 2.0 2.2  2.0     (1.8) (1.9)  (1.8)   NOTE: Unemployment rate in brackets calculated before taking seasonal factors into account.   The percentage of the economically active population was 62.7 percent in July, up from 63.0 percent a year earlier. 
5716 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  The state-run Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) said on Thursday it would resume operation of a nuclear power plant on Saturday.   KEPCO closed down the 950-megawatt plant in Yongwang in southwestern South Korea earlier this month after detecting radiation leakage.   "We have conducted maintenance work and fixed several tubes of a steam generator that leaked coolant containing radioactive material," a KEPCO spokesman said.   He said the leakage was only one tenth of the radiation levels permitted by international standards and the radiation was contained within the plant.   The company also plans a maintenance closure of another 950-megawatt unit as a precautionary measure between September 3 and October 24, he said.   -- Seoul Newsroom (822) 727 5643 
5717 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GENV  Taiwan's Chinese Petroleum Corp said on Thursday it had closed one of two offshore crude oil unloading units near its Taoyuan refinery due to undersea pipeline leakage.   "The unit was closed after we found minor leakage in its undersea pipeline," company official Liao Pei-feng said.   Unloading of a 250,000-tonne oil tanker was halted and the vessel moored nearby after the leak was discovered on Wednesday, a manager at Taoyuan oil refinery said by telephone.   The leak was controlled within an hour and cleanup crews were using chemical and enzymatic agents to break up the oil.   "Only minor oil spills were reported," he said.   Chinese Petroleum has two oil unloading units at Taoyuan, a port in northern Taiwan where it has a major refinery.   Operation of one of the units was unaffected.   Repairs were under way and the affected unit would reopen soon, the manager said.   -- Taipei Newsroom (2-5080815) 
5718 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  Security was tight outside a Jakarta court on Thursday as about 100 supporters of Indonesian democracy figurehead Megawati Sukarnoputri gathered ahead of her law suit brought against the government and party rivals.   Witnesses said about 50 riot police, backed up by one armoured car and some police dogs, stopped supporters from entering the court complex after the courtroom filled up around 9.00 a.m. (0200 GMT).   They said there was no immediate signs of protestors and traffic was flowing slowly but smoothly past the Central Jakarta State Court building on the main Jalan Gadjah Mada thoroughfare.   Megawati's lawyers said on Wednesday they had failed to reach an out-of-court settlement with the government and political rivals.   The case was adjourned August 22 when the judge asked the parties to explore the possibility of a settlement.   -- Jakarta newsroom +6221 384-6364 
5719 !GCAT  With 306 days to go before the British colony reverts to China, the Hong Kong media focused on handover issues, China-Taiwan relations and the departure of the head of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR).   The Beijing-funded WEN WEI PO said Hugh Davis, leader of the British side of the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group, had been heard talking about his choice for the post of Hong Kong's post-1997 chief executive.   The paper said this was overriding Hong Kong people's sacred right to choose the chief executive through the Selection Committee and said Britain should stop interfering and show some sincerity in handing over the administration to China.   The middle of the road HONG KONG ECONOMIC TIMES said the way the Government announced the resignation of the chairman of the KCR, Kevin Hyde, showed its relationship with Hyde was not a good one.   It said there had been lack of communication between the Government and the KCR over the proposed Western Corridor Railway project.   It said that the Government should avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future and be more open with the public about such plans.   The English-language SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST said the Taiwanese business community's call for Beijing to renew top level talks with Taipei deserved to be listened to by political leaders on both sides.   It said the sooner Beijing and Taipei could begin talking again the better it would be for everyone doing business.   -- HONG KONG NEWSROOM (852) 2843-6441 
5720 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Sprucely attired in a meticulously pressed suit, China-born lawyer Simon Meng toils through thick files in Hong Kong every day, advising overseas clients interested in investing in China.   He is one of the China-bred elite who have flocked to the British colony to tap the gleaming opportunities offered by the metropolis as it prepares to return to China in 1997.   "With the globalisation of the (local) economy, there are more and more transactions," said the 38-year-old lawyer.   A swarm of well-informed and cosmopolitan Chinese, born and brought up in China, have snapped up jobs in recent years, jumping on Hong Kong's economic bandwagon.   Some of them have been lured by the handover of Hong Kong, a British colony for 150 years, to Beijing in mid-1997.   "As so many people have emigrated ahead of the sovereignty transfer, there're more chances for me," said China-reared Ma Guonan, a regional economist at Bankers Trust.   Thousands of Hong Kong people have left in the past decade, joining an exodus of people anxious about the prospect of life under China's communist regime.   But, under China's growing affluence, an increasing number of mainland Chinese have been pursuing studies in the West and many have come to work in Hong Kong to witness the sovereignty transfer, said Ma, who is in his thirties.   "Now a lot of Chinese people are educated outside of China...there are thousands," said Meng, who works for law firm Freshfields.   Equipped with solid knowledge of China, and with Western qualifications, they are in hot demand in Hong Kong, where companies have numerous business dealings with the Chinese.   "People treasure them very much because Hong Kong people pay great attention to human capital," Ma said.   He said employers considered his China background an asset.   This new breed in Hong Kong, better off than many locals, lead a comfortable life in contrast to the mainland labourers here who live from hand to mouth.   Meng lives in the upmarket district of Hong Kong Island known as Mid-Levels.   Horse-riding, considered a high-society sport, is among his hobbies.   There are no official figures on the number of middle-class mainland Chinese employed in Hong Kong, but the steady growth in their presence has been highly visible.   In recent years mainland Chinese who have lived abroad for two years or more, and graduates from 30 designated Chinese universities who have work experience, have been allowed to apply for jobs in Hong Kong as professionals, but there are limited quotas.   "Hong Kong belongs to China.   I feel no stranger here, but I can be a little bit homesick overseas," said Tao Zhigang, a lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.   For him, Hong Kong's attraction lies in the convenience in collecting information for research.   Others like the pay, which in some professions is generous by Chinese standards.   "As an academic, I need a stable environment and a stable income.   In China, the income for a lecturer is very low," said a China-born lecturer who declined to be identified.   A university teacher's monthly salary ranges from HK$30,000 (US$3880) to over HK$100,000 in Hong Kong, but is usually well below 1,000 yuan (US$120) in China.   But some say they are not here for the money, insisting that Chinese businesses can also make good offers.   "I have a lot of friends...working for companies in China.   They have a much better life than me," Tao said.   "They have their own house," he went on.   "All my friends were educated in the United States.   They all get very good jobs in China.   Actually, they get better jobs than me.   That's why a lot of my friends are asking me why I am staying at the university"   While Chinese blue-collar workers in Hong Kong often suffer discrimination from locals, these Chinese professionals claim they encounter little discrimination here.   "I do think there was some discrimination," said Tao, who has been working in Hong Kong for four years.   "I think things have improved very much."   He attributed the improvement partly to Hong Kong's forthcoming reversion to Chinese rule.   (US$1=HK$7.73 or 8.31 yuan) 
5721 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA  Japanese prosecutors on Thursday arrested the former head of AIDS research in Japan for questioning about the deaths of haemophiliacs who were given HIV-contaminated blood products, a police spokesman said.   The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office arrested Takeshi Abe for using blood products which had not been heat-treated on haemophiliac patients knowing that the products could be tainted with the HIV virus.   Abe has been under investigation for possible professional negligence since complaints were filed against him by the family of a haemophiliac who was given untreated blood products at the hospital where Abe worked.   His arrest was the first case in which a doctor was arrested on suspicion of criminal charges in a decade-long scandal in which more than 2,000 haemophiliacs contracted HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus which causes AIDS.   Prosecutors swooped on Abe's residence in Tokyo early on Thursday morning and plan a search later on the Health Ministry and Teikyo University, where Abe used to serve as vice president, NHK public television said. 
5722 !GCAT !GPOL  Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has approved plans, frozen by the previous Labour government, to build more homes in existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, his spokesman said on Thursday.   The spokesman, Avi Benayahu, declined to say how many housing units would be built.   Israeli media reports put the number at between 2,000 and 3,550.   "The minister approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," Benayahu said in a statement.   Mordechai's decision was certain to anger Palestinians, who observed a strike called by President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday to protest against the right-wing Israeli government's policies on settlements and Jerusalem.   Israel's opposition Labour party condemned the planned construction, saying the Likud-led government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sending the wrong message to the PLO.   "The (government's) provocation of the Palestinians is clear," former tourism minister Uzi Baram told Israel Radio.   "It is playing with a powder keg that puts all of us in great danger."   The Maariv newspaper said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are in the West Bank, near the pre-1967 Middle East war border.   Israel Radio put the number of new homes at 2,000.   Benayahu said Mordechai's approval was in line with the decision by the Netanyahu government to cancel the previous administration's building freeze in the West Bank.   Israel's announcement on Tuesday of a plan to build a new neighbourhood in Kiryat Sefer sparked accusations from Arafat on Wednesday that the Jewish state was declaring war on Palestinians.   Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, lifted a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza Strip imposed by the Labour government in 1992.   Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.   Some 130,000 Jews have settled amidst the nearly two million Palestinians in the territories since Israel captured them in the 1967 Middle East war.   Israel's Housing Ministry said on August 20 that it was drafting a plan to approve construction of 5,000 new homes in the West Bank. 
5723 !GCAT !GPOL  Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has approved plans, frozen by the previous Labour government, to build more homes in existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, his spokesman said on Thursday.   The spokesman, Avi Benayahu, declined to say how many housing units would be built.   Israeli media reports put the number at between 2,000 and 3,550.   The decision was certain to anger Palestinians, who observed a strike called by President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday to protest against the right-wing Israeli government's policies on settlements and Jerusalem.   "The minister approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," Benayahu said in a statement.   The Maariv newspaper said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are in the West Bank, near the pre-1967 Middle East war border.   Israel Radio put the number of new homes at 2,000.   Benayahu said Mordechai's approval was in line with the decision by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel the previous administration's building freeze in the West Bank.   Israel's announcement on Tuesday of a plan to build a new neighbourhood in Kiryat Sefer sparked accusations from Arafat on Wednesday that the Jewish state was declaring war on Palestinians.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, which took office in June, lifted a freeze on Jewish settlement building in the West Bank and Gaza Strip imposed by the previous government in 1992.   Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.   Some 130,000 Jews have settled amidst the nearly two million Palestinians in the territories since Israel captured them in the 1967 Middle East war.   Israel's Housing Ministry said on August 20 that it was drafting a plan to approve construction of 5,000 new homes in the West Bank. 
5724 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Palestinians were set to heed on Thursday President Yasser Arafat's call to observe the first general strike in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in two years to protest Israeli policy on settlements and Jerusalem.   Arafat on Wednesday lashed out against Israel, saying its policies amounted to a declaration of war and called a half-day general strike "for Jerusalem" in protest.   "What happened concerning continuous violations and crimes from this new Israeli leadership means they are declaring a state of war against the Palestinian people," Arafat said.   Hours after Arafat's statement gunmen shot and wounded two people when they fired at an Israeli commuter bus in the West Bank in an attack some Israeli commentators said may be linked to the Palestinian leader's remarks.   Arafat slammed Israel's decision to expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Sefer in the West Bank and its demolition of a community centre in Arab East Jerusalem during a session of the Palestinian legislature in Ramallah in the West Bank.   The Palestinian Legislative Council demanded on Wednesday a halt to contacts with Israel until the Jewish state honoured its peace pledges.   Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, responding to Arafat's strongest attack on his right-wing government since its election in May, said Israel would view as "very grave" any attempt to step up tensions or violence.   In an apparent effort to quell tensions, Israel's Foreign Minister David Levy telephoned Arafat and told him Tuesday's demolition in Jerusalem was not politically motivated.   "In relation to the demolition of the building in the old city the foreign minister...requested to make clear to Arafat that this was not an action on behalf of the government," a foreign ministry statement said.   It said the demolition was carried out by the municipality.   The municipality said the structure was built on public property without the proper permits.   After speaking to Arafat, Levy telephoned Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Karim al-Kabariti and briefed him on the conversation.   Kabariti will travel to Palestinian-ruled Ramallah on Thursday to meet Arafat.   During the general strike, shops, businesses and schools will be closed.   It will be the first strike in both areas since Israel handed over parts of the West Bank and Gaza to Palestinian self-rule in 1994.   Arafat also called on Palestinians to flock to East Jerusalem for Friday prayers but most will be prevented by an Israeli closure imposed on the West Bank and Gaza six months ago after a spate of Moslem suicide bombings.   Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and claims both halves of the city as its capital.   The PLO wants East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.   Israeli officials said at least two gunmen carried out Wednesday night's attack near Bethlehem.   They said some 15 shots were fired at an Israeli bus making its way to the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba near Hebron, lightly wounding two people.   After the attack Israel declared Bethlehem a closed military area and conducted a large manhunt for the gunmen.   Witnesses said Israeli troops arrested a Palestinian suspected of carrying out the attack.   The Israeli army said it was checking the report.   Palestinians have been pressing Israel to carry out a long-delayed partial troop pullout from the flashpoint city of Hebron agreed by the previous Israeli government.   The current government said it is studying the situation. 
5725 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Tunisian press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LA PRESSE   - Egyptian President Mubarak sends message to President Ben Ali on Middle East peace process.   - Beef prices slightly up because of ban on imported beef.   LE TEMPS   - Tunisia needs 800 telecommunications engineers during the next five years. 
5726 !GCAT !GDIP  U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Arlen Specter said on Thursday he had delivered a letter from Israel's prime minister to Syria's president but failed to bridge gaps over resumption of peace talks.   Specter declined to reveal the contents of the letter that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked him to give to President Hafez al-Assad.   He told reporters he hoped peace talks between the two sides would resume but gave no indication that it would be soon.   "President Assad said...he did not see hope for peace or realism for peace based on what Mr Netanyahu has been saying," Specter told reporters about his trip to Syria on Wednesday.   Syria wants back the Golan Heights, seized by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.   Netanyahu, who ousted Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres in May elections, refuses to give up the strategic plateau Israel annexed in 1981.   Syria said this week it was willing to resume peace talks in Washington at the point where they broke off in March after a wave of Moslem suicide bombings in Israel.   Netanyahu's government has said it would not be bound by unwritten understandings reached in negotiations conducted by the previous government.   While Peres had stopped short of committing Israel to a full withdrawal from the strategic plateau, he had said he could not envisage Syria making peace without getting back the Golan.   The Pennsylvania Republican senator said he had proposed to Assad that the two sides start talks where the Peres government left off, with "certain exceptions" determined by Netanyahu.   Specter said the idea fell flat.   "They haven't agreed to that," he said.   The senator also said he raised with Assad Netanyahu's "Lebanon First" proposal, which calls for an Israeli troop pullback from a south Lebanon occupation zone in exchange for security guarantees, as a precursor to peace with Syria.   Syria, the main power in Lebanon with 35,000 troops there, repeated its rejection of any peace deal without the Golan.   Specter, who held talks in Saudi Arabia earlier in the week over a June fuel truck bombing in Dhahran which killed 19 U.S. servicemen, said he held a "very, very extensive discussion" with Assad on the issue of terrorism.   The Intelligence Committee chairman, who has questioned whether U.S. Defence Secretary William Perry should resign over the latest bombing in Saudi Arabia, said he gave Assad a long list of what Washington says are terrorist groups harboured by Syria.   Specter came to the Middle East after visits to Japan, South Korea and China. 
5727 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Moroccan press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LE MATIN DU SAHARA   - Morocco harvests record 9.75 million tonnes of cereals.   LE QUOTIDIEN DU MAROC   - Political parties start meetings to discuss constitutional reform.   - Tough measures to curb immigration do not daunt Moroccans who still try to reach Europe via Spain in makeshift boats.   AL-MAGHRIB   - Tourism needs to face real problems: state-owned airline fares still too high, nothing has been done to improve service in hotels and beggars and hustlers still bully visitors. 
5728 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Iran has denied a U.S. claim that Tehran was involved in an Iraqi scheme to sell oil in violation of United Nations sanctions.   Iran's U.N. envoy Kamal Kharazi late on Wednesday "dismissed the U.S. claims that Tehran has been involved in Baghdad's violation of the U.N. economic sanctions by allowing Iraqi ships to smuggle oil through Iranian waters," the official Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Thursday.   A U.S. official at the U.N. said that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces were collecting protection money from shippers, allowing the illegal movement of Iraqi gasoil through the Gulf.   Kharazi said "the claims are part of Washington's anti-Iran propaganda, which as always are based on false and unfounded allegations".   Citing a June 17 U.S. letter to the U.N. sanctions committee, IRNA said in a dispatch from United Nations headquarters in New York: "The latest U.S. efforts to allege Iran of violating the U.N. sanctions on Iraq went unnoticed in the sanctions committee of the Security Council."   The Iranian envoy said the U.S. charges followed Iranian moves to increase coastal guard patrols to tightly control the implementation of the U.N. sanctions.   But the U.S. official said the allegations were based on statistical data, confirmed by personal interviews with those involved, and other physical proof.   Kharazi said he would offer the Security Council's sanctions committee "documents proving baselessness of the U.S. allegations against Iran".   He did not elaborate.   The U.N. imposed sanctions against Iraq following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait. 
5729 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Cyrpus newspapers on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ALITHIA   - President Glafcos Clerides might reshuffle cabinet earlier than expected.   - More money will be spent on development in 1997, according to Ministry of Finance 1997 budget report.   HARAVGHI   - U.N. Secretary-General's special representative for Cyprus and British Foreign Office representative Sir David Hannay will visit Cyprus to examine possibilities of establishing satisfactory common grounds for talks.   CYPRUS MAIL   - U.N. called on to investigate Turkish ship acting suspiciously off the island's eastern coast yesterday.   PHILELEFTHEROS   - Two reports accusing Turkey will be delivered to the Security Council and the European Union member countries.   - The outbreak of meningitis no reason for concern.   Preventive measures are being taken at schools and the school year will start as planned, senior health official says.   SIMERINI   - Parliamentary committee for financial affairs requests update regarding the increase of the defence fund levy. 
5730 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Bahraini press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-AYAM   - Labour ministry sets up employment office to help Bahrainis find jobs.   It employed 796 Bahrainis last month.   - U.N. arms official Ekeus briefs Bahrain's foreign minister on his visit to Iraq.   AKHBAR AL-KHALEEJ   - Commerce minister to visit Damascus on Sunday for talks on developing economic relations. 
5731 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Turkish press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SABAH   - The spilling of innocent blood in the drive-by killing of an organised crime boss is harshly criticised.   - Parliamentary commission approves that security forces should be given the right to open fire at those disobeying the order to "surrender" in southeast Turkey.   The draft law will be discussed in parliament on Thusday.   MILLIYET   - 136 school students detained in a operation held by the narcotics squad in Istanbul.   HURRIYET   - The conservative Motherland Party will apply to the Constitutional Court if the government does not pay its employees back a money cut from their wages over the years under a recently-scrapped compulsory saving scheme.   - The Islamist-led government signed a second military accord in secret.   The Islamists had harshly criticised the original accord and vowed to tear it up while in opposition.   CUMHURIYET   - A book published by the Directorate of Religious Affairs blames Turkish intellectuals and the press for the country's social problems.   YENI YUZYIL   - Islamist MP Fethullah Erbas sees dialogue as essential in solving a 12-year Kurdish insurgency in the southeast.   DUNYA   - The Istanbul Chamber of Industry names Turkey's top 500 industries.   ZAMAN   - The World Health Organisation warns countries about the spreading of syphilis after the dismantling of the Russian block. 
5732 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Israeli newspapers on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   HAARETZ   - Palestinian President Arafat: "Israel declared war against us"; general strike today in the territories, talks suspended.   - Three passengers slightly wounded in guerrilla shooting of Israeli bus on Bethlehem bypass road.   - U.S. Senator Arlen Spector passed message to Syrian President Assad: Israel prepared to resume negotiations without preconditions.   - Senior officer in military intelligence confirms there are warning signals that Islamic Jihad is planning attack.   - Jordanian prime minister will meet Arafat today in Ramallah.   MAARIV   - Efforts under way to prevent violent confrontation with the Palestinians.   - Netanyahu: We will relate with severity to any Palestinian violence.   - Israeli army preparing contingency plans if Palestinian uprising resumes.   - Defence minister approves building of thousands of apartments in the West Bank.   YEDIOTH AHRONOTH   - Arafat: This is only the beginning.   - Guerrillas shoot at Israeli bus in West Bank, wound two.   GLOBES   - Bank of Israel governor: We will protect shekel fluctuation band.   - Struggle for control of Africa-Israel intensifies.   - Koor profits rise 25.5 percent in second quarter.   JERUSALEM POST   - Arafat: Israel has declared war on us.   - Palestinian Authority forces still operate in Jerusalem.   - CIA asked Clinton not to release Israeli spy Pollard. 
5733 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the official Iraqi press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THAWRA   - Deputy Prime Minister Tareq Aziz says Iraq is not hiding any banned material or documents   - Tunisian trade delegation heading for Iraq   - Foreign minister slams Iranian counterpart for remarks on situation in northern Iraq   - Commentary lambasts Iran for meddling in Kurdish affairs   - Arab transport union demands allowing Iraqi maritime fleet to resume commercial activities   QADISSIYA   - Tunisian president stresses importance of cooperation with Iraq   - More foreign firms show readiness to resume trade with Iraq   - Symposium organises sending of remittances by Iraqis working abroad   IRAQ   - Iraq strives to boost cooperation with Turkey in all fields   - Turkey says Iraqi pipeline through its territory is vital for national economy 
5734 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the Jordanian press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   JORDAN TIMES   - King voices satisfaction over the security situation.   - Authorities release publisher of weekly magazine Al-Bilad, other journalists detained following the recent unrest.   - Prime Minister Kabariti visits Ramallah on Thursday for talks with Palestinian leader Arafat.   AD DUSTOUR   - Turkish foreign minister arrives on Tuesday to discuss economic cooperation and the peace process.   - Private sector representatives praise the government's economic programme.   - Release of 16 detainees arrested during the bread riots.   - Rise in stocks prices at end of weekly trade.   AL ASWAQ   - Al-Aswaq publishes proposals of the private sector on the draft customs law.   - Tariff reductions in national calls.   AL RAI   - Saudi technical delegation examines health controls on Jordanian agricultural produce.   - Ministerial committee looks into reasons for delay in implementing some projects allocated in the budget. 
5735 !GCAT !GHEA !GVIO  The head of a Czech chemical warfare monitoring unit in the Gulf War reiterated in remarks published on Thursday that Iraqi nerve gas drifted over allied positions in northeast Saudi Arabia during the 1991 conflict.   Colonel Jan Valo added in a letter to Kuwait's English-language Arab Times that he was confident that people in the area for which his team was responsible protected themselves against the gas thanks to warnings provided by his team.   "Due to the fact that our unit was equipped with very sensitive indication instruments and chemical laboratories, we were able to measure and record in time even small concentrations of chemicals in the air," he wrote.   "Chemical alert was declared immediately and I am sure that people protected by our unit and following our instructions avoided later health troubles," wrote Valo, former commander of the Czech Chemical Warfare Unit.   The unit was part of a U.S.-led alliance based in Saudi Arabia that ended Iraq's seven-month occupation of Kuwait in the January and February 1991 war.   Valo was asked by the newspaper to comment on media reports this month that said a study by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency had projected that U.S. air attacks on Iraqi chemical wepons plants including the Muhammadiyat plant west of Baghdad during the Gulf war had sent clouds of Sarin nerve gas blowing towards allied positions in Saudi Arabia.   The reports also said separate attacks on six Iraqi chemical weapons storage and production sites on January 17-18 1991 caused further releases that were detected by allied monitors.   Valo commented: "I can confirm that the information in the articles is true and corresponds in full to what we discovered in the war.   The concentration of chemicals mentioned in your article was really measured by us during this period."   The CIA study, using a computer projection, found that in the worst case an estimated 2.9 metric tonnes of Sarin were released into the air in the attacks, media reports have said.   A low-pressure weather front kept low-level Sarin vapour in the air over Hafr al-Batin in northern Saudi Arabia, reports said.   Valo said his main area of responsibility was King Khaled Military City and what he called the 4th and 20th Saudi Arabia Brigade.   He made no comment on the degree of chemical protection for people outside his unit's area of responsibility.   U.S. Gulf War veterans have pointed to the Czech monitors' evidence to argue that the Pentagon has not taken seriously reports of Iraqi chemical weapons use.   Gulf War Syndrome, a mysterious combination of ailments such as fatigue, flue, joint pains, blood disorders and memory-loss, has been reported by hundreds of American and British veterans.   Valo's letter made no reference to U.S. reports this week that the U.S. Defence Department intentionally quashed a 1991 classified report suggesting that U.S. troops were exposed to Iraqi chemical weapons in the Gulf War.   The Pentagon on Wednesday denied it covered up the report but conceded it was not investigated until this year. 
5736 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Egyptian press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-AHRAM   - President Hosni Mubarak: Holding the economic summit without serious steps towards a just peace weakens its chances of success.   - Mubarak to meet Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy on Sunday in Alexandria.   AL-AKHBAR   - Mubarak: keen on the success of the economic summit.   The just regional peace is a logical necessity for the summit's success.   - Pressures by Egypt and France behind Eritrea's retreat from disputed island in the Red Sea.   - Opposition editor of al-Ahrar newspaper fired from all his positions by order of head of the party.   AL-GOMHURIA   - Water level in Lake Nasser increases 10 cm.   -- Cairo newsroom +20 2 578 3290/1 
5737 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in Kuwait's press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   AL-QABAS   - Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah says no underhand compromise has been struck between government and opposition-dominated parliament over the issue of possible defence irreguliarities.   Parliament earlier this week postponed moves for a parliamentary questioning of Defence Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Hamoud al-Sabah over alleged irregularities in defence contracts.   MPs explained that they wanted to solve the issue in a friendly way.   - Kuwait's non-oil exports amount to 27 million dinars ($90.3 million) in first half of 1996, official says.   ARAB TIMES   - Czech officer confirms allied troops were exposed to clouds of Iraqi nerve gas in the 1991 Gulf War.   - Parliament's Interior and Defence Committee approves a draft law to raise penalty for buying votes in parliamentary elections to a maximum of three years in prison, from one year at present.   The measure would have to be passed by the whole chamber and be approved by the emir to become law.   AL-WATAN   - Kuwait starts helicopter monitoring of traffic on Saturdays.   - Kuwait, Egypt to form joint panel to encourage Kuwaiti investments in Egypt, diplomat says.   AL-RAI AL-AAM   - Finance Minister Nasser al-Rodhan to take over duties of Oil Minister Abdul-Mohsen al-Mudej when Mudej carries out a procedural and temporary resignation in September, sources say.   Kuwaiti law requires all ministers who want to run for parliament or seek re-election to parliament to resign ahead of elections.   Mudej is an elected MP. 
5738 !GCAT !GPOL  Israeli Defence Minister Yitzhak Mordechai has approved plans, frozen by the previous Labour government, to build more homes in existing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, his spokesman said on Thursday.   The spokesman, Avi Benayahu, declined to say how many housing units would be built but Israeli media reports put the number at between 2,000 and 3,550.    The decision was certain to anger Palestinians, who observed a strike called by President Yasser Arafat in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday to protest against the right-wing Israeli government's policies on settlements and Jerusalem.   "The minister approved a number of construction plans in existing settlements.   These are building plans which had been approved in the past by the (Labour) government and later frozen," Benayahu said in a statement.   The Maariv newspaper said Israel would add 700 housing units to the settlement of Kiryat Sefer, 1,050 to Hashmonaim, 900 to a nearby Jewish seminary, 200 to Matityahu and 700 to Betar Ilit.   All are in the West Bank, near the pre-1967 Middle East war border.   Israel Radio put the number of new homes at 2,000.   Benayahu said Mordechai's approval was in line with the decision by the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel the previous administration's building freeze in the West Bank. 
5739 !GCAT  These are some of the leading stories in the United Arab Emirates press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AL-ITTIHAD   - UAE protests Iranian claims in border dispute over Abu Musa island.   - UAE drops F-15, still interested in F-16, French Rafale in $6 billion warplane deal.   - Investors so far subscribe to 850 million dirhams worth of al-Khazna Insurance shares.   AL-KHALEEJ   - Iranian envoy hands UAE President Sheikh Zaid in Geneva a message from Iran's Rafsanjani.   - UAE Gross Domestic Product (GDP) up 6.6 percent to 144 billion dirhams in 1995.   GULF NEWS   - Singapore shipyards prepare to battle Dubai, threats loom from China, India. 
5740 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Beirut press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   AN-NAHAR   -Finance Minister Siniora to Washington for talks on the international consultative group which will assist Lebanon in reconstruction.   -Cabinet approves the building of 10,000 housing units.   AS-SAFIR   -Japanese Minister in Beirut: We hold on to the peace process and to assisting Lebanon in works of reconstruction.   -A Finnish peacekeeper was injured in south Lebanon when mortar bombs fired by pro-Israeli militiamen hit a U.N. post.   -A Lebanese official delegation in Syria for the Damascus international fair.   AL-ANWAR   -The Beirut round of elections -- a battle between lists and independent candidates.   -A Lebanese magistrate issued an arrest warrant against Samir Geagea on a charge of murdering prime minister Rachid Karami in 1987.   AD-DIYAR   -Israeli artillery shelled the central sector of south Lebanon.   NIDA'A AL-WATAN   -U.S. ambassador Jones: Satisfied with the north Lebanon elections and haven't heard of any Syrian troops redeployment in Lebanon. 
5741 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A French aircraft on Thursday brought 12 Tunisians expelled by France back to Tunisia and was due to fly on to other African countries with more immigrants, eyewitnesses said.   The Eyewitnesses saw the 12 young Tunisians disembark from a Boeing 737 at 12.30 a.m. (2330 GMT) at the Tunis-Carthage airport.   The Tunisians told journalists that some two dozen black Africans remained on board the plane which they believed was to fly on to Niger and Zaire.   A French official accompanying those on board would not confirm the number of Africans on the plane or the destination after Tunis.   He also declined to say from which French airport the aircraft had taken off.   "I am not authorised to make statements," he said.   French handling of the illegal immigration issue has become a hot topic since 300 African protesters, 10 of whom had been on hunger strike, were dragged out of a Paris church in a controversial police raid last week.   Thousands of demonstrators marched through Paris on Wednesday to demand that expulsion orders be repealed and immigration laws reviewed.   Protests against France's tough immigration policies were spurred by rumours on Wednesday that the government was about to fly out two planeloads of Africans.   Witnesses said 15 Africans were taken aboard a wide-bodied Airbus A-310 which took off from Evreux airbase north of Paris.   Several of the deported Tunisians said they had been illegal immigrants in France for many years but others said their residence permits were in order and that they were married to French women and had children born in France.   "I have been living in France for 27 years and I have a regular 10-year resident card.   I am married with a French woman and my three children are French citizens," said a 44-year old man who asked to be identified only by his initials H.B.   "I was to be freed from the prison of Grasse (in southern France) within 15 days...I was not allowed to contact my wife, who is a French Algerian-born citizen, nor my son, who is a French citizen," Lamine Driss, 34, said.   A group of Tunisian human rights activists welcomed the deportees at the airport.   "It is a shame for France to behave like that with Africans, including Tunisians, who gave it too much," Hassib ben Ammar, who received in 1993 a United Nations Human Rights Award, told journalists at the airport. 
5742 !GCAT !GCRIM  Police investigating a Belgian child kidnapping, porn and killing scandal that has stunned Europe prepared to dig for a third day on Thursday at one of six houses owned by chief suspect Marc Dutroux.   "Our first mission is looking for bodies.   We don't know how many there could be," Gendarmerie Commander Johan Dewinne said on Wednesday after police spent a fruitless day excavating at the site in Jumet, near Charleroi in southern Belgium.   "Jumet still has not delivered up its secrets," popular daily Vers L'Avenir said in its front page headline.   "The macabre searches at Jumet will continue to the finish," Francophone paper Le Soir declared.   Dewinne has said he hopes to wrap up excavations there by late Friday.   In all 11 sites will be searched in coming days.   Searches for bodies and clues have focused on teenagers An Marchal and Eefje Lambrecks, whom Dutroux, 39, has admitted kidnapping a year ago.   Their fate remains unknown although police have expressed some hope they are still alive.   The nation went into shock on August 17 as Dutroux led police to the bodies of eight-year-old friends Melissa Russo and Julie Lejeune in the garden of another house he owns.   Dutroux's accomplice Bernard Weinstein, whom he admitted killing, was buried nearby.   Two other girls, Laetitia Delhez, 14, and Sabine Dardenne, 12, were rescued on August 15 from a makeshift dungeon in another of the houses Dutroux owns.   Described as cold and manipulative, Dutroux was released 10 years early in 1992 for good behaviour from a 13-year sentence for multiple child rape, violence and illegal imprisonment.   Dutroux, a father of three, and an associate Michel Lelievre have been charged with abduction and illegal imprisonment.   The lawyer who defended Dutroux in 1989 on the rape charges has refused to do so again on moral grounds.   Britain's Superintendent John Bennett who supervised excavations in the Fred and Rosemary West serial murder case in England two years ago, was present at Jumet on Wednesday.   There were also fresh searches at other sites including the house in Sars-La-Buissiere where Melissa and Julie were hidden.   Dutroux said the girls, who disappeared in June 1995, starved to death early this year, He denies killing them but admits paying accomplices 40,000 francs ($1,300) to kidnap them.   They were buried in the city of Liege a week ago after what amounted to a state funeral amid outpourings of grief and anger.   As the searches continued in Belgium, Dutroux was named in Bratislava as a suspect in the murder of a young Slovak woman.   The Slovak office of Interpol said he was also believed to have planned the kidnapping of at least one other Slovak woman.   So far 10 people have been arrested in what has now become known as the "Dutroux Affair", including Dutroux' second wife Michelle Martin, who has been charged as an accomplice.   Martin and Lelievre were interrogated again on Wednesday.   There has been widespread anger over revelations of police bungling, and the Justice Ministry has ordered an inquiry.   A chief police detective has also been arrested on fraud charges, fuelling questions about a possible high-level cover-up.   There is also widespread disbelief that no one appeared to question how Dutroux, an unemployed father of three with no visible means of support, managed to own six houses. 
5743 !GCAT  Headlines from major national newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   EL PAIS   - Judge accuses government of obstructing investigation into Lasa-Zabala (two of GAL victims) case   EL MUNDO   - Government wants to charge for prescriptions and some medical services   DIARIO 16   - Judge Javier Gomez de Liano says government is obstructing justice   ABC   - Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, positive assessment   CINCO DIAS   - BCH in the hive of Chilean pensions   EXPANSION   - Coopers and Lybrand emigrates to Basque Country for fiscal reasons   GACETA DE LOS NEGOCIOS   - Government and Catalan nationalists set the scene for budget negotiations 
5744 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Maltese press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE TIMES   - Two million Maltese lira modernisation plan for armed forces.   The prime minister says the government will spend two million lira ($6 million) to provide the Maltese armed forces with new patrol boats and aircraft.   He reaffirms intention for active participation in NATO's partnership for peace programme, which the Malta opposition is strongly against.   - Aicraft fault strands passengers.   An Air Malta A320 aircraft returned to Malta after takeoff for Yorkshire on Wednesday.   The flight was delayed for 24 hours.   The airline said the passengers were not in any danger and were accommodated in a seaside four-star hotel.   IN-NAZZJON   - Romanian police say half the 7.5 tonnes of drugs found at Malta Freeport on Friday bound for Romania was destined for the Czech Republic.   - Malta Freeport stepping up work on new terminal.   It hopes to handle one million containers by the year 2000.   The Freeport will handle 600,000 containers by the end of this year.   L-ORIZZONT   - More questions on Russian aircraft's crash at Belgrade.   Cargo of wheels could have been destined for Libyan military vehicles, not agricultural equipment as claimed. 
5745 !E12 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  A budgetary stability pact is seen necessary for all EU countries which want to enter Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) at some time in the future, Dutch central bank president Wim Duisenberg said on Thursday.   Budgetary discipline in Europe should likely be imposed by a stability pact that would require close to balanced budgets under normal economic conditions, he said in a prepared speech.   "A consensus seems to be emerging on the necessity to strive for 'near balanced budgets'.   This stability pact will then not be limited to first tier countries but will also be extended to countries that do not enter EMU from the beginning," he said.   Duisenberg, who will become head of the European Monetary Institute in July 1997 and probably head of its successor the European Central Bank, also said the stability pact could play a role in selecting countries to launch the single currency.   Only a few EU countries had achieved the budgetary goals set in the Maastricht Treaty, a maximum three percent budget deficit and a state debt not exceeding 60 percent of GDP, he said.   Countries with a national debt larger than 60 percent should be reducing it at a 'significant pace' to qualify for EMU.   If a country with an excessive deficit committed itself to a stability pact that could also be a reason to allow it into EMU, he said.   "The Maastricht Treaty says the evaluation of an excessive deficit should depend on other relevant factors...If a member state has committed itself to a stability pact that will reduce its deficit to around zero in a few years time, that could be a positive factor in the assesment," Duisenberg said.   "The bigger the commitment (to this stability pact), the bigger the impact of this factor," he said.   An EU member state would make a very good impression if its parliament approved a national stability pact, Duisenberg told a conference in Alpbach, Austria.   -- Amsterdam newsroom +31 20 504 5000, Fax +31 20 504 5040 
5746 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Algerian press on Thursday as reported by the official Algerian news agency APS.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   L'AUTHENTIQUE   - The government meets on Thursday with workers' union and employers' organisations.   The union will press for wage rise.   L'OPINION   - Republican National Alliance (ANR) party led by former prime minister Redha Malek hails results of dialogue over political reforms.   EL MOUDJAHID   - 360,000 young people are expected to register in vocational training schools this year.   AL KHABAR   - Soccer federation holds meeting on Thursday to elect board.   - Algeria asks Britain for clarifications over Islamist groups' conference in London. 
5747 !GCAT  Following are some of the leading stories in Norwegian papers this morning:   AFTENPOSTEN   - Norway's conservative party joins the rest of the opposition in demanding that the Labour government slows down the speed at which the offshore platforms pump oil.   The conservatives are worried that the government will use oil income to buy stakes in private industry.   - Every third Norwegian gets cancer.   Fifty percent find a cure, while the rest die.   The Department of Health and Social Security is working on a national action plan against cancer, seeking to improve the care.   DAGENS NAERINGSLIV   - Norwegian state-owned power company Statkraft bought stocks worth 2.8 billion crowns in Swedish power producer Sydkraft.   Statkraft is now the second largest stock holder in Sydkraft.   - Norwegian classification society Det Norske Veritas will provide safety regulations for the oil industry in Azerbaijan.   - Norwegian shipowner John Fredriksen will list large parts of his shipping business on the Stockholm Bourse.   Shipping firm Frontline, of which Fredriksen ownes 64 percent, will become one of the largest shippers in Scandinavia. 
5748 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Johnny Akerholm, a key Finnish finance ministry official and member of the EU's monetary committee, attended a meeting at the ministry on Thursday, ministry officials said.   He was not due to travel abroad on Friday or over the weekend, they added.   Akerholm and Bank of Finland board member Matti Vanhala are Finland's two members of the committee and their movements are watched closely by forex market players in anticipation of a possible decision by Finland to link the markka to Europe's exchange rate mechanism ERM.   The Bank of Finland said it would not comment, either on Thursday or in future, on the whereabouts of its board members or other key decision-makers.   "Our policy is to not reveal the whereabouts of our board members or other decision-makers," central bank chief spokesman Antti Juusela told Reuters.   "The policy will be the same in the future, too," he said.   On Thursday, Finnish forex dealers said the market was rife with rumours Vanhala was abroad, which some operators said might indicate that a decision on a markka link to ERM was imminent.   --Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
5749 !GCAT !GCRIM  Austrian police said on Thursday they had made two further arrests in a child pornography investigation, taking the number of people held to three.   In a statement, police said the men, aged 40 to 51, were being held on suspicion of producing pornographic material and sexually abusing children.   Officers had seized a large quantity of video material from the Vienna home of one of the suspects.   Police arrested a 45-year-old Austrian man on Tuesday and took the other two into custody on Wednesday night.   All three live in the capital but police said one was a Polish citizen.   Austrian weekly News magazine reported that the first man belonged to a pornography ring which provided clients in Vienna with a choice of 70 girls, largely from Slovakia, aged between seven and 13.   Police declined to comment on whether there was a connection with a Belgian child pornography scandal in which the chief suspect, Marc Dutroux, has been named by police in Bratislava as suspected of murdering one Slovak woman and kidnapping another. 
5750 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GDIP  German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said on Wednesday that substantial work still had to be done before the the European Union could accept new members but its enlargement was just a matter of time.   The EU has reached association agreements, aimed at preparing them for full membership, with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia.   Lithuania, Poland, Romania, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.   Cyprus and Malta have also applied to join.   "For them it's not about 'whether' (they will join), but about the 'how' and the 'when'," Kinkel told a conference on European integration in the Tyrolean mountain resort of Alpbach.   "The enlargement is necessary and there are no alternatives."   Kinkel, who earlier assured the foreign minister of the three Baltic states that Germany would continue to support their case for early admission, said prospective members had no choice but to adjust to the EU's political and economic standards.   "Justified expectations should not be dashed, but on the other hand we can't sacrifice hard-won European progress," he said.   "It has to be done properly, otherwise the whole idea of integration is in danger."   He said the candidates would have to prepare thoroughly for membership, both politically and economically.   "There can and will be no short cuts.   And no exceptions from necessary reforms," he said.   But Kinkel said the EU in its present form was not yet ready to cope with a potentially large number of new member states and had to do its homework first.   "Today, in the Europe of 15 (member states), we are already at the limit of our capacities.   An expansion of up to 27 members without institutional changes would lead to a collapse," he said.   Kinkel said the community's institutions, set up in 1957 for the six founding members, would have to be streamlined, the number of commissioners reduced and the role of the European parliament strengthened.   He also said the EU had no choice but to complete a thorough reform of its Common Agricultural Policy and agree on other ways of reigning in its ballooning budget.   "The burdens have to be distributed a little more evenly," he said.   Germany, one of the fiercest proponents of EU enlargement, is by far the largest net contributor to its funds. 
5751 !C12 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV !GHEA  Two German physicians have filed a civil action to close down a nuclear power plant, alleging it is responsible for a high number of cancer cases in the area, their lawyer said on Wednesday.   "All indications show that the high rate of leukaemia in children in the immediate vicinity of the Kruemmel plant is caused by the plant," lawyer Wolfgang Baumann told Reuters.   Doctors Hajo Dieckmann and Hans-Ulrich Clever are seeking to close down and withdraw the operating licence of the Kruemmel nuclear power plant in the coastal state of Schleswig-Holstein, charging radioactive emissions from the plant are directly responsible for the high local incidence of leukaemia.   The Mainz children's cancer register shows that the incidence of leukaemia among children around Kruemmel is up to 70 times higher than in the rest of the country.   But Hamburg Elektrizitaets-Werke, operators of the plant which has been running for over 25 years, remains convinced that there is no direct link between the plant and the high incidence of illness.   Today's civil action is the lastest in a long string of legal suits attempting to close down the Kruemmel plant.   Last week Germany's federal court in Berlin overturned a 1994 Schleswig administrative court decision keeping the plant running after an environmental group demanded it be shut because it was operating with unauthorised combustion elements.   The federal court now demands the local court look into whether there is a link between the cancer rates and the plant.   Baumann said the Diekmann and Clever action was even broader than that filed by the environmentalists.   "We are seeking to shut the plant for good," Baumann said, adding that effectively there were now two legal actions progressing at the same time.   However, Baumann said it would take a number of months before a decision is handed down in his case.   "I don't expect to hear anything before the end of this year." 
5752 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  German chancellor Helmut Kohl said on Wednesday that Europe's planned common currency must be introduced but that the launch must not be the result of political compromise.   Speaking at a private celebration in honour of Bundesbank President Hans Tietmeyer's 65th birthday, Kohl said, "The Euro must come but there should be no feeble compromises."   Kohl's comments were summarised to news agencies by a Bundesbank spokesman in a telephone conference.   The spokesman also quoted Tietmeyer as saying he backed European integration but warning that the basis must be right.   "I wholeheartedly back the integration, but the foundations must be the right ones," Tietmeyer was quoted as saying.   To secure the durability of the currency union, scheduled to begin with member nations which meet a list of entry criteria on January 1, 1999, Tietmeyer urged that an additional set of rules enforcing fiscal austerity be adopted.   "I hope the stability pact will become a basis for the currency union," Tietmeyer said, adding such a set of rules, seeking to punish nations which stray in fiscal matters, would enhance the union's credibility among markets and citizens. 
5753 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT !M13 !M132 !MCAT  Finnish commentators fully expect the markka to be linked to Europe's Exchange Rate Mechanism, but while some expect a move very soon others think authorities will wait at least until after an October election.   "It is completely clear that the markka will be linked," said Risto Uimonen, editorial writer at daily Helsingin Sanomat.   "All the time the question has been one of when, not whether."   A markka-ERM link was unlikely shortly before the October 20 local government and European parliament polls, analysts said.   Of 10 observers polled by Reuters on Tuesday and Wednesday, four expected an early decision and five thought it would come later.   One said a decision could come before or after elections.   "Their choice is September or November.   I think they would rather go in early than late," said one political insider, adding speculative pressures might increase if the widely anticipated decision failed to materialise.   But ABB Treasury Center Finland president Kenneth Stenberg said chances of a post-election move were growing and financial markets would not mind being kept waiting.   "It is starting to look more likely after (the election)," he said.   "The market is absolutely sure that the ERM link is coming ... (waiting) is no problem.   Strong confidence in the markka and in Finnish convergence will hold," he added.   Those advocating a decision later said going for a peg prior to the elections might put ammunition in the hands of the opposition to Finland's five-party ruling coalition.   Speaking on condition of anonymity, one veteran observer of Finnish politics said "plenty of nationalistic chauvinism" was involved in linking the markka to the ERM.   Populists may try to use this to put government parties in an unfavourable light, he said.   "They (the government) are hardly eager to voluntarily promote that," he said.   Esko Seppanen, a Leftist Alliance MP and outspoken critic of the ERM and Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) gave one example:   A peg would be evidence of "allegiance to Germany" and would "rob us of the possibility to ourselves affect the exchange rate", said Seppanen, who also sits on the Bank of Finland's board of parliamentary supervisors and is a candidate Euro MP.   He said he expected a link after the elections.   Another central bank supervisory board member, Kimmo Sasi of the Conservative Party, also expected a move after the polls.   "My view is that it is unlikely that a decision would be made before, but the important thing is that when it is made it is based on economic reasons, not political," Sasi said.   "But from the government's point of view it might be politically inappropriate to decide on a link, say just two or three weeks before the elections," he said.   The Bank of Finland's role in a link must not be ignored, some analysts said.   Though independent on monetary policy, it must work with government on a markka-ERM decision.   Central bank officials have repeatedly pointed out that the markka is stable already, and warned an ERM link may expose the currency to more speculative forces.   "They are less than enthusiastic," one insider said.   "But they have had to accept that something must be done."   It was now "obvious that the Bank of Finland understand they have to play ball", said Uimonen at Helsingin Sanomat.   The central bank was likely to stand by a view that the ERM environment might be volatile as long as convergence uncertainty persisted elsewhere in Europe, analysts said; that would point to a link later rather than sooner.   But some market analysts expect a link very soon: one theory is that the move will come before the September 20-21 meeting of European Union finance ministers, and that a September 9-10 EU monetary committee meeting will prepare the ground.   The highly influential members of the Finnish economic council could be briefed on the plan at their meeting scheduled for September 18, the theory goes.   The September 20-21 meeting is due to rule on ties between so-called EMU 'ins' and 'outs' after the third stage of monetary union in 1999, and Finland may seek a place in the 'in' camp by setting a link ahead of the meeting, one analyst said.   Juha Ahtola, chief economist at Merita Bank, had another reason to expect a quick decision to join.   "This government has consistently wanted to demonstrate that it is capable of assertive decision-making.   Why delay and let this issue remain open ahead of the elections," he said.   Esko Torsti, head of the market advisory team at Enskilda in Helsinki agreed and expects a link within three weeks.   "The most consistent element of this government's decision-making has been the unwavering commitment to EMU.   There is absolutely no reason to delay," he said.   --Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 245 
5754 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GTOUR !GWELF  The head of a global anti-sex- tourism pressure group on Wednesday demanded that the travel industry play a part in combating the sexual exploitation of children.   A conference in Stockholm has heard the child sex trade is worth billions of dollars a year and that at least a million new children every year are forced into child prostitution, sold for sexual purposes or used in pornography, according to estimates by the U.N. children's agency UNICEF.   Officials say that sex tourism is an important source of sexual abuse of children in Asian countries.   Amihan Abueva, executive secretary of End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT), targeted the travel and tourism industry in an interview with Reuters.   "It's irresponsible for people who are indirectly earning millions of dollars from the child sex trade to say they have no responsibility in this area," she said.   "This is the type of industry where self-regulation is absolutely essential.   But if we recognise that legal systems are lagging behind, then it's time to try and find ways of catching up," she said.   Such action must not be limited to governments and bodies such as ECPAT, she said.   "I do feel that the private sector is one of the most important groups to reach.   The tourism industry, and airlines should all be held more responsible, and if they bring their resources to bear then we can tackle the problem."   Key customer groups for child prostitutes such as seamen and business travellers can also be prevented by employers from supporting the child sex trade, she said.   ECPAT was one of a handful of groups that took the initiative for the Stockholm congress that opened on Tuesday with over 1,000 delegates from 130 countries discussing ways of tackling the growing problem of the child sex trade.   The conference has been given added impetus by the revelations in Belgium's ongoing child sex scandal, in which the bodies of two children, abducted by a paedophile ring, have been found and two more children are missing. 
5755 !GCAT  The following are leading domestic stories in Portuguese newspapers.   DIARIO ECONOMICO   - The price offered by Banco Portugues de Investimento (BPI) for Banco de Fomento & Exterior acquisition was a surprise.   BPI paid 2,615 escudos per share, 32 percent above minimum set by the Finance Ministry.   - State airline TAP registered 12.34 billion escudo loss in the first half of 1996, one billion escudos more than budgetted.   - The European Union approves takeover of retailer Pao de Acucar by France's Auchan.   PUBLICO   - The 136 billion escudos paid by Banco Portugues the Investimento (BPI) for Banco de Fomento & Exterior (BFE) was a good price according to many analysts.   However, the bank's share price fell 10 percent in Lisbon's stock exchange yesterday.   - Banco Mello Comercial made a profit in the first half of 1996, recovering from two billion escudo loss registered in the first quarter of 1996.   DIARIO DE NOTICIAS   - New rules from EU will give less funding for professional training to big companies to the benefit of small and medium companies.   - The State takes over responsibility for building cars at the French car company Renault's plant at Setubal from Sunday 1 September.   --Lisbon bureau 3511-3538254 
5756 !GCAT  The following are some of the leading stories in Finnish papers this morning.   HELSINGIN SANOMAT   - Finland and Sweden in collision course over leadership on Baltic cooperation -- former Finnish Prime Minister Kalevi Sorsa, withdrawing from leadership of Commission, blames Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson for forming another body.   - Swedish Crown Princess Victoria, starting official visit to Finland on Wednesday with her parents, won Finns' admiration.   @   - Finnish politicians on TV are deadly boring, British image consultant says.   But says viewers will like opposition Centre Party's 'John Wayne' advertisement.   - Middle-aged women survive best in traffic -- hardly any fatal accidents, a study shows.   - Accident in 1,000 Lakes Rally, with one death and many injuries, seems to have had no impact on attitudes of rally audience, but people living in the area now have more negative views, survey says.   - Finland the only new EU-member country where food prices have clearly fallen, study shows.   @   - Helsinki is a pocket-size metropolis, international consultants say.   Capital could benefit more from its watery location.   - Finnish ice-hockey team continues strong in World Cup -- beat Germany 8-3 on its second game.   KAUPPALEHTI   - A rise in sales in July was a real surprise, Federation of Finnish Commerce and Trade chief Guy Wires said.   - Local radio stations optimistic about advertisement sales this incoming autumn, Kauppalehti survey shows.   @   AAMULEHTI   - Finns admitted to hospital twice as often and stay longer than other Europeans, a recent study says.   TURUN SANOMAT   - Finland should not give up its Lutheran ethics in order to enjoy more previleges from the European Union, says official.   - Swedish Royal family often said to be even more popular in Finland than at home.   -- Helsinki Newsroom +358 - 0 - 680 50 292 
5757 !GCAT  Here are the highlights of stories in the Danish press on Thursday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   BERLINGSKE TIDENDE   --- The Danish postal service has formed an alliance with the international courier firm GD Express Worldwide hoping to improve its weak position on the foreign market.   POLITIKEN   --- Health authorities intend to end insulin producer, Novo Nordisk's dominance on the treatment of Danish diabetics.   Novo Nordisk's position has been maintained by public treatment subsidies and has made it almost impossible for foreign insulin producers to enter the Danish market.   --- The monopolies board is to deregulate the publishing industry which has had fixed prices and strict rules for many years.   JYLLANDS POSTEN   --- Labour minister, Jytte Andersen, now wants to increase safety in the work place by granting 30 million crowns for job safety in the 1997 budget.   Denmark has 60,000 working accidents per year in spite of years of efforts to improve safety.   BORSEN   --- The EU decision to end duty-free sales on board airplanes and ships will cost the Danish state 400 million crowns, a reduction on the balance of payments of 1.5 billion crowns and about 2,300 jobs. 
5758 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Thursday morning's German newspapers:   FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE ZEITUNG   - Tehran asked Bonn to extradite former Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr to Iran.   - Longer stay and new mandate for Bundeswehr Germany army in Bosnia, according to German Defence Minister Volker Ruehe.   Praise and approval from the opposition Social Democrats.   - Saxony premier Kurt Biedenkopf thanks the German government for supporting it over payment of subsidies to Volkswagen plants in the east German state.   - More medicine issues at a German foundation that tests and compares consumer goods Stiftung Warentest.   Automobile tests should be stepped up, the foundation said.   - Chancellor Helmut Kohl told the birthday celebration of the Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer that there should be no lazy compromises over the Euro single European currency.   - Opposition Social Democrats leader Oskar Lafontaine says that Germanyu's ability to compete as an industrial location is a fateful downward spiral.   HANDELSBLATT   - VW mulls whether to appeal against European Commission decision banning subsidies paid to the firm by state of Saxony.   Lw suit would bring Europe's biggest car manufacturer before the European Court of Justice.   VW's chief Ferdinand Piech says should first wait for decision of German government.   - Chancellor Helmut Kohl told the birthday celebration of the Bundesbank president Hans Tietmeyer that there should be compromises over the Euro single European currency.   - Light recovery in engineering sector.   - IAM trade fair for private investors.   - New debts higher than planned in the federal budget.   - Will the Bundeswehr German army extend its mandate in Bosnia?   - Chancellor Helmut Kohl agrees to visit Russian President Boris Yeltsin in September   - Opposition Social Democrats hold first economic conference in Bonn and debate globalisation.   SUEDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG   - Justice Minister Edzard Schmid-Jortzig says that German Bundestag lower house of parliament should appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court against Bavaria's new tough state law on abortion.   - Tehran asks Bonn to extradite former Iranian president Abolhassan Banisadr after he linked 1992 assassination of Iranian Kurd dissidents in Berlin to the Iranian leadership.   - Chancellor Helmut Kohl agrees to visit Russian President Boris Yeltsin in September by telephone   - German Defence Minister Volker Ruehe talks of German troops staying in Bosnia after mandate runs out at the end of the year.   - Stiftung Warentest, consumer research group, say lead in drinking water can endanger children's health.   DIE WELT   - Chancellor Helmut Kohl travels to Moscow to visit Russian President on September 7.   - DIW German economic research institute says higher valued added tax is inevitable.   - No pleasure without problems.   Stiftung Warentest, consumer research group, says lead in drinking water endangers children's health.   - Crown witness testifiying against Hans-Olaf Henkel does not back up suspicions against the head of the German BDI industry federation.   - 20 percent valued added tax?   German DIW economic research institute warns against loss of income for Bonn reforms.   -- Bonn Newsroom +49 228 2609760 
5759 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Thursday morning's Austrian newspapers.   DER STANDARD   - 50 were injured on Wednesday in a train crash in Linz.   - Talks on forming a holding between Austrian insurers Austria-Collegialitaet and Bundeslaender-Versicherung moved a step forward but Bundeslaender chief Walter Petrak said this does not mean it will happen.   - Post & Telekom Austria announced Walter Richter as its fourth board member.   KURIER   - Industry group Semperit AG Holding's pre-tax profits went up by 25 percent to 71 million schillings in the first half.   Big investments in Thailand are planned in the coming months.   DIE PRESSE   - Tourist overnight stays in Austria went down by 4.7 percent in July and 4.7 percent overall in the summer.   Only the big cities like Vienna had a plus of up to 10 percent.   Main reasons are said to be high prices and cheap neighbouring countries.   - The European Union has given the OK to a takeover of Austria's largest grocery chain Billa by German Rewe.   WIRTSCHAFTSBLATT   - Even though sales went up clothing maker Triumph International AG's pre-tax profits went down two-thirds to 10.34 million schillings in 1995 due to competition from the Far East.   SALZBURGER NACHRICHTEN   - Austria's banks handle their costumers badly and employees lack initiative and willingness to help, a study by the consumer organisation VKI says.   - Pre-tax profits of Electricity supplier Verbund went up by 35 percent to 864 million schillings in the first half, even though sales only went up by 0.4 percent. 
5760 !GCAT  These are leading stories in this morning's Paris newspapers.   LES ECHOS   -- Prime Minister Alain Juppe calls on nation to shift into high gear.   -- Utility group EDF sells 10 percent stake in Sweden's Sydkraft to Norway's Statkraft for 2.1 billion francs.   -- Foreign Minister Herve de Charettes calls on French ambassadors to support small exporters abroad.   -- France Telecom monitoring privatisation of Portugal Telecom with view to possible link-up.   -- CDC files takeover bid for Credit Foncier de France .   -- French marriages down 40 percent in 20 years.   LA TRIBUNE DESFOSSES   -- Juppe expresses concern over jobs and the economy.   -- Significant block of Matra-Thomson shares to go on the market if Lagardere group defence unit Matra succeeds in bid for Thomson SA.   -- Minority shareholders contest CDC's offer of 70 francs per share in Credit Foncier takeover bid.   -- President Jacques Chirac promises to help cattle breeders but leeway is slim.   -- EDF makes 850 million franc profit on Sydkraft stake sale.   -- Seita sues Salomon Brothers over $30 million loss made in 1994 on "sophisticated financial products" such as interest rate and currency swaps, claiming the bank did not fully inform the client.   L'AGEFI   -- Credit Foncier may show 200 to 400 million franc first half profit, casting shadow over takeover at 70 francs per share.   -- Speculation set to focus on Rhone Poulenc shares amid rumours the group will split chemicals and pharmaceuticals into seperate units.   -- Franc weakness mostly mirrors short-term concerns.   LIBERATION   -- Juppe rules out devaluation and maintains stand on lower taxes and shorter work week.   LIBERATION (Economic section)   -- CNAM national health fund chairman Jean Marie Spaeth foresees social security deficit of 50 to 55 billion francs this year.   The target for the 1997 deficit is 25 billion.   THE INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE   -- Speculators weaken franc and push up short-term interest rates, betting French deficit will overshoot the three percent ceiling that qualifies for monetary union.   -- Paris deports 15 more African immigrants.   LE PARISIEN   -- France to go off summer time on the night of October 26/27, one month later than usual.   -- Chirac and ex-president Valery Giscard d'Estaing had lunch at the Rostang restaurant in Paris because Giscard has refused to set foot in the Elysee presidential Palace since he stepped down from the presidency in 1981.   -- Paris Newsroom +33 1 4221 5381 
5761 !GCAT  The following are some of the top headlines in leading Italian newspapers.   ----------   TOP POLITICAL STORIES   * Prosecutors in Palermo interrogating mafia boss Giovanni Brusca say that he has confessed to plotting against ex-magistrate Luciano Violante.   (All)   ----------   TOP BUSINESS STORIES   * With unemployment on the rise, public works minister Antonio di Pietro says he will generate new jobs from the public sector.   (La Stampa, Il Sole)   * Italy grows rich from her exports.   Bank of Italy says it has 113,536 billion lire in reserves.   (Repubblica)   * Industry Minister Pierluigi Bersani says his first concern are contracts, then incentives.   (Corriere)   * Treasury officals say that as of November, 40,000 war pensions will be stopped.   (Il Sole)   * Television director Michele Santoro leaves state television RAI for entertainment giant Mediaset (La Stampa, Corriere)   * TV channels may continue to broadcast under present legislation until January 31 1997.   (Il Sole)   ------------   Reuters has not verified these stories and can not vouch for their accuracy.   -- Rome bureau ++396 6782501 
5762 !GCAT  Following are the highlights of stories reported in the Irish press on Thursday.   IRISH INDEPENDENT -   - Billy Wright, the 36-year-old loyalist known as "King Rat', has been given 72 hours to leave Northern Ireland or be killed by Protestant guerrillas.   - A total revamp of a major Irish state agency for third-level colleges, the National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA), is recommended in a confidential report by a team of consultants.   - Criminals should only be sent to prison as a last resort, the Law Reform Commission in Ireland recommended on Wednesday.   - Fidelity Investments, the world's largest independent fund manager which indirectly prompted the Department of Enterprise and Employment to investigate Taylor Assets Managers, on Wednesday indicated that it would consider the possibility of compensating investors hit by the collapse of the company.   - As much as 70 percent of job losses among permanent full-time staff come from firms contracting and reducing employment as opposed to company closures, according to a study by Irish state body Forfas.   - The new European single currency, the Euro, should be a common currency for the whole of Ireland, if the UK decides not to join the system, former commerce and trade minister Seamus Brennan suggested on Wednesday.   .   IRISH TIMES   - A Dublin solicitor, Conor Killeen, who admitted helping his partner to defraud the Irish Press newspaper group of over 60,000 Irish pounds, has won a reprieve after serving six weeks of his 12-month sentence.   - Leading loyalist Billy Wright has said he will defy a threat from Protestant guerrillas that he will be killed if he does not leave Northern Ireland within 72 hours.   - Mandatory life sentences for murder and treason and minimum sentences for indictable offences should be eliminated, according to the Law Reform Commission in Ireland.     -- Dublin Newsroom + 353-1-6603377 
5763 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !GWELF  Chairman of the social security board Jean-Marie Spaeth said he expected a deficit this year of 50 billion to 55 billion francs and added that the target of a 1997 deficit of 25 billion would be difficult.   Spaeth told the Liberation newspaper: "The deficit will be around 50 to 55 billion francs and 35 billion just for the health insurance.   It's considerable," he said.    The government had originally ordered the social security system to reduce its 1996 deficit to 17 billion francs and make a surplus of 12 billion in 1997.   "Our system of social protection cannot continue like this or its will explode in our faces.   We have to take this deficit serious but at the same time we should not say that all is damned, that there is no solution," said Spaeth.   He is the national secretary of the CFDT union and took the presidency of the Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Maladie (CNAM) this year, a post which had previously been held by the Force Ouvriere union.   "The problem is to get as soon as possible an equilibrium, excluding the debts of the past, between revenues and spending.   The objective is to get there at the end of 1998, on condition that the employment situation does not become worse," he said.   The social security's accounts commission is set to meet on September 23.   In June, newspaper reports said the commission's unofficial forecast for the 1997 welfare deficit would be about 35 billion francs.   Its prediction then for the 1996 welfare deficit was 48.6 billion, including 32.3 billion for health care.   -- Paris newsroom +33 1 4221 5452 
5764 !GCAT  Following are some of the main stories in Dutch newspapers today.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   HET FINANCIEELE DAGBLAD   - Food and beverages concern BolsWessanen to slash several hundred jobs as part of restructuring plan.   (p1)   - Engineering concern Stork posts 21.7 pct higher net of Dlf 40.4 million in first 24 weeks of 1996.   (p1)   - Philips Electronics and its subsidiary Grundig must stop competing with each other, says Grundig president.   (p1)   - Amsterdam court rules ABN Amro bank liable for damages from misleading prospectus of Germany's retailer Coop's bond loan issue.   (p1)   - Plant biotechnology firm Mogen is looking for a buyer.   (p1)   - Publisher De Telegraaf reports lower first half net in line with expectations, but is optimistic about full-year results.   (p3)   - Bank insurer SNS books Dfl 62 million first six months net, over 20 pct more than in same period of 1995.   (p4)   - Central Bank president Wim Duisenberg assures Social Democrats party that single currency Euro will be as stable as the guilder.   (p11) DE VOLKSKRANT   - Third person arrested in insider trading case with BolsWessan shares.   (p2)   - Real estate agents association (NVM) to place all property for sale on the Internet.   (p2)   - Engineering sector's pay and conditions talks grind to a halt; unions prepare strike for September, 16.   (p7)   - Publisher Wolters Kluwer to take over publishing activities of U.S. Little, Brown and Company from Time Warner.   (p21) DE TELEGRAAF   - Cabinet considers stopping tax deductability of collective pension premiums.   (p1)   - Transhipment in Port of Amsterdam grows 7.3 pct to 26.9 million tonnes in first half of 1996.   (p7)   - Harbour concern HES Beheer and Germany's Marquard & Bahls do not reach agreement on sale of HES unit OBA.   (p34)   - Professional Electroncic equipment maker Neways downwardly adjusts profit forecast.   (p35) TROUW   - Liberal party says higher petrol price will not help to put an end to traffic jams.   (p4) ALGEMEEN DAGBLAD   - Marketing information firm EMIS books Dfl 1.24 million net in first half of 1996 from Dfl 1.05 million in 1995.   (p10)   - Liberals and Social Democrats fight over European works councils authority.   (p11)   -- Amsterdam Newsdesk +31-20-504-5000 (FAX 31-20-504-5040) 
5765 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVIO  Algeria, fighting a vicious war against Moslem fundamentalist guerrillas, attacked Britain on Wednesday for allowing Islamist groups to meet in London.   The Islamist gathering, due to be held in London on September 8, has triggered concern and anger in several other Arab countries like Egypt which is also fighting armed Moslem fundamentalists.   British Jewish groups have also voiced protest because they said Palestinian Islamist Hamas as well as the banned Algerian Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) are among those radical Islamists attending the conference.   A foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement read on Algerian television that Algeria "has received with concern the information over a meeting of terrorist groups working against the interests of the Arab and Islamic world."   "Algeria expresses its sharp rejection of a meeting putting together masterminds and ideologists and financers of terrorism," the spokesman said, adding the Algerian government has asked the British embassy in Algiers for clarifications.   The Algerian ambassador in London has also asked for clarification from the Foreign Office over the meeting of Islamist groups.   Algeria said "they are clearly working to undermine the stability" of Arab countries.   British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind said on Tuesday from Pakistan his government would only take action against the planned Islamists gathering in London if British law was broken.   "People who wish to hold conferences of course don't need to seek permission from the government in Britain," he said.   An estimated 50,000 people, including more than 110 foreigners, have been killed in Algeria's violence pitting Moslem rebels against government forces since early 1992 when authorities in Algeria cancelled a general election in which FIS had taken a commanding lead. 
5766 !C24 !CCAT !E51 !E511 !ECAT !GCAT !GTOUR  Berlin, long mired in its tortured history, is drawing crowds to watch it emerge as a 21st century capital and a peephole into Europe's urban future.   Consecutive feats of engineering and nascent architectural wonders have breathed new life into an anaemic tourism industry that slumped when the euphoria over the collapse of the Berlin Wall subsided.   Often called Europe's biggest construction site, Berlin is simultaneously preparing for the end of the century arrival of the government from Bonn, filling the gaps created by the Wall and restoring structures left to rot under communism.   The latest in the "what'll they do next?"   series of projects is the temporary shifting of the city's Spree River 70 metres (230 feet) northward to make room to lay a 100 metre-wide (328 cluster of rail, subway and auto tunnels.   Nudged with 1,500 tons of stone and 1,000 square metres (10,760 square feet) of sandbags, the central waterway has been shifted to its temporary bed until 1998.   Packed tour ships and cargo vessels are already cruising the relocated bend.   The tunnel will run below the city's giant Tiergarten park, linking the goverment quarter with the main rail station while reunifying the eastern and western sections of the park split by a service road laid after the infamous Wall was built.   As a city long dwarfed by the glamour and popularity of its European cousins, Berlin has spent the 1990s cultivating the hope of once again being accepted as a world capital.   The scope of the scheme has created enough traffic nightmares, political mudslinging and just plain mud to aggravate the already typically edgy Berliner.   But a private group of investors called Partners for Berlin has brightened the mood in the cash-strapped city with a wildly successful plan to attract visitors to their works-in-progress.   Guided tours of the building sites, street parties and elaborate art projects amid the scaffolding and cement trucks have drawn visitors from across Europe.   Potsdamer Platz, the largest construction site, is illuminated by night this month under Berlin artist Gerhard Merz's electric light sculpture, strung across 11 building cranes.   A guarded optimism clings to each project as Berliners discuss each Baustelle (construction site) as if it were a chance to cast off the city's grim past and start anew.   "People are eager to know how the city is changing, to inform themselves as the city unfolds around them," said Baerbel Petersen of Partners for Berlin.   "This is something Berliners take very, very personally."   Schaustelle (Show Site) Berlin tours meet at the Info Box, a red, three-storey steel pod on stilts where Sony, Daimler Benz and other industrial giants have rolled out their plans for the city with balsa wood models and interactive computer screens.   The two-month event has drawn an estimated 300,000 visitors this summer, all without a single mark from public coffers.   Aside from the impressive Spree move, engineers this year plucked an elegant turn-of-the-century ballroom from its foundations, lowered it onto rails and deposited it on its future site at Sony's European headquarters, now being built.   To meet the environmentalist goal of an 80-to-20-percent ratio between public and private transport, several new rail and subway lines are in the works, including a new central station which will serve 110,000 travellers a day.   Nearby, British architect Sir Norman Foster is re-fashioning the future seat of parliament, the imposing Reichstag, as an open chamber of light under a glass dome with a preserved Italian Renaissance facade.   The site of Checkpoint Charlie, the tightly-guarded Berlin border crossing for citizens of the Allied countries during the Cold War, is transforming into the American Business Center cluster of office buildings and retail spaces.   Even the shames of the earlier Berlin landscape, including the Wall itself, are on drafting tables as politicians and a rapt public debate how to preserve the memory of the past on the city's streets while still allowing municipal rebirth.   "In a city where so much is being newly built in one shot, people fear losing their city," Barbara Jakubeit, Berlin's new director of construction, told the daily Tagespiegel.   "There is a call to keep elements of the city's past."   Of course, this is not the first generation with visions of Berlin as a European beacon.   The spectre of Hitler and Bismarck loom large as the city faces the millennium.   But while Hitler and his architect Albert Speer dreamt of a stratospheric scale for the buildings of Germania, Berlin's newest constructions remain generally modest and in human proportion.   Few structures are larger than four storeys high.   The budding centre of high style in east Berlin, Friedrichstrasse, is a narrow shopping avenue beneath gleaming glass and steel department stores, in sharp contrast with the city's many broad boulevards custom-made for military parades.   Each new building and every restored edifice seems to represent a healing of the post-war divisions and a new opportunity to define the future of the once-cleaved city as the seat of German government and of European economic power.   "I always had a problem with Bonn as the capital," said Berlin architect Olaf Kunkat.   "It always represented our post-war situation.   We weren't allowed to grow or expand.   "Now we are old enough and strong enough to recreate this city as a world democratic capital and to show the world that we can control ourselves.   Part of that is the opportunity to be the future of architecture, the absolute state of the art." 
5767 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  The United States on Wednesday accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards of collecting protection fees from ships carrying contraband Iraqi oil through Iranian waters in violation of U.N. sanctions.   Two State Department officials spoke to the U.N. Security Council's sanctions committee to back up their June 17 complaint that Iran was allowing the ships to transit its waters and thereby evade an international inspection force enforcing the embargoes against Baghdad.   "It is still going on and in an increased way," said German Ambassador Tono Eitel, chairman of the committee, in reference to the U.S. data, which included numbers of ships and interviews with those involved in the smuggling.   The committee took no immediate action and asked the United States to submit the data in writing.   A U.S. official briefing reporters said that Iran's Revolutionary Guards were collecting a fee for allowing ships to transit through Iranian waters in order to realise a greater profit from the oil than Iraq did.   Diplomatic sources said the ultimate destination of the Iraqi gasoil were locations in Dubai, Pakistan and India.   Iraq has been under stringent U.N. trade sanctions since its troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.   The U.S. official said there was "photographic evidence at oil loading facilities in Iraq, details of interdictions by the force and the results of discussions or interviews with the captains and masters of those vessels in which a number of them admit they loaded oil in Iraq but purchased documentation from Iranian officials."   He said the Iraqis "in their desperation to sell oil" were dumping the gasoil as low as $15 a metric ton for ships willing to come into Iraq and load.   The Iranians, he said, often extracted as much as $55 per metric ton in protection fees.   "It leaves still, if the world price fluctuates between $180 and $200 per metric ton, a pretty substantial profit for a ship's captain who is willing to undertake this kind of voyage."   The official said there was a pattern of Iraqi attempts at shipping oil out in large tankers in 1992-1994, but the work of the multinational naval task force stifled that activity.   However, starting late in 1995, the officials said, Iraq resorted to shipping oil products out on tugs with barges and other small ships, trying to avoid notice of the task force.   The small ships were more difficult to detect.   No number was given for the ships involved or the amount of oil smuggled. 
5768 !C31 !C311 !C312 !CCAT !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  A U.N. Security Council committee on Wednesday put off Turkey's request to buy Iraqi oil until the impact of a limited oil sales deal with Iraq could be evaluated.   German Ambasador Tono Eitel, chairman of the Security Council's Iraqi sanctions committee, said members decided to postpone action on Turkey's application until the limited oil sales deal or oil-for-food plan was implemented.   This arrangement, yet to go into force, allows Iraq to sell $2 billion worth of oil over six months in order to buy needed food, medicine and other goods for its people suffering under sanctions since Baghdad's troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990.   Turkey will get pipeline fees.   Turkey had asked the committee to purchase oil from Baghdad in exchange for supplying Iraq with humanitarian goods.   Ankara said the U.N. trade sanctions had cost its economy more than $27 billion since 1990 and that Turkey should get some relief, as allowed by the U.N. Charter.   Eitel denied the council's action was a polite way of turning down Turkey's request.   He said there was much sympathy for Turkey's plight but "we want to see how (the oil-for-food plan) works when it is implemented and see what impact it has on the Turkish economy."   But the action was expected, despite Turkey's contention it had U.S. support.   Several diplomats believe the request is now postponed indefinitely.   In a separate statement, the United States said "the continuation of the (Iraqi) sanctions regime is in the vital interest of the international community, including Turkey."   "U.N. Security Council resolution 986 provides additional economic opportunities for Turkey," it added in reference to the resolution that set up the oil-for-food deal.   But the statement, from the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said Washington "remains committed to look for ways to address Turkey's needs within the framework of the sanctions regime."   It noted that the oil-for-food deal stipulates that most of Iraq's crude exports have to be transported through the pipeline to Turkey and that many humanitarian supplies would probably be bought from Turkey.   The Security Council has rarely made an exception to neighboring countries suffering from the impact of sanctions.   In the case of Iraq, however, the committee turned a blind eye to Jordan which has imported Iraqi oil.   But members have said Jordan had particular difficulties after the Gulf War because it was totally dependent on Iraqi oil and could obtain none from its neighbors because of its opposition to the war.   Turkey had been confident the United States and its allies would agree to the sanctions relief in exchange for allowing the United States, Britain and France to use its bases in northern Iraq.   The allies after the Gulf War instituted a no-fly zone to protect Kurds against any attack from Baghdad. 
5769 !G15 !GCAT  ****   HIGHLIGHTS   ****   BRUSSELS - European Parliament Inquiry Committee into mad cow disease holds first meeting (Tuesday).   BRUSSELS - European Commissioner Brittan meets U.S. Under Secretary for Trade and President Clinton's special envoy on the Helms-Burton Cuban trade restrictions, Stuart Eizenstat (Tuesday).   BRUSSELS - IGC Working Party of EU foreign ministers' representatives meets to continue review of EU treaties (Tuesday-Wednesday).   BRUSSELS - European Commission holds first regular weekly meeting after its summer break (Wednesday); discusses dispute over Saxony regional government's decision to grant aid to Volkswagen plant despite a ban by the European Commission.   BRUSSELS - European Parliament mini-session (Tuesday-Wednesday).   BRUSSELS - EU Scientific and Veterinary Committee meets; reviews recent findings that mad cow disease can be passed from cows to their calves and studies scientific reports saying Britain's mad cow epidemic should die out by 2001 (Friday).   TRALEE, Ireland - EU foreign ministers hold informal General Affairs Council (Friday-Sunday); main discussions focus on reviewing progress in the IGC.   MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - Following EP committees meet:   (1500/1300 GMT) - Agriculture;   - Monetary Sub-Committee;   - Energy;   - External Economic Relations;   - Legal Affairs;   - Environment;   - Youth and Culture;   - Budgetary Control;   - Institutional Affairs.   ST PETERSBURG - EUROSTAT holds seminar on "The way ahead for statistics in new independent states" (To September 6).   Main topics discussed are the evaluation of the development of statistical systems targeting market-driven economies in the Tacis countries.   TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - European Commissioner Brittan meets U.S. Under Secretary for Trade and U.S. President Bill Clinton's Special Envoy on Helms-Burton Cuban trade restrictions, Stuart Eizenstat.   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - European Commissioner Bjerregaard attends EU-Poland joint committee.   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - European Commission President Santer meets Competitiveness Advisory group Chairman Paercy Barnevik.   BRUSSELS - IGC Working Party of EU foreign ministers' representatives meets to continue review of EU treaties (and Wednesday).   Topics include: citizenship, fundamental rights, subsidiarity, simplification and codification.   BRUSSELS - European Parliament Inquiry Committee into mad cow disease holds first meeting.   Spanish Socialist leader in the European Parliament Manuel Medina presents report.   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - Following EP committees meet:   (0900/0700 GMT) - Agriculture;   - Economic and Monetary Affairs;   - Energy;   - External Economic Relations;   - Legal Affairs;   - Environment;   - Youth and Culture;   - Budgetary control;   - Institutional Affairs;   (1500/1300 GMT) - Budget;   - Youth and Culture;   - Legal Affairs;   - Institutional Affairs.   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - European Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler and Irish Agriculture Minister Ivan Yates address EP temporary committee of inquiry into BSE from 1500/1300 GMT.   WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4   BRUSSELS (EXPANDED ITEM) - European Commission holds first regular weekly meeting after its summer break (0930/0730 GMT).   Agenda includes:   - (NEW ITEM) - Chairmen from three EU scientific committees report on their findings on the safety of a strain of genetically modified maize.   - Discussion on dispute on Saxony regional government's decision to grant aid to Volkswagen plant despite a ban by the European Commission.   - European Commission President Santer, European Commissioners Bangemann, Flynn, de Silguy, Liikanen, Papoutsis present communication on questions related to the expiry of the ECSC Treaty - orientation debate.   - (possibly) European Commissioner Monti presents communication on draft directive on media concentrations - orientation debate COM(96)396.   - European Commissioner Bjerregaard presents communication on marketing quotas for HCFCs.   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - European Commissioners Bonino and Marin meet U.S. Under Secretary for Trade and U.S. President Bill Clinton's Special Envoy on Helms-Burton, Stuart Eizenstat.   BRUSSELS - European Parliament mini-session (and Wednesday).   Provisional agenda includes:   - (1500/1300 GMT) Statement by the Commission on urgent political matters of major importance, followed by questions.   - (1630/1430 GMT) Statements by the Council and the Commission an public services followed by a debate.   - Robin Teverson report on the sixth annual report for 1994 on the structural funds COM(95)583.   - Joint debate:   - (possibly) Konstantinos Klironomos report on development issues relating to Objective I structural measures in Greece.   - Giles Chichester report on development issues/Objective 1 - structural measures in Portugal.   - Angela Siepra Gonzalez report on development problems/structural measures under Objectives 1-2 and 5b in Spain (1994-1999).   - Bernd Lange report on the 1995 annual report on the research and technological development activities of the European Union COM(95)443.   - (possibly) Karl von Wogau report on the rates of duty laid down in Council directive 92/79/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the approximation of taxes on cigarettes, Council directive 92/80/EEC of 19 October 1992, on the approximation of taxes on manufactured tobacco other than cigarettes, Council directive 92/84/EEC of 19 October 1992, on the approximation of the rates of excise duty on alcohol and alcoholic beverages and 92/82/EEC of 19 October 1992, on the approximation of the rates of excise duties on mineral oils COM(95)285.   - Werner Langen report on the common system of Value Added Tax (level of the standard rate) COM(95)731.   - Gipo Farassino report on the proposal for a Council directive amending directive 91/439/EEC on driving licences COM(96)55.   - (possibly) Per Stenmarck report on the proposal for a Council directive on safety rules and standards for passenger ships COM(96)61.   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - Following EP committees meet:   (0900/0700 GMT) - Budget;   (1500/1300 GMT) - Inquiry into Fraud in Transit.   THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - European Commissioner Bjerregaard meets European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice President Rudolf De Corta.   BRUSSELS - European Parliament mini-session (second of two days).   Provisonal agenda includes:   - (until 0900/0700 GMT) Political group meetings.   - (0900/0700 GMT) Edgar Schiedermeier report on a European strategy for encouraging local development and employment initiatives COM(95)273.   - Michel Rocard report on the reduction of working hours.   - (1100/0900 GMT) Votes on reports under the cooperation, codecision and assent procedures and motions for resolutions on which the debate has closed.   BRUSSELS - Executive committee of the Bosnian Peace Implementation Council, known as the Steering Board, meets ahead of September 14 Bosnian elections to discuss post-election framework peace plan.   FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6   BRUSSELS (NEW ITEM) - EU Scientific and Veterinary Committee meets; reviews recent findings that mad cow disease can be passed from cows to their calves and studies scientific reports saying Britain's mad cow epidemic should die out by 2001.   TRALEE, Ireland - Informal General Affairs Council (to Sunday).   Agenda includes:   - (1730/1630 GMT) Irish Foreign Minister and European Council President Dick Spring addresses reception at Abbey Gate Hotel.   - (2000/1900 GMT) Presidency hosts dinner.   LINZ, Austria - GLOBE holds conference on "Responding to climate change".   Contact: GLOBE (322) 230 6589.   SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7   TRALEE, Ireland - Informal General Affairs Council (second of three days).   Agenda includes:   - (1500/1400 GMT) Informal working sessions begins; main discussions focus on the review of progress in the IGC.   SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 8   TRALEE, Ireland - Informal General Affairs Council (last of three days).   Agenda includes:   - (0930/0830 GMT) Informal working session continues.   - (1215/1115 GMT) Irish Foreign Minister and Council President Dick Spring holds closing news conference.   If you have items for inclusion in the Reuter European   Community diary, please contact:   Telephone: Cynthia Simpson (322) 287 6851   Fax: (322) 230 5573   For technical queries regarding   the service, please call (322) 287 6666   Reuters 61, rue de Treves 1040 BRUSSELS   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   EC Report (C)opyright Reuters Limited   Unauthorised copying prohibited. 
5770 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   Tacis - European Expertise Service (Official Journal of the European Communities No C 245, 23.   8.   1996, p. 26) (96/C 252/07)   Quality management software Open procedure Invitation to tender DI 96/07 (96/C 252/06)   Study on the protection of minors vis-a-vis the information society's new services Additional information (96/C 252/05)   Phare - wastewater treatment equipment Notice of invitation to tender issued by the European Commission on behalf of the Slovenian Republic within the framework of the Phare Programme (96/C 252/04)   Notice of open competition (96/C 252/03)   Summary of Community decisions on marketing authorizations in respect of medicinal products from 15 July 1996 to 15 August 1996 (Published pursuant to Article 12 or Article 34 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2309/93 (1)) (96/C 252/02)   Ecu (1) 29 August 1996 (96/C 252/01) END OF DOCUMENT. 
5771 !G15 !GCAT  *   (Note - contents are displayed in reverse order to that in the printed Journal)   *   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 recognizing in principle the completeness of the dossier submitted for detailed examination in view of the possible inclusion of isoxaflutole in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (Text with EEA relevance) (96/524/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 recognizing in principle the completeness of the dossier submitted for detailed examination in view of the possible inclusion of azoxystrobin in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (Text with EEA relevance) (96/523/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 recognizing in principle the completeness of the dossier submitted for detailed examination in view of the possible inclusion of spiroxamine in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (Text with EEA relevance) (96/522/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 recognizing in principle the completeness of the dossier submitted for detailed examination in view of the possible inclusion of chlorfenapyr in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (Text with EEA relevance) (96/521/EC)   COMMISSION DECISION of 29 July 1996 recognizing in principle the completeness of the dossier submitted for detailed examination in view of the possible inclusion of prohexadione calcium in Annex I to Council Directive 91/414/EEC concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market (Text with EEA relevance) (96/520/EC)   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1696/96 of 29 August 1996 establishing the standard import values for determining the entry price of certain fruit and vegetables   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1695/96 of 29 August 1996 amending the import duties in the cereals sector   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1694/96 of 29 August 1996 determining the total quantities available for which licence applications can be lodged in October 1996 for certain poultrymeat products under the regime provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1251/96   COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1693/96 of 29 August 1996 fixing the export refunds on milk and milk products END OF DOCUMENT. 
5772 !G15 !GCAT  *   Commission Regulation (EC) No 1676/96 of 30 July 1996 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code END OF DOCUMENT. 
5773 !E12 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL !M11 !M13 !M132 !MCAT  The outcome of the November elections emerged as a hot topic on Wall Street this week as financial pundits debated whether Robert Rubin might forgo a second term as Treasury secretary if President Clinton is re-elected.   Concern centred on the currency markets since Rubin's tour de force has been his unflagging support of the dollar.   Speculation that Rubin might not stay in his post grew after he sidestepped questions about any future Cabinet post during television interviews at the Democratic convention in Chicago this week.   Should Rubin leave, Wall Street would worry that he might take his strong-dollar policy with him.   Rubin's predecessor at the Treasury, Lloyd Bentsen, was viewed with suspicion by some in the financial markets who thought he had tried to push down the dollar to gain an edge in trade negotiations with Japan.   "Obviously, under the Clinton administration, we've seen two distinctively different dollar policies," said Chris Widness, an international economist at Chase Securities Inc. "Under Rubin, the U.S. has certainly looked for a strong dollar."   That strategy, backed up by timely instances of joint central bank intervention, helped the dollar battle back from post-Second World War lows of 1.3438 German marks on March 8, 1995, and 79.75 Japanese yen on April 19, 1995.   Currently, the dollar stands at about 1.48 marks and 109 yen.   Rubin was widely hailed as the architect of the dollar's comeback, using skills and expertise gained in 26 years on Wall Street, part of which were spent as co-chairman of Goldman, Sachs and Co.   Inc.   "Rubin has done a fine job in that position," said Michael Faust, a portfolio manager at Bailard, Biehl and Kaiser, which manages just under $1 billion in global stocks and bonds.   "Anyone who would come in there to replace him would have awfully big shoes to fill."   Fear that a new Treasury secretary might favour a return to Bentsen-era policy could spell trouble for financial markets.   Some overseas investors might shy away from buying U.S. stocks and bonds or even sell them when the dollar is weakening.   As for U.S. Treasury securities, Widness explained that Alan Greenspan's reappointment as chairman of the Federal Reserve and the outlook for the federal budget were more important than whether Rubin continues at the Treasury.   "Although, if we did get someone that was seen as looking for a dollar depreciation, it would probably hurt capital flows to the United States," said Widness, adding that could hurt U.S. stocks and, to a lesser degree, bonds.   Still, markets may have little to fear from any Rubin successor because the firm dollar policy has yielded positive results.   If that is true, then any new Treasury chief would need to be as effective as Rubin in convincing markets that the White House does indeed want a strong currency.   "If he left, the first question people would ask the next guy is, 'What's your view on the dollar?'"   said Michael Perelstein, portfolio manager of MainStay International Funds.   "And all I can say as a piece of advice is that they'd better say exactly the same thing (as Rubin), if not stronger," Perelstein said.   "Otherwise, you get selling out of Tokyo and Frankfurt again." 
5774 !GCAT !GSPO  Austria beat Scotland 4-0 (halftime 3-0) in a European under-21 championship match on Friday.   Scorers: Ewald Brenner (5th minute), Mario Stieglmair (42nd), Ronald Brunmayr (43rd and 56th).   Attendance: 800 
5775 !GCAT !GSPO  Wales beat San Marino 4-0 (halftime 2-0) in a European under-21 soccer match on Friday.   Scorers:   Wales - John Hartson (12th, 56th and 83rd minutes), Scott Young (24th)   Attendance: 1,800 
5776 !GCAT !GSPO  American Dennis Mitchell handed Olympic 100 metres champion Donovan Bailey another defeat in front of the biggest sprinting names of the century at the Berlin Grand Prix meeting on Friday.   Watched by an array of former Olympic sprint champions, Mitchell made a brilliant start in the 100 metres and held off Bailey's strong finish to win in 10.08 seconds despite cool conditions.   Last Friday Mitchell, who finished fourth at the Atlanta Games, upstaged a trio of Olympic champions including Bailey to win the 100 in Brussels.   Earlier this month he also beat the world champion in Zurich.   Friday's result marked the American's third triumph since the Atlanta Games over the Canadian in the lucrative Golden Four series.   Bailey, who set a world record of 9.84 on his way victory in Atlanta, could not catch his American rival and had to settle for third in a tight finish.   Jamaica's Michael Green was second in 10.09 with Bailey finishing in 10.13.   "Today the concentration was the most important thing for me," Mitchell said.   Among the crowd were Olympic 100 metres champions going back to 1948 who had been invited to the meeting to watch a special relay to mark the 60th anniversary of Jesse Owens's four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in the same Berlin stadium.   They included 1948 champion Harrison Dillard, 1968 gold medallist Jim Hines and Britain's Allan Wells, the 1980 Moscow Games winner.   A "Dream Team" quartet of Bailey, double Olympic champion Michael Johnson, Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks and 1992 Olympic 100 metres champion Linford Christie ran together in honour of Owens.   But after three calamitous baton changes, the stars needed a photo finish to hold off a mixed team made up of Nigerian and Jamaican sprinters.   Britain's Christie got one of the biggest cheers of the night when the photo showed that he had just dipped at the line to clinch victory.   Both squads were given the same time of 38.87 seconds. 
5777 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks defeated double Olympic champion Michael Johnson to clinch one of the most lucrative and satisfying 200 metres victories of his career on Friday.   The Namibian, who finished second behind Johnson when the American ran a remarkable world record of 19.32 seconds at the Atlanta Games, won an intense battle down the home straight to win in 19.97 seconds at the Berlin grand prix.   The victory ensured Fredericks, the gold medallist at the 1993 world championships in Stuttgart, a fifth of the most lucrative jackpot in the sport -- 20 one-kilo gold bars worth $250,000.   Fredericks shared the prize with Denmark's Wilson Kipketer (men's 800 metres), Britain's Jonathan Edwards (triple jump), German Lars Riedel (men's discus) and Bulgarian female high jumper Stefka Kostadinova.   Each won $50,000.   The prize is shared between athletes who win specific events at the Golden Four series in Oslo, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin.   All five athletes won the series for the first time.   Fredericks clinched the 200 victory, in front of a crowd which contained an array of former Olympic 100 metres champions going back to 1948, who came to the meeting to watch a special tribute to the American Jesse Owens who won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics 60 years ago.   It was just reward for the Namibian who threatened to win a gold medal in Atlanta in the sprints after some brilliant early- season form but had to play second fiddle to Johnson and Olympic 100 metres champion Donovan Bailey.   "I wouldn't say it was my biggest win ever.   My biggest win was in Stuttgart," said Fredericks, silver medallist over 100 and 200 at the Games.   "I feel fit.   I ran a sub-20 and I'm happy.   "It isn't fun to be beaten by Michael every time...Atlanta is now in the past and I am curious what the future is going to bring."    Johnson came off the bend just behind Fredericks and seemed ready to step into top gear.   But the Namibian kept his form and was so confident of victory that he put his arms up two strides from the finish.   Johnson took second in 20.02 with Trinidad's Ato Boldon, the Olympic bronze medallist, finishing third in 20.37.   Fredericks beat Johnson in the opening meeting of the series in Oslo before the Olympics but he seemed to get a flying start that day.   The Oslo result marked Johnson's first defeat in any race for two years and Friday's victory was a major surprise after the American's superb form in Atlanta.   Johnson did not run in Zurich earlier this month because of injury and chose to compete in the 400 at last week's meeting in Brussels, leaving Fredericks to set up his jackpot bid with victories.   Johnson was not disappointed, however, after the best season of his life when he achieved the historic 200-400 double in Atlanta, the most memorable performance of the Games.   "I can't win everything," he said.   "I have given the victory to Frankie today.   My injury from Atlanta is okay.   I have just lost a little bit of bite."   Six athletes came into the meeting with a chance of winning the gold.   Only American 400 metres hurdler Derrick Adkins failed when he could only finish third behind compatriot Torrance Zellner and Zambia's Samuel Matete.   Riedel clinched his part of the cash for the first time with a huge winning second throw of 70.60 metres early on in the evening.   Wilson Kipketer, who did not compete in Atlanta because he had not got the go-ahead to run for his adopted Denmark, clinched his share by winning the two-lap race easily in one minute, 43.34 seconds.   "I would say this is a very good substitute for the Olympic gold medal," the former Kenyan said.    Edwards produced a superb fifth-round jump of 17.69 metres to defeat Olympic champion Kenny Harrison (17.16) and Kostadinova won the high jump with 2.03 metres.   Edwards said he would invest the winnings for his young family while Kostadinova's thoughts went immediately to her father who has been taken ill in the last few days.   "It is great and nice but the health of my father and his quick recovery are more important to me at the moment," she said. 
5778 !GCAT !GSPO  Former Italian international winger Gianluigi Lentini said on Friday he wanted to recapture his top form at Atalanta where he will play for a year on loan from his club AC Milan.   "I just want to go back to being the good player I was before the accident," said Lentini, 27, who suffered severe head injuries in a near-fatal car crash in 1993.   Lentini, transferred to Milan in 1992 for what was then a world record sum, is on loan in a deal which is said would cost Atalanta around $600,000.   "I'm coming here really looking forward to playing.   I chose Atalanta because I'll have the opportunity to play," he said.   Since his accident, Lentini has struggled to regain the form that made him a local hero in Turin, his club before Milan.   The move to Bergamo-based Atalanta reunites Lentini, who fell out with ex-Milan coach Fabio Capello last season, with his former coach at Torino, Emiliano Mondonico.   "Mondonico practically made me," Lentini said.   "He gave me the chance to make my mark and I really hope I can keep my promises here." 
5779 !GCAT !GSPO  Felicia Ballanger of France confirmed her status as the world's number one woman sprinter when she retained her title at the world cycling championships on Friday.   Ballanger beat Germany's Annett Neumann 2-0 in the best-of-three matches final to add the world title to the Olympic gold medal she won in July.   France also took third place in the sprint, Magali Faure defeating ex-world champion Tanya Dubnicoff of Canada 2-0.   Ballanger, 25, will be aiming to complete a track double when she defends her 500 metres time trial title on Saturday.   The other final of the night, the women's 24-kms points race, also ended in success for the reigning champion.    Russia's Svetlana Samokhalova fought off a spirited challenge from American Jane Quigley to take the title for a second year.    Russia, the only nation to have two riders in the field, made full use of their numerical superiority.    Goulnara Fatkoullina helped Samokhalova to build an unbeatable points lead before snatching the bronze medal.   Quigley, a former medallist in the points event, led the race at half distance.   "I went so close this time, but having two riders certainly gave the Russians an advantage," she said.   The first six riders lapped the field, which left former world champion Ingrid Haringa of the Netherlands down in seventh place despite having the second highest points score.   Olympic champion Nathalie Lancien of France also missed the winning attack and finished a disappointing 10th. 
5780 !GCAT !GSPO  Results at the world track cycling championships on Friday:   Women's sprint semifinals (best of three):   Annett Neumann (Germany) beat Magali Faure (France) 2-0 (12.341 and 12.348 seconds for the last 200 metres)   Felicia Ballanger (France) beat Tanya Dubnicoff (Canada) 2-0, (12.130/12.124)   Ride for third place:   Faure beat Dubnicoff 2-0 (12.112/12.246)   Final:   Ballanger beat Neumann 2-0 (11.959/12.225)   Women's world points race championship (24-km):    1.   Svetlana Samokhalova (Russia) 28 points (in 32   minutes 31.081 seconds)    2.   Jane Quigley (U.S.) 18 points    3.   Goulnara Fatkoullina (Russia) 16    4.   Tatiana Stiajkina (Ukraine) 11    5.   Judith Arndt (Germany) 11    6.   Tea Vikstedt-Nyman (Finland) 5   One lap behind:    7.   Ingrid Haringa (Netherlands) 20    8.   Sally Boyden (Britain) 9    9.   Agnieszka Godras (Poland) 8    10.   Nathalie Lancien (France) 8 
5781 !GCAT !GSPO  French central defender Antoine Kombouare has completed a 300,000 pounds sterling ($467,000) move to Aberdeen from Swiss club Sion, the Scottish premier division club said on Friday.   Kombouare has signed a two-year contract and will make his debut against Morton in the Scottish League Cup on Tuesday.   But he will be ineligible for the rest of Aberdeen's UEFA Cup campaign as he has already played for Sion in this season's Cup Winners' Cup.   Aberdeen manager Roy Aitken said: "It's unfortunate for us that Antoine cannot play in Europe but he will help us achieve things in domestic competition.   "I have been watching him for several weeks now and have no doubts he brings real quality to the side.   He has a great deal of experience and I'm sure he will quickly establish himself in both the team and the affection of our fans."   The 32-year-old defender played seven seasons with Nantes and was with Paris St Germain for five seasons.   He said former PSG team mate David Ginola, who now plays for English premier league Newcastle, was influential in his move to Scotland.   "I'm a very good friend of David and spoke to him recently about coming to Aberdeen and he was very positive about it," Kombouare said.   "He said I would really enjoy life there and that I would settle in in terms of football as well.   That, and the fact he is only a few hours drive away, influenced my decision to come to Aberdeen." 
5782 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results of   the 178-km fifth stage of the Tour of the Netherlands between   Zevenaar and Venray on Friday:    1.   Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom  4 hours 28 mins 30 secs   2.   Jeroen Blijlevens (Netherlands) TVM    3.   Federico Colonna (Italy) Mapei   4.   Rolf Sorensen (Denmark) Rabobank   5.   Johan Capiot (Belgium) Collstrop   6.   Geert van Bondt (Belgium) Vlaanderen   7.   Kaspars Ozers (Lithunia) Motorola   8.   Max van Heeswijk (Netherlands) Motorola   9.   Marcel Wuest (Germany) MX Onda    10.   Jans Koerts (Netherlands) Palmans all same time   Leading overall placings (after five stages):    1.   Sorensen  15.48:41    2.   Lance Armstrong (U.S.) Motorola  2 seconds behind    3.   Vyacheslav Ekimov (Russia) Rabobank 1 minute 9 seconds    4.   Marco Lietti (Italy) MG-Technogym  1:16    5.   Erik Dekker (Netherlands) Rabobank 1:23    6.   Erik Breukink (Netherlands) Rabobank 1:28    7.   Bart Voskamp (Netherlands) TVM  1:32    8.   Maarten den Bakker (Netherlands) TVM 1:33    9.   Michael Andersson (Sweden) Telekom 1:34    10.   Olaf Ludwig (Germany) Telekom  1:46   The race finishes on Saturday with the 205-km sixth stage   from Roermond to Landgraaf. 
5783 !GCAT !GSPO  Scotsman Colin Montgomerie shot a third-round five-over-par 77 and then launched a scathing attack on the organisation of the British Masters at Collingtree Park on Friday.   The world number two claimed that the entire field had come close to walking out of the 700,000 pounds ($1.1 million) tournament which has been dogged by poor greens.   His attack overshadowed the performance of third round leader, Australian Robert Allenby who shot a 71, his third sub-par round.    The 25-year-old Allenby, who won the English and French Opens in June and currently lies fourth in the European Order of Merit, began with a double-bogey six but then hit back with four birdies.   It took him to the five-under-par mark of 211 and a one-stroke lead over Spaniard Pedro Linhart, who produced an extraordinary round of 67 containing a chip-in eagle and six birdies.   They are the only two men left under par.   Italian Costantino Rocca and another Spaniard, Miguel Angel Martin, share third place on level par and one further back comes a group of four which includes Welshman Ian Woosnam and first round leader Gavin Levenson of South Africa.   Englishman Mark Roe, who shared the halfway lead with Allenby, slipped down the field to two over par with a round of 78.   Montgomerie even interrupted his round, which included seven bogeys and left him 10 strokes off the pace, at the turn and headed into the European Tour office to speak with tournament director Mike Stewart.   "We've all come close to walking out and all of us, media, sponsors, players and caddies, will be grateful when Saturday afternoon arrives and we can all get out of here," said a disgruntled Montgomerie.   "I'm very disappointed for the fans.   What are they watching?"   "It's a shame to come here and find this at a showpiece tournament, in its 50th year, with new sponsors.   We will all be thrilled when it's finished."   Stewart, who has taken no action on the 13 players who did quit, has already issued an apology to players and public, and on Montgomerie's unexpected visit confirmed that the Scot had "expressed his dissatisfaction with the condition of the course". 
5784 !GCAT !GSPO  Irish jockey Warren O'Connor was banned for six-days after throwing away a race he should have won on Friday.   The 28-year-old dropped his hands aboard My Best Valentine (14-1) and was caught on the line by Concer Un (11-2 favourite).   "This is the first time this has ever happened to me and I can only apologise to the owners and any punters who backed the horse," said the embarrassed jockey.   "I eased off because I thought I had the race won.   I still thought I'd won after passing the post."   In May, ex-champion Willie Carson was banned for seven days when easing down and being caught in a race at Lingfield. 
5785 !GCAT !GSPO  Practice times set on Friday   for Sunday's San Marino 500cc motorcycling Grand Prix:    1.   Michael Doohan (Australia) Honda  one minute 50.250    2.   Jean-Michel Bayle (France) Yamaha 1:50.727    3.   Norifumi Abe (Japan) Yamaha 1:50.858    4.   Luca Cadalora (Italy) Honda 1:51.006    5.   Alex Criville (Spain) Honda 1:51.075    6.   Scott Russell (United States) Suzuki  1:51.287    7.   Tadayuki Okada (Japan) Honda 1:51.528    8.   Carlos Checa (Spain) Honda 1:51.588    9.   Alexandre Barros (Brazil) Honda 1:51.784    10.   Shinichi Itoh (Japan) Honda 1:51.857 
5786 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading scores after   the third round of the British Masters on Friday:   211 Robert Allenby (Australia) 69 71 71   212 Pedro Linhart (Spain) 72 73 67   216 Miguel Angel Martin (Spain) 75 70 71, Costantino Rocca   (Italy) 71 73 72   217 Antoine Lebouc (France) 74 73 70, Ian Woosnam 70 76 71,   Francisco Cea (Spain) 70 71 76, Gavin Levenson (South    Africa) 66 75 76   218 Stephen McAllister 73 76 69, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 71 77   70, Jose Coceres (Argentina) 69 78 71, Paul Eales 75 71 72,   Klas Eriksson (Sweden) 71 75 72, Mike Clayton (Australia)   69 76 73, Mark Roe 69 71 78   219 Eamonn Darcy (Ireland) 74 76 69, Bob May (U.S.) 74 75 70,   Paul Lawrie 72 75 72, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain) 74 72   73, Peter Mitchell 74 71 75, Philip Walton (Ireland) 71 74   74, Peter O'Malley (Australia) 71 73 75   220 Barry Lane 73 77 70, Wayne Riley (Australia) 71 78 71,    Martin Gates 71 77 72, Bradley Hughes (Australia) 73 75 72,   Peter Hedblom (Sweden) 70 75 75, Retief Goosen (South    Africa) 71 74 75, David Gilford 69 74 77. 
5787 !GCAT !GSPO  England A fast bowler Ed Giddins said on Friday that he would not be appealing against his 20-month ban from first-class cricket.   Giddins was suspended by the Test and County Cricket Board (TCCB) after he was found guilty of using cocaine before a county championship match in May.   He was then sacked by his county Sussex.   "While I still protest my innocence I will not be appealing," he said.   "Instead, I intend to carry out the suspension with dignity and use the 20 months to improve my game.    "I trust and hope the TCCB will not bear a grudge against me and treat me fairly because I want to play cricket again at the highest level in 1998.   "I hope to be fitter and better than before and to force my way into the England team."   The 25-year-old, who toured Pakistan with England A last year, is now considering offers to play in South Africa, the West Indies and Australia during the English close season.   The TCCB have cancelled his registration with Sussex but he is still able to play club cricket and benefit matches. 
5788 !GCAT !GSPO  Former world champion Frank Bruno reluctantly retired on Friday after doctors told the British heavyweight his eyesight was too bad for him to continue boxing.   Bruno, 34, who lost his World Boxing Council (WBC) crown to Mike Tyson in March, said he wept when he told members of his family that his 14-year professional career was over.   "It's sad, it was difficult.   There were tears here and there.   I shed a little tear, to be honest," Bruno told a news conference.   "I'll get over it -- it's life.   I've had a good innings."   He denied press reports that Professor David McLeod, one of the world's leading eye specialists, had warned him he could lose the sight in one eye if he continued boxing.   Bruno said McLeod had warned him he would not pass official eye tests.   "At this time of my life, Professor McLeod said he would not advise me to carry on," said Bruno, only the third Briton to hold a world heavyweight title.   "He didn't have to twist my arm or put a gun to my head or anything like that."   The Sun newspaper said McLeod discovered a problem with Bruno's right eye during a routine examination this week.   "There is a risk he could be blinded in the eye if he steps into the ring again.   He is in danger of getting a retinal detachment and there is no point in exposing himself to that," McLeod told the Sun newspaper.   Bruno won 40 of his 45 career fights.   "Big Frank" lost three world title fights before landing the crown by beating American Oliver McCall in a unanimous points decision in September.   London-born Bruno worked as a labourer on a building site before taking up amateur boxing.   He turned professional in 1982.   A big heart and a powerful punch made up for a limited technique and he climbed the rankings to make his first challenge for the world title against Tim Witherspoon in 1989.   A second unsuccessful attempt against Tyson followed in 1990 and fellow Briton Lennox Lewis stopped him again in October 1993 before his night of glory against McCall at Wembley.   Alongside his ring career, Bruno became a television personality and an improbable star in Christmas pantomimes.   Frank Warren, Bruno's promoter, said the British Boxing Board of Control was aware of the ex-champion's sight problems.   "I don't think the board would have allowed Frank to box based upon a report I have heard concerning his eyes," Warren told BBC radio.   "This may sound wicked but I think it is a blessing in disguise.   Frank has had a tremendously successful career, achieved his dream in winning the world title and I think it was time for him to hang up his gloves," Warren said.   Bruno had a history of eye problems and was refused a professional licence when a teenager because of his myopia (short-sightedness).   An operation in Colombia allowed him to pass official eye tests.   In his first title defence against Tyson, Bruno suffered a cut eye in the opening round and crumbled under a flurry of punches before the referee stopped the fight in the third.   Bruno was unsure what the future might hold.   "I've been under constant pressure for 16 or 17 years.   I need to unwind a little bit," he said.   "I've got not one ounce of regret at all, I've done pretty well for myself.   I would like to be remembered as a ducker and diver, someone just trying to do well for himself." 
5789 !GCAT !GSPO  Australian 500cc motorcycling world champion Michael Doohan could become "Mr 500" in more senses than one when the grand prix circus returns to Imola on Sunday after an eight-year absence.   The race will be the 500th 500cc grand prix since the championship started in 1949 and if Doohan wins and his closest rival and Honda team mate Alex Criville of Spain fails to finish, he will clinch his third title in three years.   The Australian currently leads Criville by 52 points with four rounds, including Imola, remaining.   However Criville has won the last two races, pipping Doohan in the closest finish ever at Brno in the Czech Republic on August 18.   Neither Doohan nor Criville have raced at the radically redesigned 4.89-km "Enzo and Dino Ferrari" track.   The last winner there was American Eddie Lawson on his way to winning the 1988 title with Yamaha.   The changes to the circuit follow the deaths there of Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.   The high-speed Tamburello curve at the end of the finish straight where Senna died has been replaced by a double chicane.   "The track is certainly much safer and a lot different to the Imola I raced at some years ago," said Kenny Roberts, who set Imola's standing lap record back in 1983.   Doohan knows the area around Imola well from official testing in the past and his stay nearby in 1992 when he was recovering from a serious crash in the Netherlands.   "I certainly hope we race in dry conditions because I have the feeling that the place could become a bit scary if it rains," said Doohan.   "If the weather conditions are right I am sure it's going to be a good, close race and one that I certainly want to win."   Luca Cadalora, third in the championship, and local hero Loris Capirossi carry the Italian flag in the 500cc race but many home fans will be looking to the lower categories.   Double 250ccc world champion Max Biaggi brings a 37-point lead to Imola while two Italian teenagers, Valentino Rossi and Ivan Goi, are racing before their home fans for the first time since winning the last two 125cc grands prix. 
5790 !GCAT !GSPO  Twenty-year-old golf star Tiger Woods, on the day of his professional debut, was moved to the head of the class with an invitation to the Skins Game Thursday.   Woods will join veterans Fred Couples, John Daly and Tom Watson at the 1996 Skins Game, which will be played November 30-December 1 at Rancho La Quinta Country Club in California.   Woods turned professional Tuesday after winning an unprecedented third successive U.S. Amateur Golf Championship.   In his first PGA tournament as a pro, he turned in a first-round four-under-par 67 Thursday to stand in a tie five strokes off the lead at the Greater Milwaukee Open.   "It is the ultimate honour to be invited to play in the Skins Game," Woods said.   "All of those players have proved themselves over the years.   My professional career is just getting started."   "We are quite excited to have this kind of matchup -- three outstanding players along with the finest young player to come along since Jack Nicklaus," said Chuck Gerber, executive vice president of OCC Sports Inc, which is presenting the Skins Game with Trans World International.   Couples, the defending Skins Game champion, earned $270,000 on one shot last year, birdying the fifth extra hole.   He is a former Masters champion, a two-time Players champion and two-time PGA Tour player of the year.   The long-hitting Daly, a former PGA and British Open champion, is making his second Skins Game appearance.   He was paired with Woods during the first two rounds of the U.S. Open last June.   "The kid is just tough," Daly said.   "I wish I were that tough at 20."   Watson, a six-time PGA player of the year with eight mnajor championships, will match Arnold Palmer's record by playing in his sixth Skins Game.   He won the event in 1994. 
5791 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of English league matches   on Friday:   Division two    Plymouth  2  Preston 1   Division three    Swansea  1  Lincoln 2 
5792 !GCAT !GSPO  West Indian all-rounder Phil Simmons took four for 38 on Friday as Leicestershire beat Somerset by an innings and 39 runs in two days to take over at the head of the county championship.   Their stay on top, though, may be short-lived as title rivals Essex, Derbyshire and Surrey all closed in on victory while Kent made up for lost time in their rain-affected match against Nottinghamshire.   After bowling Somerset out for 83 on the opening morning at Grace Road, Leicestershire extended their first innings by 94 runs before being bowled out for 296 with England discard Andy Caddick taking three for 83.   Trailing by 213, Somerset got a solid start to their second innings before Simmons stepped in to bundle them out for 174.   Essex, however, look certain to regain their top spot after Nasser Hussain and Peter Such gave them a firm grip on their match against Yorkshire at Headingley.   Hussain, considered surplus to England's one-day requirements, struck 158, his first championship century of the season, as Essex reached 372 and took a first innings lead of 82.   By the close Yorkshire had turned that into a 37-run advantage but off-spinner Such had scuttled their hopes, taking four for 24 in 48 balls and leaving them hanging on 119 for five and praying for rain.   At the Oval, Surrey captain Chris Lewis, another man dumped by England, continued to silence his critics as he followed his four for 45 on Thursday with 80 not out on Friday in the match against Warwickshire.    He was well backed by England hopeful Mark Butcher who made 70 as Surrey closed on 429 for seven, a lead of 234.   Derbyshire kept up the hunt for their first championship title since 1936 by reducing Worcestershire to 133 for five in their second innings, still 100 runs away from avoiding an innings defeat.   Australian Tom Moody took six for 82 but Chris Adams, 123, and Tim O'Gorman, 109, took Derbyshire to 471 and a first innings lead of 233.   After the frustration of seeing the opening day of their match badly affected by the weather, Kent stepped up a gear to dismiss Nottinghamshire for 214.   They were held up by a gritty 84 from Paul Johnson but ex-England fast bowler Martin McCague took four for 55.   By stumps Kent had reached 108 for three. 
5793 !GCAT !GSPO  Result and close of play scores in English county championship matches on Friday:   Leicester: Leicestershire beat Somerset by an innings and 39 runs.   Somerset 83 and 174 (P.Simmons 4-38), Leicestershire 296.   Leicestershire 22 points, Somerset 4.   Chester-le-Street: Glamorgan 259 and 207 (A.Dale 69, H.Morris 69; D.Blenkiron 4-43), Durham 114 (S.Watkin 4-28) and 81-3.   Tunbridge Wells: Nottinghamshire 214 (P.Johnson 84; M.McCague 4-55), Kent 108-3.   London (The Oval): Warwickshire 195, Surrey 429-7 (C.Lewis 80 not out, M.Butcher 70, G.Kersey 63, J.Ratcliffe 63, D.Bicknell 55).    Hove: Sussex 363 (W.Athey 111, V.Drakes 52; I.Austin 4-37), Lancashire 197-8 (W.Hegg 54)   Portsmouth: Middlesex 199 and 426 (J.Pooley 111, M.Ramprakash 108, M.Gatting 83), Hampshire 232 and 109-5.   Chesterfield: Worcestershire 238 and 133-5, Derbyshire 471 (J.Adams 123, T.O'Gorman 109 not out, K.Barnett 87; T.Moody 6-82)   Bristol: Gloucestershire 183 and 185-6 (J.Russell 56 not out), Northamptonshire 190 (K.Curran 52; A.Smith 5-68). 
5794 !GCAT !GSPO  Former England rugby captain Will Carling expressed his opposition to the latest split in English rugby on Friday and described the move as "staggering".   Carling was responding to the news on Thursday that the English Professional Rugby Union Clubs (EPRUC), the body which looks after the interests of the top 24 clubs in the country, had unanimously decided to break away from the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the governing body of English rugby.   "I am very concerned about the in-fighting and the threat of a breakaway.   It will not do anyone any good at all," said Carling on the eve of the start of the new season.   "What has been happening is staggering and most players are fed up with the whole thing."   Meanwhile, RFU secretary Tony Hallett said he would be staging urgent talks with representatives of EPRUC.   "It is revolutionary talk but we will do our best not to allow it to happen," he said.   "I can't understand why they pulled the rug at this stage.   We are 95 percent along the road to an agreement for a management contract.   The sticking points are mostly financial -- TV rights and sponsorship deals.   "But our whole attitude is that the RFU has to take charge of the whole game and lead it.   I believe and hope that they want financial independence under the Twickenham umbrella."   EPRUC received a form of support on Friday from the Welsh clubs who announced their intention to follow suit and break away from the Welsh Rugby Union. 
5795 !GCAT !GSPO  English first division Wolves have completed the signing of Dutch goalkeeper Hans Segers on a month's contract, the club said on Friday.   Segers, a free agent after being released by premier league Wimbledon at the end of last season, is in the squad for Saturday's game at Norwich and likely to be on the substitutes' bench.   He played a reserve game for the club last week.   Segers, fellow goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, retired striker John Fashanu and Malaysian businessman Heng Suan Lim pleaded not guilty in May to charges of giving or accepting bribes to fix English premier league matches.   Segers, 34, has been given a short-term contract with Wolves pending a preliminary hearing he faces next month before the full trial of the case, which is scheduled for January. 
5796 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia will defend the Ashes in   a six-test series against England during a four-month tour   starting on May 13 next year, the Test and County Cricket Board   said on Friday.   Australia will also play three one-day internationals and   four one-day warm-up matches at the start of the tour.   The tourists will play nine first-class matches against   English county sides and another against British Universities,   as well as one-day matches against the Minor Counties and   Scotland.   Tour itinerary:   May    May 13  Arrive in London    May 14  Practice at Lord's    May 15  v Duke of Norfolk's XI (at Arundel)    May 17  v Northampton    May 18  v Worcestershire    May 20  v Durham    May 22  First one-day international (at Headingley,    Leeds)    May 24  Second one-day international (at The Oval,    London)    May 25  Third one-day international (at Lord's, London)    May 27-29  v Gloucestershire or Sussex or Surrey (three    days)   May 31-June 2 v Derbyshire (three days)   June    June 5-9  First test match (at Edgbaston, Birmingham)    June 11-13 v a first class county (to be confirmed)    June 14-16 v Leicestershire (three days)    June 19-23 Second test (at Lord's)    June 25-27 v British Universities (at Oxford, three days)    June 28-30 v Hampshire (three days)   July    July 3-7  Third test (at Old Trafford, Manchester)    July 9  v Minor Counties XI    July 12  v Scotland    July 16-18 v Glamorgan (three days)    July 19-21 v Middlesex (three days)    July 24-28 Fourth test (at Headingley)   August    August 1-4 v Somerset (four days)    August 7-11 Fifth test (at Trent Bridge, Nottingham)    August 16-18 v Kent (three days)    August 21-25 Sixth test (at The Oval, London). 
5797 !GCAT !GSPO  The world's costliest footballer Alan Shearer was named as the new England captain on Friday.   The 26-year-old, who joined Newcastle for 15 million pounds sterling ($23.4 million), takes over from Tony Adams, who led the side during the European championship in June, and former captain David Platt.   Adams and Platt are both injured and will miss England's opening World Cup qualifier against Moldova on Sunday.   Shearer takes the captaincy on a trial basis, but new coach Glenn Hoddle said he saw no reason why the former Blackburn and Southampton skipper should not make the post his own.   "I'm sure there won't be a problem, I'm sure Alan is the man for the job," Hoddle said.   "There were three or four people who could have done it but when I spoke to Alan he was up for it and really wanted it.   "In four days it's very difficult to come to a 100 percent conclusion about something like this... but he knows how to conduct himself, his team mates respect him and he knows about the team situation even though he plays up front."   Shearer's Euro 96 striking partner Teddy Sheringham withdrew from the squad with an injury on Friday.   He will probably be replaced by Shearer's Newcastle team mate Les Ferdinand. 
5798 !GCAT !GSPO  New coaches with fresh ideas lead their sides on to the world stage this weekend as the long hard European pilgrimage toward the 1998 World Cup starts in earnest.   A few qualifying matches for the French football-fest have already been played but more than 20 teams are about to take their first tentative steps toward the next edition of soccer's greatest tournament.   Across the continent, new faces are in charge.   Glenn Hoddle travels to Moldova with his first England squad, knowing only a convincing win will satisfy the nation's tabloid newspapers and trophy-starved fans.   England's relative success at the European championship in June -- they routed the Dutch 4-1 before bowing out to Germany on penalties in the semifinals -- has convinced the English they have something to shout about for the first time in years.   But memories of the last World Cup campaign, which ended in dismal failure under Graham Taylor, will return to haunt the new boss if his side falters at the first hurdle.   Hoddle, always a creative force as a player in the 1980s, has promised to bring flair to his England set-up, and has called up gifted Southampton midfielder Matthew Le Tissier, a player after the manager's own heart.   The maverick Channel Islander appeared only six times under Hoddle's predecessor Terry Venables but is likely to win at least a place on the bench in Moldova, a tiny republic wedged between Romania and the Ukraine.   Manchester United's 21-year-old midfielder David Beckham is included for the first time in the squad for Sunday's group two match in the Republican Stadium, Kishinev, while the experienced Arsenal pair David Platt and Tony Adams are out through injury.   Tottenham striker Teddy Sheringham joined the injury list on Friday, leaving only 19 players making the trip.   Portugal, among the favourites to qualify for France after their attractive Euro 96 performances in June, travel to Armenia under new coach Artur Jorge, who took Switzerland to the European championship.   Jorge, returning to his country of birth after an unhappy spell with the Swiss, has named six Porto players in a squad which is little changed from the one which reached the quarter-finals of Euro 96.   Midfielder Paulo Sousa, now playing with German champions Borussia Dortmund, is the only notable absentee for Saturday's group nine clash in Yerevan, although goalkeeper Vitor Baia faces a late fitness test on a badly bruised right foot.   Jorge's old team Switzerland, now under the guidance of Rolf Fringer, face Azerbaijan in Baku on Saturday.   Fringer has made one highly popular change to his squad, recalling Turkish-based striker Adrian Knup, who scored 26 goals in 45 internationals before being axed by Jorge.   Knup's striking partner Kubilay Turkyilmaz is doubtful with a calf strain but the Swiss are still firm favourites to claim three points against an Azerbaijani side beaten 5-0 by Norway in their first qualifier earlier this year.   The new man in charge of former European champions Denmark, Swedish-born Bo Johannsen, is relying on brotherly understanding for his team's group one clash with Slovenia.   He plans to push midfielder Michael Laudrup into the forward line with younger brother Brian to spearhead a Danish goal-hunt in Ljubljana.   Turkey, with Mustafa Denizli at the helm for the second time in his career following the departure of Fatih Terim in June, face Belgium in Brussels.   The Belgians, one of only four European entries for the inaugural World Cup way back in 1930, have dropped Newcastle United defender Philippe Albert from their back four in favour of Club Brugge's Pascal Renier.   Sweden, who made the last four in the 1994 World Cup, make the short flight across the Baltic for Sunday's match against Latvia, while Romania, who also shone in the United States two years ago, host Lithuania in Bucharest. 
5799 !GCAT !GSPO  For a decade, Frank Bruno was adored for his bravery, buffoonery and big heart.   Boxing fans realised his skills as a heavyweight were limited but, in a country where heroic losers are highly honoured, this did not stop Bruno becoming a sporting superstar.   The whole of Britain rejoiced in September 1995 when Bruno, after three unsuccessful cracks at the world title, finally achieved his life's ambition by defeating American Oliver McCall on points to claim the World Boxing Council (WBC) crown.   But Friday's statement that the 34-year-old is retiring because of eye problems was greeted with more relief than sorrow.   Bruno had been hoping for a third crack at Mike Tyson as a final pay-day to end his 14-year professional career.   But those who winced six years ago when Tyson dismantled Bruno in five rounds and then saw the Briton savagely outboxed in a title defence in March will be thankful he has called it a day before Tyson could inflict more damage.   Bruno's promoter, Frank Warren, called the news a "blessing in disguise".   "I very much welcome his decision to hang up the gloves.   He has had a glittering career but there has to be a time to call a halt.   That time is now," said fellow promoter Barry Hearn.   Bruno, born of a Jamaican mother and a father from the Dominican Republic, has suffered from myopia (short-sightedness).   As a teenager he was refused a professional boxing licence and only surgery in Colombia brought his eyesight up to official standards.   He was out of boxing for a year at the end of the 1980s because of eye surgery and British officials only reluctantly allowed him to return to the ring.   His retirement follows advice from an eye specialist that one blow could detach his retina and leave him blind in one eye.   Bruno's rise to the top was a typical rags-to-riches boxing story.   The London boy was sent to a school for problem children and began adult life as a hod-carrier on a building site.   Boxing was his only way out of the rut.   Asked once why he wanted to fight Tyson, he replied: "For my family, myself, the Queen -- and the money."   Bruno made his professional debut in March 1982 and quickly built up a loyal following.   In a sport in Britain where racist sentiment is never far below the surface, Bruno's army of supporters embraced all cultures and walks of life.   "When Frank won the title, it meant a lot to the ordinary man in the street, the taxi driver and so on," Warren said.   Bruno's openness, warmth and unthreatening attitude, despite his massive physique, spread his fame way beyond boxing.   His attempts to talk tough in pre-fight media conferences always sounded contrived -- Bruno is basically a nice guy.   This lack of innate aggression and a certain stiffness in the ring kept the sport's greatest prize out of Bruno's reach for many years.   If you got hit hard by Bruno, you went down but the best stayed out of reach.   When Bruno himself got hit hard, his eyes glazed and his coordination went out of the window.   "The problem with Frank is that he is not a natural fighter," says former British heavyweight Henry Cooper.   Bruno, married with three children, fought 45 times, losing five.   He will no doubt now turn his attention to his successful career outside the ring as a television and advertising personality and pantomime performer. 
5800 !GCAT !GSPO  English club rugby enters a whole new ball game on Saturday hoping piles of cash and a huge influx of new faces from overseas and rugby league will help bridge the widening gap with its southern hemisphere rivals.   The season, though, begins under the shadow of serious and unresolved matters.   On the one hand the English national team may be on the brink of being thrown out of the Five Nations while, on the other, the English Professional Rugby Union Clubs (EPRUC), representing the top clubs in the country, indicated on Thursday that a total split from the Rugby Football Union was on the horizon.   Quite what shape or form an England team will take in the new season, if they can settle on a fixture list, remains to be seen.   There is also the prospect of several clubs facing ruin if their big investments fail to pay off but, even so, the short-term outlook at least is an attractive one.   Rugby league stars like the Paul brothers, Martin Offiah and Va'aiga Tuigamala, assuming the latter receives a work permit, will find themselves pitted against such established union greats as Michael Lynagh, Philippe Sella and Laurent Cabannes.   Add the know-how of top overseas coaches such as Bob Dwyer, hired to give Leicester's title prospects extra lustre, and an expanded European Cup competition and it is easy to understand the frustration over England's failure to resolve the damaging Five Nations dispute still hogging most of the headlines as well as the new dispute with EPRUC.   Many have suggested the expensive capture of league players who must return to their league clubs halfway through the season in January will turn out to be a mistake.   But champions Bath view it differently.   It was their challenge matches against Wigan earlier this year which speeded up the interchange between the codes, and Wigan's Jason Robinson and Henry Paul trained for the first time with their newly professional Bath colleagues on Thursday.   "For the next two Thursdays they will be commuting because they are tied up with Wigan in the premiership play-offs," said Bath coach Brian Ashton, who will be able to play his new signings only from mid-September.   "I don't think there will be any problem in them adapting because both have played against us and both have played very well."   Bath skipper Phil de Glanville described the pair as "two of the best players in any type of rugby" but also admits there are now "more clubs capable of mugging us on an off-day".   Among them could be Saracens, offering a new London home to Sella, Lynagh and a clutch of other internationals, or more likely Harlequins who have also recruited heavily, signing Welsh brothers Gareth and Glyn Llewellyn, Frenchmen Laurent Benezech and Cabannes, Irish hooker Keith Wood and league players Gary Connolly and Robbie Paul.   Both Saracens and Wasps, who have indicated they will take legal advice following the refusal of the British government to renew Tuigamala's work permit, intend to play their major games at soccer grounds and there are bound to be culture shocks elsewhere.   Even Leicester's old warhorse Dean Richards may have to change his ways.   Former Australian coach Dwyer has always criticised the forward-dominated English style and has ordered his captain to play a more expansive game.   "Dean Richards has been the focus of Leicester's pattern, but he understands the need for a more extravagant approach, especially under the new laws," said Dwyer.   "He is getting himself quite fit."   Just as interesting, though, will be the second division struggle where mega-spenders Richmond and Newcastle are chasing only one guaranteed promotion place.   Richmond, in particular, have signed a whole new international-class squad, featuring England forward Ben Clarke, the Quinnell brothers and even Brian Moore who has come out of retirement for one final challenge.   What happens if they fail to gel is almost as unthinkable as a Four Nations championship without England.   The coming season, which also includes European visits from Australia, South Africa, Argentina and the New Zealand Barbarians, looks set to answer many questions, not all of them comfortable. 
5801 !GCAT !GSPO  Ramon Martinez outdueled his brother Pedro as the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Montreal Expos 2-1 Thursday.   Mike Piazza and Eric Karros hit back-to-back homers in the fourth inning for the Dodgers (72-61), who regained the National League wild-card lead from Montreal (71-61).   Ramon Martinez (11-6) defeated his younger sibling in the first matchup of brothers as starting pitchers since July 31, 1988, when Philadelphia's Mike Maddux beat Chicago's Greg Maddux.   Six pairs of brothers have faced one another overall.   "It was a big challenge for both of us," Ramon Martinez said.   "When he left the mound in the ninth, I made a sign to him to tell him that I love him and that he pitched a great game.   "Neither of us wanted to give it up and that's the way it should be.   I don't feel sorry.   I feel very proud of him.   It could have been him the winner and me the loser.   I have pitched better games and I've been in other good duels, but this is different.   "It was a big challenge.   I just wanted to go out and win and put us back in the wild-card lead."   The winning Martinez allowed one run and three hits over eight-plus innings, walking five and striking out seven.   He was rescued by closer Todd Worrell after walking Darrin Fletcher to lead off the ninth.   Worrell retired all three batters he faced to notch his league-leading 36th save.   "It was a big game and a big win for us," Piazza, the Dodgers' catcher, said.   "Coming in, I felt it would be too much emotion and maybe the rotation should be juggled to avoid it but it ended up great."   Pedro Martinez (11-9) went the distance in defeat, allowing two runs and six hits for his fourth complete game of the season and seventh of his career.   The right-hander walked one and recorded a career-high 12 strikeouts.   "He's been a great example to me as a person and as a player my whole life," Pedro said.   "I look up to him and he's always been there for me.   He tought me how to play baseball and he's taught me about life.   He's my idol."   He added: "It was hard and it will never be easy if it happens again because it's blood against blood and it's the same blood."   Piazza's homer was his 31st and Karros's, two pitches later, was his 29th.   In Denver, Joe Oliver hit a grand slam and drove in a career-high seven runs and Eric Davis homered for the third straight game as the Cincinnati Reds set a season-high for runs in an 18-7 victory over the Colorado Rockies.   Oliver, who was in an 0-for-20 slump, hit his fourth career slam in the sixth.   The Reds scored six times in the fifth and six more in the sixth to break open a 3-2 game.   Davis, who has nine RBI in his last three games, was one of six Reds with at least two hits.   In Houston, Jose Hernandez's two-out, two-run single in the seventh snapped a tie and the Chicago Cubs beat the Astros 4-3 to salvage the final game of a three-game series.   Jaime Navarro (13-9) in 6 2/3 innings allowed three runs on seven hits to earn his sixth straight win.   Turk Wendell worked the final 2 1/3 scoreless innings for his 15th save.   Shane Reynolds (16-7) took his first loss since July 17.   He was 5-0 in his previous seven starts.   He pitched seven innings and yielded four runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts.   Jeff Bagwell hit his 29th home run of the season and Derek Bell also homered for Houston.   Mark Grace hit a two-run shot for Chicago.   In Pittsburgh, Greg Maddux and three relievers combined on a seven-hitter and Chipper Jones and Jermaine Dye each homered and drove in two runs to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 5-1 victory over the Pirates.   Maddux (13-10) scattered four hits, walked none and struck out three over seven innings for his third straight win after losing four in a row.   In the 30-inning, four-start win streak, he has allowed three earned runs and two walks with 22 strikeouts.   Greg McMichael worked a scoreless eighth and Joe Borowski allowed a run-scoring single by Jason Kendall with two out in the ninth before Mark Wohlers retired Jay Bell for his 33rd save.   In St Louis, Gary Sheffield belted a two-run home run, his 37th, and Alex Arias added a three-run shot, also in the first inning, as the Florida Marlins jumped out to an eight-run lead and won their sixth straight, 10-9 over the Cardinals.   The Marlins carried a 10-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth but Ron Gant hit a two-run homer, his 26th, to make it 10-8, and pinch-hitter Ray Lankford singled in Brian Jordan to make it 10-9 before Robb Nen nailed down his 29th save.   The Cardinals have lost eight of 10, but remained 2 1/2 games behind first-place Houston in the Central. 
5802 !GCAT !GSPO  Canada beat Russia 5-3 in the opening North American contest of ice hockey's World Cup Thursday after referee Terry Gregson waved off an apparent tying goal by Russia's Sergei Nemchinov with 1:41 remaining.   Linesman Brad Lazarovich notified Gregson that the Russians had seven men on the ice and he immediately penalised them.   Canada scored twice in the third period, breaking a 3-3 tie when Joe Sakic of the National Hockey League's Colorado Avalanche put a rebound of a shot by New York Ranger Wayne Gretzky into an open net just 52 seconds into the period.   Russia's Darius Kasparaitis was in the penalty box at the time.   Canada scored its fifth goal in the final minute, also on a power play, when Theoren Flleury took a Gretzky pass and hit the open side of the Russian net.   Russia scored first, in the opening period at 2:18, when the Rangers' Alexei Kovalev beat Canadian goalie Curtis Joseph with a 10-foot rebound, after a rush by Alexei Yashin and Slava Fetisov.   Canada roared back, outshooting Russia in the first period 17-6 and scoring three times.   Trevor Linden of the Vancouver Canucks stole the puck behind the Russian net and passed out to Montreal's Vincent Damphousse, who beat Russian goalie Nikolai Khabibulin with a 20-footer while playing short-handed at 9:23.   At 14:24 Canada went ahead on a power play.   The Rangers' Mark Messier passed back to Eric Desjarddins at the point, from which he blasted a 55-footer past Khabibulin.   With two minutes remaining in the first period, Messier hit the Hartford Whalers' Brendan Shanahan with a lead pass behind the Russian defence and Shanahan put it between Khabibulin's legs to give Canada a 3-1 lead.   Russia, who dressed 19 National Hockey League players, changed strategy in the second period, rushing the Canadian net, and scored twice in the first three minutes.   Vladimir Malakhov of Montreal took a pass from Alexei Zhamnov to beat Joseph with a 10-footer.   On the next shift Detroit's Sergei Fedorov scored on a quick rush.   The play was started by Fetisov, who had three assists.   The Russians appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal midway through the period when Slava Kozlov of Detroit banged home a second rebound, but Gregson disallowed this goal saying the net was dislodged before the puck entered the net.   Russia outshot Canada 15-6 in the second period.   Canada regained the momentum in the third period, outshooting their rivals 12-8 to end the game ahead 35-29 on shots.   On Saturday, Russia plays Slovakia at Montreal and Canada faces the United States at Philadelphia while in Europe the Czech Republic plays Germany in Garmisch, the winner advancing to play in North America and the loser being eliminated. 
5803 !GCAT !GSPO  South African rugby coach Andre Markgraaff, who has lost five of seven tests since taking the job at the start of the season, has been given new powers.   The South African Rugby Football Union (SARFU) announced on Friday that the role of manager would be combined with that of coach for the forthcoming tour to Argentina, France and Wales.   The contract of the current manager, Morne du Plessis, expires after Saturday's final test against New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, and he will not be replaced.   "In this new professional era we must adapt our management styles to suit the changing environment," SARFU chief executive Rian Oberholzer said in a statement.   Markgraaff has resigned from SARFU's executive committee to allow himself more time to fill the new role.   It will give him unlimited powers in team affairs and avoid the clash of personalities he was rumoured to suffer with the liberal du Plessis.   Markgraaff will be assisted by a forwards and a backs coach, technical adviser, a biokineticist responsible for the team's physical conditioning, a physiotherapist and the team's doctor.   The role of assistant manager will be taken by a commercial manager who will now share responsibility for team logistics.   The new structure was proposed by Oberholzer and approved by SARFU's executive committee, who also issued a vote of confidence in their heavily-criticised president, Louis Luyt.   Luyt's studied silence during a troubled season has drawn rebukes from the national press and he has been heckled by supporters as South Africa have lost three successive home tests to the All Blacks.   The executive's "strong motion of support...deplored the poor reception given to someone who has done so much for rugby in this country," SARFU said. 
5804 !GCAT !GSPO  South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Friday slated "barbaric" rugby fans for insulting President Nelson Mandela and other blacks and said tough action might be needed against them.   The ANC criticism, issued by its influential parliamentary sport study group, was the latest in a series of blows to the image of South African rugby.   The Springboks have lost three straight home tests to New Zealand, losing a home series to them for the first time in the process.   They play the last test of the series in Johannesburg on Saturday.   The team have been dogged by injury, the controversial dropping of one of their best players, James Small, and political rows about the right-wing sympathies of many of their white fans.   "The ANC study group has learned with shock and dismay of the devisive behaviour of certain undisciplined elements of rugby fans," group chairwoman Lulu Xingwana told reporters.   "Their behaviour at recent test matches is unacceptable, backward and barbaric."   She said the actions of fans at last week's test in Pretoria were particularly bad.   "There was a lot of aggressive behaviour and blacks who were at the match, including members of parliament, were insulted."   White people there were also the targets of insults, she said.   Xingwana said white fans had also insulted Mandela, who was not at the match, and black MP Mluleki George, a member of the South African Rugby Football Union executive, who was.   Mandela won the hearts of many rugby fans during last year's World Cup final in Johannesburg when he went on to the pitch in the Number 6 jersey of captain Francois Pienaar and embraced the team as "our boys".   But since then a minority of fans have continued to wave the old flag of apartheid South Africa in the stands.   Xingwana said white ANC member of parliament Jannie Momberg, himself a former rugby player, was among those denounced as a traitor when he tried to restrain an aggressive section of the crowd at the Pretoria test.   She commended most fans, saying: "If the majority of the people who were there did not restrain themselves, there could have been violence."   Xingwana said that "as a last resort" the ANC might press for tests to be banned at stadiums where fans misbehaved, or for displays of the old flag to be prohibited.   She urged members of the Springbok team to do more to persuade their supporters that apartheid was history.   Xingwana chided finance minister Trevor Manuel, who publicly supported the All Blacks in the first test.   "The minister, as a leader, should have been more patriotic," she said.   "We appeal to all rugby fans to demonstrate their commitment to true sportsmanship at Ellis Park tomorrow." 
5805 !GCAT !GSPO  World Cup holders South Africa face a humbling 5-0 whitewash unless they can halt a rampant New Zealand in the final test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.   The touring All Blacks have already won the series in South Africa, after taking an unbeatable 2-0 lead last Saturday, and easily won this year's Tri Nations, scoring two victories over the Springboks along the way.   In nine post-isolation meetings between the sides, the Springboks have won only once -- in last year's World Cup final -- but their coach Andre Markgraaff believes it is the tourists who are under pressure.   "We definitely don't want the whitewash but I think maybe the All Blacks are under pressure," he told reporters.   "They have started to get injuries and if we beat them by a good margin they will feel the heat."   The All Blacks have recalled Andrew Mehrtens at fly-half for the injured Simon Culhane while late fitness checks were due on lock Ian Jones (knee injury) and winger Jeff Wilson (virus).   Mehrtens's recall after a minor knee operation is the only change All Black coach John Hart has made in the series.   But after nine successive test victories in 13 weeks All Black captain Sean Fitzpatrick admitted the players were beginning to feel the strain.   "The boys are a bit tired but we won't lack motivation," he told reporters.   "We want to remain unbeaten because the people back home tend to remember the result of the last match and forget what's gone before."   Having made seven changes before the Durban test (lost 23-19) and two before last week's meeting in Pretoria (lost 33-26), the Springboks made a further five this week.   Most significantly Henry Honiball returns at fly-half for the dropped Joel Stransky.   "Having watched the series I have seen one or two things and I have a couple of ideas up my sleeve but it's different when you are out on the pitch," said Honiball.   Teams:   South Africa: 15-Andre Joubert, 14 - Justin Swart, 13-Japie Mulder, 12-Danie van Schalkwyk, 11-Pieter Hendriks; 10-Henry Honiball, 9 - Joost van der Westhuizen; 8-Gary Teichmann (captain), 7-Andre Venter, 6 - Ruben Kruger, 5-Mark Andrews, 4-Kobus Wiese, 3-Mrius Hurter, 2 - James Dalton, 1-Dawie Theron.   New Zealand: 15-Christian Cullen, 14-Jeff Wilson, 13-Walter Little, 12 - Frank Bunce, 11-Glen Osborne; 10 - Andrew Mehrtens, 9 - Justin Marshall; 8-Zinzan Brooke, 7-Josh Kronfeld, 6 - Michael Jones, 5-Ian Jones, 4 - Robin Brooke, 3-Olo Brown, 2-Sean Fitzpatrick (captain), 1-Craig Dowd. 
5806 !GCAT !GSPO  Result in an international   basketball tournament on Friday:   Red Star (Yugoslavia) beat Dinamo (Russia) 92-90 (halftime   47-47) 
5807 !GCAT !GSPO  Romania beat Lithuania 2-1 (halftime 1-1) in their European under-21 soccer match on Friday.   Scorers:   Romania - Cosmin Contra (31st), Mihai Tararache (75th)   Lithuania - Danius Gleveckas (13rd)   Attendance: 200 
5808 !GCAT !GSPO  Rotor Volgograd must play their next home game behind closed doors after fans hurled bottles and stones at Dynamo Moscow players during a 1-0 home defeat on Saturday that ended Rotor's brief spell as league leaders.   The head of the Russian league's disciplinary committee, Anatoly Gorokhovsky, said on Friday that Rotor would play Lada Togliatti to empty stands on September 3.   The club, who put Manchester United out of last year's UEFA Cup, were fined $1,000.   Despite the defeat, Rotor are well placed with 11 games to play in the championship.   Lying three points behind Alania and two behind Dynamo Moscow, the Volgograd side have a game in hand over the leaders and two over the Moscow club. 
5809 !GCAT !GSPO  Panamanian boxing legend Roberto "Hands of Stone" Duran climbs into the ring on Saturday in another age-defying attempt to sustain his long career.   Duran, 45, takes on little-known Mexican Ariel Cruz, 30, in a super middleweight non-title bout in Panama City.   The fight, Duran's first on home soil for 10 years, is being billed here as the "Return of the Legend" and Duran still talks as if he was in his prime.   "I want a fifth title.   This match is to prepare me.   I feel good.   I'm not retiring," Duran told Reuters.   But those close to the boxer acknowledge that the man who has won championships in four different weight classes -- lightweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight -- is drawing close to the end of his career.   "Each time he fights, he's on the last frontier of his career.   If he loses Saturday, it could devalue his position as one of the world's great boxers," Panamanian Boxing Association President Ramon Manzanares said.   Duran, whose 97-12 record spans three decades, hopes a win in the 10-round bout will earn him a rematch against Puerto Rico's Hector "Macho" Camacho.    Camacho took a controversial points decision against the Panamanian in Atlantic City in June in a title fight. 
5810 !GCAT !GSPO  Colombia, whose national team has seen few changes for the best part of a decade, have been forced to draft in new players for Sunday's World Cup qualifier at home to Chile.   Midfielders Freddy Rincon and Leonel Alvarez, two of the team's most familiar faces, have accumulated two yellow cards, forcing coach Hernan Dario Gomez to look for new blood.   Gomez, formerly assistant to Francisco Maturana, has so far refused to revamp the side which was eliminated in the first round of the last World Cup after a humiliating defeat to the United States.   Colombia, who will again be captained by the familiar figure of Carlos Valderrama, top the South American World Cup qualifying group with two wins and a draw in three games.   However, several key players are well into their 30s and could be over the hill when the 1998 finals come around while their replacements will be desperately short of international experience.   Harold Lozano, who has been waiting in the wings since the World Cup, and Luis Quinonez are expected to replace the two stalwarts with Faustino Asprilla leading the attack in the steamy Caribbean port of Barranquilla.   Chile, who last reached the finals in 1982, will be buoyed by a 4-1 home win over Ecuador in their last match.   In Buenos Aires, Argentina striker Gabriel Batistuta will have a chance to break Diego Maradona's international goal-scoring record in a match against Paraguay, who surprisingly beat Uruguay away in their last outing.   Batistuta is currently level with Maradona's total of 34 goals for Argentina but coach Daniel Passarella is unlikely to worry who scores goals after the last two results -- a defeat away to Ecuador and a draw away to Peru.   Argentina are fourth with four points, behind Chile on goal difference.   Passarella has become increasingly upset over the fixture list, in which the nine South American countries play each other twice, complaining that his foreign-based players do not spend enough time with the squad.   Batistuta's usual striking partner Abel Balbo is suspended after being sent off against Peru.   A tense atmosphere is expected on Sunday after Paraguayan officials said they suspected there had been deliberate attempts to injure Paraguayan internationals who play in the Argentine championship.   Peru, who have only two points from three games, make the dreaded trip to La Paz, which lies 3,600 metres above sea level, to face Bolivia, who beat Venezuela 6-1 in their last home game.   Peru warmed up this week by training at the Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman, near the southern city of Cuzco, to the surprise of tourists visiting the site.   In the other match on Sunday, second-placed Ecuador, who have never qualified for the finals, are at home to minnows Venezuela, who have picked up one point in three matches.   The top four teams qualify for the World Cup finals, where they will join holders Brazil, the fifth South American representative. 
5811 !GCAT !GSPO  The New South Wales Rugby Union   (NSWRU) on Friday appointed Matt Williams as coach for next   season's Super 12 campaign, to replace Chris Hawkins.   Williams, 36, a former schoolteacher, was promoted to the   top job after working as Hawkins's assistant in 1996.   A NSWRU spokesman said the length and details of Williams's   contract had yet to be finalised.   Hawkins resigned on Tuesday midway through a two-year   contract after New South Wales failed to reach the semifinals of   this year's inaugural Super 12 southern hemisphere provincial   competition. 
5812 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia has stepped up   security spending ahead of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games after   suggestions the recent Port Arthur massacre and protests against   French nuclear testing highlighted a need for extra vigilance.   The government has boosted funding to its Protective   Security Coordination Centre, which oversees the security of   diplomats and VIPs, by 38 percent in the current financial year   (July-June), according to budget papers released last week.   The details, reported by a local newspaper on Friday, cite   the Port Arthur shooting of 35 people in April and the storm of   local protest against French nuclear tests in the Pacific as   among the biggest recent security threats.   "The massacre...at Port Arthur, Tasmania, showed that a fine   line exists between the measures appropriate to countering   terrorism and responses to serious criminal incidents," the   centre said in its budget review for the year to June 30.   The massacre in a former convict settlement in Australia's   island state, allegedly by a lone gunman, sparked a national   plan to ban rapid-fire guns.   That in turn led to mass rallies of   gun-owners and fears for the prime minister's security.   Addressing one angry pro-gun rally in June, Prime Minister   John Howard wore what looked like a bullet-proof vest under his   jacket.   One gun lobbyist warned of bloodshed if the ban held.   The centre also referred in the budget papers to   anti-nuclear protests, which culminated last year in the   fire-bombing of France's consulate in Perth and prompted the   centre to tighten security around all French missions.   But French diplomats were not the only foreign dignatories   accorded high security, the centre's review said, adding that   the risk of incidents at Indonesian missions remained high.   "Additional protection continued to be provided to   Indonesian missions in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin,"   it said.   "While the threat of a serious attack against Indonesian   interest in Australia is assessed to be low, the risk of an   incident causing affront to dignity and embarrassment for both   the Australian and Indonesian governments remain high," it said.   Relations between Australia and neighbouring Indonesia have   at times been rocked by groups in Australia opposed to Jakarta's   rule of East Timor, a former Portuguese colony.   The centre also said it was "amending" security measures for   visits by foreign leaders after an incident in Australia earlier   this year when Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was   abused by a protester posing as a journalist.   The office of Australian Attorney-General Daryl Williams,   who is responsible for the nation's chief security agencies,   declined on Friday to comment on the centre's budget review.   But a security analyst said the centre was clearly using the   string of recent security threats in an effort to persuade the   government to keep bolstering its funding.   "I dare say, if they had a chance to rewrite it (the   review), they would cite the trouble at parliament house last   week as well," said Australian National University's Michael   McKinley, referring a violent anti-budget riot on August 12.   Australia is seen as a safe country, free of acts such as   the bombing during the Atlanta Olympic Games last month that   killed two people.   But internal disquiet does threaten to   increase, McKinley told Reuters.   "Politicians are not well regarded at the moment and there's   an accelerated wealth disparity underway in Australia," he said. 
5813 !GCAT !GSPO  England's Mark Cairns sounded a rallying call to his fellow professionals to stop the seemingly invincible Jansher Khan after the top seed beat him 15-10 15-6 15-7 in the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open on Friday.   Cairns, ranked 12th, could not live with the controlled, error-free play of the world number one and said afterwards that squash needed someone to put the frighteners on the Pakistani.   "He is always odds on favourite to win events and that is not good for the sport.   We need somebody to really push him.   At the moment he does not think he can be beaten.   The sport needs a player to get a win over him to put that bit of doubt in his mind," he said.   Jansher, chasing his eighth Hong Kong Open title, will play controversial Australian Anthony Hill in the semifinals.    The ninth-ranked Hill, who ended a three-month ban earlier this year for his misbehaviour at last November's World Open, let his sweet stroke-making do the talking during his 15-9 15-8 15-17 17-15 win over fellow Australian Dan Jenson.   The 23rd-ranked Jenson suffered a hangover from his giant-killing win over third-seeded Brett Martin in the second round but found his rhythm in mid-match.   He saved a match point in the third game and pushed his compatriot all the way in the decider.   "Jenson started off slowly -- I think he had problems picking the pace," said Hill, who received a conduct warning for verbal abuse during his first round win over England's Mark Chaloner on Tuesday.   "But once he got his eye in, he made it really tough.   After seeing the draw I was a little bit worried -- I put in a lot of training to beat Mark (Chaloner) and everything else has been a bonus.   Look out Jansher."   The other semifinal will be between world number two Rodney Eyles of Australia and fourth-seeded Scotsman Peter Nicol, one of the elite few who has beaten Jansher Khan in a major tournament.   Eyles defeated Ireland's Derek Ryan, ranked 15th, 15-6 15-9 11-15 15-10 while Nicol beat number seven seed Chris Walker of England 15-8 15-13 13-15 15-9. 
5814 !GCAT !GSPO  Quarter-final results in the Hong Kong Open on Friday (prefix number denotes seeding): 1-Jansher Khan (Pakistan) beat Mark Cairns (England) 15-10 15-6 15-7   Anthony Hill (Australia) beat Dan Jenson (Australia) 15-9 15-8 15-17 17-15   4-Peter Nicol (Scotland) beat 7-Chris Walker (England) 15-8 15-13 13-15 15-9   2-Rodney Eyles (Australia) beat Derek Ryan (Ireland) 15-6 15-9 11-15 15-10. 
5815 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South Korean pro-soccer   games played on Thursday.    Pohang  3 Ulsan  2 (halftime 1-0)    Puchon  2 Chonbuk 1 (halftime 1-1)   Standings after games played on Thursday (tabulate under -   won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):    W D L G/F G/A P    Puchon 3 1 0 6 1 10    Chonan 3 0 1 13 10 9    Pohang 2 1 1 11 10 7    Suwan 1 3 0 7 3 6    Ulsan 1 0 2 8 9 3    Anyang 0 3 1 6 9 3    Chonnam  0 2 1 4 5 2    Pusan 0 2 1 3 7 2    Chonbuk  0 0 3 3 7 0 
5816 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of South Korean   professional baseball games played on Thursday.    LG 2  OB 0    Lotte 6  Hyundai  2    Hyundai 6  Lotte 5    Haitai 2  Samsung  0    Samsung 10  Haitai  3    Hanwha 6  Ssangbangwool 5   Note - Lotte and Hyundai, Haitai and Samsung played two games.   Standings after games played on Thursday (tabulate under   won, drawn, lost, winning percentage, games behind first place)    W D L PCT  GB    Haitai  64 2 43 .596  -    Ssangbangwool 59 2 49 .545  5 1/2    Hanwha  58 1 49 .542  6    Hyundai  57 5 49 .536  6 1/2    Samsung  49 5 56 .468  14    Lotte  46 6 54 .462 14 1/2    LG 46 5 59 .441  17    OB 42 6 62 .409 20 1/2 
5817 !GCAT !GSPO  Top seed and defending champion Pete Sampras survived a second-round fright at the U.S. Open on Friday after being pushed to the limit by young Czech Jiri Novak.   Sampras had to summon all his championship fortitude against the 21-year-old with limited Grand Slam experience to pull out a 6-3 1-6 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory that, by the end, had the fans on the edge of their seats.   "I think that experience might have come through in the end.   I never really felt like I was going to lose," said Sampras.   Earlier in the match, Sampras had that familiar head-down, hangdog look that he gets when things aren't going well.   It was especially pronounced at 4-5 in the fourth set when he was serving to stay alive in the set but pushed a forehand wide, giving Novak the break and the fourth set.   "After I lost the fourth the crowd really got behind me and got my adrenaline going," Sampras said.   "This is it, the fifth set at the U.S. Open, either you go home tomorrow or you stick around.   I decided to stick around."   By the middle of the fifth set, the three-time U.S. Open champion's head was up and there was fire in his dark, Greek eyes.   The big break for the world number one came in the fifth game while the 47th-ranked Novak was serving at 2-2, 15-40 after two costly double faults.   The Czech ended a long baseline rally by netting a backhand and Sampras pumped his fists exuberantly, psyching himself up to close out the match.   "I think it was the most important moment of the match," said Novak, who had never faced a number one player or played on centre court at a Grand Slam.   Sampras held his next serve for 4-2 with a leaping backhand volley followed by another pump of the fist and a roar from the crowd.   But Novak was apparently too inexperienced to realise he should have been intimidated by waking the sleeping tiger and promptly held his next serve with the help of his 14th ace and a service winner.   Each held his next service game at 15 -- Sampras with a huge forehand that ticked off the baseline and Novak with a sizzling service winner -- and the champion was serving for the match.   There was no lack of drama in the final game.   A Sampras double fault gave Novak a break point, but the top seed responded with another big forehand that Novak returned into the net for deuce.   Sampras followed that by belting a 124 mile per hour (200 kph) ace that set up the thrilling match point.   Novak answered a Sampras volley with a deep lob the American chased almost to the wall before hitting a towering defensive lob that the wind held just inside the sideline.   "I didn't know where it was going to go...it could have gone right out of the stadium, but it managed to stay in," Sampras said, smiling.   Also apparently surprised the ball landed in, Novak dumped a forehand into the net, ending a match he will remember for a long time.   "I think it was the best atmosphere and and the best match of my life for me," said Novak, who received a rousing ovation for his efforts.   "He's a strong player," said Sampras.   I definitely was pushed to the limit."    :   While Sampras survived his scare the other player who won the Open in 1990 was not so fortunte.   Fan favourite Gabriela Sabatini, seeded 15th, was undone in the third round by 14 double faults and the aggressive play of Sweden's Asa Carlsson 7-5 3-6 6-2.   "This is the biggest victory of my career," said Carlsson, who had never been past the second round of a Grand Slam before.   "I guess I'll have to accept that I lost," said Sabatini, who missed much of the year with a pulled stomach muscle.   "This is a big tournament for me.   This is where I really wanted to do well."   Eighth-seeded Olympic champion Lindsay Davenport sailed into the round of 16, extending her current winning streak to 14 with a 6-0 6-3 win over Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France.   And former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez of Spain, seeded fourth, took out two-time Open runner-up Helena Sukova 6-4 6-3.   In a reversal of years of U.S. Open misfortune, fourth seed Goran Ivanisevic joined Sampras in the men's third round, holding off Australian Scott Draper in four sets.   And 1993 Open runner-up Cedric Pioline of France, the 16th seed, got by Spaniard Roberto Carretero after dropping the first set.   One men's seed went down in a minor upset when 17th-seeded clay court specialist Felix Mantilla of Spain was upended by veteran Frenchman Guy Forget in straight sets. 
5818 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic golden girl Lindsay Davenport wowed them in Atlanta and is now pleasing a much tougher crowd at the U.S. Open this week.   "Playing in this stadium is different than any other stadium in the world.   Half the time I'm not sure if they're even watching the match," Davenport said of notoriously demanding New York fans after a 6-0 6-3 win over Anne-Gaelle Sidot of France that put her into the sweet 16 round.   "It's different at the Olympics because everyone was patriotic, the crowd wants every American player to do well," she recalled of her thrilling Olympic experience.   "Here is a tough crowd, you have to try to impress them.   Here you really have to prove to them you're worth cheering for," said the eighth seed, who earned the admiration of New York's tennis critics with a 54-minute victory that pushed her winning streak to 14 matches.   Davenport is brimming with previously unknown confidence thanks to a streak that includes victories over Grand Slam champions Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.   She has not lost a match since her second-round upset at Wimbledon.   "It has turned around this summer," said the 6-foot-3-inch (1.9 metre) Californian.   "I think a lot of it is confidence, a lot of it is that I know I've worked hard in my mind.   I do deserve to get some good wins."   The improved mental state is due in part to the loss of 20 pounds (9 kg) that has greatly improved Davenport's mobility, which could formerly be described as lumbering.   The combination has the 20-year-old homegrown American star, who has never been past the quarter-finals of a major, feeling like a legitimate contender.   "I've definitely put myself in the best chance that I've ever had to win a Grand Slam, meaning I'm in the best shape I've ever been in and playing well," she said.   "I can sill get better, which is even more exciting."   Who knows, a couple more wins for Davenport and the fickle Open spectators won't even worry if they're missing something better on another court. 
5819 !GCAT !GSPO  Australian teenager Mark Philippousis is unleashing a lot more than just fireball serves to power his charge into the U.S. Open third round.   "I don't want people to think I've just got a serve and if that's not working then I haven't got anything else, I've lost," Philippoussis declared after putting away Andrei Olhovskiy in tidy fashion, 6-3 6-4 6-2, on Friday.   "I've worked on my all-around game since I was young.   (It's) coming across really strong now."   Though Philippousis regularly blasted serves in excess of 120 miles per hour (193 kph) past an overmatched Olhovskiy, accounting for 24 aces, the 22-ranked Australian was just as pleased with how he backed up his serving prowess with powerful groundstrokes.   "The one thing I wanted to work on is not to always rely on my serve because I know in matches it's not always going to be there," said Philippoussis, who zipped 13 forehand winners and seven backhand winners past his Russian opponent.   "If my serve is not working I feel comfortable with my groundstrokes too.   The good thing for me is to win matches when my serve isn't working."   Though he never had to worry about that Friday, the 19- year-old Philippoussis credits his coach of the last two months, countryman and former top-ten player Peter McNamara, with expanding his game beyond the booming serve.   "The main thing he's focusing on is to have a game plan before I go on the court," said Philippoussis.   "Before I was just going into the court to play own game, that was it, didn't really have a game plan, sort of hit or miss.   "This time I'm playing a lot smarter, generally with a game plan.   Just playing some solid tennis to win, nothing special," he said.   Philippoussis's smooth passage through the opening rounds has put him on a collision course for a fourth-round Grand Slam rubber match with world number one and defending champion Pete Sampras.   Philippoussis, who upset Sampras in the Australian Open third round before the American reversed the outcome in the second round at Wimbledon, is eager for another showdown.   "I like playing the top players because there's no reason why I can't beat them, I have already," said Philippoussis, oozing confidence.   "If I go with my game plan and stick to it, no reason why not." 
5820 !GCAT !GSPO  A pair of the game's big bombers advanced at the U.S. Open Tennis Championships on Thursday as Goran Ivanisevic and Mark Philippoussis scored second-round victories.   Fourth-seeded Croatian Ivanisevic shook off a rocky first-set tie-break, by rallying for a 6-7 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory over Australian Scott Draper to open the Stadium Court programme on another beautiful, sunny day at the National Tennis Centre.   Philippoussis carried the Australian flag into the third round by overpowering Russian Andrei Olhovskiy 6-3 6-4 6-2.   Also advancing Friday was Wimbledon darling Tim Henman.   The first Briton to make it to the quarter-finals at Wimbledon in 23 years whipped American Doug Flach 6-3 6-4 6-2.   Flach's claim to fame also came at this year's Wimbledon when he stunned Andre Agassi in the first round.   In a minor upset, French veteran Guy Forget posted a straight sets win over 17th-seeded Spaniard Felix Mantilla.   For the 58th-ranked Forget, it was his 102nd career win on hard courts.   Open newcomer Mantilla had recorded his first hard court victory on the ATP Tour in the first round here.   Ivanisevic delivered 16 aces and another 14 serves that Draper barely got his racket on.   The Croatian, who had not been to the third round at the Open since 1992, got through the match without dropping his serve, although his game deserted him briefly in the tie-break, which Draper dominated 7-1.   "I just started playing a little bit slow.   I should be aggressive from the first point," said Ivanisevic, who is trying to erase the memory of a series of miserable showings at the Open.   "I want to do so well," he said.   "I want to reach the second week for the first time in my life."   Ivanisevic got down to business after the tie-break, ferociously protecting his service games while breaking Draper once in each of the next three sets.   "He puts pressure on you all the time," said Draper.   "He serves so big, you feel pressure when you're serving."   When the Croatian found himself down triple break point in the fourth game of the fourth set, he reeled off the next five points to escape danger.   Draper again held a break point in the final game with a chance to put the set back on serve, but Ivanisevic produced a second serve service winner and the Australian's frustration was palpable.   The fourth seed then belted two more serves that Draper was unable to return to end the two hour and 14 minute contest.   While Ivanisevic got off to a slow start, there was nothing slow about Philippoussis's game.   "It was a lot easier than I thought it would be," said tThe 19-year-old rising star from Melbourne, who upset Pete Sampras at his hometown Grand Slam this year.   Philippoussis served missiles in the 130 mile per hour (210 kph) range at the helpless Russian for nearly the entire match.   "He served really big.   It's the biggest serve," said the affable Olhovskiy.   The 22nd-ranked Philippoussis was as strong at the end of his match as at the beginning as he closed it out by smoking in a 130 mph ace.   In all, the towering Australian teen won 37 of the 39 first serves he put into play, launching 24 aces and another 10 service winners that left Olhovskiy only guessing where the explosive weapon would land.   "When the ball is coming 210 kilometres an hour, 130 miles per hour, it's not seconds, it's hundredths of seconds," said the bewildered Russian.   "If you cannot see where the ball is coming, it's impossible to return." 
5821 !GCAT !GSPO  Results from the U.S. Open Tennis Championships at the National Tennis Centre on Friday (prefix number denotes seeding):   Women's singles, third round   Sandrine Testud (France) beat Ines Gorrochategui (Argentina) 4-6 6-2 6-1   Men's singles, second round   4-Goran Ivanisevic (Croatia) beat Scott Draper (Australia) 6-7 (1-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4   Tim Henman (Britain) beat Doug Flach (U.S.) 6-3 6-4 6-2   Mark Philippoussis (Australia) beat Andrei Olhovskiy (Russia) 6 -3 6-4 6-2   Sjeng Schalken (Netherlands) beat David Rikl (Czech Republic) 6 -2 6-4 6-4   Guy Forget (France) beat 17-Felix Mantilla (Spain) 6-4 7-5 6-3   Men's singles, second round   Alexander Volkov (Russia) beat Mikael Tillstrom (Sweden) 1-6 6- 4 6-1 4-6 7-6 (10-8)   Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) beat David Nainkin (South Africa)) 6-4 6-1 6-1   Women's singles, third round   8-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) beat Anne-Gaelle Sidot (France) 6-0 6-3   4-Conchita Martinez (Spain) beat Helena Sukova (Czech Republic) 6-4 6-3   Amanda Coetzer (South Africa) beat Irina Spirlea (Romania) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5    Add Men's singles, second round 16 - Cedric Pioline (France) beat Roberto Carretero (Spain) 4-6 6 -2 6-2 6-1 Alex Corretja (Spain) beat Filippo Veglio (Switzerland) 6-7 (4- 7) 6-4 6-4 6-0   Add Women's singles, third round Linda Wild (U.S.) beat Barbara Rittner (Germany) 6-4 4-6 7-5 Asa Carlsson (Sweden) beat 15-Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina) 7-5 3-6 6-2    Add Men's singles, second round 1-Pete Sampras (U.S.) beat Jiri Novak (Czech Republic) 6-3 1-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 Paul Haarhuis (Netherlands) beat Michael Tebbutt (Australia) 1- 6 6-2 6-2 6-3   Add Women's singles, third round Lisa Raymond (U.S.) beat Kimberly Po (U.S.) 6-3 6-2    :   Add men's singles, second round   Hendrik Dreekmann (Germany) beat Thomas Johansson (Sweden)   7-6 (7-1) 6-2 4-6 6-1   Andrei Medvedev (Ukraine) beat Jan Kroslak (Slovakia) 6-4 6-3   6-2   Petr Korda (Czech Republic) bat Bohdan Ulihrach (Czech   Republic) 6-0 7-6 (7-5) 6-2   Add women's singles, third round   2-Monica Seles (U.S.) beat Dally Randriantefy (Madagascar)   6-0 6-2   :     Add men's singles, second round 12-Todd Martin (U.S.) beat Andrea Gaudenzi (Italy) 6-3 6-2 6-2 Stefan Edberg (Sweden) beat Bernd Karbacher (Germany) 3-6 6-3 6-3 1-0 retired (leg injury) 
5822 !GCAT !GSPO  Mark Whiten's grand slam with two outs in the botttom of the ninth inning lifted the Seattle Mariners to a wild 9-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles Thursday.   Whiten, hitless in his previous seven at-bats, smacked the first pitch he saw from closer Randy Myers (3-4) over the right-field wall for his third career grand slam.   It was Myers' seventh blown save of the season as the Orioles, who blew a 5-2 lead and carried a 6-5 margin from the sixth into the ninth, lost for just the third time in 61 contests when leading after eight.   Alex Rodriguez started the rally with his fifth hit of the game, establishing a new career mark for the American League batting leader.   Rodriguez, who had a pair of doubles and has seven consecutive hits, is hitting a major-league best .373 this season.   After Rodriguez singled, Ken Griffey Jr walked and Myers got Edgar Martinez to bounce into what should have been a double play.   But Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken booted the ball and Baltimore had to settle for a force at second.   Jay Buhner then popped out and Myers walked pinch-hitter Brian Hunter to set the stage for Whiten.   Norm Charlton (3-6) notched the victory by pitching a scoreless ninth.   Bobby Bonilla and Brady Anderson each homered twice for the Orioles, who remained four games behind the first-place Yankees in the American League East.   Anderson's second blast was his 40th of the season, making him just the third Oriole ever, and first since Frank Robinson in 1966, to reach the plateau.   Seattle (70-63) is five games behind the Texas Rangers in the A.L. West but pulled into a tie with Baltimore and a virtual tie with the Chicago White Sox (71-64) in the wild-card race.   At California, Garret Anderson belted a grand slam in the first inning and drove in a career-high seven runs and Jim Edmonds homered and added three RBI to lead the Angels to a 14-3 rout of the reeling New York Yankees.   The Angels wasted no time in getting to starter Wally Whitehurst (1-1).   Randy Velarde led off the first with a single and one out later Chili Davis and J.T. Snow walked before Anderson hit Whitehurst's first pitch over the centre-field wall for his 11th homer of the season and first career grand slam.   The grand slam was the 124th in the major leagues this season, surpassing the old mark of 123 set last year.   California exended its lead to 7-0 in the fourth against reliever Brian Boehringer.   Gary DiSarcina singled and scored on Velarde's double before Edmonds followed with his 25th homer.   Mike Holtz (3-2) struck out three over 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the victory in relief of starter Pep Harris.   The Angels set a season high for runs and banged out seven doubles to snap a three-game losing streak.   The Yankees have lost five straight and 14 of their last 20 games.   Whitehurst was drilled for four runs and four hits in one-plus innings in his second start of the season.   Joe Girardi hit a two-run homer for New York.   In Detroit, Bobby Higginson's solo homer off the facing of the third deck in right field snapped a tie and sparked a three-run eighth inning as the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 4-1 to end a three-game losing streak.   Reliever Joey Eischen (1-0) allowed one hit and struck out three in two scoreless innings for his first American League win.   Jose Lima struck out Craig Paquette with a runner at second to pick up his second save.   Paquette had four hits to match his career high and is batting .406 (24-for-59) in his last 14 games.   Kevin Appier (11-10) took the loss.   Appier went the distance for his fourth complete game of the season, allowing four earned runs and nine hits.   He walked one and matched his career-high with 13 strikeouts.   Appier has lost his last three starts and fell to 0-3 against Detroit, which owns the worst record in the American League.   Detroit's 13-14 record in August is its best in any month this season.   In Milwaukee, Frank Rodriguez pitched his third complete game and Roberto Kelly drove in two runs to lead the Minnesota Twins to a 6-1 victory over the Brewers.   Rodriguez (13-10) allowed one run and nine hits with two walks and four strikeouts.   With his 13th victory, he got the most wins by any Twins pitcher since John Smiley and Kevin Tapani each won 16 in 1992.   Kelly had an RBI single in the second inning and homered in the sixth, helping Minnesota return to the .500 mark at 67-67.   The Twins have won 10 of their last 13 road games.   Minnesota's Paul Molitor singled home Chuck Knoblauch in the top of the ninth, giving him 100 RBI for the second time in his career.   Milwaukee has lost 11 of its last 13 at home. 
5823 !GCAT !GSPO  The National Football League kicks off its 77th season this weekend with all eyes on the defending champion Dallas Cowboys -- and their former coach, Jimmy Johnson.   The Cowboys, aiming for an unprecedented fourth Super Bowl title in five seasons despite a full docket of distractions, visit the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Monday night after an opening-day slate of 14 NFL games on Sunday.   The Cowboys will be without wide receiver Michael Irvin, who was slapped with a five-game suspension because he violated the NFL's drug policy when he pleaded no contest to possession charges and was placed on probation in Dallas.   Distraction number two, friction between quarterback Troy Aikman and coach Barry Switzer, has apparently been patched up -- for now, anyway.   Perennial distraction Deion Sanders, who has passed up playing baseball this season, will play a full NFL season for the first time -- but the flashy speedster wants to play both cornerback, at which some people think he could be the best of all time, and wide receiver, where he has a lot to learn.   "I will play both defence and offence and want to have an impact on both sides of the ball," said Sanders.   The NFL's last fulltime two-way player was the Philadelphia Eagles' centre-linebacker Chuck Bednarik, who played from 1949 through 1962.   Dallas is the odds-on favourite to win the National Football Conference East, with the Green Bay Packers rated tops in the Central Division and the San Francisco 49ers, led by quarterback Steve Young and receiver Jerry Rice, favoured in the West.   Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre, the NFL's Most Valuable Player last season, has returned after spending six weeks in a clinic kicking an addiction to painkillers this summer.   "It was a long six weeks, but it was a good time for me to concentrate on what I had to do," said Favre.   The Arizona Cardinals will have a new look as Vince Tobin takes over for fired head coach Buddy Ryan and ex-Bengal and ex-Jet quarterback Boomer Esiason takes over as field general.   Longtime assistant coach Tony Dungy begins his first head coach job, for the always rebuilding Tampa Bay Buccaneers.   The playoffs are their modest goal for this season.   In the American Football Conference, the retirement of the Don Shula of Miami, who heads the all-time list of NFL coaching victories, opened the way for Johnson, who won two Super Bowl titles for Dallas, to take over the Dolphins.   Johnson worked as a television analyst the past two years since being fired by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.   There's a new team in Baltimore.   The Cleveland Browns jumped to the former home of the Colts to play as the Ravens.   "I didn't get into this business to go bankrupt," explained Browns owner -- and now Cleveland's arch-villain -- Art Modell.   Cleveland has been promised a new team as soon as it gets a new stadium -- what Modell wanted all along.   Former Indianapolis and Baltimore Colts coach Ted Marchibroda takes over from Bill Belichick as the Ravens' coach.   Marchibroda himself was replaced at Indianapolis by Lindy Infante.   The Buffalo Bills have a good chance at again representing the AFC in the Super Bowl, again to try to win their first championship in what would be their fifth attempt.   The Bills are favoured in the AFC East with the Central Division now up for grabs because of the Pittsburgh Steelers' loss of quarterback Neil O'Donnell to the New York Jets.   In the West, Oakland, Kansas City and San Diego all look like contenders.   A number of individual bests could be achieved in the new season.   Miami's 14-year quarterback Dan Marino needs 1,159 yards passing to become the first player in NFL history to reach 50,000 yards.   Dallas running back Emmitt Smith needs just 15 rushing touchdowns to become the NFL's all-time leader, surpassing Walter Payton's 110 for the Chicago Bears.   Kansas City's 36-year-old running back Marcus Allen, who recently signed a three-year contract, needs two touchdowns to surpass Payton's 125 total touchdowns -- rushing and passing -- and Jim Brown's 126 for sole possession of second place on the all-time touchdown list.   Rice, the all-time total touchdowns leader, needs just 58 catches to push his record total to 1,000.   And as the teams battle for the title of "Team of the '90s," the 49ers have the best record of the half-completed decade, 72-24, with Dallas second at 67-29.   Buffalo is third at 66-30.   Super Bowl 31 is set for January 26 in New Orleans. 
5824 !GCAT !GSPO  Major League Baseball   standings after games played on Thursday (tabulate under won,   lost, winning percentage and games behind):    AMERICAN LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    NEW YORK  74 59 .556 -    BALTIMORE  70 63 .526 4    BOSTON  69 65 .515 5 1/2    TORONTO  63 71 .470 11 1/2    DETROIT  48 86 .358 26 1/2    CENTRAL DIVISION    CLEVELAND  80 53 .602 -    CHICAGO  71 64 .526 10    MINNESOTA  67 67 .500 13 1/2    MILWAUKEE  64 71 .474 17    KANSAS CITY  61 74 .452 20    WESTERN DIVISION    TEXAS 75 58 .564 -    SEATTLE  70 63 .526 5    OAKLAND  64 72 .471 12 1/2    CALIFORNIA  62 72 .463 13 1/2   FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 SCHEDULE   KANSAS CITY AT DETROIT     CHICAGO AT TORONTO    MINNESOTA AT MILWAUKEE     CLEVELAND AT TEXAS    NEW YORK AT CALIFORNIA     BOSTON AT OAKLAND    BALTIMORE AT SEATTLE      NATIONAL LEAGUE    EASTERN DIVISION    W L PCT GB    ATLANTA  83 49 .629 -    MONTREAL  71 61 .538 12    FLORIDA  64 70 .478 20    NEW YORK  59 75 .440 25    PHILADELPHIA 54 80 .403 30    CENTRAL DIVISION    HOUSTON  72 63 .533 -    ST LOUIS  69 65 .515 2 1/2    CINCINNATI  66 67 .496 5    CHICAGO  65 66 .496 5    PITTSBURGH  56 77 .421 15    WESTERN DIVISION    SAN DIEGO  75 60 .556 -    LOS ANGELES  72 61 .541 2    COLORADO  70 65 .519 5    SAN FRANCISCO 57 74 .435 16   FRIDAY, AUGUST 30 SCHEDULE   ATLANTA AT CHICAGO    FLORIDA AT CINCINNATI     SAN DIEGO AT MONTREAL     LOS ANGELES AT PHILADELPHIA    HOUSTON AT PITTSBURGH     SAN FRANCISCO AT NEW YORK    COLORADO AT ST LOUIS 
5825 !GCAT !GSPO  Results of Major League   Baseball games played on Thursday (home team in CAPS):     American League    DETROIT  4 Kansas City  1    Minnesota  6 MILWAUKEE  1    CALIFORNIA  14 New York  3    SEATTLE  9 Baltimore  6      National League    San Diego  3 NEW YORK  2    Chicago  4 HOUSTON  3    Cincinnati  18 COLORADO  7    Atlanta  5 PITTSBURGH  1    Los Angeles  2 MONTREAL  1    Florida  10 ST LOUIS  9 
5826 !GCAT !GSPO  Andre Agassi escaped disaster on Thursday but Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington and Marcelo Rios were not so fortunate on a night of upsets at the U.S. Open.   The 11th-seeded Washington fell short of reprising his Wimbledon miracle comeback as he lost to red-hot wildcard Alex O'Brien 6-3 6-4 5-7 3-6 6-3 in a two hour 51 minute struggle on the Stadium court.   Next door on the grandstand, 10th seed Rios lost to another player with a Wimbledon connection -- bad boy Jeff Tarango.   The temperamental left-hander defeated the Chilean 6-4 4-6 7-6 6-2.   The day programme went smoothly although sixth-seeded former champion Agassi had to wriggle out of a dangerous 3-6 0-4 hole, winning 18 of the last 19 games against India's Leander Paes.   But the night belonged to the upstarts.   Washington, who climbed back from a 1-5 deficit, two sets down in the third set against Todd Martin in the Wimbledon semifinals, looked poised for another sensational comeback.   O'Brien, a winner two weeks ago in New Haven for his first pro title, served for the match at 5-4 in the third set before Washington came charging back.   "I just kept saying to myself, 'keep giving yourself the best chance to win, keep battling, maybe something will happen,'" said the 26-year-old O'Brien, ranked 65th.   "I kept my composure and I was proud of myself for that -- usually I would have folded up the tent and gone home."   The hard-serving O'Brien, a former U.S. collegiate national champion, fired up 17 aces to ultimately subdue the never-say-die Washington.   The fifth set stayed on serve until the sixth game, when Washington, after saving one break point with a forehand winner down the line, netted a backhand to give O'Brien a 4-2 lead.   The Texan blasted in two aces to hold serve at 5-2 and then converted his eighth match point for victory when Washington found the net with another backhand from 40-0.   "You just kind of keep fighting and you keep trying to make him play a little bit.   I think he got a little tight at a couple of moments," said Washington.   "But I think he served pretty well when he had to."   Tarango, whose Wimbledon tantrum two years ago brought him a $28,000 fine and suspension from this year's tournament at the All-England Club, argued calls and taunted fans in his lively two hour, 24 minute tango with Rios on the grandstand.   A boisterous cheering section backed the distracted Chilean and booed the lanky American, who ate up all the attention.   "I'm an emotional player," said the 104th-ranked Tarango.   "I think I played very well tonight, very focused."   The match turned on the third-set tiebreaker, which the American won 7-5 much to the dismay of the spectators.   "I love the crowd if they boo me every day.   It fires me up, makes me play my best tennis," Tarango said.   "I played some of my best tennis in college when fraternities were throwing beer on me.   If tennis was like that every day, I think everybody wold be having a lot more fun."   Rios did not appreciate Tarango's antics.   "He's always complaining too much," said Rios.   "But I think it's not that.   I think I played really bad.   It was tough to play at night.   Balls were going really fast.   I lost too many points that I never lose.   I didn't play my tennis."   "I don't see the ball like I see during the day.   I play an American so that's why I play at night.   I didn't feel good on the court."   At the end of the match, Tarango blew sarcastic kisses to the crowd, then jiggled his body to a Rios rooting section in a jeering salute.   "I support their enthusiasm," Tarango said about the fans.   "At the same time, they're cheering blatantly against me.   After I won I figured I could give them a little razzle-dazzle." 
5827 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic gold medallist Andre Agassi dodged a bronze bullet on Thursday before claiming his place in the third round of the U.S. Open.   The sixth-seeded American star was a set and two breaks down to 149th-ranked Leander Paes of India before roaring back for a 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 victory over the Atlanta Games bronze medallist.   "I had visions of going to dinner tonight and wondering what the hell happened," said Agassi.   The night programme also produced surprises.   Wimbledon finalist MaliVai Washington, the 11th seed, rallied back from two sets down but failed to prevail as he was eliminated by fellow American Alex O'Brien 6-3 6-4 5-7 3-6 6-3.   O'Brien, who unsuccessfully served for the match at 5-4 in the third set, recovered in the end to continue the magical roll he began by winning his first pro title two weeks ago in New Haven.   Washington could not reproduce his miracle comeback of Wimbledon, where he climbed back from a 1-5 deficit, two sets down in the third set against Todd Martin to reach the final.   Temperamental Jeff Tarango, whose Wimbledon tantrum two years ago brought him a fine and suspension, beat 10th-seeded Marcelo Rios 6-4 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 on the Grandstand and then jiggled his body in a jeering salute to Rios's boosters.   "I support their enthusiasm," Tarango said about the fans.   "At the same time, they're cheering blatantly against me.   After I won I figured I could give them a little razzle-dazzle."   But the comeback that most electrified the National Tennis Centre Thursday involved Agassi.   A packed stadium crowd looked to be witnessing an enormous upset in the making as Paes, playing brilliantly, grabbed a 6-3 4-0 lead.   "He was playing really out-of-this-world tennis," said Agassi admiringly.   "It wasn't possible to play much better than he was playing.   "Every time I made a selection for a shot, he had an answer," added Agassi, who beat Paes in straight sets in the Olympic semifinals.   In the fifth game, Agassi saved five break points to keep from going down 0-5 and stop the bleeding.   Then he won another game and then another as Agassi, the 1994 Open champion, kicked his game into a gear they don't have in India, where Paes's bronze medal made him a national hero.   "I kind of had to elevate my game, start hitting bigger and take more chances," Agassi explained.   In the last game of the second set Agassi ran in to retrieve a Paes drop shot, and when the Indian deposited the ball into the open court for an apparent winner, Agassi raced back and delivered a remarkable backhand passing shot.   The Las Vegas showman screamed, pumped his fists in an exaggerated windmill fashion a la Jimmy Connors and the fans went wild.   When all was said and done, Agassi had won 18 of the last 19 games.   Said Paes: "Give a player of his calibre one chance and he can get back in a match.   "He showed today what kind of champion he is."   While Agassi was mounting his whirlwind comeback in the stadium, the disgruntled Thomas Muster was finishing off 171st-ranked German Dirk Dier 6-3 6-2 6-4 in the grandstand.   The second-ranked third seed belted 18 aces and won all his service games.   "Every time I needed to be aggressive, I was aggressive," said the Austrian clay court master.   "In a Grand Slam, you get over in three sets, you're very lucky and very happy."   Despite his professed happiness, the 1995 French Open winner found time to complain about not playing in the stadium.   "I think the stars should play on the centre court and the not so good players should play here," he said.   Muster's win set up a marquee third-round matchup of former French Open champions.   The Austrian next takes on Spaniard Sergi Bruguera, who ruled Roland Garros in 1993 and 1994.   Bruguera, the Olympic silver medallist, thoroughly outplaying former Wimbledon champion Michael Stich 6-3 6-2 6-4.   "I didn't have a chance.   It was terrible," said Stich.   Stich, finalist here in 1994, was hampered by a sore shoulder and he sprayed 44 unforced errors compared with just 12 by the steady Spaniard.   Bruguera, whose ranking has plummeted to 73rd during an injury-plagued year, turned the corner at the Atlanta Games and played more like the top-five player he was two years ago.   The women finally got through a day without losing any seeded players.   Top seed and defending champion Steffi Graf sailed into the third round with a 6-2 6-1 win over Austrian Karen Kschwendt.   Also moving into the third round were Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (3), Jana Novotna (7), Barbara Paulus (14), Martina Hingis (16) Karina Habsudova (17) and Russian teen phenom Anna Kournikova. 
5828 !GCAT !GSPO  It was a routine women's day by the looks of the scores at the U.S. Open Thursday but the fourth day of the championships saw a fashion upset and an upset stomach -- and no sign of emotional upset from Steffi Graf.   Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, a fixture in the finals of every Grand Slam tournament this year, produced a standard 6-2 6-2 win over American Nicole Arendt to open the night programme on Stadium Court but did so in unprecedented style -- in a dress.   Gone was the familiar pleated skirt with ball-holder in the back that has been as much a trademark of the Spaniard's style as her relentless, shot-retrieving play.   "It's a new mode of clothing," acknowledged Sanchez, who said it was the first time she had worn a dress in competition.   "I thought it would be nice to be able to wear it tonight."   Sanchez looked comfortable wearing the white dress with blue trim across the shoulders, but admitted to feeling a bit strange not having a ball ready on her hip for a second serve.   "It's something kind of weird because I have to ask the ball boy, something is missing," she said.   "I guess it was not so bad.   It helped me to concentrate better on my serve."   Sanchez, the third seed, rated the experiment a success and said she would probably wear it again.   "I think it looks better.   It looks more feminine."   Defending champion Steffi Graf strolled to a 6-2 6-1 win over Austrian Karin Kschwendt but had to face an awkward question about a published report in a German newspaper that she had considered pulling out of the Open because it overlaps with the opening of her father's tax evasion trial in Germany.   Graf was quoted as telling the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in an interview in New York, that during recent weeks the upcoming trial "bothered me and I didn't want to come to New York at all."   The top seed dodged the issue at her post-match interview.   "I was thinking of skipping it because of my (injured) calf and nothing else," was all the smooth-moving Graf would say after advancing to the third round.   Peter Graf and family tax adviser Joachim Eckardt stand trial starting September 5 accused of evading taxes on 42 million marks ($28 million) of the star's income for the tax years 1989 to 1993.   Both men face up to 10 years in jail if found guilty of owing more than 19 million marks ($12.5 million) in taxes.   Seventh seed Jana Novotna had a tougher time on court.   Novotna beat Argentine Florencia Labat 6-2 4-6 6-2 on Court 16 but her main upset fear was in her stomach.   "From 2-all in the second set I felt sick to my stomach.   From that point I was just hanging in there," said Novotna, who beat Monica Seles before losing to Sanchez in the semifinals of this year's French Open.   "I was really worried if I'd be able to finish the match.   I took the bathroom break, fortunately, so that eased up a little bit.   I just decided to come in after everything and it worked," she said about rushing the net.   "That was the way out of there."   Novotna said she couldn't blame her stomach upset on the National Tennis Centre food, which has often been the target of complaints.   "I never eat here because I know there is a lot of food poisoning going on all the time, every year," she said.   "It was maybe that I ate too little.   I was just full from drinking so much water.   I don't know.   It was strange." 
5829 !GCAT !GSPO  Boxer Riddick Bowe's camp was fined $250,000 and his manager Rock Newman was banned from boxing events involving Bowe in New York for a year because of the July 11 melee at Madison Square Garden, the New York State Athletic Commission announced Thursday.   Bowe and Newman will forfeit $250,000 of the purse earned for the fight, which Bowe won by disqualification over Andrew Golota of Poland.   Of that total, $200,000 will go to the state of New York and $50,000 to a charity named by the state athletic commission.   Spencer Promotions Inc, which is Newman's company, also had its promoter's license suspended until July 31, 1997.   The fight came to a halt with 27 seconds left in the seventh round after Golota was disqualified for a series of low blows.   Cornermen for the opposing fighters began brawling in the ring and the fight carried over to spectators.   Bowe camp member Jason Harris, who was caught on videotape attacking Golota with a cellular phone, was permanently barred by the state commission from any employment relationship with Spencer or Bowe.   Spencer Promotions vice president Bernard Brooks was barred from any employment relationship with Spencer or Bowe for one year.   "These penalties are unprecedented in the boxing community," said New York State Athletic Chairman Floyd Patterson.   "Clearly these disciplinary measures send the message that this type of violent and outrageous conduct will not be tolerated in our state."   The commission recently rescinded its suspension of Lou Duva, Golota's manager. 
5830 !GCAT !GSPO  Randall Cunningham, the National Football League's all-time leading rusher as a quarterback and one of the most athletic players ever to line up over centre, retired Thursday.   Cunningham played his entire 11-year career with the Philadelphia Eagles.   A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Cunningham rushed for 4,482 yards on 677 carries.   "I would like to thank the Eagles organisation and the wonderful fans of Philadelphia for supporting me throughout my career," Cunningham said.   "Although it saddens me to leave, I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and pursuing other interests that have been on the back burner for sometime."   "Randall was one of the most exciting quarterbacks in NFL history," said Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.   "During his 11 years in Philadelphia, Randall was the cornerstone of the Eagles' franchise and brought many great moments to fans in Philadelphia as well as across the NFL."   A second-round choice in 1985, Cunningham completed 1,874-of-3,362 passes (55.7 percent) for 22,877 yards and 150 touchdowns.   Cunningham has already been signed as a broadcaster. 
5831 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading scores in   the $1.2 million Greater Milwaukee Open at the par-71,   6,739-yard Brown Deer Park Golf Course after the first round   on Thursday (players U.S. unless stated):   62 Nolan Henke   64 Bob Estes   65 Billy Andrade, Duffy Waldorf, Jesper Parnevik (Sweden)   66 Neal Lancaster, Dave Barr (Canada), Mike Sullivan, Willie   Wood, Loren Roberts, Steve Stricker, Brian Claar, Russ Cochran   67 Mark Calcavecchia, Payne Stewart, Billy Mayfair, Ken   Green, Jerry Kelly, Tim Simpson, Olin Browne, Shane Bortsch,   Mike Hulbert, Brian Henninger, Tiger Woods, Steve Jurgenson,   Bryan Gorman 
5832 !GCAT !GSPO  Nolan Henke fired a nine-under-par 62 to grab a two-shot lead after the opening round of the $1.2 million Greater Milwaukee Open Thursday as 20-year-old Tiger Woods shot 67 in his professional debut.   Henke stood two strokes ahead of Bob Estes and three up on Billy Andrade, Duffy Waldorf and Jesper Parnevik.   Woods, who turned pro Tuesday after winning an unprecedented third successive U.S. Amateur Championship, almost eagled the 18th hole.   He settled for a birdie and a four-under opening round that left him five shots off the pace.   "Yesterday was the toughest day I've had for a long time," Woods said.   "Today, I got to play golf."   He added: "I thought I got off off to a great start.   It was a perfect start.   I'm in a good position."   Henke, who called his round a "pleasant surprise," finished with six birdies on the final eight holes.   "We finally got things going in the right direction," he said.   "It was my best round in a very long time.   My short game has improved since I've had to use it so often.   That's always been the worst part of my game.   All in all, playing bad's been a good experience."   Henke, who came within one shot of the course record set by Andrew Magee during Wednesday's pro-am, has three career PGA Tour victories, but none since the 1993 BellSouth Classic.   Estes, whose only win came at the 1994 Texas Open and whose best finish this year was a third-place tie at the Nortel Open in January, eagled the par-five fourth hole and added five birdies to grab sole possession of second place.   "No bogeys on the card," he noted.   "Sometimes I take more pride in that."   Woods was among a group of 13 players at four under, including 1993 champion Billy Mayfair, who tied for second at last week's World Series of Golf, and former U.S. Open champ Payne Stewart.   Defending champion Scott Hoch shot a three-under 68 and was six strokes back.   Phil Mickelson, the only four-time winner on the PGA Tour, skipped the tournament after winning the World Series of Golf last week.   Mark Brooks, Tom Lehman and Mark O'Meara, who make up the rest of the top four on the money list, also took the week off. 
5833 !GCAT !GSPO  Matches scheduled for the   featured courts Friday at the U.S. Open tennis championships   at the National Tennis Centre (prefix denotes seeding):   Stadium (starting at 11 a.m., 1500 GMT)   4-Goran Ivanisevic (Croatia) v Scott Draper (Australia)   8-Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) v Anne-Gaelle Sidot (France)   1-Pete Sampras (U.S.) Jiri Novak (Czech Republic)   Grandstand   Mark Philippoussis (Australia) v Andrei Olhovskiy (Russia)   4-Conchita Martinez (Spain) v Helena Sukova (Czech Republic)   15-Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina) v Asa Carlsson (Sweden)   Stadium evening session (starting 7:30 p.m., 2330 GMT)   2-Monica Seles (U.S.) v Dally Randriantefy (Madagascar)   Stefan Edberg (Sweden) v Bernd Karbacher (Germany)   Grandstand   12-Todd Martin v Andrea Gaudenzi (Italy) 
5834 !GCAT !GSPO  Andre Agassi was pleased by his great escape against India's Leander Paes on Thursday but says he must play better to claim another U.S. Open title.   "If I played this way in the final, there's a heck of a chance it would be against Pete (Sampras) or somebody of that nature and I probably wouldn't have won the match," Agassi said after wriggling out of a 3-6 0-4 hole to post a 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 second-round victory.   "But that's the whole idea of a Grand Slam.   You do what you've got to do to win the match.   You step it up as you go."   Paes, who gave Agassi a tough match before falling in the semifinals of the Atlanta Olympics last month, lit the Stadium Court up with a startling assortment of audacious winners.   "I would hit a volley, he was hitting screaming, running passing shots by me," Agassi said about Paes's perfect performance at the start.   "I tried to make him hit low volleys, he hit drop volley winners off my returns.   I tried to get him off the net by lobbing and he hit backhand and forehand overheads for put-aways.   "I had visions of going to dinner tonight and wondering what the hell happened."   Though he was buried under the early barrage of winners, there was no panic in the 1994 Open champion, who rattled off 18 of the last 19 games, and no false sense of accomplishment, either.   "I had to elevate my game, hitting bigger, taking more chances," Agassi said after his two-hour, 29-minute turnaround victory.   "Am I comfortable with where my game is at today?   Absoutely.   To be down 6-3 4-love was no disgrace with the way he was playing."   Agassi added: "But I mean, when I step up to return Pete's serve, it's a whole different mind set." 
5835 !GCAT !GSPO  For a set and half at the U.S. Open on Thursday, Leander Paes put on a startling show against Andre Agassi, serving notice that the tennis world might soon have a new championship contender.   For the first 13 games, the slight, 23-year-old Indian ran away from the sixth-seeded Agassi, pounding him with a barrage of service winners, acrobatic volleys and laser-like groundstrokes to take a 6-3 4-0 lead.   The bewildered Agassi, however, cleared his head and put a stop to Paes's upset plans by digging deep into his own reservoir of talent to turn the match around and win 18 of the last 19 games.   Afterwards Agassi said he was as shocked as anyone by the circumstances of his 3-6 6-4 6-1 6-0 second-round win.   "I was thinking, what the hell am I going to do?   He was playing out-of-this-world tennis," Agassi said of Paes's opening bombardment.   "I was just dodging bullets.   I was trying to slow it down, change it up."   Paes managed to smile through the disappointment of knowing he had let a golden opportunity slip away against the Olympic champion.   "I'm encouraged," said Paes.   "I played a great first set and four games.   I just didn't close it out.   What's getting at me is that's normally my strength, to finish the match.   When the match gets tighter, I'm generally good at it.   "The talent is there, but my real task is to sustain it for a longer period of time," continued Paes, who got into the Open as a replacement despite losing in the qualifying tournament.   "Today I just couldn't after a while.   I just lost it, clicked off.   Next time hopefully, I'll just relax and keep it going and carry that the whole match through."   Paes made his first big splash in the international arena at the Atlanta Olympics by winning his country's only medal in beating Fernando Meligeni of Brazil for the bronze medal.   The Indian also had a close encounter with Agassi at the Atlanta Games, narrowly losing to him in the semifinals.   Paes returned home to a hero's welcome, mobbed by thousands of fans at the New Delhi airport.   His face was splashed on the cover of almost every national magazine.   Agassi has no doubts about the talent the 160-pound (73 kg) right-hander posseses.   "I'm a big fan of Leander's," said Agassi.   "I enjoy watching him and playing against him.   I'd like to see him get his game on a more consistent level because I think he can only add to this sport.   I think he's talented enough to."   "Things have been going very fast," said Paes.   "I just kept my head down, concentrated on working hard.   That's what got me there.   As long as I keep working hard, you're going to see some good tennis in the next couple years from me." 
5836 !GCAT !GSPO  Spanish first division team Deportivo Coruna will be without key midfielder Mauro Silva for Saturday's game with Real Madrid after FIFA, soccer's world governing body, suspended the Brazilian for one game for missing his national side's European tour.   Silva excused his absence from Brazil's game against Russia, on Wednesday, and Saturday's match with the Netherlands by saying he had lost his passport.   But that did not prevent him from collecting the one-match suspension. 
5837 !GCAT !GSPO  American Dennis Mitchell outclassed Olympic 100 metres champion Donovan Bailey for the third time at a major post-Games meeting in front of the most experienced sprinting crowd in the world on Friday.   Watched by an array of former Olympic sprint champions at the Berlin grand prix meeting, Mitchell made a brilliant start in the 100 metres and held off Bailey's strong finish to win in 10.08 seconds despite cool conditions.   Bailey, who set a world record of 9.84 on his way to victory in Atlanta, could not catch his American rival and had to settle for third in a tight finish.   Jamaica's Michael Green was second with 10.09 with Bailey finishing in 10.13.   Last Friday Mitchell, who finished fourth at the Atlanta Games, upstaged a trio of Olympic champions including Bailey to win the 100 in Brussels.   Earlier this month he also beat world champion Bailey in Zurich.   Berlin, Brussels and Zurich all belong to the most lucrative series in the sport, the Golden Four.   Among the crowd on Friday were Olympic 100 metres champions going back to 1948.   They had been invited to the meeting to watch a special relay to mark the 60th anniversary of Jesse Owens's four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in the same Berlin stadium.   "Today the concentration was the most important thing for me," Mitchell said.    Despite the coolish conditions American Olympic champion Gail Devers looked in commanding form in the women's 100, clocking 10.89 to defeat Jamaican rival Merlene Ottey, who was second in 10.94. 
5838 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic silver medallist Frankie Fredericks defeated double Olympic champion Michael Johnson to clinch one of the most lucrative and satisfying 200 metres victories of his career on Friday.   The Namibian, who finished second behind Johnson when the American ran a remarkable world record of 19.32 seconds at the Atlanta Games, won an intense battle down the home straight to win in 19.97 seconds at the Berlin Grand Prix.   The victory ensured Fredericks a share of a jackpot of 20 one-kilo gold bars worth $250,000 in the final meeting of the Golden Four series.   It was just reward for Fredericks, who had threatened to win a gold medal in Atlanta in the sprints but had to play second fiddle to Johnson in the 200 and Canadian Donovan Bailey in the 100.   Johnson came off the bend just behind Fredericks and seemed ready to step into top gear.   But the Namibian kept his form and was so confident of victory that he put his arms up two strides from the finish.   Johnson took second place in 20.02, with Trinidad's Ato Boldon, the Olympic bronze medallist, finishing third in 20.37.   Fredericks beat Johnson in the opening meeting of the series in Oslo before the Olympics but seemed to get a flying start.   Friday's victory was a major surprise after Johnson's superb form in Atlanta.    The gold bars are shared between athletes who win specific events at all the four meetings in Oslo, Zurich, Brussels and Berlin, the most lucrative series in the sport.   In Oslo in early July Fredericks handed Johnson his first defeat in any race for two years.   But the American did not run in Zurich earlier this month because of injury and chose to compete in the 400 at last week's meeting in Brussels, leaving Fredericks to set up his jackpot bid with victories.   "I ran fast and was concentrated.   It isn't fun to be beaten by Michael every time," Fredericks said.   "Atlanta is now in the past and I am curious what the future is going to bring."   Johnson was not disappointed, however, after the best season of his life when he achieved the historic 200-400 double in Atlanta, the most memorable track performance of the Games.   "I can't win everything," he said.   "I have given the victory to Frankie today.   My injury from Atlanta is okay.   I have just lost a little bit of bite."   Six athletes started the meeting with a chance of winning the prize.   The others were Denmark's Wilson Kipketer (800), American Derrick Adkins (400 hurdles), Britain's Jonathan Edwards (triple jump), German Lars Riedel (discus) and Bulgarian women's high jumper Stefka Kostadinova.   Riedel clinched his part of the riches for the first time with a huge winning second throw of 70.60 metres early on in the evening.    Olympic champion Adkins lost his chance for the money when he finished third in the hurdles behind compatriot Torrance Zellner and Zambia's Samuel Matete, the silver medallist in Atlanta.   The three athletes were involved in a tight last 100 metres but Zellner came through strongly at the end to win in 48.23 seconds with Matete second in 48.34.   Adkins, knowing he had lost the gold in the last 10 metres, slowed up at the line to finish third in 48.62.   Fredericks started the season in brilliant form and was hot favourite to win Olympic 100 metres gold after he went close to breaking the world record just before the Games in Lausanne, defeating all his main rivals in the process.   Friday's victory at least gave the Namibian some consolation for a season which had promised so much, but some athletes here looked tired.   Sweden's Olympic champion Ludmila Engquist had to settle for second place in the women's 100 metres hurdles as Jamaican Michelle Freeman produced a flowing performance to win in 12.71 seconds.   Engquist clocked 12.74.   Russia's 800 and 1,500 Olympic champion Svetlana Masterkova also looked slightly jaded in the women's 1,500 after breaking two world records in the last three weeks.   Masterkova, who set new marks in the mile and 1,000 metres in Zurich and Brussels respectively, was almost caught by the rest of the field as she tried to power away down the back straight.   But the Russian recovered to sprint away off the final bend and finish in four minutes 6.87 seconds -- a long way outside her personal best and the world record of 3:50.46. 
5839 !GCAT !GSPO  Leading results at the Berlin   Grand Prix athletics meeting on Friday:   Women's 100 metres hurdles    1.   Michelle Freeman (Jamaica) 12.71 seconds    2.   Ludmila Engquist (Sweden) 12.74    3.   Aliuska Lopez (Cuba) 12.92    4.   Brigita Bokovec (Slovenia) 12.92    5.   Dionne Rose (Jamaica) 12.92    6.   Julie Baumann (Switzerland) 13.11    7.   Gillian Russell (Jamaica) 13.17   Women's 1,500 metres    1.   Svetlana Masterkova (Russia)  four minutes 6.87 seconds    2.   Patricia Djate-Taillard (France)  4:08.22    3.   Carla Sacramento (Portugal) 4:08.96    4.   Yekaterina Podkopayeva (Russia)  4:09.25    5.   Leah Pells (Canada) 4:09.95    6.   Carmen Wuestenhagen (Germany) 4:10.38    7.   Margarita Maruseva (Russia) 4:10.87    8.   Sara Thorsett (U.S.) 4:11.06   Men's 110 metres hurdles    1.   Mark Crear (U.S.) 13.26 seconds    2.   Tony Jarrett (Britain) 13.35    3.   Florian Schwarthoff (Germany) 13.36    4.   Emilio Valle (Cuba) 13.52    5.   Falk Balzer (Germany) 13.52    6.   Steve Brown (U.S.) 13.53    7.   Frank Busemann (Germany) 13.58    8.   Jack Pierce (U.S.) 13.60   Men's 200 metres    1.   Frankie Fredericks (Namibia) 19.97 seconds    2.   Michael Johnson (U.S.) 20.02    3.   Ato Boldon (Trinidad) 20.37    4.   Geir Moen (Norway) 20.41    5.   Patrick Stevens (Belgium) 20.54    6.   Jon Drummond (U.S.) 20.78    7.   Claus Hirsbro (Denmark) 20.90    8.   Ivan Garcia (Cuba) 20.96   Women's shot put    1.   Astrid Kumbernuss (Germany) 19.89 metres    2.   Claudia Mues (Germany) 18.80    3.   Irina Korzhanenko (Russia) 18.63    4.   Valentina Fedyushina (Russia) 18.55    5.   Stephanie Storp (Germany) 18.41   Men's mile    1.   Noureddine Morceli (Algeria)  3 minutes 49.09 seconds    2.   Venuste Niyongabo (Burundi) 3:51.01    3.   William Tanui (Kenya) 3:51.40    4.   Laban Rotich (Kenya) 3:53.42    5.   Marko Koers (Netherlands) 3:53.47    6.   Isaac Viciosa (Spain) 3:53.85    7.   John Mayock (Britain) 3:54.67    8.   Marcus O'Sullivan (Ireland) 3:54.87   Men's discus    1.   Lars Riedel (Germany) 70.60 metres    2.   Anthony Washington (U.S.) 68.44    3.   Vasily Kaptyukh (Belarus) 66.24    4.   Vladimir Dubrovshchik (Belarus)  65.30    5.   Virgilijus Alekna (Lithuania) 65.00    6.   Juergen Schult (Germany) 64.46    7.   Andreas Seelig (Germany) 62.00    8.   Michael Moellenbeck (Germany) 58.56   Women's 100 metres    1.   Gail Devers (U.S.) 10.89 seconds    2.   Merlene Ottey (Jamaica) 10.94    3.   Gwen Torrence (U.S.) 11.07    4.   Mary Onyali (Nigeria) 11.14    5.   Chryste Gaines (U.S.) 11.20    6.   Chandra Sturrup (Bahamas) 11.26    7.   Irina Privalova (Russia) 11.27    8.   Inger Miller (U.S.) 11.37   Women's 5,000 metres    1.   Gabriela Szabo (Romania) 15 minutes 04.95 seconds    2.   Gete Wami (Ethiopia) 15:05.21    3.   Rose Cheruiyot (Kenya) 15:05.41    4.   Annemari Sandell (Finland) 15:06.33    5.   Tegla Loroupe (Kenya) 15:08.79    6.   Gunhild Halle (Norway) 15:09.00    7.   Pauline Konga (Kenya) 15:09.74    8.   Sally Barsosio (Kenya) 15:14.34   Men's 400 metres hurdles    1.   Torrance Zellner (U.S.) 48.23 seconds    2.   Samuel Matete (Zambia) 48.34    3.   Derrick Adkins (U.S.) 48.62    4.   Fabrizio Mori (Italy) 49.21    5.   Sven Nylander (Sweden) 49.22    6.   Eric Thomas (U.S.) 49.35    7.   Rohan Robinson (Australia) 49.36    8.   Dusan Kovacs (Hungary) 49.58   Women's 400 metres   1.   Falilat Ogunkoya (Nigeria) 50.31 seconds   2.   Jearl Miles (U.S.) 50.42   3.   Fatima Yusuf (Nigeria) 51.43   4.   Anja Ruecker (Germany) 51.61   5.   Olabisi Afolabi (Nigeria) 51.98   6.   Phylis Smith (Britain) 52.05   7.   Linda Kisabaka (Germany) 52.41   8.   Karin Janke (Germany) 53.13   Men's 100 metres   1.   Dennis Mitchell (U.S.) 10.08   2.   Michael Green (Jamaica) 10.09   3.   Donovan Bailey (Canada) 10.13   4.   Jon Drummond (U.S.) 10.22   5.   Davidson Ezinwa (Nigeria) 10.24   6.   Geir Moen (Norway) 10.33   7.   Marc Blume (Germany) 10.48   Men's 800 metres   1.   Wilson Kipketer (Denmark) 1:43.34   2.   Norberto Tellez (Cuba) 1:44.58   3.   Sammy Langat (Kenya) 1:44.96   4.   Nico Motchebon (Germany) 1:45.03   5.   David Kiptoo (Kenya) 1:45.27   6.   Adem Hacini (Algeria) 1:45.64   7.   Vebjoen Rodal (Norway) 1:46.45   8.   Craig Winrow (Britain) 1:46.66   Men's pole vault   1= Andrei Tiwontschik (Germany) 5.86   1= Igor Trandenkov (Russia) 5.86   3.   Maksim Tarasov (Russia) 5.86   4.   Tim Lobinger (Germany) 5.80   5.   Igor Potapovich (Kazakstan) 5.80   6.   Jean Galfione (France) 5.65   7.   Pyotr Bochkary (Russia) 5.65   8.   Dmitri Markov (Belarus) 5.65    Women's high jump   1.   Stefka Kostadinova (Bulgaria) 2.03   2.   Inga Babakova (Ukraine) 2.00 metres   3.   Alina Astafei (Germany) 1.97   4.   Tatyana Motkova (Russia) 1.97   5.   Hanne Haugland (Norway) 1.91   6= Nele Zilinskiene (Lithuania) 1.91   6= Yelena Gulyayeva (Russia) 1.91   8.   Natalya Golodnova (Russia) 1.85   Men's 5,000 metres   1.   Daniel Komen (Kenya) 13 minutes 2.62 seconds   2.   Bob Kennedy (U.S.) 13:06.12   3.   Paul Koech (Kenya) 13:06.45   4.   El Hassane Lahssini (Morocco) 13:06.57   5.   Shem Kororia (Kenya) 13:06.65   6.   Brahim Lahlafi (Morocco) 13:08.05   7.   Tom Nyariki (Kenya) 13:20.12   8.   Fita Bayissa (Ethiopia) 13:21.35   Men's triple jump   1.   Jonathan Edwards (Britain) 17.69 metres   2.   Yoelvis Quesada (Cuba) 17.44   3.   Kenny Harrison (U.S.) 17.16   4.   Mike Conley (U.S.) 16.79   5.   Armen Martirosyan (Armenia) 16.57   6.   Sigurd Njerve (Norway) 16.41   7.   Carlos Calado (Portugal) 16.31   8.   Charles-Michael Friedek (Germany) 16.12   Women's javelin   1.   Tanja Damaske (Germany) 66.60 metres   2.   Trine Hattesta (Norway) 65.12   3.   Isel Lopez (Cuba) 65.10   4.   Heli Rantanen (Finland) 62.78   5.   Louise McPaul (Australia) 62.06   6.   Xiomara Rivero (Cuba) 61.94   7.   Natalya Shikolen (Belarus) 60.74   8.   Rita Ramaunaskaite (Lithuania) 60.74   Men's 4x100 relay Jesse Owens memorial race   1.   Donovan Bailey (Canada), Michael Johnson (U.S.), Frankie   Fredericks (Namibia), Linford Christie (Britain) 38.87 seconds   2.   Michael Green (Jamaica), Osmond Ezinwa (Nigeria), Oeji Aliu   (Nigeria),Davidson Ezinwa (Nigeria) 38.87   3.   Peter Karlsson (Sweden), Falk Balzer (Germany), George   Panayiotopoulos (Greece), Florian Schwarthoff (Germany) 39.93 
5840 !GCAT !GSPO  UEFA came down heavily on Belgian club Standard Liege on Friday for "disgraceful behaviour" in an Intertoto final match against Karlsruhe of Germany.   The Belgian club were fined 25,000 Swiss francs ($20,850) for unsporting conduct and captain Guy Hellers banned for seven games.   He was sent off for insulting the referee and then urged his team mates to protest.   Roberto Bisconti will be sidelined for six Euro ties after pushing the referee in the back as he protested about a Karlsruhe goal, while Didier Ernst was banned for four matches for a verbal attack soon after Bisconti was also dismissed.   Karlsruhe won the August 20 match 3-1 thanks to two late goals.   They took the tie 3-2 on aggregate and qualified for the UEFA Cup. 
5841 !GCAT !GSPO  Olympic champion Kenny Harrison and world record holder Jonathan Edwards will both take part in a triple jump competition at the Solidarity Meeting for Sarajevo on September 9.   The International Amateur Athletic Federation said on Friday that a schedule reshuffle had allowed organisers to hold a men's triple jump as well as the women's long jump on the "one usable runway at the war-devastated" Kosevo stadium.   Atlanta Games silver medal winner Edwards has called on other leading athletes to take part in the Sarajevo meeting -- a goodwill gesture towards Bosnia as it recovers from the war in the Balkans -- two days after the grand prix final in Milan.   Edwards was quoted as saying: "What type of character do we show by going to the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Milan where there is a lot of money to make but refusing to make the trip to Sarajevo as a humanitarian gesture?" 
5842 !GCAT !GSPO  Atletico Madrid's Spanish league title defence kicks off on Sunday at arch-rival Real Madrid's stadium but their opponents take the form of a much tamer side -- Celta Vigo.   Atletico have been forced to make the move across the Spanish capital to Santiago Bernabeu ground because the newly sown grass at their own Vicente Calderon stadium has failed to take root after an invasion of worms.   Despite the move to an `away' venue for the match against a side who managed only 12 wins last season, Serbian coach Radomir Antic was exuding his usual confident air.   "My team's ready for the league," he said after Atletico's impressive showing in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday.   Atletico won 3-1 but lost the Cup after losing 5-2 to Bobby Robson's Barcelona in the first leg dominated by new signings Ronaldo and Giovanni.   The Brazilian strikers will be back from international duty for Barcelona's away game at Real Oviedo and fiery Bulgarian striker Hristo Stoichkov may find himself dropped from the starting line-up after a poor game on Wednesday.   Another manager wondering who to leave out is former AC Milan coach Fabio Capello, who has been given the job of picking up the pieces after Real Madrid's poor 1995/96 campaign.   Capello has four billion pesetas ($33 million) of new talent to choose from but his selection dilemma is eased by minor injuries to forward Jose Amavisca and veteran defender Manolo Sanchis for the match at Deportivo Coruna.   Real have not won at Deportivo for five years and their task has not been made easier this season after Deportivo picked up French stars Michael Madar and Corentine Martins in Spain's 25 billion ($200 million) close-season transfer jamboree.   Television contracts are behind most of the money pouring into the Spanish league and the Espanyol-Sporting game will be the first of a series of televised Monday night fixtures.   World Cup striker Romario makes his league debut for Valencia at Racing Santander, while big-spenders Real Betis take on Athletic Bilbao, where former Paris Saint Germain manager Luis Fernandez hopes to put the fallen giants back on their feet.   Newly-promoted Hercules and Extremadura begin what is likely to turn into a battle against relegation and former Espanyol manager Jose Antonio Camacho hopes to launch Sevilla's campaign with a victory against the whipping boys of the pre-season, Real Sociedad. 
5843 !GCAT !GSPO  Former international goalkeeper Dominique Baratelli is to coach struggling French first division side Nice, the club said on Friday.   Baratelli, who played for Nice and Paris St Germain, takes over from Albert Emon who was fired on Thursday after Nice's home defeat to Guingamp 2-1 in the league.   Nice have been unable to win any of their four league matches played this season and are lying a lowly 18th in the table. 
5844 !GCAT !GSPO  Former Italian international winger Gianluigi Lentini, transferred to Milan in 1992 for what was believed to be a world record sum, has been loaned to serie A club Atalanta for a year, newspapers reported on Friday.   The Gazzetta dello Sport said the deal would cost Atalanta around $600,000.   Lentini, 27, joined Milan from Torino in a $12 million deal that many have speculated involved far more money changing hands and which has subsequently been investigated by magistrates for alleged financial irregularities.   The player suffered severe head injuries in a near-fatal car crash the following year and has since struggled to regain the form that made him a hero in Turin.   The move to Bergamo-based Atalanta reunites Lentini, who fell out with ex-Milan coach Fabio Capello last season, with his former coach at Torino, Emiliano Mondonico. 
5845 !GCAT !GSPO  The simple pleasure of watching live soccer on television takes an historic step forward next week when football broadcasting in France and Italy turns digital.   The days of settling down with a few friends for some sandwiches and cold beers to enjoy a match on the box will remain but, from Tuesday, fans will no longer have to rely on the broadcasting network's pre-selected "match of the day".   Instead, with the launch of French pay television channel Canal Plus's digital pay-per-view package, they will be able to watch any, or all, of the 10 weekly matches of the domestic league.    The Italians follow suit five days later when A.C. Milan president and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's Telepiu'calcio will offer a similar service for the start of their league season.   Italian viewers, though, will be able to choose from only two serie A packages of the matches played by a given team while the Canal Plus offer, thanks to digital technology, will be a real "a la carte" system.   Digital television has already come to life in the U.S. but in terms of European broadcasting and international soccer, the French fans are the guinea pigs.   Canal Plus, the main media partner of the French National Football League (LNF), already shows one match a week to its regular subscribers.   Now viewers will have the option of selecting one of the nine other matches of the day or, indeed, the whole league programme with the possibility of surfing from one game to the next.   The new technology will also enable viewers to benefit from live statistics of all kinds and to show replays at any given time.   All subscribers need is a digital receiver, a satellite dish and a smartcard.   For a set-up estimated at around 1,700 francs ($350), they will have access to all league matches for an annual fee of around 4,000 francs ($800).   The new opportunities offered by digital technology have raised the question of match attendances but LNF president Noel Le Graet said he did not fear a fall in stadium crowds.   Soccer attendances in France are generally low by European standards and clubs make most of their money through television rights and sponsorships, not at the turnstiles.   "Over the last 12 years we have noticed that every live broadcast has been a terrific promotion for the game," Le Graet said.   "A la carte soccer will help increase this and attract even more people into our stadiums."   Revenue from the package will be shared between the LNF and Canal Plus.   But some club officials have already expressed doubts about the deal and may ask for a bigger slice of the cake if the new system is a success.   In Italy, where attendances are huge, safeguards have, however, been set.   Viewers can subscribe to the full package of matches only for clubs outside their home province.   Therefore, a fan in Milan would not be allowed to subscribe to all 34 matches played by AC Milan or Internazionale but only the 17 away games played by his side.   One of the two A.C. Milan-Internazionale derbies would be considered an away game but not the other.   The same goes for the two Rome clubs, Roma and Lazio.   However, under an agreement with the Legacalcio (league), if a match is 80 percent sold out then it can be broadcast to subscribers living in the immediate area, a measure designed to keep fans in the grounds while maximising revenue.   The French system is far more flexible at the moment but Berlusconi is to launch a new Telepiu 2 package in January which could well be more in line with France.   It can only be good news for the soccer fan who cannot travel to all his team's matches.   But for both Canal Plus and Telepiu'calcio there is more at stake.   Soccer is the prestige showcase to demonstrate their leadership in what is expected to become a huge market in the near future.   In the U.S., over 1.5 million homes have subscribed to DirectTV, a package of 175 programmes, including 50 pay-per-view channels launched in 1994.   And competition is building in Europe to introduce the digital receiver and so offer viewers a broader choice of services such as films and software loading bases. 
5846 !GCAT !GSPO  Aravinda de Silva once again   proved to be Australia's nemesis as he guided Sri Lanka to a   four-wicket win in a Singer world series day-night match on   Friday.   The Sri Lankan vice-captain, who scored an unbeaten century   against Australia in the World Cup final in Lahore earlier this   year, rescued his team from a perilous 81 for five with a superb   innings of 83 not out off 95 balls to see them home with 4.1   overs to spare.   Chasing Australia's 228 for nine in 50 overs, the Sri   Lankans got off to a fine start with Sanath Jayasuriya smashing   one six and eight fours in a typically rapid-fire innings of 44   off 28 balls.   They had reached 78 for one in just 12 overs but with the   run out of Asanka Gurusinha for 16, the innings went into   decline as they lost four wickets for three runs.   Damien Flemming did the damage as he removed Jayasuriya,   captain Arjuna Ranatunga and Hashan Tillekeratne in the space of   nine balls.   However, de Silva found a good ally in Roshan Mahanama and   the pair forged a vital 115-run partnership for the sixth wicket   which turned the tide once again in favour of the home team.   Mahanama completed a well-struck half-century off 78 balls   which included three fours but was bowled soon afterwards for   exactly 50 as he moved too far across to Glenn McGrath and lost   his leg stump.   It was too late for the Australians, though, and man of the   match de Silva, who hit 11 fours in his innings, saw Sri Lanka   home.   Upul Chandana had earlier played an important role by taking   a career-best three for 38 from his 10 overs as Australia were   restricted to 228 for nine.   Bowling his leg-spinners with great accuracy, Chandana   picked up the wickets of Michael Bevan, Australia's top scorer   with 56 off 79 balls, Darren Lehmann and Jason Gillespie.   Mark Waugh had got the innings off to a good start with a   stylish 50 off 55 balls and Ricky Ponting later struck an   unbeaten 46 off 57 balls but the Australians were always 30 runs   short. 
5847 !GCAT !GSPO  Sri Lanka beat Australia by four wickets in the third match of the Singer World Series one-day (50 overs) cricket tournament on Friday.   Scores: Australia 228-9 in 50 overs, Sri Lanka 232-6 in 45.5 overs. 
5848 !GCAT !GSPO  Scoreboard of the third Singer   World Series cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka on   Friday:   Australia    M.Waugh c and b Jayasuriya 50    M.Slater run out 9    S.Law c Tillekeratne b Dharmasena  13    M.Bevan c Vaas b Chandana 56    S.Waugh b Muralitharan 22    R.Ponting not out 46    D.Lehmann st Kaluwitharana b Chandana 2    I.Healy c Ranatunga b Muralitharan  8    J.Gillespie st Kaluwitharana b Chandana 6    D.Fleming c Chandana b Jayasuriya  3    G.McGrath not out 8    Extras (lb-3 nb-2) 5    Total (nine wickets, 50 overs)  228   Fall of wickets: 1-21 2-52 3-97 4-149 5-157 6-163 7-178   8-198 9-203.   Bowling: Vass 7-0-29-0, de Silva 4-0-25-0, Dharmasena   9-0-49-1, Muralitharan 10-0-41-2, Jayasuriya 10-0-43-2, Chandana   10-0-38-3.   Sri Lanka    S.Jayasuriya c Healy b Fleming  44    R.Kaluwitharana b S.Waugh 8    A.Gurusinha run out 16    A.de Silva not out 83    A.Ranatunga lbw b Fleming 0    H.Tillekeratne lbw b Fleming 1    R.Mahanama b McGrath 50    U.Chandana not out 14    Extras (lb-3 nb-6 w-7) 16    Total (six wickets, 45.5 overs)  232   Fall of wickets: 1-22 2-78 3-78 4-78 5-81 6-196.   Did not bat: Dharmasena, Vaas, Muralitharan.   Bowling: S.Waugh 5-1-36-1, Law 2-0-23-0, McGrath 9.5-0-44-1,   Fleming 8-1-26-3, Gillespie 6-0-27-0, M.Waugh 5-0-29-0, Lehmann   6-0-26-0, Bevan 4-0-18-0.   Man of the Match: Aravinda de Silva   Next Series match: India v Zimbabwe, September 1. 
5849 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia scored 228 for nine wickets in their 50 overs against Sri Lanka in the third day-night limited overs match of the Singer World Series tournament on Friday. 
5850 !GCAT !GSPO  Australia won the toss and   elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the third day-night limited   overs cricket match in the Singer world series tournament on   Friday.   Teams:   Australia - Ian Healy (captain), Michael Bevan, Damien   Flemming, Jason Gillespie, Stuart Law, Glenn McGrath, Ricky   Ponting, Michael Slater, Darren Lehmann, Mark Waugh, Steve   Waugh.   Sri Lanka - Arjuna Ranatunga (captain), Sanath Jayasuriya,   Romesh Kaluwitharana, Asanka Gurusinha, Aravinda de Silva,   Hashan Tillekeratne, Roshan Mahanama, Kumara Dharmasena,   Chaminda Vaas, Muthiah Muralitharan, Upul Chandana. 
5851 !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa's former rulers cautioned on Friday that President Nelson Mandela's endorsement of a Cape Town-based Moslem movement fighting gangs and drugs could trigger further vigilante violence.   The National Party, newly in opposition for the first time in nearly five decades, said there was a place for community movements fighting crime, but only within the limits of the law.   "With the breakdown that we have in law and order, even the most law-abiding citizen is becoming desperate," party spokesman on law and order Andre Fourie told Reuters.    "If you give legitimacy to Pagad in these circumstances, you are encouraging them to take the law into their own hands," said Fourie.   Mandela told about 75 religious leaders at a meeting in Cape Town on Thursday that the criminal justice system was the only proper channel to fight crime, but said there was a place for the Moslem group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad).   Dismissing reports that Pagad was part of an Islamic campaign to take control of South Africa, Mandela said:   "We are interacting with the movement because some of our members are also part of this movement.   It's a genuine movement ...there is nothing to be alarmed about."   Pagad supporters last month publicly shot and burned to death a gang leader.   Heavily-armed Pagad crowds have repeatedly confronted police during marches to the homes of alleged drug barons threatening to kill those who don't give up their trade.   Conflict between gangs and the self-appointed Islamic crime fighters flared anew only hours after Mandela met the clerics, when gunmen fired on the home of Edmund Harolds, a brother of alleged druglord Neville "Jackie" Harolds.   No one was injured.   Police spokesman Wikus Holtzhausen said however the force had no problem with Mandela's endorsement of Pagad, if it was clear that this did not include lynching.   "The Pagad issue, insofar as it is against gangsterism and drugs, is not a problem," he said.   "The problem starts when you operate in a way that's against the law." 
5852 !GCAT !GCRIM  South Africa on Friday introduced draft legislation that would cut the amount of alcohol motorists can drink before getting in their cars.   The National Road Traffic Bill presented in parliament would reduce the permissible level of alcohol in the blood to 0.05 grams per 100 millilitres from 0.08 grams now.   For professional drivers the limit would be 0.02 grams.   The bill provides for jail terms up to six years for offenders. 
5853 !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) said on Friday that maverick former junior minister Bantu Holomisa had been expelled from the party.   "Having heard the charges, the disciplinary committee deliberated and upheld the charges and has imposed the severest penalty of expulsion from the ANC," the party said in a statement.   Holomisa has the right of appeal to the full 18-member national executive committee.   If his expulsion is upheld on appeal, he will lose his parliamentary seat.    Mandela sacked Holomisa, a former leader of the Transkei homeland and one of the most popular ANC figures, earlier this year after he alleged at the country's "truth commission" that another ANC minister had taken a bribe several years ago.   After his sacking from a post as junior minister, Holomisa also said gambling tycoon Sol Kerzner had contributed to the ANC party coffers and made other allegations against leading party figures including Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.   An ANC spokesman branded him a liar for the funding claim but President Nelson Mandela acknowledged a few days later that Kerzner had in fact given the ANC two million rands -- but said he had been the only one who knew about it.   The Holomisa affair has dogged the ANC for several months and led to widespread criticism in the media that it seemed more interesting in muzzling public dissent from within its ranks than in getting to the bottom of the allegations.   Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission also expressed concern that the ANC was trying to vet what its members said at the public hearings, which critics said hurt the commission's role as a forum for all past grievances to be aired. 
5854 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  The housing department was starting to take a tougher stand with rent and bond defaulters as well as banks holding up the housing programme, chief director Tanya Abrahamse said.   Addressing a housing conference organised by the University of Stellenbosch's Bureau for Economic Research, she said this was because the department was beginning to deliver on its promise that 300,000 houses would be built a month to ease the housing backlog.   Abrahamse also admitted that the government as a whole had not stated clearly enough what it could deliver in improved social services within its limited means.   "We have not been decisive enough about compliance to the law," she said.   While poor people had a right to housing, they had to understand that they also had a responsibility to pay for that housing.   If they did not, they would be evicted.   She said government had so far been reluctant to alienate voters, but it was clear that a tougher approach was now needed.   But she believed that the Masakhane campaign aimed at ensuring that people did pay was starting to work especially as government started delivering services.   This was reflected in the fact that individual and project linked subsidies approved increased to a monthly average 5,611 from September 1995 to June this year from 536 between March 1994 and August 1995.   She said the greatest breakthrough in housing delivery had been untangling "the spaghetti of who does what at all tiers of government".   Abrahamse said that government had been "terribly ambitious and unreasonable to think that we could do it (reach the target of 300,000 houses a year) in the first year, but we are on target to achieve one million houses in five years."   "The framework is now in place and beginning to work," she said.   The department had also decided to adopt a much more "hands on" approach "at site to unblock the problems.   We now have a national unblocking team who will physically help the process from the time when the money is allocated to the time when the houses hit the ground."   The banks had not come up with the 50,000 new loans they had agreed to make for low income housing "and you will see in the press quite soon some quite strong arm tactics by the Mortgage Indemnity Fund" to prod the banks into action, she said.   A delegate said the building industry was "getting a lot of flak" about the fact that all they could build for 15,000 rand was a "slab and a toilet".   This often led to disputes which delayed housing programmes.   The delegated blamed this on unrealistic expectations based on 1994 elections promises.   Abrahamse agreed that this was a problem and said that "one of the real failings of this government over the last two years has been not enough clear communication, a clear bullet point one pager that says that this is the actual reality".   -- Lynda Loxton, Cape Town newsroom, +27 21 252-238 
5855 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  The Mozambican government announced on Friday it planned to introduce Value Added Tax (VAT) in July 1998.   The state-owned Mozambique News Agency quoted the National Director of Taxes in the Finance Ministry, Aboobakar Changa, as saying that preparations for an overhaul of the country's tax system were on schedule, with technical assistance from Switzerland.   Efforts would be made to prepare businessmen for the changeover, with the help of VAT experts from Portugal.   VAT would replace the current turnover and sales taxes, though an additional sales tax would still be charged on "alcohol, tobacco, vehicles and other luxury or superfluous goods", Changa said.   It was hoped that the new system would combat tax evasion by forcing businesses to use proper invoices.   Changa was optimistic that by mid-1998 the Finance Ministry would have all the highly-trained staff it needed to operate the new tax system.   He said that the government had also reformulated planned new customs tariffs after discussions with business associations.   The reformulation took into account complaints that some of the changes would increase rather than reduce the amount of duty to be paid by local industry, he said.   Changa said that in the current tariff list, the highest rate of duty was 190 per cent.   Under the new system, this would be reduced to 120 per cent.   He defended the introduction of a refundable turnover tax paid at the moment of customs clearance.   The tax could be reclaimed once the goods were sold but this would require proper documentation.   "It enourages business to declare their real sales and to work with invoices," Changa said.   The move was part of a package of customs reforms which included new pre-shipment inspection rules, and handing over customs management to a foreign company, the British Crown Agents.   Finance and Planning Minister Tomas Salomao told a parliamentary commission on Thursday that the government's key concern was to train Mozambican customs staff so that, after three years of Crown Agents management, the customs service could revert to Mozambican hands.   "In three years time we want a skilled and trained Mozambican customs workforce.   Mozambicans must be able to run the customs in accordance with international standards," Salomao said. 
5856 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Angolan press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   JORNAL DE ANGOLA   - Government peace negotiators travelled to Bailundo for talks with UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi on the outcome of the movement's congress and said political and military discussions would resume next week to end two decades of fighting.   - Angola's parliament temporarily suspended Mfulumpinga Landu Victor of the Partido Democratico para a Alianca Nacional Angolana who faces criminal charges of falsifying documents.   - Prime Minister Franco Van Dunem officially inaugurated the link-up of Angola's University of Augustinho Noto's Engineering Faculty to the Internet. 
5857 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  South Africa's Finance Ministry has proposed safeguards to parliament for tax payers subject to an official enquiry, bringing in an independent judge to vet search and seizure warrants.   "The commissioner (for inland revenue) has wide powers with regard to obtaining information, in particular with regard to the search and seizure of information and documents," the ministry says in an explanatory memorandum supporting a Revenue Laws Amendment Bill.   "The adoption of the interim constitution, however, necessitated the reappraisal of these powers as it is generally believed that such powers may violate a person's fundamental right to privacy," the document says.   The proposed amendment requires that a Supreme Court judge and not the commissioner for inland revenue should authorise a formal tax enquiry and appoint the person who heads it.   Applications for a formal tax enquiry need to be supported by evidence of non-compliance, specification of the documents or other evidence sought and a reasonable assumption that the enquiry will be successful.   "The onus of proof to satisfy the judge that an order should be granted therefore rests with the commissioner," the Finance Ministry says in the memorandum.   Similar rules apply to applications for a warrant of search and seizure, which the amendment proposes should be granted by a judge and no longer by the commissioner.   The bill proposes to extend the new rules for search and seizure to enquiries under the Stamp Duties Act and the Value-Added Tax Act. 
5858 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Zimbabwe press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   THE ZIMBABWE INDEPENDENT   - The Zimbabwean government's handling of a strike by civil servants pressing for salary hikes has been described by some members of parliament as a "whole chronicle" of bad management of employees.   - A Z$1 billion deal between Zimbabwe and a Malaysian government-backed company YTL Corporation to build 18,000 houses for the Zimbabwe Republic Police might collapse because of disputes over how to guarantee loans sourced to implement the project.   - Zimbabwean economists have put losses through delayed exports and imports, cancelled tourist bookings and failure to deliver essential services to the private sector, caused by a strike by civil servants pressing for pay hikes, at between Z$120 million and Z$180 million.   THE HERALD   - Malawian president Bakili Muluzi, in Zimbabwe to officially open the annual Harare Agricultural show, on Thursday stressed the importance of regional economic integration, free trade and the need to preserve peace and stability in southern Africa.   - While hundreds of Zimbabwe's civil servants returned to work on Thursday having won a minimum salary increment of 26 percent, many others continued their strike action, demanding increases of up to 100 percent.   - Zambian and Zimbabwean goverment officials began discussions in Zimbabwe's southwestern city of Bulawayo on Thursday over the fate of assets belonging to the two countries' old unitary railway systm, Rhodesia Railways (Pvt) Ltd.   -- Stella Mapenzauswa, Harare Newsroom: +263-4 72 52 28/9 
5859 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the South African press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   - - - -   BUSINESS DAY   - The truth commission has granted its first amnesties to two convicted murderers in a ruling which may encourage other human rights violators to break their silence.   - Exports surged an astonishing 55 percent in July from June to push South Africa's trade balance into a huge 2.58 billion rand surplus for the month from a 27 million rand deficit, customs and excise figures released on Thursday showed.   - Some of the smaller National Empowerment Consortium (NEC) members had not yet secured any funding for their share of the Johnnic acquisition and could turn to New Africa Investments Limited for finances, NEC deputy chairman Tommy Oliphant said on Thursday.   - Construction group Murray & Roberts' Holdings Ltd earnings after exceptional items slipped eight percent to 375 million rand for the year to June, pulled down by a hefty charge on its troubled Taiwanese train contract.   - Cosatu affiliates have been warned that a failure to take positions on privatisation could result in their exclusion from processes underway.   - - - -   BUSINESS REPORT   - The trade account swung from a small deficit in June to a surplus of 2.56 billion rand last month, its largest in nearly five years, on the back of a sparkling export performance, the commissioner for customs and excise said on Thursday.   - Murray & Roberts Holdings Ltd, the construction, engineering and transport group , reported a 13 percent fall in earnings a share to 1.09 rand for the year to June 30.   - The stock and bond markets strengthened on Thursday in the wake of the release of better-than-expected trade figures, but the rand weakened slightly to 4.5105 to the dollar in late trade from 4.5075 late on Wednesday.   - The ailing rand has had a limited effect on share and money-market dealers, who are coping well with the higher stress levels associated with volatile trading conditions, a recent survey said.   - The South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers' Union embarked on a new strategy of short, intermittent strikes at hotel chain group Sun International.   - - - -   THE STAR   - Gauteng has turned to the military, and an extra 1,000 policemen, in the war on crime.   - The truth commission has granted amnesty to two Bafokeng tribe members convicted of murdering a tribal councillor of being a synpathiser of former Bophuthatswana president Lucas Mangope.   -- Johannesburg newsroom +27 11 482 1003 
5860 !GCAT !GCRIM  Hungarian police said a new 300-person investigative unit will start work on Monday in a crackdown on white-collar crime.   "We will start with a 300-strong force, and pick up cases from other units on the fly," Colonel Erno Kiss, head of the newly established Central Investigative Directorate, told a news conference on Friday.   The unit was set up on Prime Minister Gyula Horn's March initiative, but instead of reporting directly to his office, it will be an integral part of the national police force.   The unit was formed largely to meet one of the country's biggest economic problems, which is the rampant growth of the black economy.   The black economy runs the gamut from smuggled liquor to people working but not paying their taxes and is said to account for about 30 percent of GDP.   The new unit was given 680 million forints this year to start its activity.   "A considerable part of the money was spent on a new computer system integrating every type of information pertinent to our work," Kiss said.   However, for the new unit to have real bite, some 40 laws have to be amended.   Officials said the process is under way. 
5861 !GCAT !GDEF !GPOL  Czech Defense Minister Miroslav Vyborny has drafted a plan to "radically" cut the size of the country's 60,000-strong armed forces in an attempt to face economic reality, a ministry official said on Friday.   "The minister introduced the basic plans for the army for the forthcomming period.   The main goal of these plans is to maintain the defense ability of the country with respect to economic possibilities," the ministry press aide said.   The Czech daily Mlada Fonta Dnes, quoting defense ministry sources, said on Friday that the cuts in personnel and expenditures would be "radical".   The aide confirmed this report to Reuters.   "Asked when the changes would start, the minister said 'Yesterday was too late'," the aide added, but declined to offer any details of Vyborny's plan.   The Czechs, along with Poland and Hungary are widely considered as leading aspirants to join the NATO military alliance, but a fierce political battle over how the Czech army should be reformed has often divided the Prague government.   Czech analysts say Vyborny's plan could cut short earlier considerations for replacing ageing Soviet-made MiG-21 fighter planes with advanced western aircraft, an option which critics say would be far too expensive.   U.S. Lockheed Martin's F-16, McDonnell Douglas Corp's F/A-18 "Hornet", Sweden's SAAB "Grippen" and other European planes are competing for consideration by the Czech military to bring their air forces into line with NATO.   Vyborny's plan must pass the governmnet and the parliament, and two previous plans by his two predecessors were rejected by the cabinet.   The plan of the previous minister, Vilem Holan, to cut forces to 50,000 and modernise equipment and systems, was rejected as too expensive by the frugal centre-right cabinet led by economist Vaclav Klaus.   Vyborny, installed in July after elections a month earlier, is said to have already received support for his plan from President Vaclav Havel, Mlada Fronta reported, again quoting ministry sources.   There is mandatory conscription in the country for men over age 18, although some can opt out to perform public service or because of health reasons.   President Havel has backed a long term plan to turn the Czech army into a primarily professional force.   -- Prague Newsroom 42-2-2423-0003 
5862 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  A special representative of U.S. President Bill Clinton insisted on Friday he was not putting a gun to Canada's head on the thorny issue of ties with Cuba.   But he said if Canada and other allies did not join U.S. efforts to promote democracy in Cuba, Clinton might refuse to extend a waiver of a controversial U.S. law that punishes foreign firms for investing in Cuba.   "There's no threat.   There's no gun to anybody's head," Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat told a news conference before meeting Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy and Trade Minister Art Eggleton.   He spoke instead of the "added advantage" of Clinton extending the waiver if U.S. allies went along with the ideas he is promoting.   "One of the factors the president will consider is the degree to which this new effort that we're embarking on -- of moving from a unilateral approach to a more concerted approach -- is actually something countries are willing to engage in," said Eizenstat, who visited Mexico on Thursday.   The unstated implication was that if Canada and the others did not come on board, Clinton might not agree next January to extend a waiver on the Title III provision of the hotly debated Helms-Burton Act.   Title III would allow lawsuits to be filed in U.S. courts against foreign firms that own or operate properties seized by the Communist government in Cuba from U.S. citizens or from Cubans that became Americans.   Eggleton and Axworthy told reporters after meeting the envoy that they welcomed the chance to talk and the U.S. commitment to proceeding multilaterally.   But they also seemed to perceive a threat that they thought should be removed.   "This whole matter of Helms-Burton is keeping the sword dangling over our head," Eggleton said.   The Clinton administration is pushing allies to do more to promote human rights and, if trade and aid must continue, to do it in ways that will help the Cuban people rather than the Cuban government.   "We're not saying, join us in an embargo.   We understand the reality.   We're not naive," Eizenstat said.   "What we're saying is, if you're going to trade and you're going to invest, do it in ways that help the Cuban people.   If you're going to channel assistance to Cuba, channel it to the independent sector rather than to a government that's going to siphon it off."   Asked if Canada would change anything as the result of the visit, Axworthy said, "No" -- pointing out continued government-to-government aid to Cuba -- but that Ottawa was always willing to listen to any good ideas.   He said Ottawa would proceed with legislation in the coming months to counter what it argues is Helms-Burton's illegitimate authority -- the United States going after third countries in its effort to change Cuba.   Axworthy also said if Washington wanted real change it would get rid of its embargo of Cuba.   Some development agencies have criticized U.S. sanctions against Cuba, arguing that they hurt the Cuban people.   Eizenstat said to suggest that the lack of freedom on the part of private groups or individuals was the result of the embargo "rather than the repression of (Cuban leader Fidel) Castro is a quite remarkable statement." 
5863 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  When Canadian Auto Workers union president Buzz Hargrove announced on Wednesday that the union had chosen Chrysler Corp to lead this year's bargaining, the dismay on the faces of General Motors Corp workers was unmistakable.    Because the target company and its workers are seen having the most input to the bargaining, each company, and each union team, vies to be the target.   According to bargaining tradition, the union negotiates a master agreement with the target company which it then uses as a framework for deals with the remaining big two.   The chosen company is also the strike target if a deal is not reached by September 17.   The CAW represents 28,510 GM workers, 12,600 Chrysler workers and 11,690 Ford workers.    The choice of Chrysler surprised some.   The CAW has spent much of the summer complaining about its strained relations with GM, while cosying up to Chrysler.   Earlier this month Hargrove even sported neckties to illustrate the split: cars on a bumpy road for GM and smooth-sailing boats for Chrysler.   The tough talk was not lost on the workers.   "When (the problems) are reiterated a number of times, you definately think you have the inside track, and when you're not the target, of course you're disappointed," said Mike Shields, president of GM union local 222.    But Hargrove, who has declared there is only "a snowball's chance in hell" of getting a deal with GM without a strike, chose a target by deciding where it felt it could forge the best deal while making the fewest concessions.   "We have difficult issues at General Motors and I believe it is in the best interest of the total union to have a pattern agreement already in place when we hit the table at General Motors," Hargrove told union members on Wednesday.    His first choice would have been Ford, but there was no assurance that the CAW's U.S. cousin, the United Auto Workers, would not also target Ford.   The CAW always picks a different automaker than the UAW to avoid loss of bargaining power.   GM and Ford management claim publicly they too would have liked to be picked as the target. "  (Being chosen) gives us the opportunity to address the issues that may be of more importance to us than to the other companies, because you do have different goals and objectives," said GM spokesman Stew Low."    This time round, the union wants to raise issues like outsourcing, lean production and shorter hours in the bargaining.   But its toughest underlying struggle is with GM, which announced earlier this year that it plans to sell or close a number of plants and contract out more than 500 jobs from its car plant.   The CAW believes these moves will result in the loss of a total of around 5,500 jobs.    The job drain at GM contrasts with the situation at Chrysler, where the creation of a third shift in 1993 and a shorter 7-1/2 hour workday created about 1,600 jobs in the minivan plant alone and hundreds more in supplier units, according to union figures.   GM union members are also worried the Chrysler union bargaining team will not focus on issues that threaten GM workers as the problems are not as severe at Chrysler plants.    "The outsourcing issue itself, that's almost behind them at Chrysler and Ford.   That was our argument all along for us to be the target because nobody has the same problems, or not to the extent we do," said Shields.   Hargrove has assured the GM workers their concerns are shared by all.   "We have the same concerns.   The threat of restructuring, the threat of the redefinition of core products, for Chrysler and Ford is just as real in the minds of the workers, and just as crucial to the leadership of the union as it is at GM."   -- Reuters Toronto Bureau (416) 941-8100 
5864 !GCAT  For the week of Aug 26, here are some of the top stories reported in major U.S. technology trade publications.   -----------   PC WEEK - Seven personal computer makers contacted by PC Week alleged that Microsoft Corp has been using its software operating system dominance to press hardware makers to bundle Internet Explorer instead of Netscape Communications Corp's Netscape Navigator, the magazine reported in its August 26 issue.   The PC makers, who requested anonymity, said they were threatened with being cut out of Microsoft marketing programs if they did not agree to exclusively use Microsoft's Internet browser software.   Costs are expected to drop for broadband Internet access as new network equipment begins to be introduced this autumn capable of handling transmission of data-intensive loads of voice, video and data information as service providers.   Telephone service providers are gearing up for commercial testing of the new equipment, based on so-called Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Loop (ADSL) technology.   -----------   INFOWORLD - Competing standards for supporting interactive documents enabled by an Internet protocol could hurt the interoperability promised by Java and the World Wide Web, Infoworld reports in its Aug. 26 issue.   International Business Machines Corp will unveil the latest version of its OS/2 Warp operating system next month, but supporters say the company is shifting strategy to reduce the system's visibility.   -----------   INFORMATION WEEK - More vendors will roll out Network Computers in the coming weeks and months as the concept gains popularity among corporate customers, Information Week reports in its Aug. 26 issue.   Novell Inc, which has been marginalized by the rise of Microsoft Corp and Netscape Communications Corp, is trying to entice customers back with a strategy that is as much marketing and technology, Information Week reports.   ----------   COMPUTER RESELLER NEWS - One year after Netscape Communications Corp's initial public offering, the company is feeling the heat from Microsoft Corp as the software giant has turned its guns on the Internet powerhouse.   Netscape and Microsoft are battling over Web-based multimedia messaging, the latest skirmish in the war for Internet-dominance, Computer Reseller News reported August 19.   Major distributors are pressing major PC vendors to shift more final assembly of PCs to the distribution channel and are moving forward with plans to manufacture their own systems in an effort to ward off chronic product shortages, CRN reported.   -------   COMPUTERWORLD - A survey of information systems professionals by Computerworld Inc's research unit found that Microsoft's Intneret Explorer browser software is gaining market share against Netscape Communications Corp browser, it reported in its August 26 issue.   While 76 percent of respondents said they still use Netscape Navigator software, 12 percent say they have standarized on Internet Explorer, double the number who used Microsoft as their primary means of Internet access just three months ago.   ----------   MACWEEK - Apple Computer Inc is seeking to expand its QuickTime Conferencing technology through a deal with Netscape Communications Corp and a new product dubbed QuickTime TV.   Sources quoted in the August 26 issue said that despite the absence of telephony features in the Mac version of the new Netscape Navigator 3.0, the technology is on track for a September debut.   Adobe Systems Inc is readying to upgrade Persuasion with version 4.0 in the fourth quarter.   The product, last revised by Aldus Corp in 1994 prior to its merger with Adobe, will now be integrated with links to authoring for the World Wide Web.   ----------   COMMUNICATIONS WEEK - A new generation of lower-cost, integrated broadband network access devices capable of transmitting multi-megabit streams of voice, video and data over telephone lines are set to be announced by a variety of vendors, Communications Week reported in its August 26 issue.   A variety of top network equipment suppliers including Cisco Systems Inc, Bay Networks Inc and Cabletron Systems Inc, along with Westell Technologies Inc are developing these so-called Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer devices.   Privately held Sourcecom of Westlake Village, Calif. starts the ball rolling next week, when it plans to announce the first such DSLAM product. 
5865 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GENV !GPOL  The California state Senate on Friday approved landmark legislation to create a $10.5 billion earthquake insurance authority, sending the measures to the governor for his expected signature.   The two final and most important California Earthquake Authority bills passed in the Senate by votes of 28-to-5 and 28-to-6.   The Assembly had already approved the measures.   Gov. Pete Wilson's office said earlier on Friday that the governor would sign the bills creating the authority, which would provide insurance coverage for earthquake damage to homeowners in the state.    "More than anything, we have brought stability to the homeowners market," said Senator Charles Calderon, a Democrat.   "It brings certainty for the insurance companies and it brings certainty to the homeowners."   The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) was proposed as part of a plan to help solve the state's homeowners insurance crisis.   Because state law requires insurers to offer earthquake coverage with every homeowners policy, many insurance companies stopped selling new homeowners policies and some considered dropping their existing customers to reduce their exposure to earthquake losses in California.    The CEA will be funded through premiums paid by those who purchase earthquake coverage, cash from participating insurance companies, commitments from participating insurers, reinsurance, as well as capital market investors.   The legislation requires the participation of insurance companies representing at least 70 percent of the homeowners insurance market.   The CEA could be prepared to sell policies by December 1, 1996, the California Department of Insurance said. 
5866 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  California Gov. Pete Wilson will sign legislation creating the $10.5 billion California Earthquake Authority, which would provide insurance coverage for earthquake damage to homeowners in the state, a spokesman for Wilson said on Friday.   Wilson spokesman Sean Walsh told Reuters the Republican governor has decided to sign the main legislation as well as the so-called trailer bill to create the privately financed, publicly managed state agency.   "It's necessary to ensure the buying and selling of homes in California," Walsh said of the proposed authority.    The state Assembly has already approved legislation that would create the authority.   The state Senate, however, must still act before the proposal can advance to the governor for his signature.   Senate action was expected by Saturday night.   The California Earthquake Authority (CEA) was proposed as part of a plan to help solve the state's homeowners insurance crisis.   Because state law requires insurers to offer earthquake coverage with every homeowners policy, many insurance companies stopped selling new homeowners policies and some considered dropping their existing customers to reduce their exposure to earthquake losses in California.    The CEA will be funded through premiums paid by those who purchase earthquake coverage, cash from participating insurance companies, commitments from participating insurers, reinsurance as well as capital market investors.   The legislation requires the participation of insurance companies representing at least 70 percent of the homeowners insurance market.   If approved by the Senate by Saturday and signed by Gov. Wilson, the CEA could be prepared to sell policies by December 1, 1996, the California Department of Insurance said. 
5867 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT  Fourteen million children will return this fall to schools needing extensive repairs that will cost an estimated $112 million, building contractors said Friday.   The Associated General Contractors of America said school districts have put off maintenance and rehabilitation of buildings to save money as states and local governments have cut taxes.   "A third of America's school children are trying to get a leg up in life inside buildings that are overcrowded, poorly ventilated, structurally unsafe or lacking adequate plumbing or lighting," ACG president Lee Wray Russell said in releasing a report on the physical state of schools.   In Washington, D.C., a judge declared several schools too unsafe to open next week, forcing city officials to scramble to find classrooms for the children.   The contractors' group found 74 percent of schools, about 59,000, were more than 25 years old and nearly one-third were more than 50 years old.   It said the age of the buildings was not a problem itself unless the buildings were not maintained.   Construction of a new elementary school would cost on average $6 million while a middle school costs $15 million, the report said.   The contractors' report was based on a U.S. General Accounting Office study of public schools. 
5868 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !M11 !MCAT  The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday that it charged a Naples, Fla., brokerage and its owner-president for alleged fraud and violations of federal net capital and reporting rules.   In a civil complaint filed in a U.S. district court, the SEC alleged that Old Naples Securities Inc and James Zimmerman collected over $3.5 million between July 1992 and August 5, 1996 from investors told the funds would be used to buy securities.   The defendants did not use the money as promised, but used it for personal expenses, or paid it to investors earlier enticed by the defendants to invest, the SEC said.    The SEC alleged the defendants also traded or attempted to trade securities at a time when Old Naples did not have the required minimum net capital to legally transact such trades.   Old Naples also violated record-keeping procedures by not maintaining records of receipts and disbursements of customers funds, the SEC alleged.   In addition, the firm filed false reports with the National Association of Securities Dealers, which contained inaccurate net capital computations.   The SEC said that Old Naples voluntarily stopped doing business on August 5.    As part of the action, the SEC said that the Securities Investor Protection Corporation has asked the court for a decree to appoint a trustee to takeover the affairs of Old Naples.   SIPC protects investors against failures of stockbrokerages, but not against the ups and downs of the stock market.   The SEC said it is seeking an accounting of funds the defendants received and the return of those funds, with prejugment interest, and civil penalties against them.   The defendants could not be reached for comment. 
5869 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A Dade County judge deferred a ruling on Friday on the method of notifying possible plaintiffs in a class-action suit brought against the major tobacco companies by flight attendants subjected to secondhand smoke.   Circuit Judge Robert Kaye was asked to decide whether or not possible members of the class will have to be notified by published advertisements, as the plaintiffs' lawyers wanted, or individually by mail, as the tobacco companies demanded.    The suit, which has come to be known as Broin vs Philip Morris, alleges that flight attendants on U.S.-based airlines suffer from diseases caused by on-the-job exposure to secondhand smoke.   It was filed initially in October 1991 for 23 current and former flight attendants, including lead plaintiff Norma Broin, and two survivors of deceased flight attendants.   It named as defendants Philip Morris Inc., R.J. Reynolds and other major tobacco producers.    Plaintiffs' attorney Stanley Rosenblatt argued that published notices, combined with media coverage of the case, would serve to notify current and former flight attendants who might have been sickened by breathing smoke during flights.   But attorney Hugh Whiting, representing R.J. Reynolds, argued that individual notification was a constitutional requirement "to effectively apprise people of their rights."   Kaye suggested a compromise in which current and former flight attendants whose names and addresses were readily available through airlines' employment lists and union records could be notified by mail and unknown potential class members could be informed by published notices.   He did not rule, but asked for more information and set a September 24 court date to rehear the issue.   Lawyers initially said the case could include some 60,000 current and former flight attendants, but a lawyer for Philip Morris suggested on Friday that the class might be as large as 400,000 people. 
5870 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Netframe Systems Inc said on Friday that it cut 13 percent of its workforce, or 45 employees and contractors, in an effort to reduce operating expenses.   "These reductions are expected to have no impact on new product development or customer service commitments to our customers," said Bob Puette, chief executive officer. 
5871 !C15 !C152 !C33 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Employee Solutions Inc chief executive Marvin Brody said Friday the company had secured a contract that, if expanded, could lead to a revenue boost of up to $120 million annually within six months.   "I believe that we will be able to increase our number of leased drivers to between 1,000 and 2,000 employees within six months, which would increase our revenues by about $120 million," Brody said in an interview.   Brody was referring to a contract announced today that initially will boost Employee's revenues by up to $12 million.    In August Employee Solutions posted revenues for the second quarter of $91 million, taking six-month revenues to $164.9 million   Brody also said he is confident the company will meet analysts' earnings estimates.   First Call's consensus estimate for fiscal 1996 is $0.40 a share, stepping up to $0.60 a share in fiscal 1997.   "Things are going very well, I'm comfortable with the numbers projected," he said.    The Phoenix, Ariz.-based company signed a deal with United Parcel Service unit Worldwide Dedicated Services Inc to provide 300 drivers and support staff via its Logistics Personnel Corp unit.   Brody is confident the contract can be expanded tenfold.   "We are initiating a customized driver program for Worldwide that will initially start with about 300 drivers but we hope it will expand to a very large contract," Brody said.   "We have an agreement to expand it to other markets assuming that the initial implementation goes as planned," Brody said.    "It is the beginning phase and we have a commitment to expand it, but any relationship is based upon performance," he added.   Brody said that Worldwide has some 4,000 drivers and support staff.   "We should see a very significant increase in the number of workers.   I'd like to think that we could get all of them," Brody said.   "My conservative estimate is somewhere between 1,000 and 2,000."   "I'm very confident that we will perform as necessary," he added.   In addition to the boost to revenues Brody, said the deal marks a watershed for the company because this latest customer is much larger than Employee Solution's typical small- to medium-sized customer.   Brody said Employee Solutions is remaining active in the acquisition market.   "We have a significant number (of acquisitions) in the pipeline.   We hope to close some before the end of the year," he said without elaborating.   Shares of Employee Solutions closed up 1/2 at 16-3/4 on Nasdaq. 
5872 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !GCAT !GDEF  Planar Systems Inc said it has won a $944,000 Phase II contract from the Naval Air Warfare Center in Orlando, Fla., to develop a 0.7 inch high-resolution headmount display for potential use in flight simulators. 
5873 !C18 !C181 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  NationsBank Corp chairman and chief executive Hugh McColl told a news conference there will be "some" layoffs as a result of the merger with Boatmen's Bancshares Inc, as well as a hiring freeze across the entire company.    McColl also said "natural attrition will provide room for some change in the work force."   NationsBank has 67,000 employees.   Boatmen's has 17,000.   Asked about layoffs at the St. Louis news conference, Boatmen's chairman and chief executive Andrew Craig said, "yes, there will be initially some reduction in force but not dramatically."   He also said "there will be movement of people from differenct types of function."   "I think there will be shifts in what people do," McColl said, adding that "layoffs" was not the best word to describe the situation.    James Hance, chief financial officer of NationsBank, said in answer to a question that "we in fact are increasing our leverage slightly" with the transaction.   He added that the bank remains well capitalized and meets regulatory standards.   "We expect to reduce heightened leverage in the first year to year-and-a-half," he said.   Hance said there will be earnings dilution of about five percent in the first year but he said on a "cash earnings per share" basis, which adds goodwill amortizaton back to earnings, the transaction is accretive "right off the bat."    Hance said 61 million shares will be issued to close the transaction in January 1997.   But he said NationsBank's existing 10-million-share buyback will continue in 1997, and there will be additional repurchases of nine milion share in 1997, for a total of 19 million.   In response to a questioner who asked if NationsBank was paying too much at about 2.7 times the book value of Boatmen's, McColl said, "Boatmen's is a class operation.   It is one of the strongest banking companies in the U.S."    A NationsBank spokesman, asked in a telephone call if there would be any accounting charge for layoffs, said he was not aware of any number associated with that.   He noted that the combined organization has more than 80,000 jobs and there is very little overlap in the combination. 
5874 !C24 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Union members at the idled Tosco Corp refinery in Trainer, Pa., are expected to ratify a tentative six-year collective bargaining pact in a Friday vote, union leadership said.   "We expect it to pass," said an official of local 8-234 of the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers.   More than 300 union members are to vote in the all-day poll.   Results will be released late Friday evening, officials said.    Ratification would enable Tosco to push forward with its plan to run the 172,000 barrels-per-day refinery with 100 fewer union staff, as part of a modernization and streamlining program the company deems necessary to make a profit.   Local OCAW members have been out of work since late January, when Tosco shut down the refinery after purchasing the plant as part of a $60 million deal with British Petroleum Co Plc.   As part of the deal, Tosco also gained BP's 500-station East Coast retail network.   The deal was announced in November, 1995, and finalized in the first days of February.    Tosco mothballed the Trainer refinery--formerly known as Marcus Hook--after assuming control, saying it could not make money under existing labor and operational conditions, and demanded changes in staffing and work rules.   At that time, OCAW members rejected Tosco's attempt to cut jobs and hire workers on a non-seniority basis.   In July, Tosco received the results of a study by the Bechtel Corp, which said the refinery could be run profitably with necessary labor and operations changes.    Part of the plan resulted in Tosco's plan to increase profits by reducing throughput to 150,000 bpd, upping the production of high-value clean-burning gasolines while reducing the slate of heavier fuel oils.   Union members are now seen begrudgingly accepting the job cuts, and staffing plans, realizing the plant may never open otherwise.   Tosco recently offered 216 union members jobs, choosing from a pool of the former BP union employees.   The selection process paid no heed to seniority, Denis Stephano, president of local 8-234 said.    "There are a lot of unhappy people around here on how this process has taken place.   It's hard to see friends not offered jobs," Stephano said.   Once the vote is tallied, the OCAW will notify Tosco of the results and if ratified, the company and union will meet in the next two weeks to set schedules for bringing workers back to the job.   Tosco plans to invest $110 million in the plant, including $50 million to modernize operations.   If all goes to schedule, the refinery will be back on-line in the summer of 1997, Tosco officials have said.    The total workforce at Trainer will include more than 100 non-union staff, bringing the total workforce to 360, compared with the 520 jobs when BP owned the refinery.   -New York Energy Desk, +1 212 859 1828 
5875 !C12 !C13 !C18 !C181 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Boatmen's Bancshares Inc said Friday the recent acquisition of about two million shares by two board members was not based on any insider information.   "There was no improper trading," Boatmen's chief executive officer Andrew Craig III said in a news conference Friday to discuss the bank holding company's planned acquisition by NationsBank Corp.    Craig said he had outside counsel review the trades and determined that "there was no trading based on any non-public insider information."   He also said that the board members made the purchases before they knew about NationsBank's $9.5 billion offer for Boatmen's, about a 40 percent premium over recent Boatmen's stock prices.   --Reuters Chicago newsdesk, 312-408-8787 
5876 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Standard & Poor's Corp said Friday it filed court papers seeking dismissal of Orange County's $500 million lawsuit against the firm on grounds its ratings are protected by the First Amendment.   Other county legal targets also filed papers in court, providing their first direct responses to county allegations.   The county filed for bankruptcy protection on December 6, 1994 after sustaining investment losses estimated at more than $1.6 billion.   The county emerged from bankruptcy in June.   The following were among the responses filed by firms sued by the county:    - The county sued S&P in June for breach of contract, professional negligence and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty.   The county alleged that S&P played a pivotal role in "falsely" assuring county taxpayers, county officials, the press and the financial community that the investment strategy of then-county Treasurer Robert Citron was not risky.   In its response, S&P maintained that as a publisher, it is fully shielded by the Constitution's First Amendment, which protects freedom of speech.   "Because S&P is a publisher, the county cannot prevail without pleading and proving that S&P published with actual malice," S&P said.    S&P also reaffirmed its stance that county officials had repeatedly misled the agency by providing inaccurate information necessary to assign ratings.   - The county also sued Rauscher Pierce Refsnes Inc for $500 million, alleging the firm, as financial advisor to the county, knew that Citron was making speculative and potentially disastrous bets on the movement of interest rates.   In its response, Rauscher said it was never hired as a financial advisor to the county.   Rauscher said it only acted as a pricing consultant, providing the county with opinions as to the fairness of the fees charged by financial advisors.    Rauscher said it intends at a later date to pursue dismissal of the county lawsuit as well as seek remedies from Orange County for its legal fees, arguing the county lawsuit against the firm is frivolous.   - Bond counsel LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae filed a motion in bankruptcy court seeking the dismissal of the county's $500 million lawsuit against the firm.   The county alleged LeBoeuf participated in the issuance of official statements for county bonds that contained misleading representations and omissions about the county's ill-fated investment portfolio.    In its response, LeBoeuf said it was hired to review the legal requirements for bond offerings and that it fully performed those duties.   LeBoeuf maintained it knew no more than what the county counsel knew about the status of the county investment pool.   The firm added that, under its contract with the county, LeBoeuf was limited to communications with county counsel. 
5877 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Giant Cement Holding Inc said its Keystone Cement unit reached an agreement with the Pennsylvania Environmental Enforcement Project Inc to dismiss litigation involving the resource recovery articles of its operation in Bath, Pennsylvania.   While terms of the agreement remain confidential, Giant Cement said the pact would have no impact on the its finances or operations.   -- New York Newsdesk 212-859-1610 
5878 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The race to succeed U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell, D-R.I., kicks into high-gear this weeken d when State Treasurer Nancy Mayer begins her television advertising campaign to win the Republican nomination.   Mayer's opponent Rep. Jack Reed, expected to capture the Democratic nomination in the Sept.10 primary said Mayer's television campaign comes on top of a Republican party ad blitz which began months ago.    "The Republican National Committee has already spent $700,000 on this race," Reed said in an interview.   "And that's a lot of money for Providence."   A spokeswoman for the Republican National Committee said in a telephone interview that $700,000 "was too high, but we will concede that we have spent several hundred thousand dollars in Rhode Island on an educational campaign."    Providence rates at the 46th largest U.S. market for broadcast, according to Amy Konikowski of Media Market Resources in New York.   "Based upon forecast costs, Providence in general is about a fifth of the cost for advertising as compared with Boston," she said.   Boston is the sixth largest television market, while New York City and Los Angeles are one and two respectively.   Mayer said in an interview that she had raised only $400,000 so far for the campaign, while Reed, who said he received just $50,000 from the National Democratic Committee, has been able to amass almost $1 million for his campaign.    "It doesn't sound like such an uneven matchup once you add in the NRC contribution," said Debbie Walsh, acting executive director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.   Walsh noted Republicans "are working very hard for all the Senate candidates when you realize they could lose control of that chamber with just four seats."   And Mayer, who is a pro-choice, socially moderate and fiscally conservative Republican, would provide the party with another woman "to help them close the gender gap," Walsh said.   "They are making extra efforts to help these women candidates."   The most recent poll conducted by the Providence Journal-Bulletin/ABC and released on Aug. 11 showed Mayer trailing Reed by six points, 44 to 38 percent.   The poll had a five percent margin of error. 
5879 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  L.A. T Sportswear Inc said on Friday that Omega Partners LP had agreed to drop its lawsuit against L.A. T.   In May 1995 Omega filed a purported class action suit against L.A. T, its executives and the underwriter of its initial public offering, alleging that the offering documents contained a material omission. 
5880 !E12 !ECAT !G15 !G154 !GCAT  JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., Aug 30, Reuter - Mervyn King, chief economist and executive director for the Bank of England, on Friday pointed out challenges that the planned European Central Bank would face.   Speaking at a symposium here sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, King said the new central bank, on the one hand, will have the benefit of having inherited a climate of stable prices.   However, he said, its ability to conduct policy and gain the credibility of financial markets will be made difficult by its status as a new entity.    "There will not be a track record," King said.   "That will make things rather tricky."   He added there have already been some concerns expressed about a lack of accountability.   King was addressing an international symposium titled "Achieving Price Stability." 
5881 !E11 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Next Friday's report on U.S. employment, spotlighted by economists for weeks, will show strong jobs creation along with hints of wage inflation, according to U.S. economists in a Reuters survey.   On average, 23 economists forecast 244,000 jobs were created in August, up from 193,000 new jobs in July.   They also forecast the unemployment rate slipped to 5.3 percent and average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent to $11.83.   "The job-creation process in the economy is still good," said Astrid Adolfson, senior economist at MCM MoneyWatch Inc.    Adolfson projected a 225,000 rise in payrolls and a 5.3 percent unemployment rate.   The Federal Reserve focuses closely on wage inflation, which would increase if demand for workers remains high.   But the August gain in hourly earnings should be too small to warrant a near-term interest-rate hike, many economists said.   "You would need a jump of five or six (tenths of a percent) to get it," Adolfson said.   A key manufacturing-sector survey by the National Association of Purchasing Management (NAPM) snatched second billing next week, experts said.    On average, economists forecast the August NAPM business activity index would rise to 52.0 from 50.2 in July.   Individual components of the report will be more important than its headline number, said Joe Lavorgna, financial markets economist at Lehman Government Securities Inc.   "Look at the employment piece," he said.   "When it gets up there (around 49), it's generally associated with strong payrolls growth."   The NAPM index is set for release on Tuesday, September 3 at 1000 EDT/1400 GMT.   The August employment report is scheduled for Friday, September 6 at 0830 EDT/1230 GMT.   -- 212-859-1868 
5882 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Striking workers at Hertz Corp, a unit of Ford Motor Co, on Friday ratified a new three-year contract and ended a week-long stoppage at the company's Chicago car rental operations.   About 300 workers, members of Teamster Local 781, are expected to return to work on September 3, the company said.   Hertz said the strike affected O'Hare International Airport, Midway Airport and two downtown locations.   Throughout the strike, which involved a work practice issue, Hertz continued operating with management personnel filling in for striking workers.     -- Chicago newsdesk 312 408-8787 
5883 !C12 !C33 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  LG&E Energy Corp said Friday the U.S. District Court in Birmingham, Ala., ruled that the law prohibits Tennessee Valley Authority from selling power to LG&E's LG&E Power Marketing Inc unit.   The court ruled that the Tennessee Valley Authority Act prevents TVA from selling power to groups that did not have power exchange deals with TVA on July 1, 1957.   TVA and LG&E Power Marketing had contended that TVA's long-standing power exchange agreement with another LG&E Energy unit, Louisville Gas and Electric Co, should apply to LG&E Power Marketing, the company said.   LG&E Energy said LG&E Power has been handling power sales for LG&E since a company restructuring two years ago.   The court ruling will not affect the sales growth of LG&E Power Marketing, which is ranked second among power marketers in the United States based on sales volumes, LG&E Energy said. 
5884 !C21 !CCAT !GCAT  An expedition seeking to recover the hull of the liner Titanic from the ocean floor abandoned its attempt on Friday, its mission overwhelmed by equipment problems and mechanical failure, a spokeswoman said.   A 20-tonne piece of the Titanic's steel hull, which had been attached by cables to a recovery ship off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada, fell back to the bottom of the sea, said Erin Purcell of Boston-based Reagan Communications that represents two of the ships used in the expedition.   The piece of hull, lifted from the Atlantic Ocean floor by means of several diesel-filled bags, had been stuck about 200 feet (60 metres) below the water's surface before it fell, she said.   Diesel was used because it is lighter than water.   The hull fell as recovery crews were trying to haul it into more shallow water.   Several of the bags burst and cables snapped, Purcell said.   The steel-hulled Titanic, thought to be unsinkable, struck an iceberg on April 14, 1912, and sank, killing 1,523 of the 2,200 passengers and crew on board.   The wreckage, in water more than 2 1/2 miles (3 km) deep, was located in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1985.   The expedition had tried unsuccessfully several times this week to retrieve the hull but technical hitches and equipment problems caused persistent delays.   Expedition members did manage to attach a beacon to the debris that will emit a locator signal for two years, Purcell said.   Some 1,700 passengers including three survivors of the Titanic's doomed trans-Atlantic maiden cruise who accompanied the recovery mission returned to port on Thursday, she said.   Original plans had called for the piece of hull to be taken to Boston on Saturday and to New York on Sunday.   New York-based RMS Titanic Inc., which sponsored the project and holds the rights to the debris, had hoped to use the hull as the centerpiece of an exhibition next spring.   The U.S.-based Discovery Channel was planning a documentary about the recovery mission, while NBC television network and Britain's Channel Four were planning to release independent productions about the Titanic.   The recovery effort did have its share of critics among historians and scientists.   "Why destroy a grave?"   asked Karen Kamuda, vice president of the Titanic Historical Society based in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts, this week.   "It's gross.   "You wouldn't sell tickets to a cruise to see the wreckage of TWA Flight 800," she said of the plane that crashed in July and killed 230 people off the New York coast.   "Why does it all of a sudden become okay after a couple of generations?"   The historical society, with 5,000 members worldwide, also disputes the historical importance of the findings.   "We're not talking about Egyptian or Mayan culture.   We're talking about manufactured, 20th-century objects.   What do we learn?"   Kamuda said.   But Robert Hessler, a professor of biological oceanography at San Diego-based Scripps Institution of Oceanography, said, "The Titanic played such a vivid role in our memories.   The objects will remind us of things we've forgotten, differences in how ships are built and differences in lifestyle." 
5885 !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Hurricane Edouard remains a threat mainly to shipping at this time.   The storm, currently 650 miles south southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, is moving north northwest at 12 mph.   Top winds remain at 140 mph and only small fluctuations in strength may occur today.   Large ocean swells will occur from the Bahamas to Bermuda and along the East Coast of the USA.   Edouard may turn back toward the USA East Coast during the weekend, so all interests along the coast should keep updated on the progress of the storm.    Hurricane Fran, with 75 mph winds, is 200 miles north-northeast of Antigua, moving west northwest at 13 mph.   Fran is passing north of the Leeward Islands, and only causing large ocean swells in coastal areas.   Fran will continue its west northwest track with top winds remaining near 75 mph today, and will be a threat mainly to shipping during the next 24-36 hours.    Tropical Storm Gustav, with 40 mph winds, is 875 miles west southwest of the Cape Verde Islands, moving northwest at 10 mph, and is expected to continue a northwest track through today with little change in strength.   Tropical Storm Orson is centered about 800 miles east southeast of Tokyo, Japan, with top winds near 50 mph.   Orson is expected to move slowly west northwest during the next 36 hours with top winds remaining near 50 mph.   Tropical storm Rick is only of interest to shipping near 31n/173e but it is expected to weaken and dissipate this weekend. 
5886 !C21 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !GWEA  Utility companies in New England have already begun to make preparations in case Hurricane Edouard strikes the region.   "We have had an initial preparation meeting of our emergency teams yesterday and we have another one scheduled for today.   We are watching very closely," said David Jacobs, a spokesman for Eastern Utilities   Mike Monahan, a spokesman for Boston Edison, said his company too was watching the storm closely and "we are making preparations, calling around to see we have the right supplies, the right people in the right area."   Meanwhile preparations continued along the Eastern seaboard as meterologists continued to track the storm uncertain where or if it would reach land.   --Leslie Gevirtz, 617-367-4142 
5887 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Rival Iraqi Kurdish factions began two days of peace talks at the American embassy in London on Friday.   A week-old ceasefire brokered by the United States has been broken by sporadic fighting, but there have been no reports since Wednesday of new clashes in northern Iraq, which the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) control under Western air protection.   The meeting is expected to try to push forward agreements which were reached last year after clashes in which about 3,000 people died.   Officials of both sides described the London talks as "preliminary."   The U.S. embassy said only that the meeting was expected to last two days.   "The meeting is to consolidate the ceasefire," the PUK's representative at the talks, Latif Rashid, told Reuters.   "We want a commitment from both sides.   We want to send independent observers and monitors and for the observers and monitors to report to an arbitration committee," he said.   U.S. Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs Robert Pelletreau, who brokered the truce, wants a meeting in September between PUK leader Jalal Talabani and KDP chief Massoud Barzani, but this may depend on the success of Friday's meeting.   A KDP spokesman said the meeting began at 2 p.m. (1300 GMT) chaired by Robert Deutsche, the Director of the U.S. Office of Northern Gulf Affairs.   The Iraqi National Congress -- which links the KDP and PUK with non-Kurdish groups opposed to President Saddam Hussein's government in Baghdad -- is also attending the meeting, as are observers from Britain's Foreign Office.   Previous talks have centred on the distribution of oil revenues -- which Baghdad is obliged to share with the Kurds under U.N. terms easing world trade sanctions -- and the status of the city of Arbil, which is currently under PUK control.   U.S., British and French planes have been patrolling the skies of northern Iraq since shortly after the Gulf War in 1991 to shield Iraq's Kurds from attack by the Baghdad government. 
5888 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GVIO  Seven Iraqis who seized a Sudanese airliner with 199 people aboard and forced it to fly to London were on Friday charged with hijack, ending speculation that they might be offered immediate asylum in Britain.   Police said the seven men, who freed all their hostages after the plane landed at Stansted airport on Tuesday and then appealed for asylum, would appear in court on Saturday.   The Iraqis claimed they were "ordinary people persecuted by the regime of Saddam (Hussein)" but interior ministry officials had consistently said it was likely the seven would be charged with hijack before any plea for asylum was considered.   Under English law the maximum sentence for hijack is life imprisonment, but there has been widespread speculation that the seven will receive lesser sentences and then be allowed to stay rather than being sent back to Iraq.   The hijack began on Monday when an Amman-bound plane was taken over shortly after it took off from Khartoum.   The hijackers threatened to blow it up during a refuelling stop in Cyprus unless they were taken to London.   After a search of the aircraft following the hijackers' surrender, police found only knives and fake explosives. 
5889 !C31 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !M14 !M142 !MCAT  A British metals brokerage said Friday it was scaling down operations and cutting staff after it lost business amid adverse publicity after the Sumitomo Corp. copper scandal.   Founded in 1991 by Britons Ashley Levett and Charlie Vincent, Winchester prospered by offering highly sophisticated metals brokering skills, and until about a year ago, numbered Sumitomo among its top clients.   The Sumitomo scandal broke on June 14 when the Japanese metals conglomerate sacked its star metals trader, Yasuo Hamanaka, alleging he ran up losses of $1.8 billion on unauthorised copper trades.   Stephen Heath, managing director of Winchester Commodities Group, confirmed that its Winchester Brokerage would cease to act as an introducing broker -- an intermediary among participants in the multi-trillion-dollar trade in metals.   "Specifically as regards Winchester the continued adverse publicity that the company has had ... has damaged severely customer-client relationships and also damaged staff morale," Heath said.   After the scandal broke, Winchester said that it had done minimal business with Sumitomo over the preceding 12 months.   It has also strongly denied any role in the losses and said it is ready to cooperate with regulatory and fraud inquiries.   Another part of the group, Winchester Trading, will reduce activities but continue to trade as of now, Heath said.   The company will not be closing entirely and continues to enjoy the support of its London Metal Exchange clearing bank member, Credit Lyonnais Rouse.   But it will cut a number of staff and Heath said he would also be leaving the firm soon.   Levett and Vincent, who are no longer directors but remain shareholders, have complained in newspaper interviews that publicity hurt the business.   British tabloid reports had focused on their affluent lifestyle in Monaco, where they live, and on their 1994/95 bonuses worth around $21 million each. 
5890 !GCAT !GREL !GVIO  Saudi Arabian dissident Osama bin Laden has called for a holy war against American troops in the Gulf region, an Arabic-language newspaper reported.   London-based al-Quds al-Arabi said in a press release ahead of publication on Saturday that Laden called in a 12-page statement "for a Jihad against the Americans who are occupying the land of the two (Moslem holy) shrines."   The paper said it had obtained the statement which was dated August 22, issued in Afghanistan and signed by bin Laden.   The newspaper provided a copy of the statement to Reuters, but it was not possible to verify its authenticity.   The U.S. embassy in Riyadh refused comment but said that all such statements are taken "seriously".   Two weeks ago the U.S. State Department named bin Laden as "one of the most significant financial sponsors of Islamic extremist activities in the world today".   The paper said bin Laden, whose fortune has been estimated by some Middle East sources at $300 million, called on followers in Saudi to "launch a guerrilla war against American forces and expel the infidels from the Arabian Peninsula".   U.S. and other Western troops deployed in Gulf Arab states have stepped up security measures after 24 Americans and two Indians were killed in the kingdom in two separate attacks.   There about 5,000 U.S. military personnel in Saudi Arabia.   Saudi Arabia has not directly linked bin Laden to the November bombing in Riyadh which killed five Americans and two Indians but said the four Saudi nationals who carried out the attack were influenced by bin Laden and militant clergmen.   "Pushing out this American occupying enemy is the most important duty after the duty of belief in God," the newspaper quoted the statement as saying.   "The presence of the American crusader military forces in the Moslem Gulf states...is the greatest danger and the largest harm which threatens the world's biggest oil reserve."   The statement also urged Saudi Arabian military and security forces to stay neutral as they were no match to the U.S. troops.   "This stage requires appropriate fighting methods, by swift and light forces working in complete secrecy...," the newspaper quoted the statement as saying. 
5891 !C21 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  A British metals brokerage said on Friday it was scaling down operations and shedding staff after it became a victim of a drop in business and adverse publicity after the Sumitomo Corp copper scandal.   Stephen Heath, managing director of Winchester Commodities Group, confirmed that its Winchester Brokerage would cease to act as an introducing broker -- an intermediary among participants in the multi-trillion-dollar trade in metals.   Founded in 1991 by Britons Ashley Levett and Charlie Vincent, Winchester prospered by offering highly sophisticated metals brokering skills, and until about a year ago numbered Sumitomo among its top clients.   "Post the Sumitomo affair the level of overall business in the metals market has been very low," Heath told Reuters.   "I believe that a number of other players in the metal markets are also looking at a retrenchment".   "Specifically as regards Winchester the continued adverse publicity that the company has had...has damaged severely customer-client relationships and also damaged staff morale."   Another part of the group, Winchester Trading, would reduce activities but continue to trade as of now, he said.   The company would not be closing entirely and continued to enjoy the support of its London Metal Exchange (LME) clearing bank member, Credit Lyonnais Rouse.   But there would be a number of redundancies.   He would also be leaving the firm soon, he said.   The Sumitomo scandal broke on June 14 when the Japanese metals conglomerate said it had sacked its star metals trader, Yasuo Hamanaka, alleging that he had run up losses of $1.8 billion on unauthorised copper trades.   Winchester said subsequently that it had had minimal business with Sumitomo over the preceding 12 months.   It has also strongly denied any role in the losses and affirmed that it is ready to cooperate with regulatory and fraud inquiries.   Levett and Vincent, who are no longer directors but remain shareholders, also complained in newspaper interviews given early in July that publicity had hurt the business.   British tabloid reports had focussed on their affluent lifestyle in Monaco, where they live, and on their 1994/95 bonuses worth around $21 million each.   "Obviously the press hasn't been great for our business," Levett told the Financial Times on July 5.   "We've had clients who have closed accounts with us".   Vincent said that "there's a huge misunderstanding of who we are as people".   Neither could immediately be contacted on Friday. 
5892 !GCAT !GCRIM  The first person caught trying to smuggle drugs into Britain through the Channel Tunnel was on Friday sentenced to 11 years in jail after police found he was carrying cocaine worth 527,000 pounds ($815,000).   Student Stanley Aspinall's bid to make a fortune ended when police at London's Waterloo International station discovered four kg (nine lbs) of the drug hidden in his suitcase after he arrived from Paris on the Eurostar train service.   Aspinall, 19, described as "tragic and unsophisticated" by his lawyer, bought the cocaine in Thailand. 
5893 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The job of policing Northern Ireland through one of the most testing periods in its history was on Friday entrusted to Ronnie Flanagan, a young, reform-minded officer from Belfast.   Flanagan, currently Deputy Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), said his priority was to repair Protestant-Catholic relations after months of turmoil and violence caused by Catholic objections to marches through their areas by Protestant orders.   "Northern Ireland cannot withstand another summer like this one.   The country stared into the face of great difficulty and crept right to the edge of the abyss.   It pulled back and I believe it will continue to draw back," Flanagan said.   "Building community trust has to be the number one priority.   It is the most important objective we have to secure in the immediate future," Flanagan, 47, told a news conference.   He takes over from the retiring Sir Hugh Annesley, a former head of London's police, in charge of a 13,000-strong armed police force operating in a region of Britain where guerrilla war has been a way of life for almost three decades.   His appointment was announced at the end of the so-called annual marching season, which this year brought Northern Ireland to the brink of wholesale sectarian violence in a trial of strength between rival Protestant and Catholic communities.   Cars, houses and churches were torched after Annesley bowed to Protestant pressure and reversed a ban on an Orange Order parade through the predominantly Catholic Garvaghy Road area of Portadown in July, sparking Catholic protests instead.   The 40 percent Catholic minority views the RUC as a tool of continued rule by pro-British Protestants because of its 92-percent Protestant make-up.   Gerry Adams, President of Sinn Fein, the Catholic-backed political arm of pro-Irish IRA guerrillas, dismissed Flanagan's appointment as an irrelevance that would change nothing.   "The behaviour of the RUC on the Garvaghy Road and its partisan behaviour during the summer have reinforced the widespread view among nationalists that the force has no future and must be disbanded.   There can be no halfway house."   Reaction from other political groups was mixed after a violent summer in which the RUC came under attack both from Protestant Unionists, who want the province to stay British, and Catholic Irish Nationalists, who want it reunited with Ireland.   David Trimble, leader of the mainstream Ulster Unionist Party, said: "The poor quality of leadership in the recent past has resulted in a serious loss of morale.   He would need to rebuild morale within the force."   The Irish Republican Army (IRA) ended a 17-month ceasefire in February and resumed its war against British rule with attacks on targets in Britain but not in Northern Ireland itself.   But many ordinary people fear it is only a matter of time before the cycle of violence returns to the province because of the lack of any progress in peace talks sponsored by the British and Irish governments.   Sinn Fein is excluded from the talks because of the IRA's failure to call a ceasefire, although Protestant "Loyalist" guerrilla groups have stuck by their own truce to get their political representatives involved in the peace negotiations.   But their spokesmen say the truce has come under strain because of the failure of the IRA to call a new ceasefire. 
5894 !GCAT !GSPO  Former world heavyweight champion Frank Bruno has quit the ring on medical advice, Britain's Sun newspaper reported on Friday.   An eye specialist told the 35-year-old Bruno that he could be blinded in one eye if he boxed again, the newspaper said.   The Briton, who lost his World Boxing Council (WBC) title to Mike Tyson in March, said: "I was in shock as soon as he told me and it still hasn't really sunk in.   "I never wanted to end like this but at the end of the day I'm glad I had a good innings."    Bruno, for years one of Britain's most popular sportsmen, had hoped to have another shot at the world title and had been in training until a routine eye test on Monday highlighted a problem with his right eye.   Professor David McLeod, who examined Bruno, told the Sun: "There is a risk he could be blinded in the eye if he steps into the ring again.   He is in danger of getting a retinal detachment and there is no point in exposing himself to that."   Bruno lost three world title fights before finally landing the crown by beating American Oliver McCall in a unanimous points decision at Wembley in September 1995.    He was only the third Briton ever to hold a world heavyweight title.   But Bruno lost the title on his first defence when he fought American Tyson in Las Vegas.   Bruno suffered a cut eye in the opening round and the referee stopped the fight in the third as the Briton crumbled under a flurry of punches. 
5895 !GCAT !GSPO  Friday's national league of Ireland premier division fixtures are as follows.   All kick-off times are given in gmt.   Friday, August 30   Bohemians versus Cork City at Dalymount Park,9 1845.   Dundalk versus St.Patrick's Athletic at Oriel Park, 1845.   Shamrock Rovers versus Shelbourne at Tolka Park, 1845.   -- Damien Lynch, Dublin Newsroom +353 1 6603377 
5896 !GCAT !GSPO  Irish soccer manager Mick McCarthy on Friday announced the team to play Liechtenstein in Saturday's World Cup qualifying match.   Birmingham's Gary Breen was selected ahead of Phil Babb in defence, while 18-year-old Ian Harte makes his international competitive debut.   Keith O'Neill of Norwich City joins Niall Quinn up front.   The team is as follows:   Given, Breen, Staunton, Irwin, McAteer, Harte, McLoughlin, Houghton, Townsend, Quinn, O'Neill.   -- Dublin Newsroom +353 1 676 9779 
5897 !GCAT !GSPO  Limerick will bid to erase the bitter memories of 1994 when they meet Wexford in the final of the All-Ireland hurling championship at Croke Park on Sunday.   Two years ago Limerick led Offaly by five points with as many minutes remaining in the All-Ireland final but succumbed to a flurry of late scores and lost the game at the death.   "The memories of 1994 are still with us, something that's in the bank for us.   We might not have won the All-Ireland then, but the whole campaign was a good experience," said Dave Clarke, who will play at wing-back for Limerick on Sunday.    Limerick have had to overcome steep obstacles and stiff opposition to reach the 1996 decider.   They beat Cork for the first time since 1980 in the first round of the Munster championship and then came from behind to beat 1995 All-Ireland champions Clare in their next game.   At half-time in the Munster final, Tipperary had led by 10 points but Limerick fought back to force a draw.   In the replay, the forwards hammered home four goals as Limerick beat Tipperary on a scoreline of 4-07 to 0-16.   Limerick, as Munster champions, then defeated Ulster champions Antrim in the All-Ireland semi-final.    "We've had close games, needing a bit of Lady Luck at times but, also, this is a team that doesn't want to die.   There is plenty of heart," said Clarke.   Limerick won the last of their seven Ireland hurling titles in 1973.   Defender Ciaran Carey will captain the team on Sunday.   Wexford opened their 1996 campaign with a victory over Kilkenny and then they beat Dublin to qualify for a Leinster final meeting with Offaly.   At half-time, Wexford led Offaly by one point but pulled away in the second period to land their first Leinster title since 1977 on a scoreline of 2-23 to 2-15.    "We've been knocking and knocking on the door, we've been known as the bridesmaids for the past 19 years," said Wexford team captain and forward Martin Storey.   "We played four Leinster finals and three league finals in the 1990's so the hurling has to be fairly good, but it doesn't get recognised as that until you win something," he added.   Wexford beat Connacht champions Galway 2-13 to 3-07 in the All-Ireland semi-final and will seek to bridge a 28-year gap since the county won its fifth and last All-Ireland title.   Defender Sean Flood will fill the vacancy at number seven for Wexford should he recover in time from a leg injury.    WEXFORD: 1-Damien Fitzhenry; 2-Christy Kehoe, 3-Ger Cush, 4- John O'Connor; 5-Roddie Guiney, 6 - Liam Dunne, 7-vacant; 8-Adrian Fenlon, 9 - Larry O'Gorman; 10-Rory McCarthy, 11 - Martin Storey, 12-Larry Murphy; 13-Eamonn Scallan, 14-Gary Laffan, 15-Tom Dempsey.   LIMERICK: 1-Joe Quaid; 2-Stephen McDonagh, 3 - Michael Nash, 4-Declan Nash; 5-Dave Clarke, 6-Ciaran Clarke, 7-Mark Foley; 8- Michael Houlihan, 9 - Sean O'Neill; 10-Frankie Carroll, 11-Gary Kirby, 12-Barry Foley; 13-Owen O'Neill, 14-Damien Quigley, 15- T.J.Ryan. 
5898 !GCAT !GPOL  NIGER GOVERNMENT LIST (960830-2)    ************************************************************    * 30 Aug 96 - Parliamentary elections have been postponed *    * from September 22 until 10 November  *    ************************************************************    President........................Gen Ibrahim Bare MAINASSARA   (Elected July 96 for a five-year term, sworn in 7 Aug 96)    - - - - - - -   NATIONAL SALVATION COUNCIL (Formed 28 Jan 96)    Chairman.........................Gen Ibrahim Bare MAINASSARA    Vice Chairman..................Col Youssoufa Mamoudou MAIGAR    - - - - - - -   GOVERNMENT (Apptd 23 Aug 96)    Prime Minister (Apptd 30 Jan 96)................  Boukary ADJI    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS OF STATE:    Finance & Planning..............................CISSE Amadou    Foreign Relations..............................Andre SALIFOU    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS    Agriculture & Livestock........................Brah MAHAMANE    Civil Service, Labour & Employment...........  .  Seyni Ali GADO    Communication...............................  Inoussa OUSSEINI    Defence.........................Ousmane Issoufou OUBANDAWAKI   Deputy Minister at the presidency for cooperation &     Integration..........................  Ibrahim Gagi MAYAKI    Education...................................Aissata MOUMOUNI    Health...............................  SAMBO Abdoulaye Mariama    Higher Education & Research..........Harouna Hamidou SIDIKOU    Interior.......................................Idi ANGO Omar    Justice & Human Rights.........................Boube OUMAROU    Mines & Energy..............................Mai Manga BOUKAR    Public Works....................................  Cherif CHAKO   Social Development, Population, Advancement of Women &     Protection of Children.....................  Rabi Dady GAO    Tourism & Crafts.....................  .  DIALLO Aissa Abdoulaye    Trade & Industry..............................Jacques NIGNON    Transport...................................Souley ABDOULAYE    Water supply & Environment...............Kada Labo ABOUBACAR   Youth, Sports & National     Solidarity.....................Lt-Col Abdouramane SEYDOU    - - - - - - -   SECRETARIES OF STATE    For the Budget...............................  Ibrahim KOUSSOU    For Development & Economic Relations......  .  Yacouba NABASSOUA    For the Interior.......................Attaher ABDOULMOUMINE    For Social Development.......................Harouna NIANDOU    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor....................Charles KONAN BANNY   (Central Bank of West African States)    - - - - - - -   NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this   government list, please contact the Reuter Editorial   Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542 7968.    (End Government List) 
5899 !GCAT !GPOL  SLOVAK REPUBLIC GOVERNMENT LIST (960830)    President........................................Michal KOVAC   (Sworn in 2 Mar 93 for a five-year term)    - - - - - - -   COALITION GOVERNMENT (Sworn in 13 Dec 94)   (See end of list for party affiliations)    Prime Minister.........................Vladimir MECIAR (HZDS)    Deputy Prime Minister....................Sergej KOZLIK (HZDS)   (Also Minister of Finance)    Deputy Prime Minister................  Katherina TOHTOVA (HZDS)    Deputy Prime Minister.....................  .  Jozef KALMAN (ZRS)    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS:    Agriculture.................................Peter BACO (HZDS)    Construction & Public Works....................Jan MRAZ (ZRS)    Culture....................................  .  Ivan HUDEC (HZDS)    Defence.......................................Jan SITEK (SNS)    Economy....................................  Karol CESNEK (IND)    Education and Science....................Eva SLAVKOVSKA (SNS)    Environment...............................  Jozef ZLOCHA (HZDS)    Finance........................................See Deputy PMs    Foreign Affairs............................Pavol HAMZIK (IND)    Health...............................  .  Lubomir JAVORSKY (HZDS)    Interior.................................Gustav KRAJCI (HZDS)    Justice....................................  Jozef LISCAK (ZRS)    Labour and Social Affairs...............Olga KELTOSOVA (HZDS)    Privatisation...............................  Peter BISAK (ZRS)    Transport & Communications.............Alexander REZES (HZDS)    Without portfolio..............................Jan MRAZ (ZRS)    - - - - - - -   PARTY AFFILIATIONS:   HZDS - Movement for a Democratic Slovakia   ZRS - Workers Party   SNS - Slovak National Party   IND - Independent    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor..........................  Vladimir MASAR    - - - - - - -     NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this    government list, please contact the Reuter    Editorial Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542    7968.    (End Government List) 
5900 !GCAT !GPOL  CHAD GOVERNMENT LIST (960830)    ************************************************************    * 24 Nov 96 - Parliamentary elections *    ************************************************************    President (Sworn in 8 Aug 96)....................Idriss DEBY    - - - - - - -   TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT    Prime Minister (Apptd 8 Apr 95)..............Djimasta KOIBLA    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS    Armed Forces...............................  .  Youssouf TOGOIMI    Civil Service & Labour........................Ousmane DJIDDA    Commerce & Industry..........................  .  Salibou NGARBA    Communication (Information)...........  .  YOUSSOUF Mbodou Mbami    Culture, Youth & Sports...............Abderamane KOULAMALLAH    Education...................................Nagoum YAMASSOUM    Environment & Tourism...................Odering Goulaye KELO    Finance...............................  BICHARA Cherif Daoussa    Foreign Affairs...............................  .  Saleh KEBZABO    Interior.........................................  NIMIR Ahmat    Justice....................................  .  Abdelkerim NADJO    Livestock......................................MAHAMAT Nouri    Mines, Energy & Petroleum.....................  Ngargos MOSNDA    Planning & Cooperation................  .  Yamtebaye NADJITANGAR    Post & Telecommunications................  Ngarbaye TOMBALBAYE    Public Health..............................Younouss KEDALLAH    Public Works & Habitat................  .  Mamout Hissein MAMOUT    Rural Development.....................  Ali Mahamat Zene FADEL    Women, Children & Social Affairs........Aziza Ahmat SENOUSSI    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor...................Jean-Felix MAMALEPOT   (Central Bank of Central African States)    - - - - - - -   NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this     government list, please contact the Reuter     Editorial Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542     7968.    (End Government List) 
5901 !GCAT !GPOL  NIGER GOVERNMENT LIST (960830)    ************************************************************    * 30 Aug 96 - Parliamentary elections have been postponed *    * from September 22 until the end of November *    * (date to be announced) *    ************************************************************    - - - - - - -    President........................Gen Ibrahim Bare MAINASSARA   (Elected July 96 for a five-year term, sworn in 7 Aug 96)    - - - - - - -   NATIONAL SALVATION COUNCIL (Formed 28 Jan 96) Chairman.........................Gen Ibrahim Bare MAINASSARA    Vice Chairman..................Col Youssoufa Mamoudou MAIGAR    - - - - - - -   GOVERNMENT (Apptd 23 Aug 96) Prime Minister (Apptd 30 Jan 96)................  Boukary ADJI    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS OF STATE:    Finance & Planning..............................CISSE Amadou    Foreign Relations..............................Andre SALIFOU    - - - - - - -   MINISTERS    Agriculture & Livestock........................Brah MAHAMANE    Civil Service, Labour & Employment...........  .  Seyni Ali GADO    Communication...............................  Inoussa OUSSEINI    Defence.........................Ousmane Issoufou OUBANDAWAKI   Deputy Minister at the presidency for cooperation &     Integration..........................  Ibrahim Gagi MAYAKI    Education...................................Aissata MOUMOUNI    Health...............................  SAMBO Abdoulaye Mariama    Higher Education & Research..........Harouna Hamidou SIDIKOU    Interior.......................................Idi ANGO Omar    Justice & Human Rights.........................Boube OUMAROU    Mines & Energy..............................Mai Manga BOUKAR    Public Works....................................  Cherif CHAKO   Social Development, Population, Advancement of Women &     Protection of Children.....................  Rabi Dady GAO    Tourism & Crafts.....................  .  DIALLO Aissa Abdoulaye    Trade & Industry..............................Jacques NIGNON    Transport...................................Souley ABDOULAYE    Water supply & Environment...............Kada Labo ABOUBACAR   Youth, Sports & National     Solidarity.....................Lt-Col Abdouramane SEYDOU    - - - - - - -   SECRETARIES OF STATE    For the Budget...............................  Ibrahim KOUSSOU    For Development & Economic Relations......  .  Yacouba NABASSOUA    For the Interior.......................Attaher ABDOULMOUMINE    For Social Development.......................Harouna NIANDOU    - - - - - - -    Central Bank Governor....................Charles KONAN BANNY   (Central Bank of West African States)    - - - - - - -   NOTE: Any comments/queries on the content of this   government list, please contact the Reuter Editorial   Reference Unit, London, on (171) 542 7968.    (End Government List) 
5902 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  The separatist Quebec government's independence drive suffered a setback on Friday when a judge ruled that a lawyer can continue his court battle to prevent any attempt by the French-speaking Canadian province to secede unilaterally.   Quebec Superior Court judge Robert Pidgeon ruled that lawyer Guy Bertrand can proceed with his application for a court injunction against any future referendums that would lead to a unilateral declaration of independence by Quebec.   Last October, Quebec separatists lost a referendum on sovereignty by one percentage point.   The Parti Quebecois government is determined to hold another referendum on sovereignty, but the vote may be more than two years away.   In court hearings last spring, Bertrand, a flamboyant former hardline Quebec separatist turned ardent federalist, had charged that referendums leading to Quebec's unilateral declaration of independence would amount to an attempted "coup d'etat" and a violation of his constitutional rights.   In his ruling on Friday, Pidgeon said Bertrand's application for an injunction deserved a full hearing before a court.   "Certain of the constitutional questions raised by (Bertrand) deserve to be looked at fully by a judge," Pidgeon wrote in French in his 62-page decision.   The separatist Parti Quebecois government tried to block Bertrand's application, arguing the courts had no place in deciding what should be a purely political matter.   Pidgeon said it will be up to the judge who hears the injunction application to decide whether Bertrand's constitutional rights were threatened by the Quebec government's independence drive.   Canada's Justice Minister Allan Rock told reporters in Quebec City he was pleased with the judge's decision, saying it meant the courts and the Canadian constitution would have a role in any Quebec secession process.   "We are completely satisfied with the judgment that was rendered.   Canadians everywhere should be encouraged to see that the courts do have a role to play and that the rule of law stands for something important in this country," he said.   Rock said the federal government would consider any future referendum on sovereignty to be purely consultative, and that to secede from Canada, Quebec must obtain the agreement of the other provinces and Ottawa through a constitutional amendment.   Quebec's Justice Minister Paul Begin played down Friday's ruling and made it clear his government believes the courts have no place in deciding the political future of Quebec.   "We submit that Quebec and Quebeckers through their National Assembly and by a democratic vote in a referendum can alone decide their future," Begin said.   In a statement from Chicoutimi, 124 miles (200 km) north of Quebec City, Bertrand said the judgment was a victory for democracy in Quebec and Canada.   "This judgment is a victory for all Quebec citizens whose rights and freedoms are imperiled by the threat of unilateral secession," he said. 
5903 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GWEA !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Canada's northern Prairie grainbelt may see a slight to moderate risk of frost from next Thursday morning onwards, Environment Canada said.   There was no risk of frost forecast anywhere on the Prairies Saturday morning but a slight risk in Alberta's Peace River Valley Sunday and Monday mornings, Environment Canada's 10-day frost outlook said.   A slight risk was seen in the Peace region Tuesday and Wednesday mornings.   A slight to moderate risk of frost was expected across the Prairie's northern grainbelt Thursday through Sunday.   Temperatures across the northern grainbelt at chest level the mornings of September 5 through 8 were forecast to dip to as low as 1.0 degrees Celsius (33.8 Fahrenheit).   Ground level temperatures may be 2.0 to 5.0 Celsius lower depending on cloud cover, wind speed and morning dew.   Harvest was expected to be general across the Prairies as early as September 5.   -- Gilbert Le Gras 204 947 3548 
5904 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Zimbabwean civil servants said on Friday they would take their 11-day-old strike for higher pay into another week after the government refused to guarantee nobody would be sacked or victimised on returning to work.   "For us, the issue that the government will take back all workers unconditionally is fundamental.   It's not a point we can concede," said Givemore Masongorera, president of the Public Service Association (PSA) union.   "For many of our members, we were not even supposed to negotiate this point and many of them are ready to continue with the strike until the government accepts our position," he told reporters after meeting some senior state officials.   The strikers -- estimated by the PSA at 70-80 percent of the 180,000 civil servants -- accepted the government's 20 percent wage rise offer on Thursday, as well as talks on salaries and working conditions.   But Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro said in a statement late on Friday that the government was -- for the moment -- sticking to its decision last week to fire thousands of strikers who defied orders to return to work by August 23.   The cabinet would meet to review the situation on Tuesday and the ruling remained in force until then, she said.   The government's 20 percent offer to the strikers -- who include doctors, nurses, prosecutors, magistrates and tax collectors -- is on top of a rise of up to nine percent announced in July, which the civil servants had rejected in their campaign for increases of 30 to 60 percent.   The strike has crippled key social services, especially hospitals, and split President Robert Mugabe's government.   "The government's inept handling...is a serious indictment of the administration's ability to govern," Zimbabwe's private weekly newspaper the Independent said, condemning what it called official arrogance and inflexibility.   Political analyst and leading novelist Chenjerai Hove said the civil servants' walkout had hopefully taught Mugabe and his lieutenants the need to negotiate and not make threats.   Some top officials of his ruling ZANU-PF party, including members of parliament which is regarded by many as a rubber stamp body, have backed the strike, saying civil servants were poorly paid.   On average, civil servants earn Z$1,000 (US$99) a month and say salaries have fallen behind annual inflation averaging 22 percent over the last two years.   ($1=10.10) 
5905 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) on Friday expelled former deputy minister Bantu Holomisa from the party for having accused senior colleagues of corruption.   Holomisa stormed out of a party disciplinary hearing in Johannesburg before the charges were read, telling Reuters it was "a kangaroo court manipulated by one or two people".   Holomisa, military ruler of the nominally-independent black Transkei homeland before it was dismantled after all-race elections in April 1994, has accused the ANC of accepting tainted money from a powerful South African businessman.   The ANC disciplinary committee said in its ruling that Holomisa had shown "no respect whatsoever" for the party.   "There is a tendency in this whole process... that he is above the organisation.   He confuses his membership of the movement with his status as being a head of the bantustan of the Transkei," the committee said.   "He has turned the whole process into a public circus."   Holomisa's first corruption allegation was made during a hearing of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, when he said Public Enterprises Minister Stella Sigcau had accepted a bribe of 50,000 rand ($11,000) from a businessman in the 1980s when she was part of the Transkei administration.   President Nelson Mandela later sacked Holomisa as deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism, giving no reasons.   But this month Holomisa made further allegations, saying a businessman had given the ANC two million rand to fight the 1994 election and claimed at least two other ANC members had accepted favours from him.   Mandela confirmed the party had received the cash, but said there was nothing untoward about it.   The party denied the other charges.   Holomisa, who has considerable grass-roots support, said he would appeal against his expulsion to the ANC's policy-making national executive committee (NEC) where he said he would get a fair hearing.   The disciplinary committee said Holomisa had dragged leaders of the ANC into controversy.   "The charges of corruption... are very serious charges."   For this reason it could not merely rebuke Holomisa but had to take "the strongest possible option, that of expelling Holomisa from the ANC for once and for all".   The committee made no remarks on the validity of the corruption allegations.   Nic Koornhof, spokesman for the opposition National Party, said the ANC appeared to be afraid of investigating the alleged corruption.   The ANC's attempts to muzzle Holomisa have been widely criticised by political commentators who have accused it of placing party loyalty above commitment to clean government. 
5906 !C13 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GVIO  Police in Nigeria's south- eastern oil producing areas have issued a warning against any further acts of sabotage to oil installations and pipelines.   A press release from the police command in Rivers State on Wednesday warned "community and opinion leaders that the command will deal ruthlessly with anyone caught."   Local police spokesman Agberebi Akpoebi said nine youths had been arrested in connection with the sabotage of installations belonging to Shell Nigeria in July.   Akpoebi said another group that bore a hole in a 16-inch crude oil pipeline belonging to Shell were still on the run.   The police did not give any reason for the sabotage, but a local source at Shell suggested it could be in the quest for compensation money paid by oil companies to communities which suffer from oil spillages.   Leaks at Shell pipelines in Rivers State forced the closure of pipelines and flow stations three times in July and August and caused brief delays in loadings of Bonny Light crude.   Shell pumps about half the OPEC producer's two million barrels per day.   Acts of sabotage forced Shell to halt production in Ogoniland -- part of Rivers State -- in 1993.   Shell's activities in Nigeria have come under renewed international scrutiny since last November, when nine Ogoni activists -- including author Ken Saro-Wiwa -- were hanged. 
5907 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL !GVIO  South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, mandated to uncover past abuses, announced on Friday that apartheid generals threatened with subpoenaes had offered to cooperate with it.   Commission head Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a statement that he and his investigators would discuss the offer with the generals, including ex-police minister Johan van der Merwe, at a meeting on Saturday.   The initiative came through the Ministry of Safety and Security, which had told Deputy President Thabo Mbeki that a group of ex-generals were helping it prepare a report to the commission, Tutu said.   "We indicated to Deputy President Mbeki that if we were assured today by the generals concerned that they would work with the commission, we would hold back on the issuing of subpoenaes (forcing them to testify)," he said.   Tutu said van der Merwe had contacted him and after a telephone discussion on Friday, had proposed the weekend meeting.   The Nobel peace laureate did not indicate if the generals had given him the guarantees he wanted.   The truth commission said earlier this week it would begin to subpoena suspected perpetrators in a bid to dig beneath the political rationales and find those who have the blood of the country's race war on their hands.   Leaders of the major parties involved, from right-wing whites to radical blacks, appeared before it last week to paint the broad picture of their actions for or against apartheid.   Most, including former president F.W. de Klerk and the ruling African National Congress's Mbeki, offered apologies for any mistakes they had made and accepted overall responsibility for the actions of their foot soldiers.   But none named those guilty of ordering or carrying out any of the gross violations of human rights which Tutu is probing. 
5908 !GCAT !GCRIM !GODD  A gang of thieves in eastern Nigeria paid a police corporal to carry off eight air conditioners they had just stolen, the national news agency reported on Friday.   "Little did I know I was dealing with robbers," the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the unnamed corporal as saying.   He admitted to having been paid 3,000 naira ($37.50) for his services in transporting the loot valued at 300,000 naira ($3,750).   Police in the town of Uyo said the corporal had been arrested, while the air conditioners had been returned to their rightful owner.   They did not comment on the whereabouts of the thieves.   ($1=80 naira) 
5909 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GVIO  Sierra Leone's government will meet foreign donors in Switzerland next month to seek cash to help restore peace but there are signs that it is losing patience with a spate of bloody attacks it blames on rebels.   "Government officials will meet foreign donors in Geneva on the 17th and 18th of September to request $211 million, the first part of the $1 billion package," Development and Economic Planning Minister Nat Wellington told Reuters on Friday.   The money, he said, would be used to demobilise combatants in the five-year-old civil war, resettle displaced civilians and restore basic industries in the poor West African nation.   The government and the armed forces blame the attacks, one of which killed dozens of people in Foindu near an eastern diamond area this week, on rebels, with whom they have a truce.   Presidential spokesman Sharka Mansaray has denounced rebel breaches of the truce, which was extended indefinitely during peace talks between the two sides in Ivory Coast in April.   Aid groups say it was unclear whether attackers were the rebels, who took up arms in 1991, or foraging armed gangs.   A team of government officials has left Freetown to lobby in favour of the plan in Bonn, London, Paris, Rome and the Hague.   Military officials said the highway from Freetown to Bo in the south was unsafe for commercial traffic following attacks, during which an armed group kidnapped 50 bus passengers.   The national drivers union has ordered members not to use the road.   Diplomats say peace talks are stalled over rebel insistence that foreign troops helping the army should leave and rebel demands for some say in the allocation of budget spending. 
5910 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Zambian President Frederick Chiluba held talks on Friday with his predecessor and main rival Kenneth Kaunda and another opposition leader over controversial new laws that ban the former president from running in polls scheduled for October.   Kaunda, leader of the opposition United National Independence Party (UNIP), led the country from independence in 1964 up to 1991.   He wanted to challenge Chiluba for the presidency in the polls later this year but the amended constitution bars him, and possibly other candidates too, from running for office.   At Friday's closed talks, Chiluba discussed the new laws with Kaunda and the head of the Zambia Democratic Congress, Dean Mungomba, a government official told reporters.   "They will meet again on September 10," said the official, who declined to be named.   Mungomba told reporters no agreement was reached at the meeting, but said he welcomed Chiluba's willingness to hold further discussions.   "I must say the opposition is very happy that the president has reopened dialogue with other political stakeholders," he said.   Mungomba said they had also discussed police restrictions on political activity, but did not elaborate.   Kaunda did not comment on Friday's talks.   The new laws rule Kaunda out of the race for the presidency because his parents were not Zambian, but Malawian, and because he has ruled for more than two terms already.   Eight leaders of his UNIP party are currently on trial for treason, accused of being behind the Black Mamba, a shadowy group in whose name bombs have been planted in several parts of Zambia to protest at the constitutional ban on Kaunda.   The bombs exploded at the presidential residence, Lusaka's international airport -- killing a policeman -- and at offices of a state-run newspaper.   Kaunda has accused the government of manufacturing the charges in an effort to discredit his party. 
5911 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  In a bid to heal the wounds of war, Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano travelled this week to a district that was the military headquarters of a guerrilla movement which for 16 years tried to topple the government.   Chissano went to the remote mountainous district of Maringue on Thursday to see the people who had sheltered guerrillas of the Mozambique National Resistance (Renamo).   It was his first venture into what diplomats call the lion's den since a 1992 peace agreement ended the war between his Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo) government and Renamo.   Details of the visit were delayed because communications between the capital Maputo in the south of this southern African nation and Maringue in the centre are almost non-existent.   But the Mozambique News Agency reported on Friday from the nearest sizeable town, Gorongosa, that Chissano spoke to a large crowd in Maringue "in a careful and conciliatory manner".   The president said in his speech the difficulties that had been encountered during the two years of peace negotiations between Frelimo and Renamo were due to a lack of understanding.   "It was not easy to reach an agreement between the government and Renamo because we did not know each other.   "There were even some who were fighting in the belief that they were struggling against the Portuguese in Lourenco Marques, even though they were no longer there," he said.   Lourenco Marques was the name for Maputo when Mozambique was a Portuguese colony.   Chissano laid a strong emphasis on national unity, saying:   "There are no longer any Renamo zones, or government zones.   There's just one zone and it's called Mozambique."   One member of the crowd, a self-declared Renamo supporter named Goncalves Chongo, read out a message to the president in which he denounced foreign non-governmental aid organisations working in Mozambique, claiming they were not helping Maringue.   He also protested at an alleged lack of democracy, despite the victory of Chissano and his party in elections supervised by the United Nations in 1994.   But Renamo's general secretary, Francisco Xavier, was quoted in the Maputo daily Noticias on Friday as welcoming Chissano's visit, adding: "It should put an end to speculation that the district is a threat to the peace and stability which Mozambique now enjoys." 
5912 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Niger's military president on Friday postponed parliamentary elections to November 10 and created a new independent electoral commission to replace the body dissolved during July presidential polls.   A presidential decree said the new 33-member commission would be fully independent of the West African country's political powers and would be headed by a magistrate to be named later.   It will include representatives of political parties and people from outside politics.   Interior Minister Idi Ango Omar said on Monday the election -- scheduled for September 22 -- would have to be postponed.   Electoral officials began revising electoral lists on Wednesday to ensure anyone omitted or wrongly registered for the July poll would be able to vote.   Voting in the July 7 presidential election had to be extended to a second day because many areas had not received electoral lists and voter cards.   Military leader General Ibrahim Bare Mainassara sacked the electoral commission on the second day of voting and appointed a new body which declared him the winner with 52.22 percent of votes cast.   His four civilian opponents spent two weeks under house arrest and the Supreme Court rejected a request from three of them that the results be scrapped.   Mainassara seized power on January 27, ending a paralysing 16-month political standoff between civilian president Mahamane Ousmane and his opponents who held the majority in parliament.   The new 83-seat parliament will replace the military National Salvation Council appointed by Mainassara after the coup. 
5913 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South Africa's former rulers cautioned on Friday that President Nelson Mandela's endorsement of a Cape Town-based Moslem movement fighting gangs and drugs could trigger further vigilante violence.   The National Party, newly in opposition for the first time in nearly five decades, said there was a place for community movements fighting crime, but only within the limits of the law.   "With the breakdown that we have in law and order, even the most law-abiding citizen is becoming desperate," party spokesman on law and order Andre Fourie told Reuters.   "If you give legitimacy to Pagad in these circumstances, you are encouraging them to take the law into their own hands," said Fourie.   Mandela told about 75 religious leaders at a meeting in Cape Town on Thursday that the criminal justice system was the only proper channel to fight crime, but said there was a place for the Moslem group People Against Gangsterism and Drugs (Pagad).   Dismissing reports that Pagad was part of an Islamic campaign to take control of South Africa, Mandela said:   "We are interacting with the movement because some of our members are also part of this movement.   It's a genuine movement ...there is nothing to be alarmed about."   Pagad supporters last month publicly shot and burned to death a gang leader.   Heavily armed Pagad crowds have repeatedly confronted police during marches to the homes of alleged drug barons threatening to kill those who don't give up their trade.   Conflict between gangs and the self-appointed Islamic crime fighters flared anew only hours after Mandela met the clerics, when gunmen fired on the home of Edmund Harolds, a brother of alleged druglord Neville "Jackie" Harolds.   No one was injured.   Police spokesman Wikus Holtzhausen said however the force had no problem with Mandela's endorsement of Pagad, if it was clear that this did not include lynching.   "The Pagad issue, insofar as it is against gangsterism and drugs, is not a problem," he said.   "The problem starts when you operate in a way that's against the law." 
5914 !E12 !E21 !E212 !E51 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Western donor agencies and countries have indicated support for an African campaign to have the continent's massive external debt reduced or written off, leading African politicians said on Friday.   At the end of a Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) meeting in Ethiopia, former Ghanaian finance minister Kwesi Botchway spoke of the possibility of the West granting the 33 most afflicted African countries "massive debt relief".   Botchway said the GCA was a consensus building forum of African governments, the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and donor countries.   Botchway, GCA economic committee chairman, said officials from creditor institutions and nations who attended the meeting were supportive towards a GCA initiative on debt reduction.   "Representatives of creditor nations and institutions who attended the meeting supported the GCA initiative to grant debt relief to the heavily indebted African countries," he said.   "The debt relief could be attained at the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington in October," Botchway added.   Botchway said the 33 least developed countries in sub- Saharan Africa owed around $164 billion out of the total $223 billion external debt in 1995 for the whole of Africa.   "It was important some action be taken to reduce the debt stock of the 33 least developed African states in order to enable the economic reform programme they were undertaking to have real impact," he said in a statement.   Botchway did not name the most endebted countries.   But he said all representatives of creditor institutions and nations at the meeting pledged their commitment to the proposal.   Botchway partly blamed Africa's massive debt on unelected governments which he said undertook unproductive prestige projects.   But he said some of the debt had been incurred in the interest of the specific nations involved.   He gave no details.   Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi appealed to GCA members to devise plans to remove obstacles to Africa's economic and social development.   "The main causes for the ongoing instability in Africa are rooted in the continent's economic and social problems," Meles said.   "The remedy for whatever ills Africa faces, whether it is poverty or instability lies in removing the obstacles to Africa's economic and social regeneration and development." 
5915 !GCAT !GVIO  Five Roman Catholic missionaries including three Australian nuns, held by rebels for nearly two weeks, arrived in the Kenyan capital from southern Sudan on Friday, witnesses said.   The five declined to talk to reporters but church officials said a statement would be issued later on Friday.   They included an American and an Italian priest.   The five were part of a group of six who included a Sudanese priest.   He chose to remain behind, his colleagues said.   The six missionaries were released by Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels on Wednesday night at a mission compound in the remote village of Mapourdit in southern Sudan.   A local SPLA commander and his men surrounded the mission and detained the three Australian nuns, an American priest, an Italian brother and a Sudanese priest on August 17.   The Mapourdit mission was then looted.   In a statement issued in Nairobi, the SPLA apologised for the incident.   "The SPLA hereby assures the international community that such incidents will not occur again in the future.   We deeply regret the unfortunate incident," the statement said. 
5916 !GCAT !GDIP  Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani will arrive in Kenya on Monday on a four-day official visit, foreign ministry officials said on Friday.   About 10 percent of Kenya's population are Moslems living on its Indian Ocean coast, a favourite destination for tourists.   Its government banned the opposition Islamic Party of Kenya and last year refused to issue a new passport to its former leader Sheikh Khalid Balala on the grounds he was not Kenyan, stranding him in Germany.   Kenya has a military alliance with the United States and has allowed U.S. forces to use its port of Mombasa and air bases since the 1980s for operations in the region. 
5917 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC) expelled former deputy minister Bantu Holomisa on Friday for accusing the party of corruption.   "Having heard the charges, the disciplinary committee deliberated and upheld the charges and has imposed the severest penalty of expulsion from the ANC," said a statement from the office of party Secretary-General Cyril Ramaphosa.   President Nelson Mandela sacked Holomisa as deputy minister of environmental affairs and tourism with effect from August 1 after he accused a fellow cabinet minister of taking a bribe.   After his dismissal Holomisa also alleged that gambling tycoon Sol Kerzner had contributed to ANC party coffers and made other allegations against leading party figures including Deputy President Thabo Mbeki.   An ANC spokesman branded him a liar for the funding claim but Mandela acknowledged a few days later that Kerzner had in fact given the ANC two million rands ($440,000) -- but said he had been the only one who knew about it.   The Holomisa affair has dogged the ANC for several months and led to wide media criticism that it seemed more interesting in muzzling public dissent from within its ranks than in getting to the bottom of the allegations.   Archbishop Desmond Tutu's Truth and Reconciliation Commission also expressed concern that the ANC was trying to vet what party members said at its public hearings, where Holomisa made the bribery claim.   Holomisa, a former leader of the Transkei homeland and one of the most popular ANC figures, has the right of appeal to the full national executive committee.   If his expulsion is upheld on appeal, he will lose his parliamentary seat. 
5918 !GCAT !GVIO  Burundi's Tutsi-dominated army said on Friday its troops killed 10 Hutu rebels in an attack on a village last Sunday but denied reports that soldiers slaughtered more than 70 civilians there.   Army spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Longin Minani said an investigation into events at Murengeza village, 20 km (12 miles) north of Bujumbura, showed the reports were "completely wrong".   He accused villagers of feeding and funding Hutu rebels.   "On Sunday, we (the army) approached the village and the rebels shot at us.   We fired back and afterwards we found that 10 rebels -- and I mean rebels -- had been killed," he added.   Hutu peasants who fled the village told Reuters on Thursday 100 soldiers and Tutsi youths of the Sans Echecs (Never Fail) militia attacked the marketplace, burned houses and shot or hacked to death more than 70 civilians at Murengeza on Sunday.   The peasants said Hutu rebels were present in the village but left before the army killings.   The London-based human rights group Amnesty International said last week the army, which seized power in a July 25 coup against the Hutu president, had killed 4,050 unarmed civilians in the central district of Giheta between July 27 and August 10.   New military ruler Pierre Buyoya, of the minority Tutsi tribe, dismissed the report as exaggerated.   More than 150,000 people have been killed in the last three years in Burundi in massacres and a civil war between the army and rebels that has raised fears of bloodletting on a scale similar to Rwanda's genocide in 1994 when one million died.   With regional sanctions against Burundi about to enter their second month, U.N. aid agencies said they would meet later on Friday to decide how best to conserve dwindling stocks of fuel.   "We are trying to minimise consumption, which we think will last between 15 and 20 days," said World Food Programme (WFP) Burundi Acting Director Benoit Thiry.   The U.N. Security Council was expected to meet in New York on Friday to tell Burundi's coup leaders to start negotiations towards a political settlement immediately or face possible sanctions in November, including an arms embargo.   Neighbouring states have cut air and road links with Burundi since July 31 in a bid to pressure Buyoya to return the country to constitutional rule and agree to peace talks with rebels.   Sanctions have forced the government to ration fuel and sent prices soaring of imported food and goods.   Even home-grown food is costing more because of higher transport costs.   Rebels this week killed two people and wounded more than 10 in a series of ambushes on the main road through Burundi from the capital to the second city Gitega, an army spokesman said.   He said the army was taking measures to hit the rebels but denied they were becoming stronger or had stepped up attacks. 
5919 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  The majority of employees at Kloof Gold Mining Co Ltd's Leeudoorn division had returned to work on Friday after an agreement was signed earlier this week to end mine violence, the company said.   "By this morning, Friday, the majority of employees had reported for their normal duties," the company said in a statement.   It said an accord to end violence between rival unions had been signed on Wednesday night.   "An accord to cease hostilities has been signed following extensive discussions between management, employee and union representatives.   These discussions were aimed primarily at resolving the recent climate of conflict at the mine," the statement said.   But mine managers Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd said at least 16 percent of Leeudoorn's workforce of 6,700, all Zulu-speaking and members of the United Workers Union of South Africa (Uwusa), had left the mine.   A Gold Fields spokeswoman said the miners had left saying their safety could not be guaranteed.   In the past three weeks, 17 miners have been killed in union violence, blamed on ethnic conflict, at Leeudoorn and Driefontein Consolidated.   Gold Fields has attributed the violence to clashes between members of the 350,000-strong NUM, which has a largely Xhosa membership on the mine and is linked to the ruling African National Congress (ANC), and the smaller Uwusa, which is aligned to the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party.   Leeudoorn produced 1,544 kg of gold in the quarter to end June.   --Marius Bosch, Johannesburg newsroom, +27-11 482 1003 
5920 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  A tribunal on Friday absolved the former spiritual leader of Nigeria's 50 million Moslems from charges of contributing to the collapse of two banks.   "The former Sultan Ibrahim Dasuki has no case to answer as the prosecution have failed to establish any case against him," tribunal judge Musliu Ope-Agbe told a Lagos court.   In April the military government dethroned Dasuki as Sultan of the northern city of Sokoto and arrested him.   Financial offences were among the reasons given for his removal from office.   The 72-year-old former Moslem cleric and two companies in which he used to be a director were charged before a failed banks tribunal for allegedly owing 775 million naira ($9.7 million) to two banks that had collapsed.   "Dasuki was only a director in the companies indebted to the two failed banks.   As a director he had no part to play in the day to day running of the companies, so he is cleared of the charges," he added.   Dasuki has been kept under house arrest in a remote town in northeastern Nigeria.   Nigeria set up the failed banks tribunal last year to try those believed to be involved in large scale fraud in the banking sector, which led to the collapse of some banks in the country.   As Sultan of Sokoto, Dasuki was the spiritual leader of Nigerian Moslems.   After his dethronement he was quickly replaced with another Sokoto prince, Muhammadu Maccido.   ($1=80 naira) 
5921 !GCAT !GDIP  Leaders from at least three African countries headed for Libya on Friday to take part in celebrations commemorating the 1969 revolution that brought Muammar Gaddafi to power.   Presidents Ibrahim Bare Mainassara of Niger, Lansana Conte of Guinea and Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso all left home on Friday for the journey to Libya, part of which will be overland.   In 1991, the United Nations slapped an air and limited trade embargo on Libya after the North African nation refused to extradite two Libyans suspected of blowing up a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.   Libya has been on a U.S. list of states that sponsor international terrorism since December 1979.   Conte's spokesman told reporters in Guinea's capital Conakry that as vice-president of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Conte had been given the task of helping to "de-isolate the regime of Colonel Gaddafi".   Gaddafi and a group of army officers seized power on September 1 1969, toppling Libya's then king Idris.   Mainassara, Compaore and Conte all seized power in military coups.   Compaore will also visit Sao Tome to take part in the investiture of re-elected President Miguel Trovoada. 
5922 !C13 !C31 !C311 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS !M14 !M141 !MCAT  Ethiopian authorities said on Friday the country would import sugar to meet a significant shortfall caused by flooding of three sugar factories.   In a statement issued in the capital Addis Ababa, the administrative board of Wonji, Shoa and Methara sugar factories said available sugar would be "judiciously sold" to consumers to stem possible price hikes by retailers in the short term.   The board said it believed that the factories affected by waters from the flooded Awash river were unlikely to produce enough to meet the demands of Ethiopia's 55 million people.   "The government is preparing to import sugar (for the next year (October/September 1996/97)," the statement said.   It did not indicate how much sugar would be imported, the cost, its origin or whether it would hold tenders.   Independent estimates put annual production from the three factories at around 220,000 tonnes -- an amount which meets demand and with a small surplus for export.   Cane fields and buildings housing the factories at the three estates are submerged in flood water for more than a week.   Homes of plantation workers were also submerged and the government has been forced to move some 20,000 workers from the affected factories to shelters, according to the state-run Ethiopian News Agency.   One person was killed and 20,000 were evacuated as the Awash river burst its banks in central Ethiopia on August 23.   Some 2,000-hectares of cane fields -- about half the plantation -- and the vast building housing Wonji Sugar Factory were submerged in the waters, the agency reported.   The news agency said the floods cut off the road linking Wonji with the main highway.   Water Resources Minister Shiferaw Jarso said the floods followed the release of 300 cubic metres of water per second into the river from nearby Koka Dam, which had reached dangerous levels.   --Nairobi Newsroom ++254-2 330-261 
5923 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Zimbabwean civil servants said on Friday they were ready to end a costly 11-day strike but only on condition the government assured them nobody would be sacked or victimised.   Senior government officials were unavailable for comment.   Some were locked up in meetings aimed at ending the crisis which is crippling key social services, especially hospitals.   President Robert Mugabe, whose ruling ZANU-PF party has been deeply divided by the unprecedented strike, faced fresh attacks from the public over its handling of the pay dispute, with many calling on him to take back the civil servants unconditionally.   "That is our condition after accepting the government's pay and talks offer," said Public Service Association (PSA) union president Givemore Masongorera.   "We are still discussing this issue with the government but it is an issue on which we are not going to budge because we cannot have our members fired or victimised for the government's own mistakes," he told reporters.   The government awarded the workers -- who include doctors, nurses, prosecutors, magistrates, tax collectors and firefighters -- a 20 percent wage rise on Thursday, saying it had belatedly realised it had not met a longstanding commitment to pay that.   It said the increase was on top of a rise of up to nine percent announced in July, which the 180,000 civil servants have said was grossly inadequate, and committed itself to open-ended talks with unions on wages and working conditions.   The PSA says that 70 to 80 percent of the civil service joined the strike that began on August 20.   The strikers demanded wage rises of 30 to 60 percent.   The government played tough with the strikers last week, announcing it had fired thousands for defying orders to return to work last Friday.   When it backed down on Thursday, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro did not clarify whether the dismissals would be reversed.   Mugabe is under pressure to reinstate the workers.   "The government's inept handling...is a serious indictment of the administration's ability to govern," Zimbabwe's private weekly newspaper the Independent said, condemning what it called official arrogance and inflexibility.   Political analyst and leading novelist Chenjerai Hove said the civil servants' walkout had hopefully taught Mugabe and his lieutenants the need to negotiate and not make threats.   Mugabe and his officials have not commented on the strike since the government climbdown on Thursday.   Some top officials of his ZANU-PF party, including members of parliament which is regarded by many as a rubber stamp body, have backed the strike, saying civil servants were poorly paid.   On average, civil servants earn Z$1,000 (US$99) a month and say salaries have fallen behind annual inflation averaging 22 percent over the last two years.   ($1=10.10) 
5924 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Registration of political parties for elections in Gambia closed on Friday and one politician said he was pulling out of the presidential race because the election timetable allowed him too little time to organise his party.   The military government lifted a two-year ban on political activity on August 14 and gave parties until August 30 to register with the electoral commission.   Names of successful parties will be announced on Monday.   Lamin Bojang, leader of the small People's Democratic Party, said the diamond dealer who was his main sponsor was held up in Angola and he had been unable to raise the 500 voter signatures and 5,000 dalasis ($510) required for registration.   "The time is too short to reorganise my party," he said.   Four candidates, including military leader Captain Yahya Jammeh who took power in a coup in 1994, remain in the race.   Jammeh plans to contest the September 26 presidential election as a civilian and has launched a political party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), linked to his Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC).   So far Jammeh's main declared opponent is prominent barrister Ousainou Darboe.   Jammeh has banned the three main political parties from contesting the elections and excluded anyone who served as a minister under ousted president Sir Dawda Jawara.   The small People's Democratic Organisation for Independence and Socialism is putting up Sidia Jatta, who polled 5.6 percent in presidential elections in 1992 won by Jawara.   Another contender is Amath Bah, who holds a managerial post at a hotel in Serekunda.   The Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies said last week rules for the presidential elections and for parliamentary polls in December were obviously flawed and would allow the military leaders to strengthen their grip on power.   The pro-Jammeh July 22 Movement described the criticism as insulting and damaging to the democratic process.   ($1 = 9.8 dalasis) 
5925 !C12 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM !GENV  Ivory Coast, keen to protect its shrinking rainforest, has banned all felling of timber on the fringe of its savannah zone and told all who trade in illegally felled trees that they face prosecution, industry sources say.   The government directive, passed on to members of the industry on Tuesday, toughened up earlier guidelines allowing a limited number of operators to fell trees north of the eighth parallel and envisaging legal proceedings against people who felled trees illegally but not those who traded in them.   The new directive also gave plantation operators who have not begun replanting schemes until October 15 to comply or face a ban on felling but it offered a fresh look at rules governing felling of teak, banned in all but very rare cases.   "Those who trade in banned timber as well as the fraudsters (who cut it) will be brought to justice," Youth and Culture Minister Vlami Bi Dou told representatives from the industry, according to the sources.   "All timber felling in the forest in the savannah is henceforth banned and anyone breaching this directive lays himself open to legal proceeding," he said.   Bi Dou was standing in for Agriculture Minister Lambert Kouassi Konan at the meeting called on the orders of President Henri Konan Bedie.   The meeting followed a newspaper article by an opposition member of parliament alleging widespread abuse of the rules governing timber felling north of the eighth parallel.   Bi Dou told industry representatives that the president was waiting for concrete proposals from all timber operators, including forestry plantation owners, those who run the timber industry and the state forestry administration.   The sources said the meeting agreed on a list of 10 points for submission to Bedie.   They included the new ban, tighter registration of forestry companies, increased checks by the state forestry agency SODEFOR and increased replanting.   Felling of teak, one of a range of tropical hardwoods in Ivory Coast's dwindling forest, is banned except in a limited number of cases with express permission from SODEFOR, the Forest Plantation Development Company.   A proposal agreed at the meeting said a document covering teak felling would be drafted to include new guidelines.   Three decades of intensive logging and slash-and-burn peasant farming have devastated Ivory Coast's ancient rain forest.   The world's top cocoa producer, which once boasted its own large slice of West and Central Africa's rich tropical rain forest, has seen the level of tree cover in the forest zone drop from 75 percent to 25 percent.   Kouassi Konan said in July that the national forestation level was down to 16 percent, "which is under the critical 20 percent indispensable for maintaining ecological balance". 
5926 !GCAT !GCRIM !GPOL  Madagascar's President Albert Zafy has dismissed as unacceptable a parliamentary vote to impeach him and says a constitutional court cannot decide to dismiss him.   In a written statement in his defence requested by the court and submitted on Thursday, Zafy said the court did not have the power to rule on whether he should be dismissed as head of state.   He also said the 99-32 parliamentary vote last month for his impeachment was "unacceptable".   Only 92 votes, or two-thirds of all members of parliament, are needed for an impeachment motion to pass.   The constitutional high court has also demanded statements from former prime minister Francisque Ravony, who stepped down after a row with Zafy, and Prime Minister Norbert Ratsirahonana on whether the accusations made by parliament were correct.   The court is expected to rule on the impeachment next week.   Parliament invoked what it said were Zafy's repeated violations of the constitution and accused him of taking decisions and actions against the interests of the people.   If the president was dismissed, the speaker of the national assembly would become interim head of state while fresh elections, from which Zafy would not be barred, were organised.   The crisis, unique in the country's history, was a result of growing opposition to Zafy, who won multi-party elections in 1993, defeating former military ruler Didier Ratsiraka. 
5927 !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Workers at Driefontein Consolidated Ltd's east gold mine have failed to report for work since Wednesday night, mine managers Gold Fields of South Africa Ltd said on Friday.    "Discussions with employee and union representatives are continuing," the company said in a statement.   It gave no further details.   At least 17 miners have been killed in labour unrest -- sparked by ethnic differences -- at Driefontein Consolidated and Gold Fields' Kloof Gold Mining Co this month.   -- Johannesburg newsroom, +27-11 482 1003 
5928 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  South African mining houses and the powerful National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) look set to reach agreement on annual wage increases soon, mining analysts said on Friday.   The 350,000-strong NUM declared a dispute with employer body the Chamber of Mines on August 1 and union officials hinted at a strike in South Africa's gold and coal mines if the dispute was not settled.   But the Chamber of Mines said on Friday some progress had been made in negotiations which were taking place at a conciliation board.   "There has been some progress but the parties were still in conciliation board," chamber spokesman Llewelyn Kriel told Reuters.   Hopes were raised on Thursday when Anglo American Corp Ltd and NUM announced a joint news conference which Anglo at first said would be about agreement reached on wages.   Anglo said later on Thursday it had jointly agreed with NUM to postpone the announcement until agreement was reached throughout the industry on wages and working conditions.   Kriel said both the chamber and the union felt an agreement could be reached.   "We remain optimistic as long as the parties are talking to each other.   Both parties remain optimistic about a solution," Kriel said.   Analysts said they believed an agreement could be imminent.   "I'm expecting agreement quite soon.   Negotiations seem to have gone quite well so far and there is not such a huge gap between them.   "Based on historical wage positions, I expect that we can reach agreement within the next month," said George Topping, analyst at stockbroker Irish and Menell.   Previous wage negotiations were often long drawn-out affairs with negotiations complicated by the union's demands of up to 20 percent while the industry offered much less.   The chamber, representing gold and coal mining management, said last week its final offer ranged between 6.75 and 8.0 percent for gold miners and 8.5 to 10 percent for coal mine workers.   NUM has been demanding a 13 percent pay hike.   -- Johannesburg newsroom, +27-11 482 1003 
5929 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  The government of Chad has closed N'Djamena University after two days of protests over grant arrears in which Education Minister Nagoum Yamassoum was held hostage for four hours, state radio said on Friday.   "The minister and his colleagues who were held in the rector's office were freed thanks an intervention by gendarmes," one university official said.   "Angry students cut the telephone, water and electricity of the university offices before smashing the windows and breaking down the doors."   Paramilitary police detained more than 120 students in the protest.   The students' union said second and third-year students were demanding four months of unpaid grants.   End-of-year examinations would go ahead on September 2 despite the closure, university officials said. 
5930 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB !GPOL  Zimbabwean civil servants said on Friday they would end an 11-day strike only after assurances that the government would not dismiss or victimise anyone.   "That is our condition after accepting the government's pay and talks offer," said Public Service Association (PSA) union president Givemore Masongorera.   Government officials were unavailable for comment.   "We are still discussing this issue with the government but it is an issue on which we are not going to budge because we cannot have our members fired or victimised for the government's own mistakes," Masongorera told reporters.   President Robert Mugabe's government awarded the workers -- including doctors, nurses, prosecutors, magistrates, tax collectors and firefighters -- a 20 percent wage rise on Thursday, saying it had belatedly realised it had not met a longstanding commitment to pay the increase.   It said the increase was on top of a rise of up to nine percent announced in July, which the 180,000 civil servants have said was grossly inadequate, and committed itself to open-ended talks with unions on wages and working conditions.   The PSA says that 70-80 percent of the civil service joined the unprecedented strike that began on August 20 and has left many institutions, including hospitals, barely functioning.   The strikers demanded wage rises of 30-60 percent.   Mugabe's government, facing criticism over its handling of the strike, said it had fired strikers who defied orders to return to work last Friday.   Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro did not clarify whether the dismissals would be reversed when she announced the 20 percent wage increase.   On average, civil servants earn Z$1,000 (U.S.$99) a month and say salaries have fallen behind annual inflation averaging 22 percent over the last two years.   ($1=10.10) 
5931 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Ivorian press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   FRATERNITE MATIN   - Oil and Mining Resources Minister Lamine Fadika optimistic for future of Ivory Coast's energy production, reveals three billion CFA franc fraud at refiner Societe Ivoirienne de Raffinage.   LA VOIE   - Ivorian human rights league protests at proposed law giving security forces extended search powers.   - Raphael Lakpe, publisher of the daily Le Populaire, will appear in court again on October 7.   Accused of stealing a government document, he was detained on Monday and held for three days.   LE JOUR   - Drivers of private minibuses running between Abidjan's Yopougon and Adjame districts go on strike in protest after police shoot dead a "gbaka" driver in Yopougon.   - Staff of natural gas distributor Gaz Cote d'Ivoire complain of up to five months of wage arrears.   -- Abidjan newsroom +225 21 90 90 
5932 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Nigeria has agreed to cooperate with a United Nations mission to examine its dispute with Cameroon over Bakassi peninsula in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea, state-run radio said on Friday.   It quoted a U.N. spokeswoman in New York as saying a letter had been received from Nigeria's military ruler, General Sani Abacha, expressing willingness for the mission to go ahead.   "Now we have both Cameroon and Nigeria which have agreed to cooperate," the spokeswoman was quoted as saying.   The radio did not mention any date for a possible mission.   Since February 1994, Nigerian and Cameroonian troops have clashed over the string of impoverished islands which form the Bakassi peninsula.   In March, the International Court of Justice at The Hague ordered the two sides to halt hostilities pending its final decision on who owns the peninsula. 
5933 !GCAT  These are significant stories in the Nigerian press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY TIMES   - Military administrators of Nigeria's 30 states have been barred from initiating any capital projects outside their yearly budgets.   - Federal ministries given October 31 deadline to complete their moves from Lagos to Abuja.   - Sabotage of oil installations on the increase in Rivers State.   - Landlords contravening rent control edict risk six month prison terms.   THE GUARDIAN   - Central Bank says troubled banks would have been saved distress if they had not concealed facts.   Four banks have been liquidated and 12 others are up for sale following a series of collapses in 1994 and 1995.   - United States may have softened its stand on Nigeria and be seeking talks.   THISDAY   - National Salt Company of Nigeria is working out the modalities for the mining of crude salt locally.   --Lagos newsroom +234 1 2630317 
5934 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Kenyan press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DAILY NATION   - Joseph Mugalla elected secretary-general of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions.   - President Daniel arap Moi releases 9.26 million shillings he helped raise to assist families of the victims of the 1994 Mtongwe ferry disaster.   - The high court stops the Kenya Wildlife Service from removing or translocating the Hirola antelope from its natural habitat until a suit filed by area residents is heard.   EAST AFRICAN STANDARD   - Political parties in the country come under fire for allegedly ignoring womens' issues.   - Prominent sugar dealers are conspiring with top managers of sugar factories to hoard the commodity.   - Tension is building between Maasai and Kamba communities following cattle raids.   KENYA TIMES   - A Mombasa court hearing a two billion shillings hashish case is told that a chief cannot be charged as he was not positively identified.   ($1=56.92 Kenya shillings) 
5935 !GCAT !GVIO  Declaring "the war is over", Russian peacemaker Alexander Lebed said he and rebel military leader Aslan Maskhadov agreed to shelve the issue of Chechnya's independence-demand for five years.   After overnight talks they decided to defer until December 31, 2001 a decision whether Chechnya should be independent of Russian rule.   Lebed and Maskhadov, after eight hours of talks in this small settlement just outside Chechnya's eastern borders, signed a joint statement and a package of basic principles on further peace talks between Moscow and the rebels.   "That's it, the war is over," Lebed told reporters who witnessed the signing.   A three-page document signed by the two negotiators amid shouts of joy from dozens of people crowded inside the conference room and hundreds of others gathered outside, included two basic points.   The first provided that "an agreement on the basic principles of relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic, based on international law, should be reached by December 31, 2001".   The second said that by October 1, 1996 the sides should form a joint commission to monitor a complete withdrawal of Russian troops from Chechnya and coordinate steps in fighting crime and terrorism in the region.   The commission is also authorised to work out proposals on financial relations between Russia and Chechnya as well as a programme for the social and economic recovery of the region.   "The legislation of the Chechen Republic should be based on respect for human rights, the right of national self-determination, the free expression of will by citizens, civil peace, ethnic harmony and safety for all residents," the document said.   Lebed said the five-year deferral in deciding Chechnya's status, the most painful issue of the war launched when Moscow sent troops in December 1994 to quell the region's independence bid, was essential.   "Then, with cool heads, calmly and soberly we will sort out our relations," Lebed said.   Tens of thousands of people have died in the 20-month war, in which Russia failed to win control over the whole of Chechnya and its troops suffered several humiliating defeats.   President Boris Yeltsin ordered Lebed to restore peace in Chechnya and gave him unspecified sweeping powers to carry out the mission.   Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said on Friday that Yeltsin backed a package of proposals Lebed took to the talks. 
5936 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A top U.S. envoy flew into Sarajevo on Friday and drove a stake through the heart of Bosnia's breakaway Croat mini-state, clearing the way for the Moslem-Croat federation Washington brokered in 1994.   "I am satisfied the job is done," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum told reporters on Friday evening.   "As of tomorrow they (Herceg Bosna) will legally cease to exist."   The Bosnian factions had agreed in Geneva on August 14 that the mini-state of Herceg Bosna would cease to exist by the end of the month and that its governmental and administrative functions would be transferred to the Moslem-Croat federation.   Kornblum was in the Bosnian capital to make sure the deal was honoured.   After a day of meetings the U.S. envoy reported that Moslem and Croat officials had agreed a two-week schedule to do away with remaining symbols of Herceg Bosna authority such as building signs and stationery by September 15.   The schedule was signed by the Croat President and Moslem Vice-President of the federation, not by any Herceg Bosna authorities.   "Basically, our thinking is that Herceg Bosna officials are now irrelevant," said a U.S. official in Sarajevo who asked not to be named.   "We cut this deal with their sponsors in Croatia.   Without Croatia's backing some individuals in Herceg Bosna will still be able to trade on personal power but the governmental entity we have been wrestling with is finished."   Croat nationalists in the rocky western part of Bosnia make no secret of their desire to secede and form a union with neighbouring Croatia, which they view as their motherland.   Taking advantage of the chaos of the Bosnian war they formed their own mini-state, Herceg Bosna, complete with ruling party, army, parliament, president and ministries.   Ten months of bitter fighting between Moslems and Croats, parallel to Bosnia's main Moslem-Serb conflict, came to an end in April of 1994 when the United States brokered agreement on a Moslem-Croat federation as a power-sharing solution.   The federation nominally controls 51 per cent of Bosnia under the terms of the Dayton peace agreement as counter-weight to a Serb republic which administers the rest.   But federation institutions have been slow to form for many reasons including Herceg Bosna's refusal to cede power and die.   Armed and supported by Croatia and dominated by warlords who maintain a criminal grip over the local population, Herceg Bosna proved resilient.   The Speaker of the Herceg Bosna "parliament", Ivan Bender, denied on Thursday that there was any deadline for Herceg Bosna to self-destruct.   "It is highly unlikely something might happen (by Saturday)," he told Reuters.   Even if Herceg Bosna dissolves on Saturday as Kornblum predicted it seems unlikely that conditions on the ground inside mostly pure Croat territory will change much because of the pervasive criminal element in their power structure.   Recent municipal elections in the city of Mostar, which sits astride the Moslem-Croat fault line in Bosnia, failed to reintegrate that divided city, which is under European Union (EU) administration. 
5937 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  The Council of Europe on Friday implied it was ready to suspend Albania from the body unless the government and opposition parties respected its call to start serious talks to sort out their differences.   "If there is a failure to respect that call for a round table, then I must make it plain that it is impossible to rule out a suspension of Albanian membership of the parliamentary assembly," Lord Finsberg, head of a Council of Europe delegation visiting Tirana, said in statement issued on Friday.   The delegation advised the ruling conservative Democratic Party to treat opposition parties more fairly and criticised the Socialist opposition for refusing to take up their seats in parliament.   Finsberg told a news conference the Council of Europe would send technical aid to Albania to help it hold free and fair local elections on October 20.   "Local elections are extremely important so that the world can see Albania carrying out a nationwide election which meets international standards," he said.   The delegation met different political parties in Albania, which was admitted to the Council of Europe in June 1995, to hear their views over a disputed general election last May.   Albania's third multi-party polls were boycotted by opposition parties, who complained of ballot rigging and intimidation.   Foreign observers said the vote did not meet international standards.   The United States and the European Union have urged Tirana to hold fresh general elections at the earliest opportunity.   The Council of Europe, set up in 1949 to promote human rights and democracy, monitors states' compliance with basic democratic standards and individual liberties. 
5938 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Russian peacemaker Alexander Lebed, buoyed by President Boris Yeltsin's public backing, met Chechen rebel leaders on Friday as he tried to clear the way for a long-term settlement of the Chechen war.   "Today I hope to make a big political step and then...to start restoring peace in Chechnya," Lebed, shown on Russian television, told reporters on his plane on his way to the talks.   Lebed said he hoped talks with rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov in this settlement outside Chechnya's eastern border in the Russian region of Dagestan would lead to the signature of a joint declaration on the basics of a political deal.   The talks are being held behind closed doors and neither side has released any official information about them.   Russian television quoted Vladimir Lukin, a senior member of Lebed's team, as saying substantial talks on Chechnya's future status, the heart of the 2 PLEASE IGNORE 
5939 !G15 !G158 !GCAT !GCRIM !GDIP !GVIO  The European Union coordinator in Mostar on Friday named six Croats reputed to be paramilitary gang bosses and called on them to mend their ways and stop ethnic terror in the divided Bosnian city.   Western officials involved in the troubled effort to reunify and rebuild Mostar from Croat-Moslem war hold the six largely responsible for lawlessness in the west half of town, especially a resurgence in evictions of Moslem inhabitants.   Sir Martin Garrod, head of the two-year-old EU mission in Mostar, said he was not accusing the six of any crimes but wanted to throw an international spotlight on them to end "a climate of fear and intimidation" in the city.   The rate of ethnic expulsions from west Mostar had soared in August despite EU-sponsored June 30 elections to reintegrate the city and the creation of a joint Moslem-Croat municipal council two weeks ago, Garrod said.   Eight households had been evicted this month and replaced by Croats, in at least two cases members of the separatist Bosnian Croat militia (HVO) with which warlord mobsters are believed to be closely connected.   Garrod, in an interview with Reuters, named the six Croats -- well-known figures in Croat-ruled southwest Bosnia -- and challenged them to go on the record immediately against nationalist organised crime.   "I call on these six individuals to stand up this week and say they are totally opposed to expulsions and that they favour getting rid of the thugs and the criminals and gangs responsible for the climate of fear and intimidation that pervades Mostar," said Garrod, a Briton.   "Heavily armed paramilitaries are involved in expulsions.   We also have telephone terrorism (against targeted victims) constant telephoned threats day and night.   The whole thing stinks like a cesspool," he said.   "From our knowledge all this is organised and we have a pretty good idea who is doing it."   He conceded it was very likely that his exhortation would be met with a deafening silence from the Croat side, including its officially-controlled media, but added:   "We must keep shouting from the rooftops, we will keep naming names of people moving into expellees' flats, so there they cannot hide these people.   "It's now a question of time and action.   It's vitally important that leaders at all levels take action.   All it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."   Neighbouring Croatia armed and sponsored the Bosnian Croats in a 1993-94 separatist war against Bosnia's Moslem-led but multi-ethnic central government and remains their patron today.   Bosnian Croats have clung to a mini-republic with west Mostar as "capital" in defiance of the Dayton peace treaty.   Garrod was clearly hoping his call would resound in Croatia whose government must prove it is complying with peace treaty provisions to reunify Bosnia if it is to gain EU links.   One of the putative crime lords appeared on west Mostar state television on August 23 with a large Roman Catholic crucifix around his neck and said: "Moslems are the worst enemies of Christianity".   He said his overriding goal was to separate their domain from Bosnia and merge it with "Mother Croatia".   Howard Fox, an EU spokesman in Mostar, said the EU decided an extraordinary appeal was needed because the pace of expulsions had jumped to one every three days from roughly one every two weeks earlier this year.   Garrod indicated that some prominent Croats in the Mostar region were under investigation by the International Tribunal on War Crimes in former Yugoslavia.   "Investigations by the tribunal are slow but exceedingly thorough and these people will end up behind bars."   Garrod blamed Mostar's gangsterism, which has encompassed drug- and gun-running, car theft, protection rackets and black marketeering since early in the war, on "an unofficial power structure.   It's not the community as a whole". 
5940 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Russian peacemaker Alexander Lebed, buoyed by President Boris Yeltsin's public backing, launched talks with Chechen rebels on Friday, hoping to clear the way for a long-term settlement of the Chechen war.   "Today I hope to make a big political step and then...to start restoring peace in Chechnya," Lebed, shown on Russian television, told reporters on his plane on his way to the talks.   "If we are lucky we will consider and sign a statement today," Lebed added.   The talks in this settlement just outside Chechnya's eastern border in the Russian region of Dagestan had been delayed by four hours by the late arrival of the Chechen team led by rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov   Maskhadov said he was late because the notification about the talks failed to arrived in time.   About 100 ethnic Chechens, many of whom live in Dagestan, hailed Maskhadov's convoy, chanting the separatist motto "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest).   Lebed and Maskhadov signed a military deal last week to stop the worst fighting in the Chechen capital Grozny since Russia sent troops in late 1994 to quell the region's independence bid.   Under the deal, troops and rebels were due to leave Grozny by September 1, surrendering it to the care of joint patrol groups.   Russia also promised to pull forces out of southern parts of Chechnya, which are traditional rebel strongholds.   The military deal, which both sides agree is being broadly respected, was followed by talks to define the future status of Chechnya -- the trickiest aspect of ending the conflict.   Rebels seek full independence while Moscow wants to keep Chechnya as a part of the vast Russian Federation.   Soon after leaving Moscow Lebed, whom President Boris Yeltsin has given unspecified sweeping powers to restore peace in Chechnya, received long-awaited backing from the Kremlin.   Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said that Yeltsin, who is vacationing outside Moscow, backed Lebed's peace plan.   Interfax news agency quoted Chernomyrdin as saying he had a lengthy telephone conversation with Yeltsin, seen in public only once since late June.   "The main thing is his (Lebed's) programme," Chernomyrdin said.   "It was agreed with Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) yesterday."   Itar-Tass news agency quoted Lebed as saying on Friday that Russia would propose deferring a decision on Chechnya's status by up to 10 years to let the region recover from the 20-month war which has killed tens of thousands of people.   Lebed said this proposal was part of a plan he offered for Yeltsin's consideration earlier this week.   Lebed said he talked by telephone with Yeltsin overnight but gave no details of the conversation.   The president is on vacation outside Moscow and his press office could not confirm the conversation took place.   A meeting of top officials headed by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin discussed Lebed's plans on Thursday and decided they needed more work.   Official press releases did not say what work should be done but a government spokesman accused the rebels of planning to use the lull in fighting to seize back political power in Chechnya.   The head of the pro-Moscow Chechen adminitstration Doku Zavgayev had accused Lebed of staging an effective coup by striking a deal with separatists.   Yeltsin and Lebed have not met each other since the ex-paratroop general received his Chechnya orders.   Kremlin spokesmen say Yeltsin, 65, is keeping in touch with his envoy without needing to meet him.   They have denied rumours the president is ill but say he needs to rest after a vigorous re-election campaign.   Yeltsin's press office said on Friday the president was working at his Rus residence -- a hunting lodge 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Moscow -- and had no plans to meet any officials. 
5941 !GCAT !GCRIM !GHEA !GPOL !GREL  Poland's leftist-dominated lower house of parliament voted on Friday to liberalise the country's abortion law in a measure denounced by the Roman Catholic Church as complicity in a monstrous crime.   The house voted by 208 to 61 with 15 abstentions for amendments to the restrictive 1993 anti-abortion law, which will let women end pregnancies before the 12th week if they are too poor to raise a child or have other personal problems.   The vote, a blow to Polish-born Pope John Paul II, aroused instant condemnation from the Catholic Episcopate which had rallied political allies and believers to oppose the measure.   "The lower house... is simply lending its hand to a monstrous crime which will be carried out in the full majesty of the law on tens or hundreds of thousands of human beings," spokesman Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek said in a statement.   He appealed to doctors and nurses to boycott abortions, which the church equates with killing.   The present law, passed under a previous, centre-right government, allows abortions only if pregnancy threatens a woman's life or health, results from rape or incest, or when the foetus is irreparably damaged.   Supporters of the change say the current law leads to many personal tragedies, bungled back-street abortions and abandoned babies.   There has been a thriving business in abortion tours to neighbouring countries for those women with enough money.   "Liberalisation does not prevent believers from living according to their religious principles," leftist deputy Danuta Waniek, a backer of the move, told PAP news agency.   Parliament passed similar amendments in 1994 but they were vetoed by the then President Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic.   Walesa lost elections last year to ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski, who has said he will sign the new law after it passes the Senate -- which is unlikely to present obstacles.   It should take effect 30 days later, probably this year.   Several deputies said their votes had been wrongly recorded by parliament's computerised system and deputy speaker Marek Borowski said he would consider a possible recount.   Some other parliamentary opponents of the bill, who led a mass walk-out from the chamber in hopes of preventing a quorum, said they would appeal against the bill to the country's Constitutional Tribunal in hopes of still blocking it.   Although 90 percent of Poles are formally Catholics, surveys suggest a majority favour liberalisation.   The new measure provides terminations free of charge for women who meet the specified conditions but contains safeguards to prevent a return to the routine use of abortions, freely available before the 1989 fall of communism.   Women applying due to so-called social reasons have to first undergo counselling and three days of reflection.   The bill extends the 12-week limit beyond which abortions are banned, to pregnancies caused by incest or rape.   It also enforces sex education in schools from 1997, although critics charged that lessons will lack moral guidance, and it provides for cheaper contraception.   The vote split Poland's ruling coalition, with the larger ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) backing the move and most of the smaller Peasant party (PSL) leaving the chamber or voting with pro-Church opposition parties against it.   A Socialist opposition group initiated the bill and the centrist Union for Freedom (UW) was divided on the issue.   Rightist parties, grouping around the Solidarity trade union, aim to reverse the changes if they win elections due in September 1997 and the issue will figure in the campaign. 
5942 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said on Friday that President Boris Yeltsin, who is vacationing outside Moscow, had backed security chief Alexander Lebed's peace plan for Chechnya, Interfax news agency said.   "Lebed is now in Chechnya solving some problems," Interfax quoted Chernomyrdin as saying.   "The main thing is his programme.   It was agreed with Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) yesterday."   Lebed, whom Yeltsin ordered to restore peace in Chechnya, struck a military deal with separatist rebels last week ending the worst fighting in the region in more than a year.   He later discussed with rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov a framework political agreement to tackle the most painful issue of the 20-month war -- the future political status of Chechnya.   Lebed said on Friday he hoped to sign a document with the rebels later in the day which would deal with the political settlement of the conflict.   Moscow, which wants to keep Chechnya as a part of the Russian Federation, sent troops to the region in December 1994 to quell its independence bid.   Yeltsin has said any deal should preserve Russia's territorial integrity.   Itar-Tass news agency quoted Lebed as saying that he would suggest to the rebels that the decision on Chechnya's future political status be deferred by up to 10 years.   Lebed said he had a telephone conversation with Yeltsin late on Thursday but gave no details.   Yeltsin's press office could not confirm the call.   Chernomyrdin said on Thursday after a meeting with Lebed and top officials, who discussed Lebed's plans to restore peace in Chechnya, that it needed more work. 
5943 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The U.N. is demanding swift punishment for the people behind a mob that besieged a group of U.N. officials in the northeastern town of Zvornik for six hours, a spokesman said on Friday.   "The United Nations expects swift and decisive actions against those who organised and led the mob on its rampage," said International Police Task Force (IPTF) spokesman Alex Ivanko.   The crisis began on Thursday afternoon, when a crowd of some 600 Serbs surrounded the IPTF headquarters in Zvornik.   The Serb throng was apparently retaliating against NATO action in a nearby village of Mahala to detain a group of Bosnian Serb police who had been involved in a shooting incident with Moslems.   In that confrontation Bosnian Serb police beat a group of Moslem refugees who had returned to Mahala to repair homes damaged during the war, the U.N. said.   Gunfire erupted and NATO-led peace forces intervened, corralling 65 Serb policemen inside a cordon of armoured vehicles and combat troops.   Both stand-offs were defused when the commander of NATO-led ground forces Lieutenant-General Sir Michael Walker and the Commissioner of U.N. police intervened with the help of the Bosnian Serb interior minister.   "The United Nations is outraged and disgusted by the events of yesterdsay in Zvornik..." Ivanko told a news conference in Sarajevo.   "Three U.N. officers were roughed up by Republika Srbska policemen and verbally abused.   A number of U.N. vehicles, four or five, were destroyed by the mob with the Serb police acting as spectators."   Another IPTF official said the IPTF office in Zvornik had reopened following assurances from the local police chief that such an incident would not happen again.   A NATO investigation into the clash in Mahala which sparked the crisis revealed that both Moslems and Serbs had brought weapons into the town which lies in the de-militarized strip known as the "zone of separation".   "Two lots of weapons were confiscated from the zone of separation," said General Walker.   "One lot were the pistols that we confiscated from the (Bosnian Serb) police which were given to (Bosnian Serb President Biljana) Plavsic as a demonstration of what we were talking about."   "The other set of weapons I will give to the leadership of the (Moslem-led) Bosnian Government to make the same point in their case."   The Bosnian Serb news agency SRNA blamed the Moslems for sparking the crisis by trying to "infiltrate" Serb territory.   without observing Dayton rules for crossing ethnic lines.   Both Walker and the UNHCR said they were disturbed by the fact that weapons were found on the returning Moslem refugees.   "However, that doesn't make it any less appalling that (Bosnian Serb) forces of so-called law and order would go into a village, beat people up and try to chase them away in an act I would call "ethnic recleansing", said UNHCR spokesman Kris Janowski.   The violence underscored steadily rising tensions across Bosnia in the run-up to general elections scheduled for September 14.   Western officials have accused nationalist Serb, Croat and Moslem authorities of creating an atmosphere of political violence and intimidation before the polls in which voters will elect a three-member presidency and parliament for a loose union governing Serb and Moslem-Croat entities.   The legitimacy of the elections has already been called into question after international organisers accused Serbs of manipulating the registration of Serb refugees.   Citing irregularities with voter registration, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has postponed municipal elections.   National elections will go ahead as planned on September 14. 
5944 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Moscow peacemaker Alexander Lebed said he hoped to sign a framework deal on a long-term settlement of the Chechen conflict with rebel leaders on Friday, despite the lack of clear support from President Boris Yeltsin.   "Today I hope to make a big political step and then...to start restoring peace in Chechnya," Interfax news agency quoted Lebed as telling reporters aboard a plane taking him to a new round of talks with separatist leaders in Chechnya.   "If we are lucky we will consider and sign a statement today," Lebed added.   Lebed and rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov struck a military deal last week to stop the worst fighting in the Chechen capital Grozny in more than a year.   Under the deal troops and rebels were due to leave Grozny by September 1 leaving it to the care of joint patrol groups.   Russia also promised to pull forces out of southern parts of Chechnya, which are traditional rebel strongholds.   The military deal, which both sides agree is being broadly respected, was followed by talks to define the future status of Chechnya -- the heart of the conflict started in December 1994 when Moscow sent troops to quell Chechnya's indpendence bid.   Rebels seek full independence while Moscow wants to keep Chechnya as a part of the vast Russian Federation.   Itar-Tass news agency quoted Lebed as saying on Friday that Russia would propose deferring a decision on Chechnya's status by up to 10 years to let the region recover from the 20-month-old war which has killed tens of thousands of people.   Lebed said this proposal was part of a plan he offered for Yeltsin's consideration earlier this week.   Lebed said he talked by telephone with Yeltsin overnight but gave no details of the conversation.   The president is on vacation outside Moscow and his press office could not confirm that the conversation took place.   A meeting of top officials headed by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin discussed Lebed's plans on Thursday and decided they needed more work.   Official press releases did not say what should be done.   But a government spokesman accused the rebels of planning to use the lull in fighting to seize back political power in Chechnya.   The head of the pro-Moscow Chechen adminitstration Doku Zavgayev had accused Lebed of staging an effective coup by striking a deal with separatists.   Interfax quoted Lebed as saying there had been no major problems with his plans at Thursday's meeting and he said Chernomyrdin had initialed the plan.   Government officials were not available for immediate comment.   But Yeltsin's position remains unclear.   Yeltsin, who was last seen in public on the day of his inauguration for a second term on August 9, has ordered Lebed to restore peace in Chechnya and granted him unspecified sweeping powers to carry out the mission.   But they have not met since Lebed received his orders.   Kremlin spokesmen say Yeltsin, 65, is keeping in touch with his envoy without needing to meet him.   They have denied rumours that the president is ill but say he needs to rest after a vigorous re-election campaign.   Yeltsin's press office said on Friday the president was working on documents at his Rus residence -- a hunting lodge 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Moscow -- and had no plans to meet any officials.   A spokesman said Yeltsin had started preparing for a meeting with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl scheduled for September 7. 
5945 !GCAT !GDIS  Fog and low cloud hampered efforts on Friday to recover bodies from a Russian airliner which crashed into a snow-capped mountain on the remote Arctic island of Spitzbergen, killing all 141 people on board.   Rescue workers prepared to start the grim task of pulling bodies from the wreckage and identifying them, a job which officials said could take days or even weeks.   Fog and cloud lifted enough to allow several helicopters to fly reconnaissance sweeps over the crash site after 0800 GMT.   The close-knit, hardy Norwegian and Russian mining communities on the island were plunged into grief and shock by the worst air disaster in Norway's history.   The Tupolev Tu-154 was bringing miners and some of their families, about half of them from Ukraine, to work in a Russian open-cast mine.   Spitzbergen is governed by Norway but Russia has rights of access under an international treaty from the 1920s.   The plane crashed as it came in to land in bad weather on Thursday.   All those on board, 129 passengers and 12 crew, died.   The cause of the crash remains a mystery.   Police and local officials declined to speculate at a news conference on Friday whether the plane flew off course or was coming in too low.   Norwegian rescue workers and investigators met at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) in Longyear, the island's main town, to discuss the difficult work ahead.   Russian officials are on their way to Spitzbergen.   Most of the three-engined plane, smashed and broken, is stranded on a mountaintop some seven km (four miles) east of Longyear.   The tail section broke off and slid down the steep mountainside, scarring the surface and blackening the snow.   Investigators are hoping to recover the plane's flight data recorders from the crash site.   But the dead have first priority.   "The first thing is that the dead will be counted and tagged.   Then the victims will be bagged, sent by helicopter to Longyear and afterwards flown to Tromsoe (in mainland Norway) for autopsy," said police coordinator Ivar Follestad.   Fewer than 3,000 people live on Spitzbergen, which has one of the world's harshest climates and lies some 500 miles (800 km) off the northern tip of Norway.   "It is hard to lose people with whom one has worked," Russian consul Vladimir Nosyov told Norwegian television.   Rescue teams had to abandon efforts to recover bodies and examine the wreckage less than six hours after Thursday's crash, because of thick fog and freezing winds.   Norwegian officials said there was also a risk of avalanches and possible danger from polar bears which roam Spitzbergen freely.   Last year bears killed two people on the island and few people venture out unarmed beyond the main settlements.   There are no roads leading to the snowbound crash site.   Western aviation experts have raised questions about the safety of Russian airline operations following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.   But the pilot was experienced and did not report any trouble before the plane crashed.   Yevgeny Buzny, an official of the Russian mining company which chartered the plane, said there were seven children and 4O women on board.   The Norwegian Foreign Ministry in Oslo said 69 of the victims were from Ukraine.   The miners were on their way to start work in the Russian towns of Barentsburg and Pyramiden -- relieving around 100 colleagues and their families who were already waiting at Longyear airport to fly home.   Many of the Russians waiting to leave spent the night in Longyear's church and the local priest organised a sombre breakfast for them on Friday as they waited for another plane.   Stig Kristiansen, a shopowner in Longyear, said some of those waiting to leave had come into his shop just before Thursday's accident.   "They were smiling," he told Norwegian television.   "Then, half an hour later, they were crushed." 
5946 !GCAT  DELO   - Foreign Minister Davorin Kracun said on Thursday he planned to visit his Italian counterpart Lamberto Dini next week.   - Slovenia's August inflation reached 10.3 percent on an annual level, Slovenia's Statistical Office said.   - As many as 6,000 disabled persons in Slovenia are estimated not to have registered properly and thus do not receive state aid.   The total number of disabled persons in Slovenia is estimated at 140,000.   - President Milan Kucan said he would start a second round of talks with parliamentary parties' representatives on Monday to discuss the exact date for the country's planned general elections.   - Brewery Union, one of the top two breweries in Slovenia, said output in the first half of the year rose by 11.4 percent.   - Industrial output in July rose by 5.8 percent from June and 6.2 percent from the same month in 1995, Slovenia's Statistical Office reported on Thursday.   DNEVNIK   - Police steps up action to provide road safety education at primary schools.   Since 1970, as many as 1,444 children have been killed in traffic accidents on Slovenia's roads, the police said.   - Slovenian airline Adria Airways said it was considering to prohibit smoking on all of its flights.   REPUBLIKA   - Slovenia's Army on Thursday started testing Swiss-made Piranha II armoured vehicles.   - Foreign Minister Davorin Kracun met representatives of ethnic Slovenes living in Italy on Thursday.   He was scheduled to meet representatives of the ethnic Italian minority in Slovenia on Friday.   FINANCE   - Brewery Union sait its first-half profit surged 30 percent to 531 million tolars ($4 million). 
5947 !GCAT  Here are highlights from Polish newspapers this morning.   RZECZPOSPOLITA   - Interior Minister Zbigniew Siemiatkowski said that crime meant Poland was no longer a safe country.   He told parliament that economic crimes enhanced by technology and political and big business corruption bring the greatest illegal profits.   - Solidarity's political wing will not unite with the Union for Freedom (UW) before the coming parliamentary elections despite the attempts at conciliation by UW leaders.   - TPSA, Poland's telecommunications monopolist, will cut selected domestic connection prices on September 1 this year.   - According to Central Statistical Office (GUS) data, this year's rapeseed harvests will not exceed 500,000 tonnes while grain harvests will lower than last year's 25.9 million tonnes.   - Bogdan Pek from the co-ruling Polish Peasant Party (PSL) was elected as the lustration parliamentary committee chairman.   The committee will study four bills submitted to parliament by various groupings, on probing whether candidates for official posts collaborated with communist-era security police.   - "If it up to me, all customs duties on agricultural products within CEFTA countries would be abolished from January 1997", Poland's Agriculture Minister Roman Jagielinski said.   - Representatives of 350 firms, politicians and province governors from Poland and Germany joined the Polish-German Economy and Infrastructure Conference in Berlin which started on September 29.   NOWA EUROPA   - Parliament amended a law on tax inspections and gave more powers to treasury collectors to curb tax evasion.   - The Polish Securities Commission (KPW) cleared Drosed SA poultry processor to issue up to 300,000 new shares for public trading.   - A Poland-Asia Economic Forum to start in Warsaw next week aims to tighten economic ties between Poland and Southeast Asia's tigers.   - Fiat Auto Poland has received the ISO 9001 quality certificate and is now the country's biggest plant holding the ISO certificate.   GAZETA WYBORCZA   - European Commission data shows new car prices in Poland are on average lower than the same makes in EU countries.   - According to a report by Poland's Labour Inspection body (PIP), most injuries happen in the construction sector, mostly on sites run by small firms.   - Korea's Dacom telecommunications company and Daewoo have invested $1 million in a joint venture which aims to become Poland's biggest telecommunications company with annual sales exceeding $60 million, Dacom and Daewoo representatives said.   - Pekao SA bank will cut rates on up to one-year car purchase credits in September.   - Tarnow-based ZMT armaments maker will make redundant 500 workers on September 1 this year in the first stage of a restructuring, ZMT new president Artur Lysakowski said.   ZYCIE WARSZAWY   - France's President Jacques Chirac will lobby for granting a GSM digital cellular phone concession to France Telecom and for the purchase of Poland's Ruch press distribution network by the France's Hachette during his September visit to Poland.   - "Every fifth zloty of the public budget is spent ineffectively", Union of Labour (UP) deputy chairwoman Wieslawa Ziolkowska said.   The UP voted against approval, passed yesterday, of the government's handling of the 1995 budget.   PARKIET   - KPW has cleared the Wedel confectionery maker's fourth share issue for public trading.   It cancelled a brokerage concession for the V&P brokerage house and granted one to Robert Fleming Polska SA.   - USAID will supply funds for the CeTO telecommunications network development which will provide computerised communications infrastructure for off-bourse share trading.   - The listed Mostostal Warszawa will carry out steel construction work in Denmark's Aalborg and Germany's Stuttgart worth 4.6 million zlotys.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
5948 !GCAT  These are some of the main stories in Sofia newspapers today.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   24 CHASA   -- Bulgaria's cumulative inflation for 1996 is expected to accelerate to some 170 percent due to the slump of the national currency, the lev, on the local forex market, experts said.   -- The Dutch ABN-Amro bank has won a tender under the EU's PHARE programme for a two-year exchange of expertise and staff with the Bulgarian state-owned Biohim bank, Biohim's executive director Ivan Dimov said.   STANDART   -- Maximum petrol prices will rise by some 11 percent from September 1, the cabinet decided at a closed-door session.   -- Bulgaria's debt-ridden forklift truck producer Balkancar Holding, initially slated for liquidation under the government's sructural reform programme, will be privatised instead by the end of the year, industry minister Lyubomir Dachev said after a cabinet meeting.   -- Electricity prices are expected to rise by five to ten percent by the end of the year, energy minister Roumen Ovcharov said.   -- Bulgaria's monthly inflation is seen between 10-11.5 percent, the National Price Commission's chairman Dimitar Grivekov said in a report to the cabinet.   KONTINENT   -- The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Monday on the appeal by the Socialist Party against the electoral commision's refusal to register its candidate, the U.S. born Foreign Minister Georgi Pirinski for the presidential elections due on October 27.   -- Energy minister Roumen Ovcharov said he could not gurantee that Bulgaria would avoid power cuts this winter because Bulgaria lacks money for coal imports for its thermal power stations.   TROUD   -- The International Monetary Fund's mission currently in Bulgaria has not demanded that the Bulgarian government should not guarantee citizens' deposits in cases of future bankrupcies of commercial banks, mission head Anne McGuirk said, thus rejecting local media reports.   -- The International Monetary Fund has approved the possibility that the Bulgaria's second largest credit institution, the State Savings Bank, should be able to attract the citizens' hard currency deposits as well, the SSB management said after talks with the visiting IMF mission.   Under the current regulations, the SSB, which holds most of the citizens' lev deposits, is not allowed to attract deposits in hard currency. 
5949 !GCAT  SME - Frantisek Gaulider, a deputy of the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) admitted the authenticity of a tape recording of a telephone conversation between former interior minister Ludovit Hudek and Ivan Lexa, head of the SIS secret service, in which they discuss sacking the investigator of the kidnapping of the president's son.   NARODNA OBRODA - Revenues from value added tax totalled 20.9 billion crowns in the first half of this year, some 38 percent of the sum planned for the whole year.   - Individual tax payments totalled 9.4 billion crowns in the first six months of the year, around 2.3 billion crowns less than originally planned sum for the period.   HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Almost 100,000 orders to sell privastisation bonds have been registered on the over-the-counter bourse RM-System since the beginning of trading on August 5.   No anonymous trades have been concluded so far.   - The National Property Fund (NPF), state privatisation agency, expects the owners of privatised property to pay off debts to the fund worth some five billion crowns.   - The NPF expects trading with privatisation bonds to significantly increase at the end of this year.   PRAVDA - The largest theft of police arms in Slovakia happened last Monday, when unknown persons stole 25 Czech-made automatic rifles and two pistols from a police station in Spisska Nova Ves, eastern Slovakia.   -- Bratislava Newsroom, 42-7-210-3687 
5950 !GCAT  HOSPODARSKE NOVINY - Plzen's Kreditni Banka voted for liquidation during its shareholder's meeting yesterday.   The bank will payback client deposits up to four million crowns.   Any clients with accounts greater than four million crowns will have to recieve the balance from liquidation proceedings.   - According to Kamil Janacek from Komercni Banka, the consolidation of the banking sector is around half complete.   PRAVO - Benzina a.s. intends to reduce petrol prices by 10 to 30 hellers per litre at 87 of its petrol stations beginning September 1.   - The Czech crown increased to its strongest position of all time during trading on Thursday.   The reason given for the increase is a large interest differential and the resulting attraction by foreign investors.   - Mlada Boleslav's Skoda automobile plant plans to produce 5,000 Octavias, its new automobile line, by the end of the year.   The Octavia will go on sale in November in the Czech Republic and in six foreign markets.   - If the Czech government decides to buy American F/A-18 fighter aircraft under leasing, they will recieve used aircraft only according to Gary E. Mitchell, the vice-president of McDonell Douglas which is involved in the construction of these aircraft.   If the government pays cash up front they will recieve new aircraft.   - Stavby Silnic a Zeleznic, Inekon Praha and Isam Plzen founded a joint venture with Ukraine's Zaporzi which will be involved in the construction and reconstruction of tram tracks.   - Ceska Sporitelna will expand the range of terms available for deposits.   Interest rates will also change.   The changes take effect from September 2.   - The National Property Fund has decided to sell 23 percent of Znojmia a.s. in a public tender.   An orientation price of 45.453 million crowns was announced.   Znojmia is involved in vegetable canning and preservevation.   - Ekoagrobanka has elected a new board of directors and a new supervisory board.   - Shares of CEZ dropped to their lowest value in three months during trading on the Prague Stock Exchange Thursday.   The stock traded at 1,009 crowns a share at its lowest point but bounced back to close at 1036 crowns a share.   -- Prague Newsroom, 42-2423-0003 
5951 !GCAT !GVIO  Russia's peace envoy Alexander Lebed declared the 20-month Chechen conflict over on Saturday after he and rebel leaders agreed steps to bring lasting peace to the breakaway region.   Lebed signed a deal with rebel chief-of-staff Aslan Maskhadov deferring any decision on whether Chechnya should be independent from the Russian Federation until December 31, 2001.   A joint commission will also be set up by October 1 to monitor the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and coordinate steps in fighting crime and terrorism in the region.   "We have just now signed a statement and attached the basic principles of relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic," Lebed told dozens of people crowded into the conference room.   "That is it, the war is over," Lebed said after the talks, which lasted more than eight hours.   Lebed's words were shouted by a rebel fighter to crowds waiting outside, who greeted them with jubilant cries of "Allahu Akbar" (God is the Greatest) and "Lebed for president".   The commission is also authorised to work out proposals on financial relations between Russia and Chechnya as well as a programme for the social and economic recovery of the region.   The three-page declaration crowns Lebed's peace mission, begun just two weeks ago after he was appointed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin to end the war in which tens of thousands of people have died.   A member of Lebed's delegation said his aides were in constant contact with Moscow during the talks, although he did not say whether the contact was with the Kremlin.   Lebed said postponing a decision on Chechnya's future would give vital breathing space.   "Then with cool heads, calmly and soberly we will sort out our relations," Lebed said after the late-night signing ceremony in this village close to Chechnya's eastern border in the Russian region of Dagestan.   Maskhadov praised Lebed's efforts to end a war that has seen ceasefires come and go and other failed peace plans.   "We could have ended the war long ago but only now has a politician emerged who was capable of closing the bloodiest page in the history of the Chechen people," Maskhadov said.   Yeltsin gave Lebed sweeping but unspecified powers to stop the conflict, begun after Russian troops in December 1994 moved into Chechnya to quash its independence bid.   Russian forces never managed to gain control of the whole of the country and its troops suffered several humiliating defeats by the Chechen fighters.   Lebed last week signed a truce to end some of the worst fighting in the Chechen capital Grozny after the rebels attacked the capital on August 6 to humiliate Yeltsin three days before his inauguration for a second term.   The ceasefire has held since it began formally last Friday.   Russian troops have been withdrawing from their frontline positions and joint Chechen-Russian patrols have started.   Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin earlier said that Yeltsin, holidaying just outside Moscow, had told him by telephone that he backed Lebed's peace plans. 
5952 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  Bosnia's breakaway Croat mini-state was due to be dissolved on Saturday, a major step towards consolidating a fledging Moslem-Croat federation and blocking nationalist dreams of ethnic partition of the country.   "I am satisfied the job is done," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum told reporters on Friday evening.   "As of tomorrow they (Herceg Bosna) will legally cease to exist."   The Bosnian factions agreed in Geneva earlier this month that self-styled Herceg Bosna, which emerged from the ashes of 10 months of vicious fighting between Moslems and Croats in 1993, would cease to exist on August 31.   The Moslem-Croat federation nominally controls 51 percent of Bosnia under the terms of the Dayton peace agreement.   A Serb republic administers the rest.   However federation institutions have been slow to emerge for a number of reasons, including Herceg Bosna's refusal to cede power as Croat nationalists pushed for secesssion from Bosnia and union with neighbouring Croatia.   Kornblum was in the Bosnian capital to make sure the deal was honoured as a major stepping stone on the arduous journey of restitching the country's war-shattered multi-ethnic fabric.   After a day of meetings the U.S. envoy reported that Moslem and Croat officials had agreed a two-week schedule to do away with remaining symbols of Herceg Bosna authority.   The schedule was signed by the Federation's Croat President and Moslem Vice-President, not by any Herceg Bosna authorities.   "Basically, our thinking is that Herceg Bosna officials are now irrelevant," said a U.S. official in Sarajevo.   "We cut this deal with their sponsors in Croatia.   Without Croatia's backing some individuals in Herceg Bosna will still be able to trade on personal power but the governmental entity we have been wrestling with is finished," he said.   Apparently satisfied with the outcome of Kornblum's visit, Bosnia's ruling Moslem nationalist party on Friday called on its refugee voters to end a boycott of absentee balloting in national elections, Bosnian government radio said.   The Party of Democratic Action (SDA), backed by two other parties, called on Wednesday for followers abroad to boycott the absentee balloting because of voter registration irregularities, especially among Serb refugees.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has postponed municipal elections because of the alleged irregularities, but decided to proceed with voting for higher offices.   The tense situation in the run-up to September 14 cantonal, parliamentary and presidential elections came under further strain on Friday when Bosnian Serb leaders, who have never concealed their desire to join up with neighbouring Serbia, called the Moslem-Croat federation an artifice.   "By the Washington agreement (the West) tailored such an artifical creation.   Now it remains for them... to draw (the Serb republic) into a process of reintegration.   They will not succeed in that," Bosnian Serb premier Gojko Klickovic said.   But Kornblum said he had told Serb leaders in Banja Luka earlier in the day to forget about secession:   "I stressed there that the continuity of Bosnia Herzegovina, (its) integrity, is one of the basic principles of the Dayton agreement.   "I mention this because there have been some comments from time to time including by some (Serb) officials... about the desire to secede or have a referendum on secession....there is no place in this peace process for any consideration of secession."   "I said that none of the parties...has any option in this case." 
5953 !GCAT !GPOL !GVIO  Russian peacemaker Alexander Lebed said he and rebel military leader Aslan Maskhadov agreed after overnight talks to defer the decision on whether Chechnya should be independent until December 31, 2001.   "We just now signed a statement and attached the basic principles of relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic," Lebed told reporters after he and Maskhadov signed a package of documents.   He gave no further details.    "That's it, the war is over," Lebed told reporters who witnessed the signing.   Lebed said he and Maskhadov agreed to defer by more than five years the painful issue of Chechnya's political status.   "Then, with cool heads, calmly and soberly we will sort out our relations," Lebed said after the late-night signing ceremony in this settlement outside Chechnya's eastern border.   Tens of thousands of people have died in the war, begun in late 1994 after Moscow sent troops to quell Chechnya's independence bid.   But Russia failed to win control over the whole of Chechnya and its troops suffered several humiliating defeats.   President Boris Yeltsin ordered Lebed to restore peace in Chechnya and gave him unspecified sweeping powers to carry out the mission.   Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin said on Friday that Yeltsin backed a package of proposals Lebed took to the talks. 
5954 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnia's ruling Moslem nationalist party on Friday called on its refugee voters to end a boycott of absentee balloting in national elections, citing assurances provided by a U.S. envoy, government radio said.   The Bosnian government radio broadcast said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum had reassured SDA officials, including presumably its leader, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic, whom he met during a Friday visit.   But the radio report did not specify what guarantees, if any, the U.S. envoy had provided.   Absentee voting in the elections began on Wednesday, August 28 and runs for a week.   Election day for those living inside Bosnia is September 14.   The Party of Democratic Action (SDA) had called on Wednesday for its followers abroad to boycott the absentee balloting because of voter registration irregularities, especially among Serb refugees.   The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) postponed municipal elections as a result of the irregularities but decided to proceed with voting for higher offices.   The SDA, joined by two other parties, has been demanding that OSCE prohibit refugees voting from any place other than their pre-war place of residence as a means to prevent the elections from ratifying the results of ethnic cleansing. 
5955 !C24 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  Croatia's state oil company INA on Friday resumed exploitation of Djeletovci oil field in the last Serb-held enclave after a five-year suspension caused by war, Croatian television reported.   INA took control of Djeletovci in Eastern Slavonia for the first time since 1991 in a further sign of the region's gradual U.N.-administered return to central government rule.   "I think, with so many other things going on, this is another milestone," said Jacques Klein, head of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Eastern Slavonia (UNTAES).   "By bringing this field back on line, we are bringing employment to the region," he said during a ceremony at the oil field carried by state television.   "We came here to create normal economic conditions, to integrate all people from this area who are experts into INA's teams if they are prepared to behave and work normally," INA supervisory board member Hrvoje Sarinic said.   He was alluding to local Serbs who only grudgingly accepted the U.N. mandate to restore Croatian rule there, due to be completed by mid-1997, after rebel cousins in western Croatia were defeated in 1995 battles with government troops.   State television said INA will be able to pump 110,000 tonnes of crude oil and 20 million cubic metres of natural gas from the field in the first year.   An oil pipeline between Croatian and Serbian-led rump Yugoslavia cutting through Eastern Slavonia was reopened by UNTAES in May after a five-year break caused by the 1991 minority Serb insurrection against Zagreb's break with former Yugoslavia. 
5956 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GPOL  Poland's public television sacked the head of one of its two main channels on Friday, prompting the resignation of senior editors who allege he was the victim of political interference by leftist government supporters.   After television management announced it was firing First Channel director Tomasz Siemoniak, nine editors quit in support of him, the channel's television news reported.   Siemoniak and his supporters accused the country's ruling coalition, linking ex-communists and a Peasant party, of trying to impose close control of programming and staff decisions.   At a news conference Siemoniak described three domininant figures in management, who had voted for his dismissal, as political nominees with no experience of television.   "They want to root out all programmes which do not fall in with the political views of their protectors," PAP news agency quoted him as saying.   The management, headed by recently-appointed Peasant party member Ryszard Miazek, said in a statement it fired Siemoniak only because he had failed to carry out agreed new guidelines.   A senior leader of the ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) party, Marek Borowski, also rejected the charges that the government was seeking to control the television.   "I firmly deny this," Borowski told reporters.   The row is only the latest to swirl around public television, a key news provider in the young Polish democracy, where the sole nationwide private channel is not yet widely seen as a full alternative.   In February the right-leaning head of public television Wieslaw Walendziak quit, alleging political pressure from the government of two parties rooted in the communist era. 
5957 !GCAT !GPOL  A senior Belarus politician accused President Alexander Lukashenko on Friday of attempting to set up a dictatorship in the former Soviet republic.   The speaker of the Belarus parliament, Semyon Sharetsky, told Reuters that a draft constitution, due to be put to a national referendum on November 7, would dangerously increase the powers of the ruler.   "The world community should not be indifferent to the fact that President Lukashenko, who leads this European state of 10 million people, is trying to establish a dictatorship with his new constitution," Sharetsky said.   The new constitution calls for a two-chamber parliament with a 110-seat majority-elected house of representatives and a regionally-represented senate with a third of its members named by the president.   Lukashenko's aides shrugged off Sharetsky's charge.   "If there was a dictatorship they wouldn't have the right to say things like this," Sergei Posukhov, Lukashenko's political adviser, told Reuters.   "The people have asked us to establish order and that's our main aim."   Lukashenko, 41, won presidential polls in 1994 on promises to restore order, fight corruption and repair the strong links with Russia that were disrupted by the collapse of the Soviet Union.   But during his period in office he has battled against nationalist opponents, trade unions and parliament and Sharetsky said the current parliament was ready to try to impeach him.   "This constitution, which has been prepared in secret, aims to gather all power in one man's hands," he said.   "We should not be fooled by his quasi-democratic rhetoric and his methods, like this referendum."   Lukashenko signed a pact with Moscow in April to create a strong economic and political union which he believes could grow into a federation.   But nationalist groups, scared by the prospect of renewed Moscow domination and Russia's backing for Lukashenko, protested against the deal.   Lukashenko responded by cracking down on the nationalist opposition and jailing nearly 200 people for taking part in demonstrations against the pact.   The United States last week granted political asylum to two opposition leaders, Zenon Poznyak and Sergei Naumchik. 
5958 !GCAT !GVIO  Tajik government troops now control of the strategically vital town of Tavildara after driving out Islamic rebels, but sporadic gunfire still echoed in the nearby Pamir mountains on Friday.   The commander-in-chief of Tajikistan's armed forces, Major-General Nikolai Sherbatov, took a group of journalists by helicopter to the remote, and now devastated, town to show that his forces held it.   He said his troops took Tavildara without casualties on August 23, but the crack of sniper and machinegun fire revealed the presence of opposition fighters in the surrounding mountains.   Sherbatov said the rebels were located about three km (two miles) east of Tavildara around the village of Layron.   Tavildara, 200 km (120 miles) east of the capital Dushanbe, was in ruins.   Shells had smashed roofs and windows and empty shell cases littered the streets.   The town straddles a strategically important road linking government and rebel-held territory and has fallen succesively to both sides in a bloody tug-of-war which began last February.   Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan and China, has been split by a dragging four-year conflict after a civil war between communists and a frail coalition of Islamic and liberal groups.   Tens of thousands of people have been killed and many more have been displaced in the fighting, which breached a shaky United Nations-sponsored ceasefire.   Tavildara is now apparently inhabited only by a few old men, women and their grubby, barefoot children.   Fruit remained on the trees as there was no one to pick it.   "Help me, help me," said a chorus of women begging soldiers for food.   The town's school and a shop doubling as a warehouse for humanitarian aid were destroyed in the fighting.   "We had to build our own earth shelters to survive the fighting," said Rajab Adinayev, a bearded elderly Tajik in a long white shirt.   Although shy in front of the government soldiers, several inhabitants accused government forces of widespread looting of homes and livestock.   They also said rebel fighters had looted medicines from the local hospital.   One elderly man, who declined to give his name, said two of his sons were now refugees in Moscow and the other two had left to fight for the opposition.   He also said government soldiers had raped the wife of one of his sons.   "It's not important who holds this town, we just need to stop the war," he said. 
5959 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Russian President Boris Yeltsin, himself dogged by rumours of illness, visited his wife Naina in hospital on Friday and attended his grandson's first birthday party, Interfax news agency said.   The Kremlin has been forced repeatedly to deny that Yeltsin, who suffered two minor heart attacks last year, has been taken ill again.   He has not appeared in public since his August 9 inauguration for a second term in office.   Interfax quoted presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembski as saying Yeltsin visited Naina, who had a kidney operation last Saturday, in hospital and found her in good health.   "Naina Yeltsin looks well, she is active, she is clearly getting better," Yastrzhembsky quoted Yeltsin as saying.   Yeltsin has been holidaying at the Rus hunting lodge, some 100 km (60 miles) outside Moscow.   After visiting Naina, Yeltsin headed to his Barvikha residence outside Moscow to join other members of his family at a birthday party for his youngest grandson Gleb, celebrating his first birthday on Friday, Yastrzhembsky said.   He said Yeltsin would stay overnight in Barvikha and then leave again for the Rus lodge.   The disappearance of Yeltsin, 65, from public view since his inauguration has sparked rumours the president has fallen ill.   But presidential aides insist Yeltsin has no health problems and that he is only exhausted after a gruelling election campaign. 
5960 !GCAT !GDIP  A top U.S. envoy flew into Sarajevo on Friday to help put an end to Bosnia's breakaway Croat mini-state, clearing the way for a Moslem-Croat federation Washington brokered in 1994.   U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum returned to the Bosnian capital for talks with the heads of Moslem and Croat officials to ensure an end to breakaway Herceg Bosna before the end of the month.   "We expect Herceg Bosna to go up in a puff of smoke by midnight on Saturday at the latest," a U.S. source who asked not to be named told Reuters on Friday.   Early on Friday the commander of NATO ground forces in Bosnia held crisis talks with Bosnian Serb leaders after the worst day of violence since the Dayton peace agreement was signed in December.   General Sir Michael Walker flew to Banja Luka to meet Bosnian Serb Acting President Biljana Plavsic after a tense confrontation on Thursday between NATO troops and Serb police in Zvornik and Mahala in northeastern Bosnia.   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher won agreement from Bosnian factions in Geneva on August 14 that Herceg Bosna, which emerged from the ashes of 10 months of vicious fighting between Moslems and Croats in 1993, would cease to exist on August 31.   Croat nationalists in the rocky western part of Bosnia have made no secret of their desire to secede and form a union with neighbouring Croatia, which they view as their motherland.   The fighting ended In April 1994 when the United States brokered an agreement for a Moslem-Croat federation which nominally controls 51 per cent of Bosnia under the terms of the Dayton peace agreement.   A Serb republic administers the rest.   However federation institutions have been slow to form for a number of reasons, including Herceg Bosna's refusal to cede power and cease to exist.   Armed and supported by Croatia and dominated by warlords who maintain a grip over the local population, Herceg Bosna has proved resilient.   U.S. sources blamed the Croats for holding up progress on the issue.   The European Union coordinator in Mostar, the chosen "capital" of Herzeg Bosna, on Friday named six Croats reputed to be paramilitary gang bosses and called on them to stop ethnic terror in the ethnically divided town.   Straining the issue further, Bosnian Serb leaders, who have never concealed their desire to join up with neighbouring Serbia, called the Moslem-Croat federation an artifice.   "By the Washington agreement (the West) tailored such an artifical creation.   Now it remains for them... to draw (the Bosnian Serb republic) into a process of reintegration.   They will not succeed in that," Bosnian Serb premier Gojko Klickovic told reporters.   Klickovic was speaking after meeting U.N. special envoy Iqbal Riza in Pale to discuss Thursday's crisis in Zvornik, which highlighted the deep-seated ethnic hatred in Bosnia after 43 months of civil war.   The U.N. was demanding swift punishment for the organisers of a mob that besieged a group of U.N. officials in the northeastern town of Zvornik for six hours, a spokesman said.   "The United Nations expects swift and decisive actions against those who organised and led the mob on its rampage," said Alex Ivanko of the International Police Task Force (IPTF).   The crisis began on Thursday afternoon, when a crowd of some 600 Serbs surrounded the IPTF headquarters in Zvornik.   The Serb crowd was apparently retaliating against NATO action in a nearby village of Mahala to detain a group of Bosnian Serb police who had been involved in a shooting incident with Moslems after beating them up.   The violence underscored steadily rising tensions across Bosnia in the run-up to general elections scheduled for September 14 for a three-member presidency and parliament for a loose union of Serb and Moslem-Croat entities. 
5961 !GCAT !GDIP  Poland's Foreign Minister Dariusz Rosati will visit Yugoslavia on September 3 and 4 to revive a dialogue between the two governments which was effectively frozen in 1992, PAP news agency reported on Friday.   During Rosati's trip the two countries will sign an agreement on mutual protection of investments and a note easing conditions on the granting of visas, the agency quoted Foreign Ministry officials as saying.   The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is the only country of the former Yugoslavia where Poles currently require visas.   They are also to clinch protocols on culture and understanding between the two foreign ministries.   Rosati will meet Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and Yugoslav politicians in Belgrade, before visiting Montenegro.   Poland revived diplomatic ties at ambassadorial level with Yugoslavia in April but economic links are almost moribund, despite the end of a three-year U.N. trade embargo imposed to punish Belgrade for its support of Bosnian Serbs.   Poland is seeking pacts on avoiding double taxation and wants cooperation in fighting crime. 
5962 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek said on Friday he would like parliamentary elections, due by the end of December, to be held as soon as possible.   "As president of the leading governing party I will back the majority consensus.   But as a prime minister, I would prefer the elections to be as soon as possible," Drnovsek told a news conference.   A general election must be held by the end of December but the earliest date it can be called is November 10.   Drnovsek's centre-left Liberal Democratic Party is the senior partner in a coalition with the rightist Christian Democrats which has ruled Slovenia since the last nationwide poll in 1992.   Slovenia, which declared independence from former Yugoslavia five years ago, has one of the most successful economies among Europe's ex-communist states.   But Drnovsek's government has been hit by mounting political problems, bickering inside the coalition, and a series of public sector strikes demanding higher pay.   Industrial action has put a strain on the coalition's tight monetary policy and the government has been forced to concede in a number of pay disputes. 
5963 !GCAT !GCRIM  Hungarian police said a new 300-person investigative unit, formed mainly to crack down on the black economy, will start work on Monday.   "We will start with a 300-strong force, and pick up cases from other units on the fly," Colonel Erno Kiss, head of the newly established Central Investigative Directorate, told a news conference on Friday.   The rampant growth of the black economy, ranging from smuggled liquor to tax evasion, is one of Hungary's biggest economic problems.   The unit was set up on the initiative of Prime Minister Gyula Horn, but instead of reporting directly to his office, it will be an integral part of the national police force. 
5964 !C12 !C41 !C411 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  The board of Poland's Bank Przemyslowo-Handlowy SA (BPH) voted on Thursday to dismiss deputy president Jan Pamula, arrested in Krakow early in June over bribery allegations, BPH said in a statement.   It said that although Pamula's arrest had nothing to do with his work at the bank, the proceedings against him made his acting as a member of the bank's management impossible.   Pamula is suspected of violating criminal code articles involving bribery and illegally taking advantage of his senior position at the bank.   Upon conviction such wrongdoings can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison.   Pamula has been BPH's deputy president since December 1, 1995.   -- Warsaw Newsroom +48 22 653 9700 
5965 !GCAT !GPOL !GPRO  Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited his wife Naina in hospital on Friday evening, Interfax news agency quoted spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky as saying.   Naina Yeltsin had a kidney operation last Saturday.   Earlier Russian news reports had said Yeltsin's children and grandchildren had visited the Russian first lady but they said only that Yeltsin, on vacation outside Moscow, had spoken to her by telephone.    "Naina Yeltsin looks well, she is active, she is clearly getting better," Yastrzhembsky quoted Yeltsin as saying.   Naina Yeltsin is recovering in Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital, where the president himself was treated twice last year for heart attacks.   Yeltsin, 65, has been seen only rarely since he was elected for a second term in office on July 3, although his aides have denied a string of rumours that he has been taken ill again.   Yastrzhembsky said Yeltsin had travelled from the hospital to spend the night at the Barvikha sanatorium outside Moscow.   He was likely to return on Saturday to his holiday resort, a hunting lodge some 100 km (60 miles) from Moscow. 
5966 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP  Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic said on Friday the NATO-led peace implimentation force for Bosnia (IFOR) should remain at least until living conditions were "back to normal".   Speaking in the Macedonian capital, Muratovic warned of the potential for a return to conflict if the international military presence vanished too soon.   "NATO should stay in Bosnia until the normalisation of living conditions in our country, which is not possible after the expiration of the IFOR mandate," Muratovic told a news conference at the end of a two-day visit to Skopje.   The U.N. agreed to limit the IFOR mandate to 12 months, to the end of this year, largely in response to the U.S. desire to see a clear end to the military mission in the approach to this year's presidential elections.   Muratovic was in Macedonia to establish diplomatic ties and build economic links between the two former Yugoslav republics.   "There are no outstanding issues between Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina," said Macedonian Prime minister Branko Crvenkovski.   He announced plans for the two countries to open embassies in Skopje and Sarajevo, and said they would sign protocols on the protection of investments and against double taxation.   A joint commission is to be established to prepare a special agreement on trade relations, Crvenkovski said.   The managers of some of Macedonia's largest construciton companies interested in doing business in Bosnia, held a separate meeting on Friday with Muratovic who was due to meet Macedonian President Kiro Gligorov later in the afternoon. 
5967 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  An official with Russia's finance ministry lifted the veil on a secret deal with the International Monetary Fund on Friday, admitting the IMF was allowing Russia a bigger budget deficit but promising to keep fiscal policy tight.   Jochen Wermuth, head of the ministry's economic expert group, said the IMF had revised its target for the Russian budget deficit in 1996 up to 5.25 percent of gross domestic product, from four percent.   The change, agreed during the IMF's latest monthly review of the Russian economy, was needed because domestic bonds had yielded much more than expected in the first half, when markets were nervous about President Boris Yeltsin's re-election.   "The IMF deficit target has been moved up," Wermuth said.   "In terms of revenue and the primary deficit the programme has been tightened, but in terms of overall expenditure it is somewhat looser."   The IMF is backing Russia's economic reforms with a three-year loan of $10 billion, the second-biggest credit the Washington-based organisation has ever issued.   But the loan, being released in monthly tranches, depends on Russia meeting tight economic performance criteria.   The IMF delayed one payment last month, complaining that revenue collection was well below target.   It paid up this month after Russia approved a package of 30 revenue measures.   "They have taken a lot of steps, effectively cancelling spending plans Yeltsin made before the election," said one Western economist.   "It was fairly crude from a political standpoint, but from the economic standpoint it is essential."   He said the surge in interest rates -- annual yields peaked at over 200 percent before the July presidential election -- had caught the Russian authorities by surprise.   "People had expected some caution before the election, but I do not think anyone fully foresaw the level of nervousness about thhe elections and the impact it would have on interest rates."   Russia also received first-half financial help from France and Germany, who extended Moscow $3 billion in commercial bank loans in March.   Wermuth said the cash, used to help close the budget deficit, had kept Russia's economic programme on track, preventing a further rise in domestic interest rates and the posible collapse of the rouble.   "The programme would have been completely bust without it and interest rates would have gone even higher," he said.   But some elements of the reform programme have done much better than the government had hoped, with prices set to fall 0.2 percent this month, the first monthly fall in consumer prices since economic reforms began in 1992.   July's inflation, itself a post-reform low, was 0.7 percent.   But there are still economic pitfalls on the horizon, not least the final shape of the 1997 budget, which has yet to be debated by a conservative-dominated parliament.   The government's draft, approved last week, calls for a budget deficit of 89.10 trillion roubles, or 3.30 percent of gross domestic product.   The 1996 budget aims at a 3.85 percent deficit for the whole year.   "The budget is difficult," Finance Minister Alexander Livshits told a news conference after the draft was approved.   "Only by cutting the deficit ... can we manage to get the results we expect from 1997, the year when slow growth of the economy must start," he said.   Russia and the IMF use different methods of calculating the budget deficit.   Russian figures put the first-half federal deficit at four percent of GDP.   IMF methods put the gap at 6.3 percent. 
5968 !GCAT !GODD  Victor the Parrot kept shrieking "Voda, Voda" -- "Water, Water".   But it was the constant, fearsome roaring of Michael the Jaguar that got water supplies to the Dobrich zoo turned on again after a thirsty week for 130 animals, the Sofia newspaper Troud reported on Friday.   A broken pipe clocked up a huge bill which the northern Bulgarian town's zoo could not pay, the paper said.   The state-owned water company cut off supplies and was deaf to all pleas until Michael began to roar. 
5969 !C13 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIP  The Polish and Russian transport ministers on Friday signed an agreement on road transport paving the way for talks on granting more permits for Polish trucks to enter Russia, the ministers said on Friday.   "We have signed an agreement on road transport between Russia and Poland," Russia's Nikolai Tzakh told reporters at a joint news conference.   Poland's Boguslaw Liberadzki said the 55,000 permits which Russia had granted Poland in 1996 would not be enough and talks on an additional 9,000 permits would start in October.   "The new agreement...opens the possibility of increasing the number of truck-entry permits for Polish transport firms," Liberadzki said.   The agreement replaces the one signed in 1966 between the then Soviet Union and the People's Republic of Poland, he said.   The ministers said the countries reached an agreement on the construction of the A2 Moscow-Berlin motorway and a highway from Russia's Kaliningrad enclave to Elblag in north Poland.   Liberadzki said the Polish section of the A2 motorway would be financed from credits raised by construction consortia while the Russian part would be financed from the Russian budget.   The ministers also agreed on building a truck terminal outside Moscow, Liberadzki said.   Tzakh visited ship construction and repair yards while in Poland but said that any actual orders for ships or services would depend on individual Russian shipowners.   -- Robert Bogdanski +48 22 653 9700 
5970 !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GPOL  Latvian Prime Minister Andris Skele said on Friday the government was aiming for a deficit-free budget in 1997, although the country's deficit at the end of August stood at 23.5 million lats.   Under the terms of its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Latvia's budget deficit for 1996 cannot exceed 40 million lats.   Budget income for the first eight months of this year was near 286.5 million lats and expenditures were just over 310 million lats.   The country has managed to stick to its fiscal plan despite aftershocks of a banking crisis last year that caused the sudden closing of its biggest bank, Banka Baltiya.   Skele said the government was preparing a deficit-free budget for 1997 with increased tax collection.   Skele said the government hoped to avoid painful cuts.   "No ministry will have its budget reduced in 1997, and the defense, interior and education budgets will be increased," he said.   "The government plans to contribute more money to the state revenue office to increase tax revenues," he said.   -- Riga newsroom +3717-22 66 93 
5971 !C12 !CCAT !GCAT !GCRIM  Russian oil holding company NK Sidanko will go to court on Monday, seeking the return of former subsidiary AO Purneftegaz, now held by NK Rosneft, the court secretary told Reuters on Friday.   Sidanko is asking for a reversal of a January 24, 1995 government order which transferred Purneftegaz to state-owned Rosneft.   The case was rescheduled to Monday on August 12, a spokesman for Sibirsko-Dalnevostochnaya Neftyanaya Kompaniya (Sidanko) said.   Sidanko is one of a dozen vertically-integrated Russian oil companies.   Its operating units include Chernogorneft CHGZ.  RTS, Kondpetroleum COND.  RTS and Varyoganneftegaz VJGZ.  RTS.   Rosneft, a 100 percent government-owned oil holding company, has subsidiaries including Dagneft, Krasnodarneftegaz, Sakhalinmorneftegaz SKGZ.  RUO, Stavropolneftegaz and Termneft.   Russia will hold an investment tender for a 34 percent stake in the Sidanko company on September 12.   Purneftegaz's 1995 net profit was 220.8 billion roubles, up from 29.2 billion in 1994, CentreInvest Securities reported.   --Aleksandras Budrys, Moscow Newsroom, +7095 941 8520 
5972 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL  A top U.S. envoy flew into Sarajevo on Friday to drive a stake through the heart of Bosnia's breakaway Croat mini-state, clearing the way for the Moslem-Croat federation Washington brokered in 1994.   U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Kornblum returned to the Bosnian capital for talks with the heads of Moslem and Croat officials to ensure an end to breakaway Herceg Bosna before the month is out.   "We expect Herceg Bosna to go up in a puff of smoke by midnight on Saturday at the latest," a U.S. source who asked not to be named told Reuters on Friday.   "We have agreements on all sides but we recognise this is a matter of progress by inches.   There will be some tough meetings today to get over the last bit of difficult ground."   U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher won agreement from Bosnian factions in Geneva on August 14 that Herceg Bosna would cease to exist on August 31.   Croat nationalists in the rocky western part of Bosnia make no secret of their desire to secede and form a union with neighbouring Croatia, which they view as their motherland.   Taking advantage of the chaos of the Bosnian war they formed their own mini-state, Herceg Bosna, complete with a ruling party, an army, a parliament, a president and ministries.   Ten months of bitter fighting between Moslems and Croats, parallel to Bosnia's main Moslem-Serb conflict, came to an end in April of 1994 when the United States brokered agreement on a Moslem-Croat federation as a power-sharing solution.   The federation nominally controls 51 per cent of Bosnia under the terms of the Dayton peace agreement.   A Serb republic administers the rest.   But federation institutions have been slow to form for many reasons including Herceg Bosna's refusal to cede power and die.   Armed and supported by Croatia and dominated by warlords who maintain a grip over the local population, Herceg Bosna has proved resilient.   Despite years of effort by U.S. diplomats and Christopher's August 14 agreement, several Herceg Bosna ministries were reported to be still operating on Friday.   The Speaker of the Herceg Bosna "parliament", Ivan Bender, denied on Thursday that there was any deadline for Herceg Bosna to surrender its authority.   "It is highly unlikely something might happen (by Saturday)," he told Reuters.   Bender said Herceg Bosna was ready to hand its power to the federation only when and if Bosnia's Moslem-dominated central government did the same.   U.S. sources, often as critical of the Moslems as of the Croats on federation issues in the past, said on Friday the Moslems had done what was requested of them recently and it was now the Croats who were holding up progress.   Even were Herceg Bosna to dissolve, it seems unlikely conditions inside its mostly pure Croat territory would change much because of the pervasive criminal element in the power structure.   Recent municipal elections in the city of Mostar, which sits astride the Moslem-Croat fault line in Bosnia, failed to reintegrate that divided city, which is under European Union (EU) administration.   Sir Martin Garrod, the EU Administrator, said on Friday that expulsions of non-Croats from the west bank of Mostar had increased sharply since municipal elections were held in June.   He blamed armed Croat paramilitaries. 
5973 !GCAT !GVIO  Russian peacemaker Alexander Lebed and Chechen separatist military leader Aslan Maskhadov started a new round of peace talks on Friday in this settlement just outside the rebel region.   Lebed, who flew into Chechnya earlier in the day, said he hoped to sign a framework agreement on a political settlement of the 20-month conflict in which tens of thousands of people have died.   Neither Lebed nor Maskhadov made any statement before the talks. 
5974 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  The Council of Europe on Friday offered technical assistance and advice to Albania to ensure the Balkan country holds free and fair local elections in October.   "Local elections are extremely important so that the world can see Albania carrying out a nationwide election which meets international standards," Lord Finsberg, who headed a Council of Europe delegation to Tirana, told a news conference.   The delegation met different political parties in Albania, which was admitted to the Council of Europe in June 1995, to hear their views over a disputed general election last May.   Albania's third multi-party polls were boycotted by opposition parties, who complained of ballot rigging and intimidation.   Foreign observers said the vote did not meet international standards.   The political crisis has deepened over the make-up of electoral commissions that will oversee the local vote.   The Socialists claim the commissions are biased towards President Sali Berisha's ruling Democrats and have threatened to again pull out of the ballot.   The United States and the European Union have urged Tirana to hold fresh general elections at the earliest opportunity.   Lord Finsberg said the Council of Europe would this time send a larger monitoring delegation: "The Council will coordinate the international observers on the elections and there will, of course, be a monitoring team," Finsberg said.   "In order to ensure that these problems do not occur again in October, the Council is offering technical assistance and advice," he said.   "The local elections should be carried out in a satisfactory way for all and should be certified by international observers so that they are free and fair."   The Council of Europe, set up in 1949 to promote human rights and democracy, tries to persuade states to comply with basic democratic standards and individual liberties.   Finsberg said the Council supported opposition demands for representation on the commissions in the run-up to the elections, but advised against a boycott.   "Boycotts are not the sort of action expected in a democracy, and should certainly not be used as a strategy," Finsberg said. 
5975 !GCAT !GPOL !GREL  "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", history's most infamous anti-Semitic forgery, has been published in Croatia to strong criticism not just from Jews but mainstream Croatian conservatives.   The Croatian translation of the "Protocols" was published a week ago and a quarter of the initial 2,000-copy print run had been sold so far, according to its small private publisher.   Historians believe the "Protocols" were written around 1900 by agents of Russian Tsar Nicholas II to incite pogroms against imperial Russia's large Jewish community.   The book alleged that powerful Jews were conspiring to take over the world.   Croatia's flagship government-run newspaper Vjesnik, in a big article about the "Protocols" on Friday, wondered whether publication here might hurt Croatian relations with Israel.   Croatian President Franjo Tudjman, a strong nationalist and former historian, drew international criticism a few years ago for a book he wrote that minimised Nazi Germany's Holocaust against Jews.   Tudjman publicly apologised in 1994 for the impressions he had made, saying he had since gained a better grasp of the issue and was seeking better relations with Jews everywhere.   Veteran Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal accused Croatia in 1995 of reviving ideas and icons from its 1941-45 Nazi puppet regime and contended that Croatian Jews were living in fear.   The government rejected the charges, saying symbols such as its kuna currency reintroduced since independence from Yugoslavia dated to mediaeval times, and local Jews disagreed with Wiesenthal's portrayal of their lives.   Slavko Goldstein, a prominent member of Croatia's small Jewish community, said he could not accuse the publisher of anti-Semitism but rather of recklessness and failure to explain the "Protocols" adequately in the preface.   "The publisher did not decisively explain the origin of the forgery and its absurdity.   The preface swarms with erroneous information which can lead to erroneous conclusions," Goldstein told the weekly newspaper Globus.   "This book was the theoretical basis for (the Holocaust)."   A Croatian official who asked not to be identified said the "Protocols" were not a welcome addition to local bookstores.   The official said the publication was an entirely private initiative but the government might have a statement next week.   Kresimir Mikolcic, secretary general of the Croatian Homeland society, a prominent conservative intellectual group, also decried the appearance of the "Protocols" in Croatia.   "We condemn both historic forgeries and anti-Semitic propaganda of any kind," Mikolcic said.   Ivan Krtalic, Croatian editor of the book, said it was printed to broaden Croats' awareness of "political thought".   Copies of the "Protocols" can still be found throughout much of the world but it is banned or condemned by most authorities. 
5976 !GCAT !GHEA  A pregnant Albanian woman has died of polio, raising to three the number of deaths from the disease since the current outbreak was first detected in June, a leading Albanian physicist said on Friday.   Kristo Pano, senior doctor at Tirana's hospital for infectious diseases, said a 20-year-old woman from Maqellare in northeast Albania had died on Thursday, five days after she was hospitalised.   Two teenage girls died earlier this month in the polio outbreak affecting central and northern Albania.   More than 20 people are known to be suffering from the disease.   Pano said he could not say if the outbreak could be contained because the country was facing an extremely rare situation which had puzzled even the World Health Organisation.   He explained the disease had originated from children who had received polio vaccinations and then passed on the virus in faeces to persons with weak immune systems or those who had either been partially vaccinated or had received no vaccination at all.   About 700,000 Albanian children up to five years old received polio vaccinations in April and May.   "We cannot be scientifically sure.   Logic would have it that there would be fewer cases but they would be more serious since the virus increases its virulence when it passes from one person to the other," he said.   Pano agreed with comments by Health Minister Maksim Cikuli, saying there were more cases than medical literature envisaged where vaccine viruses were found to be the cause. 
5977 !GCAT !GPOL !GVOTE  Human rights workers said on Friday Yugoslav authorities had falsified election papers for several Serb refugees who registered to vote in Bosnia's post-war elections.   The Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia said seven Serb refugees discovered their registration papers were forged after they tried to sign up to vote in the municipality of Drvar in western Bosnia.   The refugees filled out a registration form with carbon copies, when the "copies" were mailed back, they found that they were registered to vote in the Serb-controlled town of Brcko instead of Drvar, which lies in the Moslem-Croat federation, Helsinki representatives said.   "They applied for an absentee ballot for Drvar and signed it.   They were later given what was supposedly a carbon copy with Brcko written on the form with forged signatures," Boris Delic of Helsinki told Reuters.   The cases of forgery cast serious doubt on the legitimacy of the registration process, Delic said.   Human rights workers said the Drvar municipality, a predominantly Serb area which fell to Croat forces at the close of the war, was an important test of voting rights for Serb refugees.   The Drvar refugees have organised themselves and want to return to their ancestral homes in an area with an overwhelming Serb majority before the war began in 1992.   Most tried to register to vote in their old home-town, but authorities have tried to discourage them from doing so, Delic said.   Many were told initially they could only obtain application forms to vote in Bosnia's Serb republic, which covers 49 percent of the country.   Yugoslav officials were not immediately available for comment.   Belgrade and Bosnian Serb authorities have already been accused of abusing the voter registration process in a well-organised campaign to force refugees to vote only in territory under Serb control.   International organisers decided to postpone municipal elections in Bosnia due to irregularities with voter registration.   The decision by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission in Bosnia was prompted in part by a Helsinki committee report issued earlier this month based on interviews with Serb refugees.   But OSCE officials in Belgrade said they were not aware of any cases in which Serb refugees received forged voting materials.   Under terms of the Dayton peace agreement, Bosnian refugees have the right to vote in their pre-war homes or to cast ballots where they have resettled or where they "intend" to live.   Refugees have begun voting in 55 countries to elect a three-member Bosnia presidency and parliament to govern a loose union of Serb and Moslem-Croat entities.   The in-country election day for Bosnia is scheduled for September 14.   Turnout has been extremely low two days after polling stations opened in Yugoslavia, election monitors said.   Some 220,000 refugees are registered to vote in the rump Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro.   Some refugees have complained to election monitors that they never received voting materials in the mail.   OSCE officials say the material will definitely arrive in time before the seven-day voting period expires next week.   An OSCE official in Belgrade, Zivota De Luka, said most refugees were choosing to vote by mail.   He said some 6,000 ballots had arrived so far. 
5978 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIS !GJOB  A 1920s treaty gives a number of foreign states the right to dig coal on Norway's grim Arctic island of Spitzbergen.   But only Russia chooses to do so.   The reasons are obvious.   Harsh, remote conditions mean tight margins.   Few other than miners from the former Soviet Union, pressed by job losses and falling wages at home, would brave it.   Over a hundred of them paid for that choice with their lives on Thursday when the plane carrying them crashed in bad weather.   Most of the 141 people who died on the chartered Tupolev Tu-154 were on their way to begin stints of a year or more working without a break on bleak Spitzbergen.   Arktikugol (Arctic Coal), the Russian firm that works the Barentsburg and Pyramiden open-cast pits on the island 800 km (500 miles) off the northern tip of Norway, sends its 2,000 workers there on contracts of up to three years at a stretch.   "I haven't seen my husband for two-and-a-half years," said one woman waiting at the company's hotel in Moscow for her husband to return.   "I'm very patient."   He should have been back on Thursday but was stranded by the crash of the new arrivals.   "We were all shattered when we heard the news," said another waiting wife.   "We're a very close-knit community.   Most of the dead were Ukrainians like us."   Arktikugol Deputy General Manager Alexei Korotnyov told Reuters the company hired many migrant Ukrainians, mostly from the depressed Donbass coalfields, because they take the wages offered and need the work now that many local pits have shut.   He declined to say how much miners on Spitzbergen earned.   In general, workers in Russia's far north have fared badly since the collapse of the Soviet Union and of the subsidies Moscow once paid to state employees working in harsh conditions.   Russian miners can typically earn two to three times the average monthly wage of about $100.   In Ukraine, they earn just $100.   In both countries, miners have gone on strike this summer over employers' failure to pay wages for months at a time.   Arktikugol's Korotnyov said his company's workers on Spitzbergen were well provided for, with three free meals a day and use of a swimming pool and sports hall.   But a school and kindergarten had to be closed down after Soviet state subsidies dried up, he added.   Some 40 women and several children were on the plane that crashed.   All women living at the mines work.   Children are not encouraged due to the lack of facilities, Korotnyov said.   That the airliner, relatively modern and flown by an experienced crew, came down while trying to land in foul weather in high summer is a mark of the grimness of life on the island.   Temperatures rarely nudge above freezing and round-the-clock polar darkness shrouds the island for much of the year.   The miners and a thousand or so Norwegians who also mine there are buffeted by icy winds and menaced by avalanches and polar bears.   So why do they do it?   Yuri Berdnyk, leader of the Ukrainian independent miners' union, said he knows.   "The answer is obvious -- money, money, money.   Crashes or accidents won't stop them until they are able to earn enough to keep their families in Ukraine." 
5979 !CCAT !GCAT !GDIS  Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma declared Friday a national day of mourning for 76 Ukrainian miners and their families killed in a Russian plane crash on the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitzbergen.   But trade unionists and coal industry officials said the crash would not deter more Ukrainians from braving harsh conditions to escape the low pay in the country's declining Donbass coalfields, once the power house of Soviet industry.   The Moscow-based Tupolev Tu-154 chartered by Russia's Arktikugol mining company crashed as it came in to land on Thursday.   All 141 on board were killed.   Kuchma's press office said the president declared a day of mourning with a minute's silence at 4 p.m. (1200 GMT).   The government promised to help the families of those killed.   "We have set up a special commission to bury the dead," the deputy head of the regional administration in the Donbass city of Donetsk said.   "But it appears there is nothing left to bury -- after the crash the plane caught fire and everything burned."   "There is nothing left but wreckage," Viktor Yanukovich told Reuters by telephone from the coal capital of Ukraine.   Asked why so many Ukrainians were working for the Russian firm in Spitzbergen, trade unionists had no doubt.   "The answer is obvious -- money, money, money.   That is what has been forcing our miners to go there," said Yuri Berdnyk, leader of the Independent Miners' union.   "Crashes or accidents will not stop them until they are able to earn enough to keep their families in Ukraine."   Ukrainian miners generally live in squalid conditions and earn about $100 a month -- almost three times less than in Russia.   Miners in the Arctic earn more.   Most of the dead miners and their families, including several children, were from the Donbass, in eastern Ukraine.   "It's shocking.   People here are very worried.   We are getting dozens and dozens of telephone calls," Yanukovich said.   "Donbass has been linked to the Spitzbergen for a long time.   Many Ukrainians have worked there since the Soviet days."   Last year's official statistics showed that about 100,000 Ukrainians signed contracts to work in Russia after the break-up of the former Soviet Union in 1991.   But Coal Ministry official Viktor Pazenko said the actual number of migrant workers was much higher, since many went seeking work unofficially.   About 200,000 Ukrainian miners went on strike this summer in protest at months of delay in wage payments.   The government has promised to settle $600 million in wage arrears by next month.   It has also pledged to modernise pits, close 30 of Ukraine's 236 ageing mines and build new ones.   As many as 218 miners were killed in accidents in Ukraine last year. 
5980 !GCAT !GDEF !GDIP !GVIO  NATO said on Friday it had ordered the Bosnian Serb army to close three of a total of 16 illegal military sites but had decided not to blow up several thousand tonnes of illicitly-stored arms.   NATO spokesman Captain Mark Van Dyke told reporters a further seven of the sites must be moved.   He said the alliance had decided not to seize and destroy ammunition stored at some of the locations because the Serbs had voluntarily identified them.   The Dayton peace agreement required Bosnia's formerly warring factions to identify all military sites, including weapons and ammunition dumps, months ago so that NATO could inspect them.   Serb army officials submitted the list of 16 sites on August 5, the same day NATO forces discovered an illegal Serb munitions storage site in a school in Margetici, near Sokolac.   NATO confiscated the 400 tonnes of ammunition and mines stored in the school and moved it to a remote area where it was blown up in an operation which infuriated the Bosnian Serbs.   Under Dayton NATO could have done the same thing with the 16 other locations, which included ammunition storage, logistics, training and communications facilities among them. 
5981 !GCAT !GCRIM  A Moscow street vendor stabbed to death a woman judge in a city court on Friday after she fined him the equivalent of seven dollars for trading illegally, Interfax news agency said.   Interfax said Judge Olga Lavrentyeva, 28, on Thursday ordered the confiscation of several overcoats, suits and shirts which vendor Valery Ivankov, 41, was illegally trading on Moscow streets and fined him 38,000 roubles (seven dollars).   The next morning, Ivankov appeared in the courtroom and stabbed Lavrentyeva.   The judge died later in hospital.   Interfax quoted Levrentyeva's colleagues as saying that judges were generally unprotected against criminal attacks. 
5982 !GCAT !GCRIM !GREL  Albanian police have detained three teenagers on suspicion of defacing 23 rare 300-year-old frescoes in an Orthodox church, the official ATA news agency said on Friday.   "Police have concluded that two 16-year-old boys from Tirana and one 18-year-old from Shkoder are the perpetrators of crime and they have been detained," ATA reported.   ATA made no mention of reports in many newspapers that the three were students at a Moslem seminar being conducted by Iranian lecturers.   The head of Albania's Orthodox Church, Anastasios, said in a statement that the defacing of the frescoes, in a church in Voskopoje, 250 km (110 miles) southeast of Tirana, might point to a revival of religious fanaticism in Albania.   Anastasios, criticising the state for failing to protect religious treasures, repeated his demand for the return of Orthodox property from the state to the Church.   Albania's majority Moslem community condemned the defacing on Friday as an anti-religious and anti-national act.   "Such acts run counter to the principles of our Islamic faith and Albanian traditions," it said in a statement.   Albania is 70 percent Moslem, 20 percent Orthodox and 10 percent Roman Catholic. 
5983 !GCAT !GDIP !GPOL !GVOTE  Bosnian municipal elections postponed from their scheduled date of September 14 could be held as soon as November, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Friday.   "Ambassador Frowick said in Vienna...that we would try to hold elections as soon as possible and he mentioned the dates of November 10 and 17 as possibilities," OSCE spokesman Tom Leary told Reuters in Sarajevo.   "No final decision has been made and it is not certain whether it would be technically feasible in terms of logistics to do it by November."   The OSCE is charged with supervising the elections under a mandate provided by the Dayton peace agreement.   Robert Frowick heads the organisation's mission in Bosnia.   The municipal elections were postponed because of serious Serb voter registration irregularities, among a host of other problems.   Voting for higher offices including a national House of Representatives and a three-man collective Presidency will still be held on September 14 as originaly planned.   Diplomatic sources in Bosnia said on Friday the pressure to move forward with municipal elections in Novemeber is both practical and political.   Earlier, the OSCE said it was considering holding them as late as Spring 1997.   But the international community worries that it would be hard to keep the military and civilian personnel necessary to run municipal elections in the field until next year.   "Armies can order their people to stay but there are a lot of diplomats and bureaucrats here from all over the world who have had their fill of Bosnia and are keen to get back to their families," said an election worker who asked not to be named.   On the political side, the U.S. administration of President Bill Clinton is said to be worried about a possible backlash over the need to keep U.S. troops in Bosnia into 1997 just to support the municipal elections.   Clinton, facing an election himself in November, had pledged to bring the troops home at the end of a year-long mission scheduled to end on December 19, 1996. 
5984 !C33 !C331 !CCAT !E21 !E211 !ECAT !GCAT !GDEF  Defence Minister Miroslav Vyborny has drafted a plan for radical cuts in the Czech Republic's 60,000-strong armed forces, a ministry official said on Friday.   "The minister introduced the basic plans for the army for the forthcomming period.   The main goal of these plans is to maintain the defence ability of the country with respect to economic possibilities," the ministry press aide said.   The Czech daily Mlada Fonta Dnes, quoting defence ministry sources, said on Friday that the cuts in personnel and expenditures would be a radical attempt to face economic reality.   The aide confirmed this report to Reuters.   "Asked when the changes would start, the minister said 'Yesterday was too late'," the aide added, but declined to offer any details of Vyborny's plan.   Czech analysts say Vyborny's plan could cut short earlier considerations for replacing ageing Soviet-made MiG-21 fighter planes with advanced Western aircraft, an option which critics say would be far too expensive.   U.S. Lockheed Martin's F-16, McDonnell Douglas Corp's F/A-18 "Hornet", Sweden's SAAB "Grippen" and other European planes are competing for consideration by the Czech military to bring their air forces into line with NATO.   The Czechs, along with Poland and Hungary are widely considered as leading aspirants to join the NATO military alliance, but a fierce political battle over how the Czech army should be reformed has often divided the Prague government.   Vyborny's plan must pass the government and parliament.   Two previous plans by his two predecessors were rejected by the cabinet.   The plan of the previous minister, Vilem Holan, to cut forces to 50,000 and modernise equipment and systems, was rejected as too expensive by the frugal centre-right cabinet led by economist Vaclav Klaus.   Vyborny, installed in July after elections a month earlier, is said to have already received support for his plan from President Vaclav Havel, Mlada Fronta reported, again quoting ministry sources.   There is mandatory conscription in the country for men over age 18, although some can opt out to perform public service or because of health reasons.   President Havel has backed a long term plan to turn the Czech army into a primarily professional force.   -- Prague Newsroom 42-2-2423-0003 
5985 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  Poland's parliament voted on Friday to liberalise the country's abortion law and allow women to end pregnancies before the 12th week if they cannot afford to raise a child or have other personal problems.   The left-dominated lower house voted by 208 to 61 with 15 abstentions in favour of the amendments to the existing 1993 anti-abortion law, despite a desperate campaign against the change by the Roman Catholic Church and its political allies.   "I confirm that the Sejm (lower house) passed the law," deputy speaker Marek Borowski said.   The present law, passed under a previous centre-right government, allows abortions only if the pregnancy threatens the woman's life or health, results from rape or incest, or when the foetus is irreparably damaged.   The vote divided members of the ruling leftist coalition, with the larger ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) backing the move and some members of the smaller Peasant party (PSL) siding with pro-Church, right-leaning opposition parties.   The amendments were sponsored by the small leftist opposition Union of Labour (UP) party while the largest opposition grouping, the Union for Freedom, was divided over the measure.   Seeing that they were about to lose the vote, members of two right-leaning parties quit the chamber.   Parliament passed similar amendments in 1994 but they were vetoed by then-President Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic.   Walesa lost last year's elections to secular-minded ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski, who has said he will sign the new law after it is passed by the Senate.   The measure will come into force 30 days after Kwasniewski approves it.   Supporters of the change say the existing law causes repeated personal tragedies, such as bungled back-street abortions or babies abandoned by unwilling mothers, and that those women with money now simply go abroad for abortions.   But the Roman Catholic church opposed it bitterly, equating abortion with killing, and the new legislation will come as a blow to Polish-born Pope John Paul.   Earlier this week Poland's Primate, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, declared that those who supported the measure were excluding themselves from the community of the faithful.   "There is no place for them at the altar unless they reconcile themselves with God," he declared at a mass pilgrimage to the national shrine of Czestochowa.   Although 90 percent of Poles are formally Roman Catholics, opinion polls suggested that a majority favour the liberalisation -- but hundreds of thousands of letters flooded into parliament opposing the bill.   It will provide for abortions free of charge for women who meet the specified conditions and for cheaper contraception.   It will also enforce sex education in secondary schools from September next year -- a step condemned by some legislators who say the lessons will lack moral content. 
5986 !GCAT !GDIP !GVIO  The commander of NATO ground forces in Bosnia accused both Moslems and Serbs on Friday of being armed in an incident that sparked the worst violence since the Dayton peace agreement was signed in December.   General Sir Michael Walker was due to meet Bosnia's Moslem President Alija Izetbegovic to discuss Thursday's tense confrontation between NATO troops and Serb police.   Initial reports said the crisis began when Serb police attacked a group of Moslems trying to repair their war-damaged homes in Mahala -- a village now in Serb territory, inside the de-militarized strip known as the "zone of separation".   But after investigating the incident, NATO officers said both the Moslems and Serbs had brought weapons into the village, violating one of the key military terms of the Dayton peace accord.   "Two lots of weapons were confiscated from the zone of separation," said Walker.   "One lot were the pistols that we confiscated from the (Bosnian Serb) police which were given to (Bosnian Serb President Biljana) Plavsic as a demonstration of what we were talking about."   "The other set of weapons I will give to the leadership of the (Moslem-led) Bosnian Government to make the same point in their case."   But Walker insisted that while both sides had broken the rules, "the side which came off worst in this case is undoubtedly the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic)".   In a dramatic gesture, Walker entered the meeting with Plavsic late on Thursday, accompanied by an aide carrying a box of the guns his troops had seized from Serb police, after they attacked Moslems trying to return to Mahala.   Bosnian Serb policemen beat the Moslems with clubs and when gunfire erupted, NATO troops intervened, detaining 65 Serb policemen inside a cordon of armoured vehicles and combat troops, alliance spokesmen said.   A crowd of 600 Bosnian Serbs and some Serb policemen, angered by NATO's action in Mahala, later blockaded six U.N. officials in their office in the nearby town of Zvornik.   The stand-off was defused when Walker flew to Mahala with a Bosnian Serb Interior Ministry official, who told his men to cooperate with NATO.   A short time later, NATO released the Serb police, and the crowd in Zvornik dispersed to let the U.N. officials out.   U.S. General George Casey said the Moslems had a right to return to their homes in Mahala and the inter-entity boundary line was "not an international border".   "What we've agreed to now is a seven-day joint patrolling of the area until we resolve the issue."   The violence underscored steadily rising tensions across Bosnia in the run-up to general elections scheduled for September 14.   Western officials have accused nationalist Serb, Croat and Moslem authorities of creating an atmosphere of political violence and intimidation before the polls in which voters will elect a three-member presidency and parliament for a loose union governing Serb and Moslem-Croat entities.   The legitimacy of the elections has already been called into question after international organisers accused Serbs of manipulating the registration of Serb refugees.   Citing irregularities with voter registration, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has postponed municipal elections.   National elections will go ahead as planned on September 14. 
5987 !GCAT !GHEA !GPOL  Poland's parliament voted on Friday to liberalise the country's abortion law and allow women to terminate pregnancies before the 12th week if they cannot afford to raise a child or have other personal problems.   The left-dominated lower house voted by 208 to 61 with 15 abstentions in favour of the amendments to the existing 1993 anti-abortion law, despite a desperate campaign against the change by the Roman Catholic Church and its political allies.    "I confirm that the Sejm (lower house) passed the law," deputy speaker Marek Borowski said.   The present law, passed under a previous centre-right government, allows abortions only if the pregnancy threatens the woman's life or health, results from rape or incest, or when the foetus is irreparably damaged.   The vote divided members of the ruling leftist coalition, with the larger ex-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) backing the move and some members of the smaller Peasant party (PSL) siding with pro-Church, right-leaning opposition parties.   Parliament passed similar amendments in 1994 only to see them vetoed by then-president Lech Walesa, a devout Catholic.   Walesa lost last year's elections to secular-minded ex-communist Aleksander Kwasniewski, who has said he will sign the new law after it is passed by the Senate. 
5988 !E51 !E512 !ECAT !GCAT !GDIP  Economic cooperation between Croatia and Serbian-led rump Yugoslavia is unlikely to bloom in the near future despite a landmark treaty to normalise relations signed last week, analysts said on Friday.   They predicted that it would take a considerable time and great efforts for the Balkan neighbours to pick up where they left off in 1991, the start of five years of conflict after Croatia's secession from Yugoslavia.   "I would not expect anything to happen as early as now.   Perhaps we can see some positive results translatable into statistics within a year, if all goes well," Zarko Miljenovic, chief analyst at Zagrebacka Banka, told Reuters.   He said much would depend on the success of a U.N.-administered programme to gradually restore central government authority in the last rebel minority Serb enclave in Croatia, Eastern Slavonia.   Yugoslavia's active role in persuading rebel Serbs to give up Eastern Slavonia is widely seen as vital for reintegrating the oil-rich farmland in the Danube river basin.   The Croatian government formally ratified the accord this week and parliament is expected to do the same later.   However, senior officials said the treaty on normalisation and mutual recognition was only a first step towards restoring Serbian-Croatian ties across the board.   "The agreement forms a framework for economic and every other cooperation between the two countries," Foreign Minister Mate Granic told a cabinet meeting this week.   Prime Minister Zlatko Matesa said the accord virtually sealed Zagreb's recovery of Eastern Slavonia but he admitted that numerous other steps had yet to be taken.   Further agreements delineating terms of trade, air and ground transport, payments for products and services and insurance are seen as essential for regulating bilateral relations between the former foes.   Trade was disrupted and all contacts severed during the 1991-95 armed conflict within old Yugoslavia that closed borders between its former constituent republics.   Miljenovic said the resumption of trade between Zagreb and Belgrade would be anything but swift and might resemble setting up relations with an entirely new country.   "It will depend on their (Yugoslav) economic recovery, foreign backup, whether banks will provide necessary guarantees and things like that," he said.   "The most agile and profit-driven private entrepreneurs will probably be the first to drop barriers, take advantage of the normalisation.   State firms might be slower joining in."   Trade would most likely focus at first on strategic goods that might have to be bartered because of the restricted access of Serbian and Montenegrin firms to funds, he added.   One uncertainty in developing trade links is whether Croatia will claim war reparations from Yugoslavia which Croatian experts estimate at almost $30 billion.   Citizens of Croatia and Yugoslavia are not yet allowed to travel freely between the two countries pending the establishment of full diplomatic relations.   Low-level legations established in each other's capital in early 1994 were to be upgraded to embassies with ambassadors within two weeks of the August 23 treaty.   Experts say road and rail traffic could resume fairly soon and telephone lines, which have been partially reconnected already, could be restored completely, forming the basic infrastructure for any business dealings.   However, the path to cooperation might be bumpy due to psychological obstacles between the former enemies or disputes concerning property of ex-Yugoslav firms left on the "wrong side" of the border. 
5989 !GCAT  These are the main stories in Latvian newspapers on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.   ALL NEWSPAPERS   - In a telephone conversation the Prime Ministers of Latvia and Lithuania agreed that they would meet on September 9 in Latvia to discuss their disputed maritime border.   Meanwhile the Committee of Foreign Affairs has asked parliament to postpone once again the consideration of the treaty between Latvia and AMOCO/Opab to explore for oil in the disputed zone.   - Foreign Minister Valdis Birkavs announced on his return from Germany where he met with Klaus Kinkel that the Baltic Foreign ministers believe that their countries must be admitted to NATO in the first wave of expansion.   - The commission which investigated a series of murders and suicides in the Latvian army came to the conclusion that there is no link between the tragedies and the activity of the army commander Colonel Juris Dalbins.   DIENA   - German Ambassador in Latvia Horst Weisel has presented his credentials to President Guntis Ulmanis.   NEATKARIGA RITA AVIZE   - Swedish deputy Foreign Minister arrived on a working visit to Latvia yesterday.   DIENAS BIZNESS   - Diena publishers open a new printing plant.   - The government will keep 5 percent of the shares of the Latvian Shipping company, which is scheduled for privatisation.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
5990 !C42 !CCAT !E41 !ECAT !GCAT !GJOB  Support is growing for a 10-day-old strike by workers in Serbia's Zastava ammunition factory, a trade union official said on Friday.   "Delegations from many Serbian factories announced they would visit today," union secretary Dragutin Stanojlovic said.   "The number of people on hunger strike has climbed to almost a hundred."   The Zastava factory in the central town of Kragujevac is the backbone of Serbia's defence industry, supplying the army with a wide range of weapons.   Strikers are staging protests in the town's main square demanding their wages for June and July as well as 1995 holiday pay.   "We want cash in our hands," Stanojlovic said.   "And then we can sit and negotiate."   On Wednesday, the union demanded the factory manager's resignation.   "We do not trust our managers any more," he said.   Stanojlovic said some 11,000-12,000 people had attended Thursday's protest meeting.   There was no independent confirmation of the figure.   He said workers who had decided to go on a hunger strike would stay in the factory over the weekend. 
5991 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Skopje press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   DNEVNIK   - At least 11 people were killed and over 40 injured in Berovo, 150 kilometres west of Skopje, when lightning struck a group of 15 thousand people at a religious gathering.   - Opposition says the government's arrogance is provoking a boycott of the elections scheduled for this fall and will do everything to convince the government to accept a compromise.   NOVA MAKEDONIA   - Foreign credits in Macedonia are largely approved for productive investments but there are still three times more requests than the available ten million German marks.   -- Skopje newsroom +389 91 201196 
5992 !GCAT  The following are the reports carried by Estonia's newspapers on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these reports and does not vouch for their accuracy.   SONUMILEHT   - Prime Minister Vahi declared in Sweden that there is no political crisis in Estonia.   - The small Future Estonia Party signed a cooperation agreement with the Chechen Cultural Association.   EESTI PAEVALEHT   - Two citizens want to press charges against doctors who removed internal organs for transplant from the bodies of their dead relatives.   - The European parliament's members backed Estonia's bid for membership in the European Union during their visit to Tallinn on Thursday.   POSTIMEES   - Narva mayor Raivo Murd has not ruled out the possibility of entering the September 20 presidential race.   - Reform Party MP Valve Kirsipuu said that parliament's failure to elect the president was a political crisis.   ARIPAEV   - State-owned fuel firm Eesti Kutus will sell its share of Estonian Transoil terminal and Traffic Service fuel retail firm to Finland's Neste.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 226693 
5993 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Belgrade press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified them and does not vouch for their accuracy.   POLITIKA   - Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic and U.S. envoy John Kornblum stress the importance of the successful organisation of Bosnia elections.   - The head of the OSCE Bosnia mission Robert Frowick thanks Yugoslav president Zoran Lilic for Yugoslavia's contribution to registering Bosnian citizens for the forthcoming elections.   - The Yugoslav parliament endorses a number of international cooperation agreements and accepts the federal government report on talks with International Monetary Fund.   - Macedonian ambassador Slavko Miloslavlevski presents his credentials to Yugoslav President Zoran Lilic.   - Zastava car factory spokesman says the plant will announce the name of its new foreign partner by November 1 at the latest.   - There is no inflationary financing of the budget, says Serbian Industry Minister Oskar Fodor.   - Bulgarian and Yugoslav airlines Balkanair and JAT agree to open air links between the two countries.   - Experts of public relations firm Lowe Bell Financial visiting Yugoslavia to gather information on the situationin in the country.   - Director of striking Zastava arms factory Col. Vukasin Filipovic says he is ready to tender his resignation.   NASA BORBA   - President of the Kosovo Albanian education, science and culture trade union Agim Hiseni says secret negotiatinos have started between Albanian and Serb authorities on resolving the education problem in Kosovo.   - Serbian independet teachers' trade union announces strike on July 2 because outstanding wages have not been paid.   - The IMF, in its letter to the Association of Independent Trade Unions Nezavisnost, said it believed there would be a successful outcome of talks with Yugoslavia.   - Yugoslavia to continue talks with the London Club in mid-September in Belgrade, says Vuk Ognjanovic head of the Yugoslav team negotiating with the Club.   POLITKA EKSPRES   - Serb tobacco producers sharply increase sales of their cigarettes to Bosnian Serb Republic and eastern Slavonia region to avoid paying sales tax, says Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Svetozar Krstic.   -- Belgrade newsroom +381 11 2224305 
5994 !GCAT !GPOL  Russian President Boris Yeltsin is doing paperwork at his country holiday retreat and plans no meetings with officials on Friday, his press service said.   A spokesman said Yeltsin had started preparing for a meeting with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl set for September 7.   Yeltsin's wife Naina, meanwhile, was recovering at a Moscow hospital after a kidney operation last Saturday and would leave the clinic next week.   The spokesman said he could not confirm a report by Itar-Tass news agency that Yeltsin had spoken by telephone with his security supremo Alexander Lebed before Lebed departed for rebel Chechnya early on Friday.   The Kremlin said Yeltsin, 65, began his holiday on Monday at a hunting lodge formerly used by Soviet leaders some 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Moscow.   Yeltsin, re-elected for a second term on July 3, has beena vbirtual recluse for the past two months, triggering speculation in the media and financial markets that he is ill or unable to control Russia's political situation.   The Kremlin denies the rumours, saying he is merely tired after a tense election campaign.   There have been no official reports that Yeltsin had met any of his aides during his holiday or spoken to them by telephone.   The Kremlin said he had spoken to Kohl. 
5995 !GCAT  Lithuanian newspapers carried the following reports in their Friday editions.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   LIETUVOS RYTAS   - The Dutch bank ABN AMRO has issued a $40 million credit to Klaipedos Nafta terminal for its reconstruction project.   The agreement on the credit was signed in Klaipeda Wednesday.   RESPUBLIKA   - Central bank officials said at a news conference yesterday that there was no need to devalue the litas.   - Russian concern Gazprom will not increase the price for the natural gas supplied to Lithuania in September and promised to rise the supply to 9 million cubic meters per day.   LIETUVOS AIDAS   - Baltic states intend to apply to the EU in September for financial aid for a common regional energy programme.   VERSLO ZINIOS   - The director general of Mazeikiu Nafta Gediminas Kiesus says that the rise of fuel prices on the Rotterdam market will not influence the price of oil products produced in Lithuania.   - The Lithuanian Government will issue a one-year, 200 million litas bond next week which will be underwritten by Merrill Lynch International.   - The fate of the crisis-struck Vakaru Bank remains unclear.   The Lithuanian Prime Minister, World Bank experts and the ministry of economics think that Vakaru should go bankrupt while the central bank says that it could be rescued at a minimal cost to the state.   -- Riga Newsroom +371 7226693 
5996 !GCAT  These are the leading stories in the Sarajevo press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   OSLOBODJENJE   - Bosnian Prime Minister Hasan Muratovic signs agreement for $60 million credit with Turkish Exim Bank during visit to Turkey.   - Bosnian Federation Trade Minister Nikola Grabovac issues order regulating the circulation of goods in an effort to reduce black marketeering between the Federation and Bosnia's Serb Republic.   DNEVNI AVAZ   - A Moslem-Croat Federation Forum is scheduled for Friday in Sarajevo.   The Forum's main focus is supposed to be abolition of the self-styled Croatian state of "Herzeg Bosnia", which should cease to exist on August 31 based on prior agreement.   --Sarajevo newsroom, +387-71-663-864. 
5997 !GCAT  The following are the main stories from Friday morning's Albanian newspapers.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.   KOHA JONE   - A young man was killed in Tirana by gunmen driving by on a motorcycle in what appears to be a settling of accounts by rival gangs.   - The key opposition Socialist Party wants a presidential decree on the composition of a permanent election commission to be revoked and a new body to be formed in which the government and the opposition are equally represented.   - Luigi Vittorio Ferraris, an envoy of Italian Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, was in Tirana and heard the views of Albanian parties on the disputed May 26 elections and a future local ballot.   - A 20-year-old pregnant woman and her almost nine-month old baby died of polio last night, bringing to six the number of deaths from polio-related illnesses.   - There were high expectations from the visit of a Council of Europe delegation but it did not manage to bring the parties together for talks, failing to put in train one of the main recommendations of their parliamentary assembly.   - The election of the Socialist Party secretary general is expected to generate hot debate on Friday.   - The youth forum of the Democratic Party will appeal to Socialist youth to boycott its own party and join its ranks.   - The price of water, the only commodity which has not been liberalised, will rise to finance reconstruction work in the industry.   - Albania is studying whether to import gas from Russia, Greece or Italy.   GAZETA SHQIPTARE   - Oil workers unions have discussed the privatisation of the Albpetrol company and the protection of its products from foreign competition.   - Health Minister Maksim Cikuli says the cause of the spread of polio in Albania remains a mystery.   - Albanian industry continues to stagnate.   About 2,000 people were employed in the second quarter of 1996.   - Three teenagers have been detained on allegations they defaced 300-year-old frescoes in an Orthodox Church, who condemned it as a "murderous enterprise".   - The Interior Ministry has denied a newspaper report that gunmen tried to kill a police chief when they shot at his empty car.   The paper and the police chief stood by their story. 
5998 !GCAT  Here are highlights of stories in Romania's press on Friday.   Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy:   Business:   ADEVARUL   - National Bank will officially launch 50,000 lei banknote on Saturday.   Banknote will be put in circulation in months ahead.   TINERETUL LIBER   - Private sector accounted for 43.8 percent of Romania's exports in first seven months of 1996.   AZI   - South Korean Daewoo looks at Romanian carmaker ARO SA for possible cooperation in truck manufacturing.   ZIUA   - Main opposition bloc Democratic Convention launched strategy on economic recovery saying Romania should develop sectors for which it had own raw materials, including food and light industries, wood working and furniture making.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - Export is priority concern for ball bearing maker Rulmenti Barlad SA which sends 75 percent of its output abroad.   General:   EVENIMENTUL ZILEI   - Health ministry demanded support from the World Health Organisation to identify and fight a virus which killed 10 in meningitis epidemic.   - Socialist Party leader Tudor Mohora to launch his candidacy for president on Sunday, while National Unity Party (PUNR) leader Gheorghe Funar would launch his on Saturday.   - PUNR, Greater Romania Party and Hungarian Democratic Union (UDMR) oppose the signing of Romanian-Hungarian treaty.   - UDMR disagrees with banning collective rights for Romania's minorities.   - Five burglers stole cigarettes worth 450 million lei.   ROMANIA LIBERA   - Newspaper publishes text of Romanian-Hungarian treaty due to be signed.   - Ruling Party of Social Democracy (PDSR) is trying to secure a place in parliament for former Prime Minister Theodor Stolojan.   - Opposition Democratic Convention bloc is in favour of a five percent level for parties' access to parliament.   - Five parties are against signing the treaty with Hungary in its current form.   - Police are searching for business woman Aurica Bintintan for alleged tax evasion worth 4 billion lei.   CURIERUL NATIONAL   - Business taycoon George Paunescu sues editor-in-chief of Ziua newspaper for calumny.   - President Ion Iliescu does not have the constitutional or moral right to run for a third term, Democratic Party vice-president Adrian Severin said.   - Hungarian parliament to debate on September 3 the text of trety with Romania.   - The comfortable majority of parties agree with the treaty text, PDSR leader Oliviu Gherman said.   ZIUA   - Romanian Horvath Attila wants to give financial support to U.S. President Bill Clinton's election campaign.   - Iliescu to start campaigning next week for November 3 presidential polls.   LIBERTATEA   - Bucharest inhabitants will have sufficient heating during the winter, city prefect Grigore Simion said.   ADEVARUL   - Senator Nistor Badiceanu to contest Iliescu's new bid for president, on the basis of election law which states that nobody can run for a third time for presidency.   ($=3,162 lei) -- Bucharest newsroom 40-1 3120264 
5999 !GCAT  Following are the main stories in Croatian newspapers on Friday.   VJESNIK   - 132,000 Bosnia-Herzegovina voters to go to the polls in Croatia.   - Bosnian Serbs are announcing the return of Croats to Posavina, following meetings with the Croatian representatives held in Bosanski Brod and Derventa.   VECERNJI LIST   - Raiffeisen bank to give Rijeka port a loan of 15 million German marks at an 8.85 interest over four years.   - Are DEHOS and the Communist worker's party to emerge as the two new leftist political parties this Autumn?   - Slovene lingerie maker to lay off 21 Croatian workers.   SLOBODNA DALMACIJA   - Government session: Foreign banks want to invest in Croatia.   - IFOR to remain in Bosnia for another year due to fears of Serb secession, claim diplomatic sources.   - It will be ten years before all the mines are removed, says in an interview Damir Cemerin, the head of the company in charge of mine clearing.   - The meeting of the government's expert group on Croat-Montenegrin borders: There are no territorial disputes between Croatia and Montenegro.   -- Zagreb Newsroom, 385-1-455705